Chris Bell For Congress
By Byron LaMasters
Along with Lloyd Doggett, Chris Bell was one of the Texas Democrats singled out for defeat by the Tom DeLay redistricting plan. I strongly support Chris Bell's re-election bid, and I'd urge any residents of his district to re-elect him. The chair of the Texas Democratic Party, Charles Soechting has lent Chris Bell his support:
Texas Democratic Party Chairman Charles Soechting took an unusual step Tuesday when he endorsed U.S. Rep. Chris Bell in the party's primary for the new 9th Congressional District.
Party officials typically remain neutral until a nominee is selected. But Soechting said he endorsed Bell because Bell's opponent in next Tuesday's primary, former Justice of the Peace Al Green, "has taken money from a Republican Party official with a history of intimidating African-American voters in this very district."
Party spokesman Mike Lavigne said the the GOP official Soechting referred to was former Harris County Republican Party Chairman Gary Polland, who gave Green $2,000 on Feb. 10. Soechting did not elaborate on the claim of intimidation.
It's completely inappropriate for a Democatic candidate for congress to accept money from a Republican county chair (in addition to benefiting from Tom DeLay's redistricting ploy). Chris Bell has been a strong representative for Houston, and he deserves re-election.
Donate to Chris Bell today.
More on this at Greg's Opinion and Off the Kuff.
Posted by Byron LaMasters at March 3, 2004 04:47 PM
| TrackBack
Maybe it's because (a) a Democrat will win this seat, so it's not a partisan issue; and (2) in his private life, Gary is a criminal defense lawyer who represents poor African-Americans accused by those saints of civil rights -- the Harris County and Houston law enforcement community and the Harris County district attorney's office.
Of course, Chris Bell, being a reliable plaintiff lawyer vote in Congress and having a rich, diverse background as a Amarillo TV reporter, surely makes him more in tune with African-American needs than the longtime NAACP chairman and activist who fought for Houstonians' civil rights while Chris Bell was doing the crop report in Randall County.
