Burnt Orange Report

Austin Area Endorsements Today

By Byron LaMasters

There are four competetive state house races in the greater Austin area: Tx-17, TX-45, TX-48 and TX-50. With the Austin American Statesman endorsements today, Democrats were endorsed in two of those races today:

Democrat Patrick Rose won a close race two years ago in state House District 45 and he has a tough contest again this year against a well-funded opponent.

But, Voters in the district, which includes Hays, Blanco and Caldwell counties, should send Rose back to Austin because he has represented them well in the Legislature. Rose was as prominent as any freshman last session and worked hard for his constituents.

Rose, 26, fights diligently for insurance reform and wants to revamp Texas' broken school finance system. He has good ideas for filling the gaps in a public school system that has seen state participation decline to below 40 percent of annual costs. He also is pushing to reform the state's battered ethics rules.

[...]

Incumbent Robert L. "Robby" Cook III, an Eagle Lake Democrat, is a farmer who shares the rural outlook and interests of a district that covers Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, Fayette, Lee and part of Brazos counties. Cook was first elected to the Texas House in 1996. He was designated the outstanding freshman of the 1997 session and has been a leader in the House ever since. [...]

Cook, 44, knows how to listen and he knows how to act. His devotion to rural Texas is not just talk, it's action. He deserves another term in the Texas House.

It would be nice to see the Statesman endorse both Mark Strama and Kelly White, but I have a feeling they'll endorse one of them, and one of the incumbents.

The Daily Texan came out with congressional endorsements today:

Hopefully you live far enough south to vote for Austin's beloved Lloyd Doggett, former UT student government president, 10-year House veteran and nationally renowned progressive. One of redistricting's more blatant targets, his District 10 was stretched all the way to Houston to grab enough republicans to kick him out of office. But Doggett moved to 300-mile-long District 25 and has been campaigning hard to gain support in the two-thirds Latino district.

[...]

Democrats outnumber Republicans almost two to one in the district, so Doggett should survive in the House. He is experienced, compassionate and has represented Austin well this past decade. Plus, voting for Doggett sticks it to the man by foiling Tom DeLay's best-laid plans to oust him. [...]

Redistricting stood to make this a boring election season until Lorenzo Sadun came along. Disgusted by the absence of a Democrat running in the newly gerrymandered district now extending to Houston, the UT math professor forfeited his time and resources to give voters an option. [...]

Opponent Michael McCaul is just another pretty boy party-liner who will vote however DeLay tells him, giving little thought to important decisions or how they affect our city. [...]

When President Bush tells McCaul to jump, he'll enthusiastically ask "How high?"

This district was hand-tailored for a Republican - Sadun has no shot. But sometimes voting isn't about picking the winner, it's about picking the person you believe in. And we believe in Sadun because he embodies the idealism and integrity sorely missing in politics.

[...]

District 21: No endorsement [...]
We recommend voting for Rhett Smith in opposition to Lamar Smith's offensive record or Libertarian James Werner for a jab at the two-party system. We're disappointed at all the choices.

Works for me.