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The official filing period starts today in Texas, with our eager candidates heading in to their county parties or the TDP to apply for a place on the ballot. We're live-blogging the proceedings with BOR journalists and "confidential sources" embedded at the Travis County Democratic Party HQ and Texas Democratic Party HQ. A few major statewide candidates are expected to file today, namely AG Candidate Barbara Ann Radnofsky and Railroad Commissioner Jeff Weems. Also many local candidates are eager to get on the ballot too.
Know of any other candidates in other counties? Email them in, leave them in the comments, or Tweet them and include @KathTX and I'll update.
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10:19 p.m. -- State Representative Candidate Round-Up
Per the TDP, the following additional state representative candidates filed for the ballot today, not reported earlier.
- Abel Bosquez, HD-87, Challenger to Republican Incumbent David Swinford
- Yvonne Gonzalez Toureilles, HD-35, Democratic Incumbent
9:41 p.m. -- First Congressional Candidate Files: Tom Berry to Challenge Jeb Hensarling
Dallas Democrat and retiree Tom Berry has filed to run against Representative Jeb "Your Health Care Hurts My Freedom" Hensarling. God Bless Tom Berry, whomever you are.
8:45 p.m. -- End of the Day Wrap-Up for Statewide and Smallest-County Candidates
After the close of business at the TDP, the party posted a list of folks who have filed across the state, as reported by their offices and county parties that sent in their candidates' paperwork. Here is a list of folks who filed for the ballot today.
- Governor: Bill Dear. The high-profile private investigator becomes the first Democrat to file for the highest office in the state.
- Land Commissioner: Bill Burton. The Athens Democrat has indeed tossed his hat into the ring. David Mauro was aware of this fellow back in August. He has followed through.
- Loving County Clerk: Elizabeth Jones. Last but not least, a Democrat has filed to run for County Clerk of Loving County, TX. The current clerk is Beverly Hanson, and no amount of Googling can turn up her party. The least populous county in the entire country, with 67 residents reported on the 2000 census. Strangely enough, 161 people voted in the Loving County elections in 2000. Maybe a new clerk is just what they need?
4:50 p.m. -- Mindy Montford Files Treasurer Designation for 299th District Court
Sources confirm that Mindy Montford has filed a treasurer's designation today to run for the newly-vacated 299th District Court. She has not yet filed for the ballot. Current Judge Charlie Baird is retiring, and candidate Karen Sage is moving from the 147th to the 299th in her first bid for office. Now Sage may have an opponent in Montford, whom you may recall, ran for Travis County District Attorney in 2008 but lost in a runoff to Rosemary Lehmberg. Montford is also known around town as former Councilmember and mayoral candidate Brewster McCracken's ex-wife.
4:19 p.m. -- Karin Crump, Travis County JP, Precinct 2
Another of our local Travis County candidates, Karin Crump came in to file for JP 2, which includes Pflugerville, West Branch, Jonestown, Lakeway, and parts of North Austin. Karin is running to take out Barbara Bembry, the last elected Republican in Travis County. First, Karin must get past primary challenger Fidel "Ace" Acevedo, who lost a primary challenge to County Chair Andy Brown last cycle. Crump has already been endorsed by State Rep. Mark Strama, who represents most of the area.
4:13 p.m. -- Rep. Patrick Rose, HD-45; Rep. Armando Walle, HD-140
News is coming in to BOR of more State Representatives filing for re-election. Patrick Rose is running again to represent Hays, Blanco, and Caldwell counties in HD-45, and Armando Walle is running for re-election for HD-140, which includes parts of Harris County. Walle was elected "Freshman of the Year" by the Women's Health Caucus for his 2008 session--his first, and hopefully not his last.
A release from Walle's staff highlights his first-term achievements:
Rep. Walle supported proposals to improve quality of life in the Aldine and Northside communities, increase safety in local neighborhoods, and encourage local economic development. He also passed a comprehensive graffiti reform bill aimed at protecting victims of graffiti crime and increasing penalties for graffiti offenders.
2:48 p.m -- Travis County's Probate Judge, County Clerk, and Treasurer
Travis County Probate Judge Guy Herman came over to file. He judged this Burnt Orange Reporter to be "competent, not chemically dependent, and not dead." Apparently these conditions are reasons why I've never heard of a probate judge. Later, Travis County Clerk, the lovely Dana DeBeauvoir, came by with a posse to file for re-election. After cheering "we're legal, y'all!" she thanked everyone and went back to the Tax Office. County Treasurer Dolores Ortega-Carter was hot on DeBeauvoir's heels, and stopped by with a check of her own to cover the filing fee.
Meanwhile, filing has slowed down at the TDP office, who will be releasing a full list of candidates who have filed today at close of business. No word yet from other county parties.
1:01 p.m. -- Statement from Kirk Watson
The best State Senator in Austin, TX releases a statement:
Pledging to build a stronger future for Texas and its families, Senator Kirk Watson on Thursday filed to run for re-election to the Texas Senate.
"It's an honor to serve the people of Central Texas and Senate District 14," Senator Watson said. "I've found a lot of success in the legislature, and I believe my service there is tangibly helping Texas and its people."
12:42 p.m. -- A Bunch of Republicans
In news from the other side of the aisle, Rick Perry filed today for re-election as Governor. It is unknown when Kay Bailey Hutchison will be hauling herself down from D.C. to actually file for Governor. Several Republican House incumbents also filed, including a few BOR favorites: Dwayne "Voter Suprression" Bohac, Betty "Asian Names Are Hard" Brown, and Todd "No Show" Hunter. Several Republican challengers have also filed, for open or Democratic seats. More on them in a future post.
12:01 p.m. -- Sen. Kirk Watson, SD-14
That sound you hear is millions of hearts breaking across Texas, now that State Senator Kirk Watson has filed for re-election to Senate District 14. While the decision is no surprise, personally, I still fervently hoped that Watson had a trick up his sleeve and was going to announce for Lieutenant Governor. While those of us in SD-14 are still lucky to have one of the best Senators in Texas standing up for us in the upper chamber, I hope that everyone in Texas has the unparalleled joy of voting for Watson in a future election cycle.
11:55 a.m. -- Rep. Norma Chavez, HD-76; Jose Rodriguez, SD-29
The El Paso duo filed together at the El Paso Democratic Party today. The retirement of Senator Eliot Shapleigh set off a potential hot primary for his seat, but ultimately Chavez chose to seek re-election to the lower house, while Former El Paso County Attorney Rodriguez is looking to step into the Senate seat.
11:50 a.m. -- Eric Shepperd, Travis County Court-at-Law #2; Jan Patterson, Travis County District Court #201
Local Travis County officials are streaming in at lunch-time to file. Judge Eric Shepperd sent a representative to file for re-election to County Court-at-Law #2, Justice Jan Patterson filed for the 201st District Court, where she is currently unopposed to run for Judge Suzanne Covington's soon-to-be-empty seat.
More Below The Jump |
11:27 a.m. -- Jeff Weems, Railroad Commissioner
Jeff Weems has been at the TDP office for about a half-hour now, commandeering BAR's previously gathered press, and probably talking about hydraulic fracking. Jeff's been campaigning hard about the importance of the Railroad Commission, which actually has nothing to do with trains. For an article about the importance of these commissioners, see Public Citizen's article about how the commission is working to block renewable energy and favor oil and gas instead.
10:55 a.m. -- Lon Burnam, HD-90
The Fort Worth-area progressive filed for re-election this morning, calling for a moratorium on gas drilling. From Star-Telegram, Burnam wants no new wells until the TCEQ finishes its study of drilling-related air pollution.
10:23 a.m. -- Mid-Morning Lull Round-Up
While we wait for other candidates to throw their respective hats in the ring, here's some other filing-related information for you.
- Aman Batheja reports that Kinky's team says he'll file "later." I suggest January 5th.
- The folks at Texas Tribune have put together a fantastic Pop-Up Video of a recent Bill White Senatorial stump speech, in a quasi-nostalgic nod to the campaign we all assume he will formally end tomorrow with a switch to Governor.
- Our friend Mean Rachel has ideas on how first-time candidates can do effective blogger outreach.
- Per Jason Embry, Republican State Senator Ogden has confirmed that he will be filing for re-election for his Williamson County district.
- With all of the switching around in various Travis County judicial races, I'm wondering what this does to petitioning, especially if all of the petitions have the specific court listed. Can you White-Out your petitions and change the office you're filing for?
9:54 a.m. -- Brandy Mueller, Travis County Court-at-Law #6
Brandy Mueller came in to file, our first County Court candidate in Travis County, and our first female judicial candidate.
9:30 a.m. -- Rep. Mark Homer, HD-3
Per the rapid tweets of Barbara Ann, we learn that State Rep. Mark Homer has just filed. Radnofsky tells us that this is his 7th consecutive first filing day. Homer represents Paris, Texas, as well as six East Texas counties. Now that Chuck Hopson of Jacksonville has abandoned the Democratic Party to potentially lose a primary to a crazed teabagger, Homer easily wins the "Best Democrat representing a Texas town named for another, more famous place" mantle. Interesting fact: Rep. Homer worked as a meat buyer for Safeway. It is unclear if he is related to the epic Greek poet.
9:08 a.m. -- Barbara Ann Radnofsky, Texas Attorney General; Joe Heflin, HD-85
From Twitter, we receive news that Barbara Ann has filed for Attorney General, in her strong bid to return a true "People's Lawyer" to the state of Texas. Barbara Ann has been vigorously campaigning across the state, and is running on a really strong message of making the AG work for the people of Texas, not special interests. Barbara Ann also informs us that State Rep. Joe Heflin, representing 16 West Texas counties, is in line to file. Have a safe many-hour drive home, Joe!
8:51 a.m. -- Cliff Brown, District Court #147, Travis County
The newly unopposed Cliff Brown is the first judicial candidate to file! Brown and campaign manager Gabe Kirchner came in with a gargantuan stack of petitions, demonstrating the immense support for Brown's campaign. Brown is the current police monitor, and was recently elected president of the National Association of Civilian Oversight of Law Enforcement. While Austin will lose a fantastic police monitor if Cliff Brown is elected, we'll gain a real advocate for much-needed reform in the criminal justice system.
8:37 a.m. -- Donna Howard, HD-48, Travis County
Donna Howard is the first in the door at the TCDP to file for re-election! After filing, Howard headed off to Dallas for a meeting with the higher education coordinating board, who is responsible for all of the higher ed programs in the state. They'll be working hard to close the gaps in financing and increasing student readiness. With the campaign season in full swing, Donna is still continuing to work hard to improve education for Texas families across our state. |
