Burnt Orange Report

40/40: Get to Know Donna Howard and Kathy Rider

By Phillip Martin

Currently, we have two Democrats running in the special election for House District 48, which incorporates much of western Travis county, including the Westlake area. These two candidates are Donna Howard and Kathy Rider.

Last October, Todd Baxter (R) resigned his seat as State Representative to spend "more time with his family." Within a month, Baxter accepted a lobbying position as the state cable industry's top lobbyist. Governor Perry then set a special election to be held on January 17 to fill his seat.

Kathy Rider first became active in the community while attending the University of Texas at Austin, where she earned a degree in mathematics and a masters in Social Work. She has been a mental health provider for 35 years in the Austin area, and served with countless boards and organizations. She was Vice-President of the AISD Board of Trustees for two years, followed by eight consecutive years serving as the President of the AISD Board.

Donna Howard grew up in the Austin area, and first became involved in politics when she attended the University of Texas at Austin. It was there that she earned a degree in nursing and a master's in health education. In addition to the numerous organizations she has worked with in the Austin community, she served on the Eanes ISD board for several years, before a couple of unsuccessful campaigns for seats on the State Board of Education in 2000 and 2002. Among those supporting her include the last Democrat to represent HD 48, Rep. Ann Kitchen, as well as Kelly White, who lost last year's HD 48 election by a few hundred votes.

As you can see, both candidates have excellent experience in the health care and education communities here in Austin. As K-T posted this morning, several statewide nursing PAC's have endorse Howard. Kathy Rider has been endorsed by the TPACE, which represents 20,000 social workers in the state of Texas.

Tomorrow, we'll look more specifically at HD 48, including a closer look at Ben Bentzin, the Republican candidate for the seat who has explicit ties to the Tom Delay money laundering machine. Wednesday, I'll post separate interviews I had with both Donna Howard and Kathy Rider. Thursday, we'll look at where they stand on the issues, and Friday I'll post an op-ed each candidate has written.

Stay tuned to the 40/40 all week long for more coverage.