Ed. note: The following is one of twenty races we are featuring in the Texas Political Report. Annie's List provided research and analysis for this race.
District 48 lies primarily in the western half of Travis County and includes parts of the city of Austin and the Westlake Hills area. A liberal-leaning county where Democrats strongly outnumber Republicans, Obama won comfortably with 53% of the vote in 2008. However, western Travis County is home to one of the larger conservative factions in the area. Like many districts, it was drawn to benefit Republicans, who represented the seat until 2005, when Rep. Howard won a tough special election, part of a string of 6 election victories that earned her two twerms in the Legislature.
Howard is a life-long educator and nurse who grew up in Austin. Her Republican opponent, Dan Neil, is a former All-American lineman and NFL player who hasn’t said much – about anything, at all. He posted a poor showing on his June 30th Finance Report and then created a small stir by being kicked off his sports radio show on 104.9, The Horn, blaming it on Rep. Howard. In fact, the radio station came to Rep. Howard to inform of her the FCC Equal Time Rule. That's about all that's happened in this race, which means -- nothing has happened. Rep. Howard is defining the issues, concentrating on her legislative successes, including legislation she passed requiring the largely right-wing and highly partisan State Board of Education to stream their meetings over the internet, a hot-button issue this cycle.
Why Rep. Donna Howard Will Return Next Year
Rep. Howard has incumbency, popularity, the resources and a well-organized, professional team all on her side. She’s well-tested and versed in campaigning, and Republicans have all but quit running serious races in Travis County.
Earlier today Dan Neil, the former UT and Denver Bronco football player with an otherwise thin resume challenging Rep. Donna Howard, was removed from his on-air job at ESPN's Austin affiliate 104.9 The Horn. Neil will remain away from his radio job until after Election Day.
In a press release, Neil, who was fined $15,000 by the NFL for a dirty chop block that broke another play's leg in 2001, accused Howard of "harming his ability to make a living." Neil, who was paid over $3 million per season near the end of his football career, is the owner of the Neil Management Health Company and lives in a home appraised at over $1.9 million.
Neil alleged, with little or no supporting evidence, that Howard had "essentially asked a corporation to subsidize her advertising budget as a caveat to allowing me to continue making a living as a sports commentator." In an Austin American-Statesman blog post by Corrie MacLaggan, Howard responded to Neil's press release.
“We came with some suggestions,” Howard said. “No demand was made. They were merely discussions. (Radio officials) got back to us to say, ‘Never mind, we’re going to keep him off the air.’”
Bob Proud, senior vice president and market manager for Border Media, which owns the station, said Neil has been off the air since May.
“Discussions were held to try to find a way to keep Dan on the air, but Border Media’s legal counsel decided it would be best that he stay off until after the election,” Proud said.
If you listen to the people that made the actual decision, it appears that Neil's story is either completely fabricated or greatly exaggerated for political gain. Either way, it is a clear sign that, after a rather silent beginning to his campaign, Neil is probably not ready to mount a serious challenge to Howard.
If Neil has been off the air since May, as his boss says, there is a good chance Neil has timed this story to pre-empt what could be underwhelming fundraising numbers later this week. We'll know Thursday. The Statesman also noted that, despite the millionaire Neil's claims, he does have alternative sources of income.
A commenter on the Statesman post may have summed it up best:
By AmelieWannabe
July 12, 2010 4:43 PM |
This reminds [me] of when Marc Katz ran for mayor of Austin and couldn’t appear in any Katz’s Deli commercials and when Fred Thompson didn’t appear on “Law and Order” during his presidential bid. Surely Mr. Neil had to be aware that it’s common for this to happen to political candidates who hold positions in television and/or radio.
This should not have been a surprise to Neil. His dismissal from radio during the campaign has precedent. It is not a "liberal Democrat" conspiracy, as Neil claimed in his press release, but actually just how things work.
Disclosure: I am a supporter of Lee Leffingwell for Mayor.
State Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) became the second member of the Travis County House delegation in as many days to endorse Lee Leffingwell's campaign to become the next Mayor of Austin.
We are happy and honored to announce that State Representative Donna Howard has given her endorsement to Lee Leffingwell's campaign for Austin mayor!
Donna represents District 48 in the Texas House of Representatives, which includes big slices of Austin west of MOPAC and north of of 183, as well as the cities of Rollingwood, West Lake Hills and Lago Vista.
Born and raised in Austin, Donna graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in nursing from the University of Texas, where she also earned her Master's Degree in health education. She subsequently worked as a critical care nurse at Brackenridge and Seton hospitals, was president of the District 5 Texas Nurses' Association, and helped launch the Seton Good Health School.
Reps. Howard and Eddie Rodriguez, both Leffingwell backers, are the only state representatives to have endorsed in this race.
State Representative Donna Howard, District 48, has introduced HB420. HB420 would remove declared partisan races from the State Board of Education elections.
Join us to learn all about this bill and other matters related to the 81st TX State Legislative session.
We'll meet Sunday, Feb. 8th, 4:00pm-6:00pm at the First United Methodist Church Family Life Center (1300 Lavaca, at 13th/Lavaca, next door to the TX Capitol, diagonally across the street from the church).
This is a FREE event, and lot of free parking available.
We're expecting at least 80 people. Seating is limited, please try to arrive on time. Last week we had folks travel as far as 100 miles to attend this forum for Sherri Greenberg's presentation. It's worth it. Get There. Get involved. Get Informed.
(This is cool. I first met Donna Howard in 2002 when I was still in high school in Fredericksburg and she was running for the State Board of Education (yes, the Austin district goes out there). - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
House Bill 420, entered by Representative Donna Howard, would remove declared partisan races in the State Board of Education race. As you know this is a way down ballot race which seldom gets attention.
One of the SBOE members representing Austin has recently gotten plenty of attention with her wacky rants. She is also now a poster child for why the partisan label from the SBOE should be removed. Otherwise we end up with people like this in office. Mrs. Dunbar was unchallenged by a Democratic opponent in the general election, so her place on the SBOE was virtually sealed when she beat a better Republican opponent in the primary. The straight party ticket voters, many probably not aware of her extreme views, swept her into office.
It is hoped that if HB 420 is passed it will allow candidates for this office to have more substantive debate than appealing to the primary voters only. If you are interested in this bill and in the SBOE races in general please see this listserv group site. And contact your House Rep and urge her to support this bill today.
State Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) has filed a bill that would make future State Board of Education elections non-partisan. If HB 420 passes, parties would not nominate candidates for SBOE and the term "independent candidate" would be extended to those running for SBOE.
SBOE member Cynthia Dunbar has been in the news recently for saying that Obama was working with terrorists. Her attack on Obama (for which she refuses to apologize) has been used by some as evidence of the board's extremism.
Howard, who served on the Eanes ISD school board and ran for the SBOE before she became a House member, had this to say.
“The idea that Texans - if provided with information on the issues - would elect someone who has publicly declared the state’s education system ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘tyrannical’ is absurd,” Howard said. “We value our children’s education too highly.”
That someone Howard refers to is, of course, Cynthia Dunbar.
Do you think State Board of Education elections should be non-partisan?
What:Donna Howard, State Rep. District 48, speaking on "Education" and other relevant topics!! Tim Mahoney, recently elected ACC Trustee, will introduce Rep. Howard.
When: Sun., Oct. 5th, 11:30m-12:30pm
Where: First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover
Cost: FREE
Representative Howard will speak for about 40 minutes on the topic of "Education" and other relevant topics, and then the audience will ask questions.
State Rep. Donna Howard (D-Austin) is out with a campaign spot highlighting her work to solve the state's nursing shortage. She has particular credibility on this issue since she used to be a critical care nurse.
What: TX State Legislator Donna Howard, former TX State Legislator Ann Kitchen, Women for Obama representatives, Annie's List representatives and others will discuss "Women's Issues" and how the Democratic Party is the best party for Women's issues.
7:15pm-8:00pm is "Democratic Citizen Communication" where you present your issues important to you as a Democrat!
When: Mon., Sept. 8th, 6:00pm-8:00pm
Where: Travis County Democratic Party Coordinated Campaign Headquarters, 1107 N. I 35, Austin, TX (next door to CVS, in old Safeway Building at 12th and I-35)
Who: Anyone interested in networking with fun, cool, energizing, like-minded Democrats, and learning about the policies and issues important to our city, our state, and our nation heading into the November TX elections. 2nd hour is a "Democratic Party Town Hall Meeting".
Cost: FREE
You're welcome to bring food/drinks to share and bring your laptop (Laptop not mandatory).
Best,
David Kobierowski
Travis County Democratic Party Issues Committee Chair
512-413-0286
Cleanair999@yahoo.com
