To say it caused a stir would be an understatement.
Some questioned the validity of some of the claims we made. Some wondered where the actual documents were. Others just threatened me.
Rather than asking you to blindly take my word, I have taken the time to scan all of the appropriate documents in pdf form and add them to our files.
When you click the link you will find see the 6 arrest reports including the final one that shows Mrs. Cooke spent time in jail after having her probation revoked. You will see the documents showing that she didn't live in the district as of November 14 (ten days after the cut off to be eligible for the ballot). You will one of the half dozen reports showing Cooke claiming she has evaded her property taxes. These documents also show her marriage to two men at the same time-- lying on government documents.
Truth is an absolute defense and we are ready to defend our claims. These are just the top pages of over 100 pages of research.
House District 17 could be the seat that determines whether we take control of the Texas House this cycle. We won with about 500 votes in 2006, and nominating a fatally flawed candidate to take on Kleinschmidt is a losing proposition.
Just this past Wednesday we began looking at the enigmatic HD-17 race. Because I knew little to nothing about the race other than what I could find online and in old press clippings, I began doing some research on what is arguably is the must hold Democratic seat of 2008.
As one Democratic consultant put it, If Democrats are to have any chance of taking back the Texas House this cycle, we must hold HD 17. A loss in this rural/exurban swing district would set us back dramatically.
As I mentioned on Wednesday, two Democratic candidates are facing each other in the primary - Donnie Dippel and Latreese Cooke.
Dippel, to be sure, is not a perfect candidate. Some will certainly argue that Dippel's Democratic credentials could use some polishing. Okay, so he was hired to work at the Texas Department of Agriculture by Jim Hightower, but he also worked for Susan Combs and Rick Perry. And Dippel has a history of Republican primary voting - something that is sure to touch off the ongoing Democratic-purity vs. welcoming-new-people-to-our-party debate it seems like we're always having here at BOR and one I sometimes contribute to.
But Dippel is clearly qualified for the job. He ended his career at the Ag Department as an Assistant Commissioner, and has broad public policy experience. It also appears that he would make a strong general election opponent to Republican Tim Kleinschmidt. The Dippels have deep roots in the district, and are very active in their community. And Dippel's position on the Fayette County Farm Bureau Board ought to give him a leg-up on that key endorsement in this rural district.
Other than an eclectic voting history in a fair conservative, rural part of Texas, Dippel seems to right on most every major issue. A major example is TSTA endorsed Dippel in his race to be the nominee.
Looking into Latreese Cooke things got interesting quickly. In fact, during that same TSTA endorsement meeting, according to sources, Cooke announced she was pro-voucher. This of course made me look even more into Cooke and her background.
As one commenter pointed out, Latreese Cooke operates a non-profit called Minorities for Equality in Education, Equality, Liberty and Justice (MEEELJ). MEEELJ "serves at-risk and formerly incarcerated persons in Bastrop and Caldwell Counties, Del Valle and portions of Eastern Travis County."
In 2007, MEEELJ honored former state representative Ron Wilson at "Yesterfest" in Bastrop. At the time, Cooke wrote:
"Ron Wilson served 27 years as a Texas State Representative serving on numerous committees and being responsible for quite a number of significant legislation striving always to advance minority interests. His participation as one of the few Democrats who supported the Republican redistricting plan in order to provide an opportunity for more minority representation in the government cost him in the primary. At the time of his resignation, Mr. Wilson ranked 5th in seniority of 150 legislators. In 1997, Texas Monthly magazine named Ron Wilson 'one of the top 10 legislators' and portrayed him as 'revolutionary'. Thank you Latreese Cooke, Executive Director of MEEELJ for inviting him."
A source in the district informed of this passage and it appears it has now been removed from the website in the past week. This lead me to wonder what else Cooke may be hiding.
House District 17 is the single most interesting open seats this cycle. The Republican spin is that this is a lost cause. To those Republicans (read Hans) that want you to think Democrats should just write this one off, think about how different the 80th legislative session didn't include Joe Heflin, Juan Garcia, or Allen Vaught. Three lost cause races.
How about Dan Barrett's special election victory in House District 97 or Donna Howard's just two years earlier.
Our party has become particularly adept at targeting seats and winning hard races, and House District 17 gives us a lot to be optimistic about.
Rick Perry only received 2.4 percent more votes than Chris Bell did in HD 17.
The vast majority of local county officials are Democrats.
This is a race that can be won by Democrats with a little hard work.
The Austin American Statesman ran this brief description of who is currently running to replace Robby Cook.
In House District 17, which stretches along the Colorado River from Bastrop County to the coast, two Democrats and one Republican filed to replace retiring Rep. Robby Cook, D-Eagle Lake. The Democrats are Donnie Dippel, 57, a La Grange consultant, and Latreese Ann Cooke, an executive from Bastrop. The winner will take on Republican Tim Kleinschmidt, 51, a Giddings lawyer and rancher who lost a close race in 2006 for the same House seat.
Dippel's earlier press release states that he served as Assistant Commissioner for Pesticide Programs at the Texas Department of Agriculture for six years, and worked for fourteen years total at the TDA. He currently owns a consulting firm based in agriculture consulting and has worked to protect surface water and Texas endangered species.
Kleinschmidt ran against Cook in 2006 and lost. Other than that, there isn't much out there to easily find about him or Dippel's primary opponent Latreese Ann Cooke, but we will be looking into this race in more detail over the next week.
Donnie Dippel, former Assistant Commissioner at the Texas Department of Agriculture, has announced that he will fight to represent Texans and hold on to Democrat Robbie Cook's seat.
According to his press release:
Dippel served as Assistant Commissioner for Pesticide Programs at the Texas Department of Agriculture for six years, and worked for fourteen years total at the TDA. "My time at the Department of Agriculture will allow me to serve District 17 well in Austin," Dippel continued. "At the TDA we put politics aside and focused on getting real results for Texas agriculture producers. That is exactly the kind of state representative I plan to be."
Dippel currently works as the owner of CHB Consulting, a small business specializing in agriculture consulting. Dippel has been honored as a strong advocate of worker-safety and enforcement of pesticide regulations. He has also worked to protect surface water and Texas' endangered species.
Like Cook, Dippel appears to be a conservative Democrat which is a solid fit for HD-17. His priorities will include-- "fighting for public schools, Texas agriculture and economic development in District 17."
Sources around the district tell BOR that at least one other potential candidate is considering the race, but Dippel's strong ties to the area, the community support surrounding him, and his previous political experience give Democrats the best chance to hold on to HD-17.
Yesterday, House Democratic leader, Representative Jim Dunnam, sent out some good reasons for Democrats across the state to be positive. Pundits and politicos beware the numbers might surprise you.
After Robby Cook announced he would not run for re-election last night, there is a strong sense that the sky is falling. Before that gets too out of control let's take a breath and a step back for one second.
The current strength of the Democratic Party and successes in rural Texas should give any political naysayer pause.
Over the past 4 years, Democrats have won difficult seats and have learned valuable lessons. Democrats like Chuck Hopson, David Farabee, Joe Heflin, Juan Garcia, Allen Vaught, Stephen Frost, Mark Homer, Jim McReynolds, and others have all won in Republican regions.
In fact, we have seen this scenario play out before. In 2004, Speaker Pete Laney was targeted by Craddick again and won the election 58% to 41% with a tad over 43,500 people voting. When Speaker Laney retired after the 79th session, pundits and activists both wrote House District 85 off as dead. It was a lost cause and the pro-Craddick, pro-voucher, anti-family Jim Landtroop was the heir apparent. Instead, Joe Heflin won 49% to 48% with only 25,000 people coming to vote.
Now the anti-Craddick sentiment has been solidified and the Republican parties schizophrenia and out of touch public policy objectives give Democrats reason for hope in HD-17.
Just one day after Robby Cook announced he would not seek re-election candidates already began to pop up. From Capitol Inside:
Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald is one of the first names to emerge in Democratic circles as a potential replacement for Cook on the ballot next year. McDonald, who's been county judge for almost nine years, considered a race for the House four years ago when Cook appeared to be on the verge of switching parties while being wooed by Governor Rick Perry and other high-level Republicans. But McDonald decided to stay in his current position after Cook spurned the GOP and filed for re-election as a Democrat.
