Speaker Tom Craddick spokesman James Bernsen is looking to take out the accomplished Diana Maldonado in House District 52.
You may remember this story line.
Tom Craddick's desire to maintain a tyrannical grasp on the House forces him to aide ill prepared candidates across the state. The candidates Craddick recruited who had political lineage or a chance were mired with the Craddick legacy. Candidates like Donna Keel lost and even Mark Shelton couldn't win a holiday special election in Fort Worth.
Perhaps that is why James Bernsen refused to list his ties to Craddick on his announcement. Instead, Bernsen cited the formerly investigated Kay Bailey Hutchison and her predecessor Phil Gramm, who was the main proponent of bank deregulation and put us in our current economic plight (along with George Bush).
Bernsen didn't have to do much working for either of them, just sell their horrid ideas to the public as their spokesperson.
Now, the man with little legislative experience is the same one who has sold bad ideas to good people for over a decade. Now he wants to defeat the TexBlog PAC endorsed Diana Maldonado.
The Austin Chronicle pointed out some more things about Bernsen to chew on.
According to his press release, he served on Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's 2006 campaign staff and as Sen. Phil Gramm's deputy press secretary. What he glosses over is that, in 2008, he was also Craddick's press room. A former writer for conservative web outfit Lone Star Report, presumably that's where he decided that the state's three leading newspaper (including the Austin-American Statesman) were run by politically-correct "gnomes".
My favorite quote in the piece cited by the Austin Chronicle was the one where he compares the editorial boards with a great piece of film.
In truth, the editorial boards sit behind their curtains like the Wizard of Oz, turning dials, creating smoke, and shouting into amplifiers. But when it all comes down to it, they're helpless against the people.
While Bernsen indicates he is wrong on every issue facing Texas, House District 52 is a tough district. Last numbers I saw show HD-52 to be a 50% - 52% Republican district. It would be horrible to go from the moderate, fair minded Diana Maldonado to a man who is against holding banks and corporations accountable, opposed to equal rights and social justice, and whose only notable experience in the Texas House was working for the most tyrannical Speaker in Texas history.
When deciding which candidate is best choice to be your State Representative, we ask that you consider supporting Diana Maldonado.
As a school board member and past president, Diana has worked for our community. She has asked for our vote twice, and we have overwhelmingly returned her to office. She has worked across party lines and built consensus so that our schools are recognized as cost effective and excellent.
Diana Maldonado has a track record of putting your kids and communities first.
Diana stood with the Heart of Round Rock Neighborhood Association and their bid to save a historic and popular ball field and park.
Diana kept your kids off buses and in your neighborhood schools
Diana introduced international programs to your high school students
Diana stretched an inadequate budget so effectively RR schools are recognized far and wide as excellent
Diana is not looking to just win an election, she is prepared to actually serve all the people that punch the clocks, write the checks, and try and set aside enough to get their kids through college.
While we, as Republicans, will not always see eye-to-eye with Diana Maldonado, we know that her track record of competency and consensus will lead to a stronger Williamson County. She will vote for us, and our families.
I realize that people have strong loyalties to their respective parties, but Diana Maldonado has proved to me she’s on our side.
House Speaker Tom Craddick's disastrous handling of challenges to his leadership has heightened House races across the state, including several in Central Texas. Whether voters know it or not - and certainly most don't - House races on the Nov. 4 ballot are a referendum on Craddick's heavy-handed rule.
The Austin American Statesman sums up this election cycle perfectly. Tom Craddick is a failure in leadership. As November 4 approaches, Texans have a unique opportunity to get rid of the self proclaimed dictator of the Texas House.
With the Statesman's honest assessment on Texas legislative politics, its no surprise they endorsed three qualified Democrats- Donnie Dippel, Diana Maldonado, Patrick Rose.
District 52 Though both candidates are strong, we believe Democrat Diana Maldonado would best represent the district. Maldonado is a former president of the Round Rock school board and was an employee in the state comptroller's office until she was forced to resigned to run for this seat.
Maldonado, 45, has a reputation as a budget hawk who understands accounting. And she can be counted on to be an effective voice for education issues and public schools. She supports the law that grants college admission to the top 10 percent of the graduating class in Texas high schools and wants to reconsider having the Legislature set college tuition rates.
[...]
Maldonado knows the district and has served as an effective leader in her five years on the Round Rock school board. She should be elected in District 52.
District 17
This is another open seat, left vacant when Democrat Robby Cook decided against seeking re-election. Cook won a close victory in 2006, and Republicans are campaigning hard to win the district, which covers Burleson, Lee, Bastrop, Fayette and Colorado counties.
[...]
We believe Dippel would be best for the far-flung, largely rural district.
Dippel, 57, a consultant who worked for the Texas Department of Agriculture for 14 years, opposes voucher programs for schools, selling water to buyers outside the district and the Trans-Texas Corridor. He supports more vocational education and is concerned about health care, particularly in rural areas.
The Statesman also endorsed Patrick Rose in his bid for re-election. The paper summed up Rep. Rose's legislative history.
Rose has voted his district, and his list of accomplishments includes road improvements, funding for Texas State University and support for local schools. In a district of independent-minded voters, Rose has gained their support by voting their interests, not either party's.
Democrat Diana Maldonado was our first endorsed candidate for TexBlog PAC. With that early money and online support followed numerous endorsements. Maldonado, with her public education background, is running a strong, disciplined race in southern Williamson County -- just north of Austin's own Travis County. Just today she was endorsed by the Statesman, too.
The race is an open seat -- Republican Mike Krusee retired this year, after barely hanging on in 2006. A staunch supporter of toll roads and other unpopular Republican measures, Krusee did not build a strong coalition in Williamson County, where a surge in voter registration for Democrats has given Maldonado one of the best chances for Democrats to pick up a seat.
From Eye on Williamson, which is the best place for news on the HD-52 race, we get a round-up of the local press Maldonado is receiving in the Austin media market -- demonstrating her unquestionable strength:
Democrats Diana Maldonado and Donnie Dippel received endorsements in their open races for the Texas House from the Austin American-Statesman. I'm surprised -- pleased, and surprised to see the Statesman give the nod to the two Democrats.
Maldonado, 45, has a reputation as a budget hawk who understands accounting. And she can be counted on to be an effective voice for education issues and public schools. [snip] Maldonado knows the district and has served as an effective leader in her five years on the Round Rock school board. She should be elected in District 52.
Dippel, 57, a consultant who worked for the Texas Department of Agriculture for 14 years, opposes voucher programs for schools, selling water to buyers outside the district and the Trans-Texas Corridor. He supports more vocational education and is concerned about health care, particularly in rural areas.
[Kleinschmidt] is not a sure vote against the disreputable GOP leadership in the House. Dippel wins our endorsement in District 17.
Eye on Williamson County -- who are one of the best blogs in the state, and have done an incredible job covering the HD 52 race -- break the news this morning:
This news is going to cause absolute panic in the Speaker’s office. The groundswell of financial support for Diana Maldonado has given the Democratic candidate for House district 52 enough of a cash advantage to guarantee her message will reach voters between now and election day. In a race that is being watched from Washington to Midland, today’s Texas Ethics Commission reports represent perhaps most the stern rebuke of the Republican party that we’ve witnessed during this remarkable campaign season.
Apparently almost $30,000 of Daniel's money came from a single contributor -- Bob Perry.
More great news as we try and take back the House!
FYI: On Sunday, Rose hosted his annual barbecue (last year, cycling champion Lance Armstrong was the guest because of their joint fight for cancer research) at which hundreds of supporters boosted his campaign bank account.
After Sunday's event, Rose added $125,000 to his huge advantage on the money front.
In July, he had $807,809 to spend; Young had a $27,272 bank balance, plus a $16,000 loan.
Libertarian Jerry Chandler said he is not fundraising or spending his money to campaign for the job. He said he's running largely to give voters another option at the ballot box.
Mikus said the incumbent's financial resources will mean little because of the resonance of the Republican's top issues, such as eliminating school property taxes, requiring photo identification to vote and stemming illegal immigration.
"He may sell himself on the boob tube or in the papers, but I sell myself face-to-face, hand-to-hand," Mikus said. "Votes count. Money doesn't count."
Strama said that many of the issues Mikus touts, such as voter identification requirements, are not top concerns for most District 50 voters and that Mikus' proposed solutions are unworkable.
"They care about their property taxes and they care about education," Strama said.
Republican Message Fail. And who calls it a boob tube anymore?
In a strip center off Interstate 35, there's an excitement at the shared headquarters for Williamson County's fledgling Democratic Party and Texas House candidate Diana Maldonado.
On a recent weekday afternoon, about a dozen party and campaign workers were organizing a revolt of sorts - the first election of a Democrat in this county in a decade.
Meanwhile, at a campaign office in downtown Round Rock, the mood was more low-key for Maldonado's Republican opponent, Bryan Daniel, who exuded the confidence of a team that thinks it still has home-field advantage.
Well, prepare for another big fundraising report next month. Maldonado tells QR that she's had quite a productive time of it on the circuit in recent days. On Sept. 14, a Lloyd Doggett-hosted fundraiser netted $60,000. That was followed on Thursday by news that Blue Texas was giving the candidate $50,000.
QR readers will remember that we highlighted this group a few months back. Organized in May by Austin-based Democratic fundraiser Alexa Wesner, the Blue Texas PAC is working with the relatively narrow mission to get more Democrats elected to the Texas House.
This is excellent news for an excellent candidate. You can feel confident that your funds and our endorsement are well placed in this race.
