We're catching up on races we were unable to report a lot on -- and this race, now going to the runoff, could be the most important race Travis County voters have for quite some time.
First, let's look at the results from Tuesday's four-way race:
Candidate
Early Votes
EV %
E-Day Votes
E-Day %
Total Votes
Total %
Mindy Montford
21,980
29.63%
21,643
32.73%
43,623
31.09%
Rosemary Lehmberg
28,543
38.47%
21,222
32.10%
49,765
35.47%
Gary Cobb
15,765
21.25%
14,678
22.20%
30,443
21.70%
Rick Reed
7,901
10.65%
8,578
12.97%
16,479
11.74%
TOTAL
74,189
66,121
140,310
The runoff is between Mindy Montford and Rosemary Lehmberg. We at BOR endorsed Lehmberg for the primary, and I'd imagine we'll do so again for the runoff. She's a well-qualified candidate, someone with tremendous experience in every aspect of the job.
We'll be reporting a lot on this race in the coming weeks. In the mean time, here's some resources for background on the race -- including previous coverage here at Burnt Orange Report:
Update: Scott Cobb pointed out that since the Fox interview, Rick Reed has come out in support of a moratorium on the death penalty. He has additionally given this statement several time:
I have decided to publicly support a moratorium on the death penalty in Travis County. If I am elected District Attorney of Travis County I will not authorize the office to seek the death penalty during my tenure.
Rick Reed, one of four candidates seeking to replace Earle, resigned Monday from his job as an assistant district attorney on the heels of his assertion that he was the only prosecutor in the office who wanted to present DeLay's case to a grand jury in 2005.
My initial impression was that Rick Reed was forced to resign over statements regarding Tom Delay, but a second read indicated something very different.
I contacted both Rick Reed and District Attorney Ronnie Earle for comments, however, only Rick Reed responded, therefore I have no comment on the District Attorney's side of the story. For those of you that don't know who Rick Reed is, he has been with the Travis County District Attorney's office for 9 years. Before this he spent 12 years with the Dallas County District Attorney's office, where he was the Democratic Party nominee for Dallas County Criminal District Attorney in 1998.
Mr. Reed is also the only Travis County DA candidate to have come out against the death penalty. His reservations are personal, however, and he agrees with the other three candidates that as District Attorney, he has to follow the letter of the law. Additionally from this interview with Fox 7 News Austin, Mr. Reed stated that while he feels it is time to seriously consider taking capital punishment out of our laws, he does not want to put himself in a position to deny a victim's family their legal right to have the death penalty considered. No other candidate has stated that they are against the death penalty.
On Monday, Mr. Reed took another step towards setting himself apart from the other candidates with his resignation. Mr. Reed pointed out that his resignation was in no way forced. His decision to resign began two weeks ago with the issuing of a memo by Ronnie Earle, reminding all candidates not to comment on the details of any pending cases. This memo was likely drafted because of Mr. Reed's reference to the Tom Delay case. His web site states that:
In 1999, Rick's career brought him to Travis County, where Ronnie Earle initially hired him to pursue felons. Soon, however, Rick's talents were focused in the Public Integrity Unit.
In that capacity, Rick had the responsibility of investigating and prosecuting public officials statewide.
Here is where Tom DeLay met his match.
When many of his colleagues were reluctant to take on the high-profile case, Rick Reed doggedly pushed forward.
When I asked Mr. Reed about the Tom Delay issue, he stated:
I felt that Tom Delay's case was at risk of being handled differently than a working class person's would have been, and I don't agree that Tom Delay's case should be handled differently, simply because of his status in the community.
After a week - on Friday, January 25 - during which Mr. Reed did not remove this comment from his web site, Ronnie Earle issued this memo:
"Media Contact
Comments to the press will be made only by the District Attorney, First
Assistant District Attorney or the division directors, or under their direction;
except that any attorney may answer a question from the press if the answer
is only a statement of what has occurred in open court or appears as a matter
of public record."
As Mr. Reed put it:
I was directed to have all statements approved by Ronnie Earle or Rosemary Lehmberg.
Ms. Lehmberg is the head Assistant District Attorney and an opponent of Rick Reed's. For Mr. Reed, this was the last straw. He spent the weekend discussing options with family and close friends, and on Monday morning, he sent this resignation letter to Mr. Earle. Mr. Reed emphasized that his resignation was not discussed in advance with Mr. Earle, and was an act he felt was necessary for continued service of the people of Travis County. Here is an excerpt:
January 28, 2008
Honorable Ronald Earle
District Attorney, Travis County
509 W. 11th Street
Dear Mr. Earle:
A famous teacher once reportedly counseled his followers, "No man can serve two masters." During the past several weeks, it has become increasingly evident that I cannot continue to serve both as a candidate for Travis County District Attorney and as an employee of the Travis County District Attorney's Office. Either I must surrender my independence as a candidate, and with it my candidacy itself, or I must surrender my position as Assistant District Attorney.
In other words, Mr. Reed felt he was given an ultimatum - break the rules [set forth in Mr. Earle's memos] or fail in his service to the community. He felt that neither would do, and resigned.
Until now, Rick Reed has not gained much momentum, or been considered a front-runner in this race. I don't know if he will even now, but one thing I can say is that his actions have begun to give him a reputation as a progressive, principled Democrat, not afraid to take the moral high-ground. Whether or not this reputation gives him traction, should be apparent by next week's DA candidate forum. I for one am looking forward to whether or not this unexpected shift will add some strength to Rick Reed's candidacy and change the balance of the race.
The Austin Political Report, one of my favorite new blogs on the block, confirms the news from this morning's press conference.
As expected, Travis Co. DA Ronnie Earle has endorsed Rosemary Lehmberg in the four-way race to succeed him. During a news conference at the Courthouse this morning, he said Lehmberg "has had a greater role in the success of the Travis County District Attorney's Office than any other single person."
Lehmberg joined the office six months before he did, Earle noted, and "has been the director and supervisor of every division of this office. For the past ten years as First Assistant Travis County District Attorney she has supervised the work of all these divisions."
In a race that has yet to be noted by any major developments, endorsements, or direction among the Austin political class- Earle's endorsement is certainly a major assist. It's likely the race (which is very fluid) will go to a runoff and today's endorsement certainly increases the odds that Lehmberg will be in it.
The decision that many in local political circles have been awaiting will apparently be announced within the next 24 hours. Burnt Orange Report has learned that Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has reached a decision as to whether he is running for re-election or not. We will not divulge what that decision is at this time out of respect to Mr. Earle, his office, and the prospective candidates. It is not our intention to disrupt Ronnie Earle's announcement on his own terms.
But this is the Burnt Orange Report where you expect us to inform you of major Texas political announcements ahead of the curve. We will keep you posted on this story as it develops.
Grits for Breakfast breaks the news on a rumor that has indeed been floating around Austin political circles. As we continue to wait for a decision from current Travis County DA Ronnie Earle as to whether he's running for re-election, Judge Jeanne Meurer may be looking to add her name to the list of candidates "running if Earle doesn't run".
I heard a rumor last night from a reliable source that the Governor offered retiring Democratic Travis County District Judge Jeanne Meurer a job "running" the Texas Youth Commission (my snitch didn't know if it was the commissioner or the conservator's slot), but she turned it down because she would not have the authority or budget to fix the agency's problems. The source speculated Meurer may instead run for Travis County District Attorney instead when long-time incumbent Ronnie Earle steps down from the post.
I have to say, if the rumor's true, at this point it's hard to blame Judge Meurer for passing up TYC. Without significant resources and enough clout to reverse many bad decisions and hires from the last nine months, the job would be an endlessly ungratifying headache.
