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June 29, 2005
Candidates, Anyone?
Though Houston is just cranking up its campaign season for the 2005 City elections, there is already considerable buzz about who is running for what in next year's midterms.
Houtopia is working with two City Council candidates, and though we live and die with day-to-day workings of the campaigns, occasionally we remember that, for most of the public, the election this November 8th will be a bit of a snoozer. The addition of the marriage amendment will no doubt create additional interest, both in the city and across the state. But it is the lack of a competitive Mayoral campaign -- the Mayor's race drives the turnout and intensity of City elections -- that is keeping interest low.
As we've written previously, Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's decision not to challenge Rick Perry in next spring's gubernatorial primary has largely stopped the jockeying on the Republican side. County-wide officials like Robert Eckels and Paul Bettencourt are likely to stay put for now, stopping other ambitious local polls from moving up.
On the Democratic side, there is gun-shyness among potential candidates. Can I really win the seat? -- is the question we often hear. Our answer is, in several cases, yes.
While the GOP currently controls all county-wide offices, its hold on them grows more tenuous by the day. Good candidates should file and run on the Democratic side in 2006. We sense a climate for political change out there, and you've gotta have people running for offices to take advantage of the situation.
In coming posts, we will explore in a bit more detail some possibilities for next year. To have a shot, the work must start now.
Posted by houtopia at June 29, 2005 07:05 PM