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September 07, 2006
A Lousy Idea
The Houston City Hall insider gossip line has been burning up the last few days. Speculation abounds about who may run to replace Council Member Shelley Sekula-Gibbs if she wins the November special election to fill the remainder of Tom DeLay's term (until the end of the year) as District 22's Member of Congress.
While Sekula-Gibbs is mounting a write-in campaign to succeed DeLay in the 22nd District next year -- a campaign that is highly unlikely to be successful -- she is also simultaneously running to spend "Christmas in Congress", and be CD 22's Member for 8 weeks or so. Nick Lampson, the Democratic nominee and favorite to succeed DeLay next year, is not running in the special election. So, the odds are good that Sekula-Gibbs will realize her yuletide wish.
One consequence of her special election victory (if, as is reported, she decides to accept the Congressional seat for two months) is that she will be forced to give up her Houston City Council seat a year early. Hence the intense political jockeying and rumor-mongering of late around City Hall.
Early word is that the special election to replace Sekula-Gibbs would likely be called in May 2007, and the names of a number of potential contenders have surfaced, including current District F Member MJ Khan, former Judge Eric Andell, Melissa Noriega, Diana Davila-Martinez, and two of last year's at-large candidates -- Roy Morales and Houston Community College Trustee Jay Aiyer. The most interesting name so far, however, was thrown into the ring yesterday -- Nandita Berry, wife of current At-Large Council Member Michael Berry.
That's right folks, apparently the Berry family thinks it's just fine for two married people living in the same household to serve on Houston City Council at the same time. A bit presumptuous perhaps? While it may not be illegal, it's a lousy idea in our book.
Mrs. Berry may well be a fine person and a potentially great public servant, but if she wants to run for City Council she needs to wait until her husband's term is up at the end of next year. One person per nuclear family at a time serving on a major elective body is enough, thank you. If she wants to run, she should run in November to replace her husband, not in May, so they can office together through the end of the year.
It is difficult to imagine, that over the course of even an abbreviated campaign season, other candidates to replace Sekula-Gibbs won't make an issue of this nepotism. And the very small, highly informed electorate that is likely to turn out for a May special election with nothing else on the ballot, may well frown upon her candidacy under these circumstances. Let's hope it doesn't come to that.
As we said, one family member on Council at a time is plenty. For many reasons, let's hope the Berry family does the right thing and drops the idea alltogether.
Posted by houtopia at September 7, 2006 02:01 PM