Ed Torres reported last week on the entry of Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace into the race. In a surprising turn, District GOP leaders decided to back Houston City Councilwoman Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs as "their" write-in choice. Juan Lozano of the Associated Press files this report:
Republican agreed Thursday to support a Houston city councilwoman as the write-in candidate on the November ballot in place of former House Majority leader
Tom DeLay, who resigned from Congress in June amid allegations of money laundering.
The Texas Republican Party decided it should rally behind one write-in candidate after a federal appeals court ruled Delay, who won the March Republican primary election, must remain on the ballot.Dr. Shelley Sekula-Gibbs was selected by a clear majority of the precinct chairmen who attended a gathering in Pearland, said state GOP party chairwoman Tina Benkiser. About 85 of the 150 precinct chairmen invited to the closed-door meeting attended.
"What we did is really have a family meeting to talk about how we go from here," Benkiser said. "In the end, it was an easy decision."
Read the rest at the link above.
Notice how DeLay is described: "resigned . . . amid allegations of money laundering." Sounds pretty bad. Lozano finally gets around to mentioning that DeLay denies any wrongdoing - in the very last sentence.
Several prominent analysts have moved this race from the "toss-up" category to "slight Democratic lean" or whatever their equivalent is, due in large part to the three-way race for the endorsement to run as the "official unofficial" Republican candidate after Democratic lawsuits prevented the party from naming a replacement for DeLay to appear on the ballot.
One candidate, Houston businessman Tim Turner, has already endorsed Sekula-Gibbs for the seat. If Wallace follows quickly, and the party can unify behind her, we have excellent chances of confounding the pundits and holding this seat against Democratic former Rep. Nick Lampson, who is out of step with the majority in the district.
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Comments (5)
Unfortunately, Sekula-Gibbs... (Below threshold)1. Posted by The Exposer | August 18, 2006 8:37 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Unfortunately, Sekula-Gibbs is an urban liberal RINO. If the GOP insists on backing her as the write-in nominee, we will lose this seat.
1. Posted by The Exposer | August 18, 2006 8:37 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 18, 2006 08:37
2. Posted by jjj | August 18, 2006 11:16 AM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
De pie cantar que vamos a triunfar
avanzan ya banderas de unidad
y tu vendrás marchando junto a mi y asi verás
tu canto y tu bandera florecer
la luz de un rojo amanacer
anuncia ya la vida que vendrá
De pie marchar que el pueblo va a triunfar
será mejor la vida que vendrá,
a conquistar nuestra felicidad
y en un clamor mil voces de combate se alzarán
dirán canción de libertad,
con decisión la Patria vencerá
Y ahora el pueblo que se alza en la lucha
con voz de gigante gritando: adelante!
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
La Patria está forjando la unidad,
de norte a sur se movilizará
desde el salar ardiente y mineral
al bosque austral, unidos en la lucha y el trabajo irán
la Patria cubrirán, su paso ya anuncia el porvenir
De pie cantar que el pueblo va a triunfar
millones ya imponen la verdad,
de acero son, ardiente batallón
sus manos van llevando la justicia y la razón mujer
con fuego y con valor ya estás aquí junto al trabajador
Y ahora el pueblo que se alza en la lucha
con voz de gigante gritando: adelante!
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
El pueblo unido jamás será vencido....
2. Posted by jjj | August 18, 2006 11:16 AM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 18, 2006 11:16
3. Posted by Jim Addison | August 18, 2006 12:29 PM | Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Now, if any of our readers can supply a Mariachi band, I have Jimmy Buffett's personal Margarita recipe . . .
3. Posted by Jim Addison | August 18, 2006 12:29 PM |
Score: 1 (1 votes cast)
Posted on August 18, 2006 12:29
4. Posted by yetanotherjohn | August 18, 2006 1:06 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Just a thought, but if you are doing a write in candidate, shouldn't one of the key considerations be how easy it is to write the candidates names? If the written name 'exactly' has to match the candidates to be valid, what percent of spoiled votes are we going to see here.
They would have been better off finding a George Bush or John Smith.
4. Posted by yetanotherjohn | August 18, 2006 1:06 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 18, 2006 13:06
5. Posted by Jim Addison | August 18, 2006 1:22 PM | Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Excellent point, John.
I'm guessing the GOP will have distributed the spelling on small slips of paper to every voter in the district - maybe several times by Election Day.
Still, you know the Democrats will challenge every ballot that says "Sekula-Gibb" or "Sikula-Gibbs," or any other variant of the name, to the Supreme Court if necessary. After all, the courts are their best chance to win these days.
Still, if she would change her name to "Shelley X" it would makes things a lot easier . . .
5. Posted by Jim Addison | August 18, 2006 1:22 PM |
Score: 0 (0 votes cast)
Posted on August 18, 2006 13:22