It's a little hard to remember amid all the primary excitement that we're going to have a special election sometime this year to replace State Sen. Kyle Janek, who announced his resignation in January. Janek hasn't formally resigned yet, so no special election date is set, but according to The County Seat, there appears to be a serious Republican contender out there, a fellow named Austen Furse. I've never heard of the gentleman, so I'll leave you to peruse that link and this one from Chris Elam to acquaint yourself. No word yet on a Democratic hopeful; State Rep. Scott Hochberg's name has been in the mix, but that's all been speculation as far as I know.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on March 31, 2008 to Election 2008Hochberg left me with the impression that his run for Senate hinges on the timing of the special election.
Something he said at the SD-17 convention on Saturday indicated that if the special is in November, he would have to resign his House seat (which is something, again, I don't think he wants to do). But if it is scheduled by the governor earlier, then he wouldn't violate that law about having your name on the ballot twice.
If I heard him (and understand it) correctly, anyway ...
Posted by: PDiddie on March 31, 2008 11:23 AMAusten Furse was also a speaker for the Greater Houston Pachyderm Club, which had this bio on him:
Austen Furse is a Houston businessman and former Presidential advisor. He has been active in conservative Republican causes nationally and here in Houston. He is a partner in a family business with roots in early Texas ranching, having grown up in rural Matagorda County.Posted by: Kenneth Fair on March 31, 2008 11:25 AMPresident GHW Bush appointed Furse as White House Director of Policy Planning, a post charged with long-range planning of a host of issues, mainly involving domestic policy, until the end of the Bush Presidency.
Since then Furse has founded Texans For Tax Limits, which instituted the no-tax pledge among Texas legislators. He has helped in the drafting of the national GOP Platform and was a co-founder of Let the People Vote, a grass-roots citizen's effort that succeeded in passing a tax limitation measure for Houstonians, the Taxpayer Bill of Rights or TABOR.