Long as we're speaking about Fort Worth legislative possibilities, the Star Telegram reports the identities of the two potential candidates for SD10 next year.
Word has it that a couple of local Democrats are considering challenging Republican state Sen. Kim Brimer for the District 10 Senate seat next year.Tarrant County Democratic Party Chairman Art Brender, busy gearing up a slate of local candidates for next year's elections, said he is considering making that bid himself.
"I'm looking at it real hard just in light of the changing demographics in that Senate district," said Brender, a Fort Worth lawyer.
And speculation is swirling that Fort Worth City Councilwoman Wendy Davis may be debating the same thing. She declined to comment.
Brimer's district covers about half of Tarrant County, including Fort Worth, Benbrook, Mansfield and part of Arlington. Brimer won the seat in 2002 with 59 percent of the vote.
Picking up on the theme of SD10's winnability by a Democrat, the Lone Star Project funded a poll that shows incumbent Senator Kim Brimer is not particularly well known, and has both soft re-elect numbers and an easily-understood issue that cuts badly against him:
Brimer pioneered the sleazy practice of using special interest campaign contributions to make mortgage payments disguised as "rent" on a second home kept in the name of a spouse. Brimer used the scheme to funnel over $200,000 to his wife to pay for a second home in Austin. When survey respondents were asked if this activity would affect their level of support, 80% said it made them less likely to vote for Brimer. What's more, Brimer encouraged other elected officials to engage in this same unethical behavior. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, February 22, 2007)