Fort Worth City Council Member Wendy Davis, one of two potential candidates to run against vulnerable State Sen. Kim Brimer, has resigned her Council seat and announced her intention to run next year.
Davis has represented the city's District 9 since 1999. A nonpracticing lawyer, she is chief executive of the Fort Worth division of Republic Title.Davis will run as a Democrat. Brimer is a Republican.
In a tearful speech, Davis told the council that she feels compelled to fight special interests in Austin. "Texas is ready for change," she said. "The partnership in Austin is badly broken."
Davis joins Tarrant County Democratic Party Chairman Art Brender as possible contenders to try to unseat Brimer, who has represented state Sentate District 10 since 2003. Brimer was a state representative from 1989 to 2003.
Texas Senate District 10 includes part of Fort Worth, Arlington, Mansfield, Colleyville and other portions of south and Northeast Tarrant County.
Brender was already on the attack Thursday night, criticizing Davis for voting in the 2006 Republic primary."I believe like Harry Truman if you run a Republican against a Republican, the Republicans will win every time," he said.
Which is not to say that I'm sold on Wendy Davis yet. I've not heard her make her case; neither have I heard Art Brender make his. But hey, that's what a contested primary is for, right? May the strongest candidate win, and may he or she take the fight to Kim Brimer, whose misleading and somewhat panicked response (PDF) to the original Lone Star Project report - leavened with a heaping helping of "Hillary, please come energize my lethargic base and save my bacon!" - shows that he's ready to be taken.
BOR has more, with comments going both ways on Davis. Again, all I'm saying is let's see how she runs and what she runs on. Changing minds is good, and if that's what she's done, then she deserves due consideration. If not, be happy there's a choice.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on August 12, 2007 to Election 2008