In my previous entry about Debra Kerner's campaign for HCDE Trustee, I said that some people, like me, probably confused the HCDE Board of Trustees with the State Board of Education. They are in fact very different, though they share the characteristic of being races to which I'd paid little to no attention before. This year, once again, is different. Laura Ewing, running for SBOE in District 7, which covers a vast swath of southeast Texas from Brazoria to Jefferson Counties, including a piece of Harris that overlaps Rep. Nick Lampson's, Joe Jaworski's SD11, and Sherrie Matula's HD129. As with the HCDE, this race features an actual educator, one who has received many accolades for her classroom work, against a partisan ideologue: David Bradley, who is one of several evolution deniers on the Board. The SBOE, whose districts are about twice the size of Congressional districts, was not designed to have competitive races, but the changes going on statewide and in Harris County have made this seat winnable for a strong Democratic challenger. Ewing,is running hard and hopes to be that challenger. Listen to my interview (MP3) with her (and please forgive the background noise) and ssee what you think.

PREVIOUSLY:

Vince Ryan, Harris County Attorney
Chris Bell, SD17
Loren Jackson, Harris County District Clerk
Brad Bradford, Harris County District Attorney
Diane Trautman, Harris County Tax Assessor
Michael Skelly, CD07
David Mincberg, Harris County Judge
Debra Kerner, HCDE Trustee
Joel Redmond, HD144
Diana Maldonado, HD52
Eric Roberson, CD32
State Rep. Juan Garcia, HD32
Ernie Casbeer, HD59
Joe Moody, HD78
Chris Turner, HD96
Robert Miklos, HD101
State Rep. Dan Barrett, HD97
Wendy Davis, SD10