The two candidates that we thought were running for HD123 have officially announced that they are running for HD123.
Mike Villarreal
Two Democrats announced this weekend that they’re running for Texas House District 123, the San Antonio seat that state Rep. Mike Villarreal is leaving to run for San Antonio mayor.
Public relations consultant Melissa Aguillon and City Councilman Diego Bernal officially kicked off their campaigns surrounded by cheering supporters. Other contenders for the house seat could include former City Councilman Walter Martinez, a Democrat, and Libertarian candidate Roger Gary.
They’re gearing up for a sprint of a race that could be over in a matter of weeks. The candidates are waiting for the Texas governor to set the date for a special election to fill Villarreal’s seat.
Villarreal announced he’s running for mayor after Julián Castro stepped down to become secretary of Housing and Urban Development in Washington.
“We expect it to happen at the very end of this year or the first month of next year,” Bernal said of the special election.
See here and here for the background. There has been a bit of chatter that Villarreal would back out of the Mayoral race since Leticia Van de Putte jumped in, fueled by Villarreal’s not-quite-a-resignation letter that may have left him some wiggle room. Villarreal insists he is staying the course, and neither I nor these candidates have any reason to doubt him. As I have said before, Bernal starts out as my favorite in this race.
Meanwhile, speaking of LVdP, Express-News columnist Gilbert Garcia asks what qualities the voters in SD26 might want in her successor.
In recent weeks, we’ve heard a lot about the virtues of nonpartisanship. Mike Villarreal has made it one of the centerpieces of his mayoral campaign, and former Councilman Walter Martinez — who is one of the candidates vying for Villarreal’s seat in the Texas House — has also talked about its importance.
Given that Democrats will be badly outnumbered in a Patrick-controlled Senate, however, this is a question that lurks in the shadows of the special election to succeed outgoing Sen. Leticia Van de Putte: Is nonpartisanship possible — or even advisable — for her would-be successor?
Keep in mind that Senate District 26 is overwhelmingly Democratic. In 2012, Barack Obama took 62 percent of the vote in SD 26, even while he could only muster 41.4 percent statewide. The great majority of the district’s constituents oppose Patrick’s agenda.
The contenders for Van de Putte’s seat are Trey Martinez Fischer and José Menéndez, two San Antonio Democratic representatives born a year apart (Martinez Fischer is 44, and Menéndez is 45) who were Texas House freshman classmates in 2001. Martinez Fischer is the Democrats’ voluble happy warrior, while Menéndez is the measured, behind-the-scenes conciliator rarely on the front lines of a partisan battle.
Martinez Fischer told me last week that he considers himself able to adapt to different legislative conditions.
In 2011, when partisan bickering was the order of the day and Republicans slashed education funding by $5.4 billion, Martinez Fischer dipped into his bag of parliamentary tricks with points of order designed to slow the onslaught. In 2013, when a spirit of compromise emerged, he played a key negotiating role in the restoration of $3.9 billion in education funds.
“Our job is to do whatever is best for the entire state,” Martinez Fischer said. “But I’m not going to be a Pollyanna about it. We find ourselves in some very divisive and partisan times and people have to know that there are lawmakers out there fighting day and night to represent their views.”
See here for the background. All due respect to Rep. Menendez, but TMF starts out as my favorite in this race. Unlike the one in HD123, this election would not occur until later in the year, most likely in November. Expect this debate to go on for quite some time, and keep an eye out for what these two Reps do during the legislative session to either advance this narrative or show another side to their character and abilities.
For what it’s worth, my understanding is that the clock has started ticking for Perry to call the special, since LVP’s letter counts as notice to resign. The SD 26 special should be well before the SA mayor’s race, likely at the end of January.