Rep. Allen Fletcher
The day after Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia announced he is running for mayor of Houston, Republican state Rep. Allen Fletcher of Cypress said he would abandon his House seat for a bid to replace Garcia.
“I will not be filing for re-election. I will be filing to run for sheriff of Harris County,” Fletcher told the Texas Tribune on Thursday.
Fletcher, who served as a Houston police officer for 21 years, had been rumored as a potential candidate for the job.
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Fletcher, who was first elected to the House in 2008, said he is making the necessary calls to be considered for the appointment, which will be decided by the Harris County Commissioners Court. He said he hoped to obtain that appointment and enter the 2016 sheriff’s race as an incumbent.
See here and here for the background. It’s a clever move on Fletcher’s part, one that his main rival for the appointment Ron Hickman can’t match without resigning his position as Constable. Whether that affects Commissioners Court’s decision or not, I couldn’t say. I suspect that will come down to their own personalities and preferences, but who knows. In any event, Fletcher, who was elected in the 2008 primary over then-incumbent Rep. Corbin Van Arsdale with the backing of Dan Patrick, had an eventful first session and a fair amount of baggage that came out as a result. He’s been fairly nondescript since then, but there’s plenty of material for the oppo research teams of whoever runs against him next year.
Good news if your are Al Rosen.