The Chron does an overview on one of the two Democratic Constable runoffs.
Zerick Guinn
The Democratic runoff for Harris County Precinct 2 constable asks voters to decide which type of experience they value more: law enforcement chops or time as a public administrator.
The 10 Democrats who sought the open Precinct 2 seat, created when incumbent Gary Freeman announced his retirement, have been whittled to two, with Precinct 2 Patrol Sgt. Zerick Guinn and former Jacinto City mayor and Precinct 3 reserve deputy Chris Diaz still standing.
Chris Diaz
The winner of their July 31 runoff, for which early voting starts Monday, will face Republican Chris McDonald, a Baytown police lieutenant, in November. Precinct 2 runs along the west side of the Gulf Freeway before hooking north, straddling the Houston Ship Channel between Loop 610 and Beltway 8.
Guinn, who has held five roles during his 16 years with the precinct, took 33 percent of the vote in the May primary to Diaz’s 17 percent.
[…]
Freeman called both candidates “good guys,” but he has endorsed Diaz, noting that he approached him first. Freeman said Diaz stands the best chance of retaining the seat in a precinct that is now 65 percent Latino.
Unlike outgoing Constable Freeman, the Chron did not see fit to make an endorsement in this race, as you can see from their complete list of endorsements. Why they skipped this race after picking up the HCDE and CD07 runoffs is something I can’t explain. I don’t live in Precinct 2 and I don’t know much about these candidates, so I have no opinion on this race; if you live here, please leave a comment about who’s getting your vote and why. I will note that as far as Freeman’s comment about “retaining the seat” is concerned, Precinct 2 is pretty solidly Democratic; according to Greg’s Political Almanac, Bill White got 58.3% of the vote in 2010, and Rick Noriega got 60.2% in 2008. If this race is close in November, it’s been a very good day for Republicans.
The Republican candidate in this contest is particularly strong, and swept his primary last month. He is well plugged in to local community groups, schools, businesses, and has a better than even chance of turning this district in November.
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