He would like to continue being County Commissioner.
Gene Locke
Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Gene Locke said Monday he has decided to seek the Democratic nomination — and thus another term — for the Precinct 1 seat.
Locke was initially appointed by county Judge Ed Emmett as a caretaker commissioner to fill out the term of longtime commissioner El Franco Lee, who died in January. Locke had previously said he intended to return to his job as a lawyer and spend time with his family after the end of the current term in December.
But Locke said Monday that a broad cross-section of supporters, including constituents and community leaders in Precinct 1, had swayed him. Locke said he has always maintained he would follow in Lee’s footsteps.
“I had mentioned early on in my consideration for this position that the continuation of his legacy would be one of the considerations that might make me change my mind,” Locke said.
See here for Locke’s official statement, here for my initial reporting on this, and here for a Chron story that resulted from that. I’ve seen a few negative reactions to Commissioner Locke’s initial statement of interest in the job, which at the time he took it was supposed to be just for this term, stuff that has accused him of not being true to his word. I’m not going to hold it against him – he never explicitly said he would not seek a full term, and as I’ve noted before, being a County Commissioner is a pretty damn sweet gig. I’m sure there have been people encouraging him to run, especially with the city-focused infrastructure work that’s he’s been pioneering, but as we know unless those folks include the 130 or so precinct chairs that will make a selection on June 25, it doesn’t much matter. For what it’s worth and speaking as one of those 130 people, I have had regular contact – phone, email, and/or snail mail – from three candidates regarding this nomination: Gene Locke, Rodney Ellis, and Dwight Boykins. I’ve not heard from anyone else since January, and have not heard from anyone else at all besides one other person. Whether that means this is just a three-person race, or that there are three candidates who are much better organized than the others, I couldn’t say. We will know for sure on June 25.
My wife is a precinct chair, and her experience is the same as yours. She’s had regular contacts from Locke, Ellis, and Boykins, and none from anyone else.
Dinosaurs…