The Chronicle barely musters a shrug for the special election in HD139.
Jarvis Johnson
The winner of this election will cast no ballots in the state Legislature – presuming that Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t call an unexpected special session. At the very best, that person will get to sit on a few interim committees and use the office’s bully pulpit to bring attention to important community issues.
With this position’s limited scope in mind, the Chronicle endorses Jarvis D. Johnson in the special election for District 139.
The former three-term city councilman did not receive our endorsement in the actual race for this seat. While on council, Johnson faced allegations of trying to direct city contracts and was charged with evading arrest. However, his opponent for the May 24 race, Kimberly Willis, is not running for this placeholder position. Instead, Johnson is running against Rickey “Raykey” Tezino, a self-proclaimed “conservative Democrat” who didn’t respond to requests for an interview.
That would serve as a pretty good dictionary example for the word “lukewarm”. The Chron didn’t waste any effort covering the race, either. You can be upset and cynical about this, or you can bear in mind that the stakes for this election are so low as to be basically non-existent. When you have a Legislature that only convenes every other year, it’s hard to be excited about an election that only affects the odd year out. The election that matters is May 24. This one is what it is.