Posted on 08/17/2006 10:07:03 PM PDT by trumandogz
PEARLAND, Texas — Republican agreed Thursday to support a Houston city councilwoman as the write-in candidate on the November ballot in place of former House Majority leader Tom DeLay, who resigned from Congress in June amid allegations of money laundering.
The Texas Republican Party decided it should rally behind one write-in candidate after a federal appeals court ruled Delay, who won the March Republican primary election, must remain on the ballot.
"I'm honored to have received this support," Sekula-Gibbs said.
In addition to Sekula-Gibbs, write-in candidates vying for the GOP's support included David Wallace, mayor of Sugar Land, and Houston businessman Tim Turner. Wallace has already filed as a write-in candidate.
Only four men have been elected to Congress as write-in candidates.
Gary Gillen, the GOP chairman of DeLay's home county of Fort Bend, had urged the candidates to boycott the meeting and decide on their own whether to run.
Gillen, in a letter to candidates on Wednesday, called the meeting "a secret exclusionary process" that "makes a mockery of our party, the democratic process and should be avoided at all cost."
Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie also criticized the Pearland gathering.
"Despite protests from a number of Republicans in Congressional District 22, Republican Party leaders are once again running roughshod over voters fundamental right to select the candidate of their choice," he said in a statement.
Democrat Nick Lampson has been running steadily for the seat while Republicans fought the ballot issue in court. Libertarian Bob Smither also is running.
DeLay also spoke to the group about his future and the direction of the district, those who attended said.
He stepped down as majority leader last year after he was indicted in Texas on money laundering charges alleging he helped funnel illegal corporate money to legislative campaigns in 2002. He gave up his effort to reclaim the leadership job amid questions about his associations with convicted ex-lobbyist Jack Abramoff and pressure from party colleagues.
DeLay denies all allegations of wrongdoing and has labeled the Texas charges a political witch hunt.
Good grief. Couldn't they have found a qualified "Smith" or "Jones"??
Agreed.
David Wallace, a local mayor, would have been a much better choice. He has a simple to spell and easy to remember name.
All of the recent successful write-ins have had short and easy names.. Linda Smith... Ron Packard... Tony Williams..
"Sekula-Gibbs" for a write in? Is this The Onion? Talk about political death wish.
I'm surprised the local GOP decided to go with Sekula-Gibbs. Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace has declared that he will run a write-in campaign no matter what, so unless he changes his mind this seat might as well get written off right now. And that's not even taking into account the Republicans that are endorsing the Libertarian..
Don't be too trigger happy. This is game of chicken. But time is running out, so the game does degrade GOP chances, no doubt about it. But I suspect in the end, there will be only one serious GOP candidate. But by that time, it may be too late, adn the GOP money already allocated elsewhere. So the seat for the moment is now heavy lean Dem. If matters are not sorted out within the next month, it will be likely Dem. JMO.
It would appear that Wallace skipped the meeting altogether and dismissed it beforehand with the statement: "That might have worked in Moscow." The Fort Bend Co. GOP Chair Gary Gillen who urged contenders to boycott the meeting is a staunch Wallace supporter. So, it does not appear to me that Wallace's pre-meeting vow to run no matter what was part of a game of chicken.
The game of chicken has a longer time frame. The tractors heading towards each other, waiting until one jumps off as the loser, may run for days or weeks. But when the internal polls show both will die, the game may stop. Unless of course it doesn't, with testosterone being the death trump card.
I had thought Wallace was the front-runner for the party's support, but now I'm thinking he figured out beforehand it wouldn't be him.
That is why he declared early. He ran the traps, and came up short, and decided on a preemptive defensive strategy. That was his move of the pawn. We need to wait for the next pawn move. Wallace being deemed in the end as having given the seat to a Dem if he persists, or if polls show him the favorite challenger, the other person persisting, will end the political career of the behind persister.
Is it possible that she will see the light and run as "Gibbs"?
I had figured that Wallace would be much stronger as a write-in candidate anyhow, which was the primary reason I thought he would get the nod from the precinct chairs. The other reason is because Sekula-Gibbs said she would only run with the local party's backing, while Wallace says that he'll run no matter what.
I guess we'll see!
LOL. You may have a point that hyphenated names has not yet become chic in the subject zip codes. In fact, I think it is becoming so yesterday in the chicest of zip codes. It is no longer viewed as cutting edge, and more viewed as just silly. It is sort of like cocaine; it started up market and then moved down market, and lost its chic.
This is just so fun an election cycle, with so many plate tectonics in action, with ensuing intermittent volanic eruptions in assorted districts.
For a little background. This is a lady who was married to a popular TV newsman and used the hyphen in her name to play on that association to be elected to the city council where she was widely thought to be the most ineffectural council member not to mention annoying to the other council members by constantly feeling the need to give her perspective as a doctor.
If this is the best the GOP came up with im MY district, I'm amazed!! Nick Lampson will make an awful congressman for my district but with Sekula-Gibbs as an oppponent he should be be booking his tickets back to Washington.
I looked at the Lampson website and while not liking it I did find it affective. His commercials are bios but one is actually funny when he hands "people in street" a megaphone to yell at Congress for overspending.
However, he never states that he is a Democrat.
BAM!! Nailed it Right on the Head!
Can you believe this guy?
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