Posted on 12/10/2005 9:35:38 PM PST by Theodore R.
Bell predicts upset victory in state race
AUSTIN (AP) - Predicting he'll stage an upset victory in the Texas governor's race next year, former congressman Chris Bell made it official Friday that he's a candidate in the March 7 Democratic primary.
Bell, filing his candidacy with the Texas Democratic Party, said he feels good about his standing i n recent polls, though he acknowledged he has "a long way to go before I pull this one off." Bell, 46, served on the Houston City Council for five years and represented part of the city in the U.S. House for one term.
He became widely known for his ethics complaint against then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay that resulted in an admonishment for DeLay.
Since launching his campaign, Bell said, he has visited more than 40 cities and towns across Texas. He said his message centers on education - school finance, the dropout problem and the overall quality of public schools.
Bell pledged to make Texas public schools the best in the country in the next decade. "I'll make that commitment," he said.
Bell is the most prominent candidate in the Democratic race for governor. Fort Worth middle school administrator Felix Alvarado also plans to run. Former Texas Supreme Court justice Bob Gammage said he is leaning toward running but hasn't announced his candidacy.
A competitive party primary will help attract more attention to the Democrats than has been the case so far, Bell said.
On the Republican side, Gov. Rick Perry is seeking re-election, and Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn has said she'll challenge him in the GOP primary.
Musician and author Kinky Friedman is seeking to get on the ballot as an independent for the November 2006 general election.
Bell spent a good deal of time Friday criticizing Perry for what he called a lack of leadership.
"There's a new mainstream in Texas that's ready to fire Rick Perry," Bell said.
In response, Perry campaign spokesman Robert Black said: "It will be very interesting to see over the next three months who gets more votes from the shallow pool of very liberal voters in Texas - Chris Bell or Carole Strayhorn."
Then, responding to that, Strayhorn spokesman Mark Sanders said: "For five years the governor has presided over a $40 billion increase in the state budget - that's 41 percent - and proposed the largest tax increase in Texas history, but not one penny for education."
On the subject of education, Bell said he wants to give school districts more local control and "move away from teaching to the test," a reference to high-stakes state standardized tests.
He said he believes the school finance dilemma should be addressed by broadening the state business tax while giving Texans some property tax relief. He also said more money will have to be put into the state's $30 billion public education system.
"Obviously it's several billion dollars (more) if you're going to be serious about improving public schools," Bell said. He didn't provide an exact amount.
In another primary filing, Republican Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson announced Friday he has filed for his party primary in his bid for re-election.
The filing period for the two major parties runs until Jan. 2.
Democrats in TX still hope that if there is a national Democrat sweep in 2006, it will at least bring some Democrat victories to TX too, perhaps the defeat of Tom DeLay by the liberal Nick Lampson and maybe the upset of Governor Perry too. It may be a tall order for TX Democrats, but it could be a piece of cake for Democrats in PA and OH.
I predict Chris Bell will have an upset stomach on election night, 2006.
Perry and Hutchinson are safe.
Well, a leading Democrat has until Jan. 2 to file for governor of TX, but John Sharp is apparently not running. I had once thought that Charles Stenholm would challenge Perry, but apparently that will not happen either.
Also, Hurricane Rita have improved Perry's poll numbers. Harris County residents seem to appreciate his efforts with that hurricane.
Geeeez....brilliant words of wisdom from the Buchanan flock of the 'misunderstood' - spare me!
Though I hate the idea, the Dems will take Santorum's seat in PA. He is one of my favorite Senators, and I will hate to see it, but he is in deep trouble in next year's election.
Perhaps the Killer Ds will run away election night 2006 to protest their losses, hopefully into Mexico, after they forget their IDs. Then the border patrol can detain them and drop them off in TJ.
Kinky will probably get more votes than Bell.....
DRUGS
Democrats will again run as conservatives then rule as the good liberals they really are.
Well, Kinky Friedman, on his independent ticket, has so far raised more money than the Democrat.
I agree. Unfortunately Santorum is done!
He needs to talk to someone besides his mama.
I question whether Bell will even win the Dem primary, especially if Gammage enters the race. We all remember what happened in 1996 when two former Anglo congressmen ran against one Hispanic schoolteacher. I will not be surprised if Alvarado upsets both Bell and Gammage.
Hahahahahahaha! Too funny. Dream on.
Good point, just having an Hispanic name may be sufficient to guarantee one the Democrat gubernatorial nomination.
I didn't know Mars was a constituency of Texas...
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