Officially, Democrat and former Houston congressman Chris Bell is considering running for the seat in the state Senate vacated by Republican Kyle Janek. Bell, the Democratic candidate for governor in 2006, even acknowledges that he is leaning toward running in the District 17 race.But, with Bell's permission, a current lawmaker and a former lawmaker already have scheduled a July 24 fund-raising event for Bell's candidacy and that of Joe Jaworski, who is running for state Senate in an adjacent district.
State Rep. Craig Eiland of Galveston and former state Sen. Lloyd Criss are helping together the Galveston Yacht Club event (.pdf).
As leanings go, this one's pretty sharp.
Bell said today that he approved the preparations in case he runs. And, he will make his decision public by four days before the fund-raising event. Guess what he'll say!
The district runs from southwest Houston to the Beaumont area to Key West and Cuba. Well, not that far, but the strangely shaped boundaries do go from Braes Bayou to the eastern edge of the state (.pdf).
News we've been eagerly anticipating for some time now. With Joe Jaworski and Wendy Davis and Chris Bell in the Texas Senate, we go a long way toward reversing the red tide in Texas.
