Looks like it, according to Fort Bend Now.

State Sen. Kyle Janek (R-Houston) has called a press conference tomorrow (Jan. 29) in Austin at which time, sources say, he will announce that the he is resigning his seat in the Texas Senate.

JanekÂ’s sprawling District 17 takes in much of eastern Fort Bend County, including most of Sugar Land and Missouri City, as well as parts of Harris, Brazoria, Wharton, Galveston, Chambers and Jefferson counties.

When contacted Monday afternoon, Janek would not comment other than to say that the press conference would involve his future plans. Two state capitol sources, however, confirmed to FortBendNow.com that Janek has told some fellow senators of his plans and that he will give up his seat in the upper chamber effective March 10.

“He’s notified some of his (senate) colleagues and the state GOP leadership of his intention to resign,” one source who asked not to be named said. “He’s going to make it official tomorrow at the press conference.

The same source said that speculation is rampant about what Janek will do in the future.

This is a reasonably conservative district. It should stay Republican -- but the question comes down to when there will be an election to fill the vacancy. And since the district is more conservative than Janek, we should see a conservative win the seat.

And, of course, what Janek's plans are now that he is leaving office. This one is quite curious.

UPDATE: The Houston Chronicle has more.

Sen. Kyle Janek, R-Houston, who moved his family to Austin several months ago, will announce on Tuesday that he is resigning from the state Senate on March 10.

His resignation will require Gov. Rick Perry to call a special election to fill the remainder of the term, which runs through January 2011.

The governor's office declined to comment, but the next uniform election date would be May 10, and a number of candidates could file for the seat in the heavily Republican district, which includes parts of Harris County and five neighboring counties.

Former Harris County Republican Chairman Gary Polland, who unsuccessfully challenged Janek in 2006, and state Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, said Monday they are considering the Senate race.

Howard said his first goal is winning the March 4 primary for his own House seat over two GOP challengers. Win or lose, he would be free to run for the Senate in a special election two months later.

But still no word on why, or his future plans.

And interestingly enough, not one Democrat mentioned as a possible challenger for the seat.

Posted by: Greg at 11:35 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
Post contains 438 words, total size 3 kb.