Nothing like focusing on a non-issue in the area's hottest congressional campaign.

The brochure that U.S. House candidate and former Sugar Land mayor Dean Hrbacek mailed to voters this week says, "Dean's record speaks for itself."

But his physique does not. In a photo next to the words of praise, Hrbacek's body is spoken for by the torso of an appreciably slimmer man.

The picture, presented as a true image of the candidate, is actually a computerized composite of Hrbacek's face and someone else's figure, in suit and tie, from neck to knee caps. The give-away is a flawed fit of head and collar.

Hrbacek, a tax lawyer and accountant, did not return calls about the campaign literature Thursday. He is among 10 Republicans seeking the nomination to run against U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson, D-Stafford.

But campaign manager Scott Broschart admitted the image is a fake.

Hrbacek has been so busy meeting voters in the 22nd Congressional District that he had no time for a photo session that would have produced a full-length, genuine photo for the political mailing, Broschart said.

I've met Dean Hrbacek. He's a nice guy, and he'd likely be my candidate for Congress in CD22 if Shelley Sekula Gibbs were not in the contest. He has been working hard to get the nomination, meeting with individuals and groups in an effort to win the nomination. Indeed, this can be said about most of the candidates in the races for CD22.

So what does the Chronicle focus on? A photo in which the Hrbacek campaign used a body double. As a voter in CD22, I think we deserve better.

Come on, Houston Chronicle!

UPDATE: Click here for a later post on this subject.

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