While I could not attend tonight's Executive Committee meeting due to a last minute family emergency, I am reliably informed of the that the two open ballot positions have been filled.

Replacing the late Jack Cato on the ballot for County Treasurer will be Orlando Sanchez, who took handily won the balloting among the precinct chairs. This was despite heavy last-minute campaigning by Harris County GOP Treasurer Larry Hicks, who seemed to have the support of a lot of the party leadership types. Orlando, on the other hand, was definitely the favorite of the grassroots.

The race for the nomination for judge of the 80th District Court had a number of nominees, and required a run-off to fill. It ultimately came down to a contest between Judge Lynn Bradshaw-Hull and former HISD School Board President Jeff Shadwick. The nomination went to Bradshaw-Hull, despite heavy support from the party leadership, including Harris County GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill, Shadwick's employer at the law firm of Woodfill & Pressler. I'm disappointed that my choice, former 80th District Court Judge Scott Link (who left the bench four years ago due to a pair of serious illnesses in his immediate family) did not get the nomination, as he was clearly the candidate in the best position to take the reins of the court.

The striking thing in both cases is that there seems to be a disconnect between the precinct chairs and the county leadership. Given that we are rapidly approaching Thursday's meeting of Harris County precinct chairs from CD22, I would not be surprised to see the leadership's candidate for elector (and, implicitly, the leadership's preferred congressional candidate, another member of the law firm of Woodfill & Pressler) face a stiffer than expected challenge from the grassroots element of the party that has become tired of being told to "follow the leaders".

Posted by: Greg at 03:48 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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