|
candidates begins tomorrow,
December 3rd and
continues through January 4, 2010. You should be on the
lookout for several more twists and turns before the list of
candidates is complete.
Democrat Tom Schieffer dropped
out of the governor’s race last week and threw his support
to Houston Mayor Bill White, despite the fact that Bill
White has yet to declare himself a candidate in the
governor’s race.
Rep. Dan
Gattis
(R-Georgetown) announced that he will not run for the Senate
District 5 seat currently held by
Sen. Steve Ogden
(R-Bryan). Ogden announced several months ago that he was
retiring and would not run for reelection. At that time,
Gattis announced his intention to run for the open seat.
Gattis now says that Ogden has been convinced to run again
in order to address the state’s fiscal challenges during the
next legislative session. No word from Ogden yet on his
current plan.
Rep. Norma
Chavez
(D-El Paso) announced that she will run for reelection in
House District 76 instead of making the race for the Senate
District 29 seat currently held by retiring
Sen. Eliot Shapleigh
(D-El Paso).
Republican Jeff Cason announced
that he will challenge
Rep. Todd Smith (R-Bedford) in the Republican
primary for House District 92.
Dr. Jesse Sheffield, a family
physician from Gatesville, announced that he will run
against Rep. Sid Miller
(R-Stephenville) in the Republican primary election for
House District 59.
Republican Stefani Carter, a
former Collin County prosecutor announced that she will run
for the House District 102 seat currently held by
Rep. Carol Kent
(D-Dallas).
The Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) announced the creation of a new
Office of Water which will have oversight over the agency’s
existing water planning, supply and quality divisions.
L’Oreal Stepney, an agency employee since 1992, has been
named as head of the new department.
Comptroller Susan Combs has
certified the 2010-11 budget, saying that revenues were off
$650 million from original projections due to the poor
economy. The state has $77.7 billion in general revenue for
the current fiscal biennium and she projects a balance of
$83.5 million by the close of the biennium.
Chris Traylor, who has led the
state's Medicaid program for the past three years, will be
the next commissioner of the Department of Aging and
Disability Services (DADS). |
