Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal has drawn a serious Democratic contender for his post next November, former Houston police chief C.O. Bradford.
In her final column for the Houston Chronicle before leaving to work for the Washington Post, Kristen Mack correctly declared that the "race will be the marquee local election on the ballot next November." "In his last election, Rosenthal walked away with 55 percent of the vote against a relative unknown. He's never faced a serious political threat since getting elected in 2000." she noted.
As candidates go, Bradford has some flies on him from his role in the Houston crime lab scandal, but since he stepped down as police chief his opponent has spent so much energy blustering against every proposed crime lab solution, I can't imagine voters will hold the issue against one man more than another.
Strictly going by the numbers, a Democrat with good name recognition has a real chance to knock off Mr. Rosenthal, who has a reputation as a mean-spirited bully. Harris county judicial races, which I've always considered a bellwether for county elections, in 2006 were closer than at any time in recent memory, with Democrats in many cases coming within 2-3 percentage points of defeating incumbent Republicans.
If you like hardball politics, get ready for some fun; if not, duck and cover: With Bradford atop the local Democratic ticket, 2008 races in Houston ought to be a real barnburner.
As candidates go, Bradford has some flies on him from his role in the Houston crime lab scandal, but since he stepped down as police chief his opponent has spent so much energy blustering against every proposed crime lab solution, I can't imagine voters will hold the issue against one man more than another.
ReplyDeleteOne man was directly responsible for the Crime Lab, and the Bromwich report cited instances that can only be described as Bradford's mismanagement of the problem.
I think voters will be able to figure out who was in charge of the crime lab during part of the period of serious problems -- no imagination necessary!
And that will be good. Bradford has ducked the public for years on his role in the fiasco. He owes us an explanation.
I agree, Kevin, Bradford's got the crime lab hanging around his neck like an albatross, and and those aren't his only "flies," either. But I can also tell you as a former oppo researcher that Bradford's campaign (if they're smart) will compile dozens of arrogant, hostile and defensive public statements from Rosenthal about the crime lab that will substantially muddy the waters when those accusations are made.
ReplyDeleteAfter Bradford left, Rosenthal took over as defender-in-chief of the Bad Old Days, and there's lots of that floating around in the public record. For that matter, Chuck has other "flies" on him, too.
Sadly, in these local, partisan races only a tiny handful of voters pay attention to the issues and votes mostly go based on partisan labels. If the judges' races flip, this one will too, and IMO either way it will only have a little, but not much, to do with the candidates or their campaigns.
If Bradford and Rosenthal are the only choices the voters have, Harris County citizens are at a distinct disadvantage in seeking someone to champion justice.
ReplyDeletegrits,
ReplyDeleteHarris County will be swept by the Dems in '08. It's too bad we are going to be stuck with Bradford, he will be worse than Rosenthal. Most of the local conservative pundits are way overestimating conservative power county wide and severely underestimating the changing demographics. That's why they are professionals, I guess.
RoAN
No one could possibly be worse than Rosenthal! He also knew about the lab, and many other issues and did nothing about it. I wish there would be term limits on every elected official, including the Supreme Court, which has really gone over the edge, then with fresh new faces, maybe our country will survive. Texas, until some changes are made, may not make it. I for one, would leave here as I am so ashamed of the way the Lege has positioned itself on certain issues and some of the legislators need to come down to the real world and look around and actually see what is going on.
ReplyDeleteYou know, Jolly, the way I look at it, the DA is a figurehead/administrative position in a big county, and the main potential benefit of electing Bradford, flies and all, might be a change of the top administration in the department, most of whom go back to the Johnny Holmes era. That's been the biggest difference in Dallas with the new DA - a change of leadership, ousting folks with tired, stale approaches and replacing them with people who look at problems with new eyes.
ReplyDeleteRobin Williams said that "politicians and diapers should be changed often and for the same reason." That's true for Rosenthal and his leadership team, IMO. Even if it must be Bradford, God help us, it's high time at that office for a changing of the diapers ... er, I mean, the guard. ;) best,
No one could possibly be worse than Rosenthal!
ReplyDeleteHow wrong you are. The DA position is more about management than anything else. You really think that the guy that found out about it and half-ass fixed it is worse than the guy that created it?
In any event, whomever the Dem candidate is will probably squeak by and it will be a very nasty campaign.
The only way the Repubs can hold on is to go dirty, early and often. Must remind the voters what it was like in the days of Dem judges - horrible. Crime was totally out of control in Harris County. That is the only hope the Repubs have and it ain't much of one.
RoAN
"Dirty, early, and often" is going to describe the entire 2008 general election cycle, up and down the ballot. A complete free for all.
ReplyDelete