(from Alan Bernstein of the Chron)
Harris County Republican Party leaders interviewed potential candidates for district attorney Tuesday night as they tried to anoint a single challenger against scandal-scarred incumbent Chuck Rosenthal in the March 4 primary.
"My goal is to get behind one individual," party chairman Jared Woodfill said.
The county party's advisory committee, principally made up of chairmen from each of the county's state Senate districts, was set to meet with at least five potential candidates for the top law enforcement job.
"All have indicated to me they won't run if they are not the person the party wants to support," Woodfill said.
Meanwhile, County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt said Tuesday that he was brokering discussions between Rosenthal and party officials concerning the selection process.
Some party officials said in private that there remained a possibility that Rosenthal would step aside after all. The district attorney has publicly rejected the party advisory committee's request that he drop out of the race. He vowed instead to run and win.
Harris County Republican and Democratic parties usually do not endorse candidates in their contested primaries and cannot block candidates from signing up to run as long as they as they meet the legal requirements for the job under state law.
But now that the county GOP has asked Rosenthal to abort his 2008 re-election campaign, the party is poised to back someone against him in the primary.
I don't know about you, but it sounds to me as if Rosenthal has had, or is in the process of having, a series of "come to Jesus" meetings with those close to him and to whose opinions he will listen. It also sounds as if his internal polling could be telling him that he's got about as much chance as winning without Republican Party support as President Bush would have in a popularity contest in Iran.
The article also provides some speculation for the grist mill as to who the "chosen" replacement could be:
Two of the potential candidates, according to sources, are defense lawyer and former prosecutor Jim Leitner and former felony court judge Patricia Lykos, who now works for Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. They both ran against Rosenthal in the 2000 Republican primary.
In that contest, Lykos forced a runoff. Lykos, also a former Houston police officer, was helped in her campaign by then-Harris County Judge Robert Eckels and another Republican stalwart, Jack Rains, former secretary of state and former chairman of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority.
Lykos, who spent 20 years on the bench, estimated that she presided over 20,000 felony cases, including four that resulted in death sentences.
Although she did little advertising, Lykos proved herself an accomplished campaigner who raised her profile with Republican voters during an unsuccessful 1994 run for Texas attorney general.
Leitner, who placed third in the 2000 primary, said his experience on both sides of the courtroom would help the perspective of the district attorney's office.
In 2001, Leitner said he thought Harris County prosecutors were overzealous in their pursuit of death sentences against capital murder defendants.
"As long as that is the prevailing view, there are going to be a lot of capital murder prosecutions. People in other counties don't see it that way."
He added, "I think we kill a lot of people who don't fit the statute."
Harris County is the leading local jurisdiction in the nation for death penalty convictions. Leitner has been the defense attorney in at least eight capital cases.
I'm betting the smart money will be placed on Lykos, although I think that Leitner might be the better candidate. His well thought out comments regarding the death penalty will probably not score well with the hang-em-high Republican primary voter. It's too bad that both Lykos and Leitner can't enter the primary, and then let the voters decide. You know, in a democratic fashion?
Of course, then Woodfill couldn't play the role of "King maker".
Plus, you have the additional problem of relying on the voters to *shudder* be entrusted with a decision and we don't want that.
Before this turn of events I stated on the comments section of BlogHouston that I thought the biggest question surrounding the election would be if enough Republicans would be willing to hold their noses and pull the lever for Rosenthal if, for nothing else, to keep C.O. Bradford from getting into office. If Rosenthal does survive a contested primary then I believe that's still the case. If Rosenthal drops out or loses however then the whole race springs wide open and Bradford's negatives regarding the HPD crime lab are suddenly very real and back into play.
The question is will the "chosen one" have the time and money to exploit those?
OTHER EYES:
Off the Kuff - Rosenthal versus the Republicans.
The County Seat - I'm running, whether you want it or not.
Bayou City Madman - The State can't quit you, Baby.
KTRK 13 Political Blogger Miya Shay - Inauguration, DA Picking, busy day ahead.
Houston's Clear Thinkers - So Chuck, what did you plan on doing after public service?.
Slampo - Kiss me Deadly (behind the right ear if you please).
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3 comments:
Cory, You said "it's too bad that neither could just enter the race and see what happens" (or something to that effect.)
Actually they can, and I would strongly encourage both to do just that. I personally would lean towards Lykos, I think Leitner has spent too long on the defense side of the aisle for my taste. And yes, I am a "hang em high" Republican that finds his statements a bit disheartening. It tells me that he would not be aggressive in filing those sorts of cases.
It appears that Jared Woodfill has made each of the candidates to promise to stay out of the race if they are not backed by the local Republican Party.
Sure the (technically) can both enter, but it doesn't appear that Mr. Woodfill wants it that way.
He may not, but this is the same guy that tried to go against the HCGOP resolutions and bylaws in order to endorse Mike Riddle and Stan Stanart for their runs against incumbent republican (in name only?) members of the Harris County Board of Education.
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