Redux: Refers to being brought back, revived or restored. From the Latin "reducere."
I'll admit: I nearly fainted when I checked the TDP filing page and saw that none other than Henderson County political legend Fred Head had filed for Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
Fred Head (D-Athens), for those of you who aren't aware, is an Athens attorney who served a number of terms as State Representative representing Henderson County and various other counties Henderson was aligned with 'back in the day' before various redistricting(s) changed the East Texas political landscape into what it is now. Though I can't put my hands on the data at the moment (and Google is of no help whatsoever), as best as I can recall Head didn't serve after the early 1990s (but someone can correct me if I'm wrong). Head, it should be noted, was a member of the so-called "Dirty Thirty." (Remember that as you read on...)
His son, attorney Mike Head, ran for State Representative against Betty Brown in 2002 but was defeated by her heavily funded smear machine. Incidently, Brown is
facing Kaufman attorney Wade Gent in a GOP Primary this time around.
The most interesting thing about the Head filing, aside from the fact that it means Dems have filled most all of our statewide slots this time around in spite of the lack of a predetermined "dream team" ticket, is that he is the third former Texas legislator (and by former I mean out of office since at least the 1990s) to file for statewide office. More specifically, he's the THIRD member of the 'Dirty Thirty' to make a re-appearance on the political scene.
Bob Gammage, who is running for governor, was first, followed by Ben Grant, also a member of the 'Dirty Thirty.'
It's interesting, to say the least, that three members of the Dirty Thirty are in line to take on the current corrupt Republican machine.
It also brings up an interesting paralell, in that Chris Bell, who will face Gammage in the primary, is a reformer of the "new school" and that he'll be pitted against someone who is an "old school" reformer.
I strongly suspect that, if the late Judge John Hannah (another Dirty Thirty member) was alive today, he'd probably be joining Gammage, Head and Grant and run for something, too.
I do wonder, however, given that none of these men (as far as I can tell) have run major campaigns since the religious-right GOP fueled machine took over Texas, exactly how they will be adapting their styles. At any rate, I have no doubt that any and all of them can and will do better than Bill Hollowell--ten years out of the game and a new political party later--when he made an attempt to get back into public office in 2000.
In other filing news, I noticed that two Democrats are now vying for Max Sandlin's old seat, as Democrat Duane Shaw will face Roger L. Owen (D-Longview) in the quest to unseat Louie Gohmert. [HINT To Democratic Candidates: If Gohmert runs that dumb ad about the music box being the "only thing he had left" after the mean old "death tax" took his grandmother's estate, check the Camp County probate records. I've heard some rumors...that's all I'm saying...]
Also, Sulphur Springs attorney VaLinda Hathcox will be running for Land Commissioner, so it appears that Jerry Patterson got his wish and will be opposed after all.
[Note: Guess I wasn't the first one to pick up on the 'Dirty Thirty' thing. I just noticed Greg got there first. Dagnabbit!]
Vince Leibowitz is a regular contributor to Burnt Orange Report. He may be reached at Vince_Leibowitz-at-verizon.net.