Dem War Over Craddick Reaches North Houston
October 17th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Rep. Kevin Bailey’s District 140 is a slice of Central Houston with a significant patch of North Houston thrown in. The district is bordered on the east by I-45, on the west by U.S. 59, and is split down the middle by the Hardy Toll Road. It stretches almost all the way to George Bush Intercontinental Airport on its northern end. It’s also another battleground in the effort to oust Craddick Ds.
Bailey supported Tom Craddick (R-Midland) for Texas Speaker at the beginning of the last regular session as he did in the one before and the one before that. His reward for the past three sessions was a chairmanship. For the first two sessions he was chairman of the General Investigating and Ethics Committee, known for its absence of headline grabbing investigations during those years.
When asked to explain his support for Craddick last session, Bailey noted two reasons. “One, he was going to win, and two, he treated me fairly,” Bailey said. “There was no alternative.”
Now, it’s looking like Bailey will face Armando Walle, a first-time candidate, in a contested Democratic primary—to be decided March 4.
Walle says his run is about addressing issues like Houston’s high dropout rate, financing public education, health insurance, and flooding issues.
“There’s a lack of leadership from the incumbent,” Walle told me. Walle did say that he would not vote for Craddick, although he said he could imagine a scenario where he might vote for a different, more moderate Republican for speaker.
Bailey contends the fact that he is a Craddick Democrat is the only reason Armando Walle is in the race.
The numbers in the district would seem to favor a Hispanic. Out of a total population estimated at 135,116, Hispanics number 96,725. Out of nearly 40,000 registered voters, more than half of those voters (22,119 in fact) have Spanish surnames.
Walle admits that just because there are a majority of Latinos in a given district does not necessarily give the edge to a Hispanic candidate. Walle said “that’s selling the Hispanic vote short. The Hispanic voters are much smarter than that.”
Walle accused Bailey of representing the district poorly. Walle most recently served as a staff member for Congressman Gene Green (D-Houston). Offering an example of Bailey’s shortcomings, Walle said one time Congressman Green “had to get Kevin Bailey out of bed to go vote in Austin.”
Bailey says that’s not true.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” Bailey told me. “A number of people have been making up a lot of things.”
After a hectic day of votes in Washington this week, however, Congressman Green told me an interesting story. Green said in 2003, during one of the special sessions on redistricting, he got a call from Senfronia Thompson (D-Houston).
Thompson said a critical vote on redistricting was planned for the next day and asked Green where Kevin Bailey was, since he had been excused from the day’s session for being ill and wasn’t answering his phone. Green said he would call Bailey, but couldn’t get an answer either, he said, so he told Thompson he would go by Bailey’s home the next morning.
“I went by his house early,” Green says, noting that Bailey’s wife answered the door and said Bailey was still in bed. “Just tell him he needs to be in Austin,” Green said.
“How you vote is very important,” Green told me. “That kind of bothered me.”
For the record, Bailey noted in our conversation that he did vote against redistricting, and he joined the Democrats in the quorum-breaking exodus to Ardmore.
Bailey, like other ‘Craddick D’s’ makes the argument that, thanks to his chairmanship of the Urban Affairs Committee, he has performed for his district.
Bailey said his committee produced more pro-union legislation in the last session than in many previous sessions. He’s confident he can fend off a challenger again. “Opponents are nothing new.”
Walle charges Bailey has traded principle for power.
“You don’t compromise the core values of your district for a committee chairmanship,” Walle said.
It remains to be seen whether Bailey’s confidence is justified. One thing is for sure, these guys already have the gloves off.
October 31st, 2007 at 9:57 am
I hope that Armando kicks Bailey’s sorry ass in the March Primary. Having been a member of the House since 1991, Bailey has long over-stayed his welcome and has long out-lived any usefulness (and that is putting it charitably) that he might possibly have had over the past 16 years. He is exactly the type of sleazy politician (not to be confused with “public servant”) that makes me a die-hard supporter of term limits. Bailey is not a man of his word, he personally lied to me. I don’t know much about this Armando guy, but I would be delighted if Armando mops up the floor with Bailey’s fat spike-haired political corpse.
February 12th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
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March 4th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
[…] of the key races in the so-called “Craddick Primary” is between Democrats Armando Walle and incumbent […]