Kuff's World: Governor White? (via Mowser)

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July 01, 2008

Governor White?

The Statesman's Gardner Selby writes about the future prospects for Houston Mayor Bill White.

Houston Mayor Bill White, perhaps the next great hope for Texas Democrats hungry for a statewide win, calls it premature to speculate about his bidding for governor in 2010.

But White, 53, isn't exactly promising to fade away after his third term ends in early 2010.

"I have never wanted to be in a certain position," White said during a mid-June visit at Houston City Hall. "But I've almost always wanted to do something."

The once-redheaded, Harvard-educated son of San Antonio schoolteachers would start as an underdog.

At least four Republicans could run: Gov. Rick Perry, who has said he's in, and U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Roger Williams, the former Texas secretary of state. Aspirants for the Democratic gubernatorial nod could include John Sharp, the former state comptroller; Chris Bell, the party's 2006 nominee; and Kinky Friedman, who previously ran as an independent.

The stuff about Mayor White isn't really all that illuminating to me. I think he knows what he wants to do next and is already mapping out how he's going to do it. If I were a betting man, I'd put the odds on him running for Governor. When he's ready to make his plans public, you can be sure you'll know about it.

I'm more interested in the list of potential candidates Selby lists. The Republicans are all known to be interested. On the Democratic side, we are required by state law to include John Sharp's name in any "who might run?" article; my sense is that he'll continue to be mentioned, but that his role in helping Governor Perry craft the new business margins tax will be a strong drag on any enthusiasm for his candidacy. Bell gets mentioned in this sort of discussion nowadays since he ran for Governor in 2006 - I've heard his name bandied about as a repeat gubernatorial candidate, as well as for other offices like Attorney General - but I think either he'll be running for a full term in State Senate District 17, or he won't be running for anything. Friedman says he's gonna run; I say he'll be met with even less enthusiasm than Sharp.

That doesn't mean that White will have a free run to the nomination. The point I'm making is that we're just guessing, because it's way too early to have a clear idea. Some other candidates may well emerge.

Look at recent history: Everyone thought Dan Morales was going to run for Senate in 2002 until he filed for Governor at the last minute. John Sharp was frequently mentioned as a candidate for Governor in 2006 - there was even a slightly bizarre "Draft Sharp" movement for a brief while - but it never happened. Sharp, Bill White, and others were rumored to be running for Senate this year. And back when Bill White was first organizing his run for Mayor, we were talking about potential candidates like former City Council member Joe Roach, then-HPD Chief C.O. Bradford, and others like Ed Wulfe and Ned Holmes; some of this talk was farther along in the election cycle than we are now for 2010. So take this all with as much seriousness as a mock 2009 NFL draft. Everybody has a list of names, but nobody knows who's going to do what.

Posted by Charles Kuffner at July 1, 2008 04:52 PM

Kuff's World

A reader blog about politics and current events with Charles Kuffner

July 01, 2008

Governor White?

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