Chris Bell

[Sam Spade]

IIRC, he was also a failed candidate for Houston mayor before becoming a one-term congressman who was badly beaten in a primary after being redistricted into an African-American majority district.

He essentially has no chance, though, I suppose, if Perry survives the primary against KBH and if he does something really stupid, there could be an opening for a Democrat, but I doubt it would be Bell.

This is correct.
He has no chance statewide.  Too liberal to pick up white votes.  Too white to pick up minorities.

[Sam Spade]

Very familiar. Essentially, in the 2001 general mayoral election we had the following candidates:

Lee Brown- incumbent, African-American. Liberal Democrat. Former New York police commissioner (Crown Heights riots on his watch). Supported by popular former mayor Bob Lanier. Engaged in race baiting and endless road construction and really not much else. He was pretty unpopular for the majority of his tenure.

Orlando Sanchez- city councilman, Cuban American, the first politician I ever worked for. Big Republican. The Brown campaign basically painted him in Hispanic communities as a fake Latino- he has blue eyes, fair skin, and a Southern accent, even though he was born in Cuba sndonly started learning English after immigrating at the age of 6. Recognized as Brown's big challenger.

Chris Bell- Councilman, white. Not all that much was known about him, but he seemed to be conservative rather than liberal.

Now, in Houston you need 50% of the vote outright (ha ha) or there's a runoff between the two top vote getters. As expected, Brown and Sanchez advanced to the runoff. It was an extremely close campaign, and Bell shocked everyone by a high-profile endorsement and enthusiastic campaign for Brown. For various reasons, Brown beat Sanchez by 52-48.

Then Bell got his big payoff when, in 2002, popular Houston congressman and Lloyd Bentsen nephew Ken Bentsen (at the time, my congressman) lost the Democratic nomination for Senate, and Bell got the nod to run for Representative of the old 25th District, which he won narrowly (it was a moderately left-leaning district).

He served a single term in Congress, during which the famous DeLay redistricting pland passed. Bell was stuck into a black districy, where he was beaten in the primary by African-American Al Green. On the verge of leaving congress, he launched the DeLay ethics investigation.

Overall, a complete political opportunists. I personally see nothing in him, although he has his followers (don't they all!)

As for the minority idea- it doesn't work, they've tried it. Remember Ron Kirk (African-American Dallas mayor) for Senate and Tony Sanchez (Rio Grande Valley "businessman, suspected drug lord) for governor, the Democratic 2002 candidates? The problem isn't the color of their candidates skin, it's that Texas has moved right, and the Texas Dems (who are now unfavored, anyway) seem unable to transform into the kind of Democratic party that gets elected in the modern South (as in Louisiana, Oklahoma).

The Democrats best current candidates, as far as I am aware, and Martin Frost and Ken Bentsen- moderate, experience, charismatic, really fine candidates. Failing that, Houston mayor Bill White, (who despite his name is white) though far from my favorite, seems to have his followers and is a moderate. But neither appear to be running, and the Kinky Friedman independent campaign will be either completely without effect or draw some Democratic votes. (This is nothing like Ventura, Kinky's a hasbeen and a relatively insane one at that. His campaign has already officially kicked off, to very little media fanfare).

Sanchez did incredibly well in a number of majority-Hispanic communities in inner Houston, especially in East End, especially in CD-29, but you probably already knew that. 

The reason why he lost is because the white liberals stupidly backed the bureaucrat Lee Brown again, and after they reelected him, even they started viewing their votes for him as being idiotic and that he was a terrible mayor, which anyone with any common sense already knew. 

I got great satisfaction out of that one, though I supported Chris Bell the first time (he went considerably left after he lost that race), though I did support Sanchez in the runoff. 

One fact you missed:  Lee Brown was also police commissioner of Houston during the mid-1980s, before he went to NYC and was involved in the Dinkins administration during the time of the Crown Heights riots.

[Sam Spade]

And if the debate had been two or three days earlier, Sanchez would have won. His Bob Stein poll numbers were steadily ticking upwards, like a point a day, the week before the election. Anyway, after he was outspent 7-2 in 2003 he's really sunk; I was at the "victory party" on Telephone Road. Sad night. Anyway, he's gotten married recently and gone back into business. No one serious is even challenging White now. One could wish he'd be more serious about immigration, and zoning, and roads (City Hall really doesn't know what they're doing in that regard!), but he's a decent mayor.

Agreed, though as we all know, zoning will probably never happen in the city proper.  It should have probably passed in 1991, but then it would have been problematic.  Too many parts of the city now, especially on the East Side, would experience major league problems with land use, etc, now, even more so than then.

Anyway, I certainly agree about White.  At least he's competant, and that's more than I could ever say for Brown.

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Agreed, on all points, though if Perry wins, he may run again, you never know. 

Hutchinson's not going to be good Presidential material because of the pro-choice thingy, but as VP, does it really matter whether she's Senator or Prez.  I don't see it.