Biggest Political Stories of 2010

• By Lisa Birkman, Williamson County Conservative Examiner

http://www.examiner.com/williamson-county-conservative-in-austin/biggest-political-stories-of-2010?render=print

2010 was a year full of politics, with most of the year spent leading up to the Nov. 2nd general election.   In that election, the voters of Williamson County were in step with voters throughout most of Texas and most of the United States by electing or re-electing conservatives to office.  Unlike the 2008 election, when the first Democrat in many years won an election in Williamson County and Democrats throughout Texas and the nation won, 2010 was a year for big Republican victories.  Locally, this led to local Republican business owner, Larry Gonzales, unseating Democrat freshman State Representative Diana Maldonado by over 9,000 votes in a three way race for the District 52 seat with a Libertarian candidate also in the mix.  With her defeat, Williamson County returned to having Republicans hold 100% of the elected positions in the county.   Mr. Gonzales' road to victory was a long one as there were 5 candidates in the primary election in March.   He and John Gordon advanced to the primary run-off election in April, and Mr. Gonzales won that election with a wide margin.   From April to November, Mr. Gonzales and many local Republicans, including me, worked to elect him, with numerous phone banks, campaign walks, community rallies and more.  Since November, Mr. Gonzales has been preparing to take his seat on Jan. 11th.   Prior to running for office, he worked as a legislative staffer for many years prior to moving up to state representative.   He is quoted in the Round Rock Leader as saying, "I've been on staff for nine sessions. I've brainstormed and counseled and then sent my boss out to vote.  It's me this time.  And that's exciting." Congratulations to my friend, Larry!   I know he will do a great job representing the conservative values of our county.

In another related story, State Representive Dan M. Gattis (R-Georgetown) decided late last year to retire from politics, at least temporarily, leaving his state representative seat open.  Three Republican candidates emerged for the seat, including longtime political activist Milton Rister, whose wife is County Clerk Nancy Rister, former Cedar Park City Councilmember Stephen Thomas, and political newcomer Dr. Charles Schwertner. No Democrat filed for the seat.   To the surprise of some folks, Dr. Schwertner won the primary election without a run-off election.  He then went on to easily win the general election against a Libertarian candidate. Dr. Schwertner is a staunch conservative and very intelligent man.  I know that he will do well in the legislature.   Dr. Schwertner and Mr. Gonzales will both be first term legislators in a tough session given the current budget shortfall at the state level.  I wish them both success.

Other big political stories locally are that all the Republican candidates on the ballot won by relatively large margins.   Former Assistant District Attorney Doug Arnold won the primary election for the open seat on the County Court at Law #3 bench and then went on to also win the general election.  Incumbent Commissioners Cynthia Long and Ron Morrison beat their Democrat challengers easily as did County Court at Law #1 Judge Suzanne Brooks. Longtime County Treasurer Vivian Wood won in the Republican primary against her challenger, assistant county auditor Kurt Showalter, and then did not have a Democrat challenger.   State Senator Steve Ogden (R-Bryan) won the primary and the general election handily.  US Congressman John R. Carter (R-Round Rock) won by wide margins in the primary and the general elections. Many other Republican incumbents, such as County Judge Dan A. Gattis, won without having opponents in either the primary election or general election.

The other story that has dominated the news in 2010 has been the ongoing lawsuits brought by County Attorney Jana Duty against the commissioners court and County Judge Dan A. Gattis.  Due to the fact that the lawsuits are still pending, I cannot comment on the specifics, except to say that in my view, it is regrettable that we have not yet been able to resolve these issues outside of the courtroom in a manner that would not cost the taxpayers so much money in legal fees.   I call upon all involved, especially County Attorney Jana Duty, to work toward mutually acceptable solutions and to do so quickly.  I will continue to work with my fellow elected officials to try to seek resolutions to these issues that are in the best interest of the citizens who elected me.

(The observations and opinions in this article are mine alone and do not reflect those of any other person or organization.)