Emil Reichstadt Announces Candidacy for Senate

Susan sent me a media alert today. I thought it was a joke at first, but then read through it and it looks like the Texas Democratic Party’s primary race for US Senate has begun in earnest. First to declare his candidacy is none other than Dallas lawyer Emil Reichstadt.

Emil Reichstadt?

Makes sense you know. If the Texas Senate endorses Giddings’ bill to move the Texas primary date to February 5th 2008, there remains only 10 months to raise the serious cash that is going to be needed to defeat presidential rubber stamp yes-man Senator John Cornyn.

But just who is Emil Reichstadt? I googled him and could come up with a contributions that he and his wife made to Kickstart a campaign contribution listed on a TEC form, and a listing for his private law practice. His bio in the media alert revealed no public service other than his stint in the army as an army lawyer in Germany during the cold war, and later, as a judge.

So, no real public service after his army career. This harkens back to our previous Senate candidate, Barbara Ann Radnofsky, a fine Democrat, a good person, but previous public service experience was limited to being a precinct chair.

So the first one out of the gate was not Rick Noriega, nor was it Nick Lampson, and not Bill White, or John Sharp nor any of the other names that have been mentioned as possible contenders. In the spirit of John Edwards’s early presidential candidacy announcement, we now have an early Senatorial race announcement and now have one name going on the ballot thus far: Emil Reichstadt.

For those who are as ignorant of this man as I am, here is a bio from his media alert:

Reichstadt, the youngest of three sons born to Arthur, a Swiss immigrant, and Macy Reichstadt in Little Rock, Arkansas, has been married for more than 30 years to a successful small business owner, Shirley French Reichstadt (DD French Cleaners in Dallas). They have two grown children, Heather and Steffen. The Reichstadts are members of Highland Park United Methodist Church, Dallas. Reichstadt also has been heavily involved in volunteer activities with the Boy Scouts of America for many years, nurturing many young men including his son to Eagle rank.

Since earning a law degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 1977, Reichstadt has handled a wide range of legal challenges. He was commissioned in the Army and served as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps., personally trying more than 100 cases while stationed in Frankfurt, Germany, from 1978 to 1981, and was then assigned Chief of Legal Assistance with the 3rd Armored Division, Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, providing legal services to soldiers and their families in Frankfurt, from 1982 to 1983. When he returned to Dallas from his tour of duty, he worked as General Counsel for Continental Mortgage, in real estate and corporate law, from 1983 to 1985, before starting his own private practice in 1985.

UPDATE (8:22 PM):

A PDF of the media alert can be found here.