Precinct 1 County Commissioner: A Horse Race In Fort Bend County

Politics in Texas is always interesting if not outré. And one would think that politics at the county level would just be a microcosm of what goes on at the state level, but one would be wrong in thinking that. Fort Bend County politics make state politics seem fair and balanced.

That’s mainly because in Fort Bend County, while there are no domino parlors, there ought to be. I am reminded of an ad run in the local press before the recent off-off year election to vote for or against Fort Bend ISD school bonds. Remember this picture? A bunch of old white guys sitting and standing over a game of dominoes, played on an old army blanket. These, and others, are the movers and shakers in Fort Bend County.

Good ol’ boys.

I like that misnomer because the only thing that is really true in the label is the word “ol’”, short for old.

They are that.

Missing from the photo is another Fort Bend County good ol’ boy, Fort Bend County Commissioner Tom Stavinoha. Stavinoha, who, with pictured James Patterson, and not in picture Andy Meyers and Bob Hebert form the "good ol’ boy majority" on Fort Bend County’s Commissioners Court.

Stavinoha, a two-term commissioner, has announced that he will run for re-election in 2008. This came two weeks after the announcement of his friend and colleague, Greg Ordineaux, head shot at right, who announced in late October that he would seek Tom’s seat on the commissioners’ court.

You always have to wonder why primary challenges are launched against a fellow party member who already holds the office. There are the usual reasons, such as the guy really isn’t of your party, just says he is, or the guy has become a political liability, as the Republicans had in Tom DeLay in 2006 when he had 4 primary opponents.

So what is it about Ordineaux and Stavinoha?

Here is what Greg Ordineaux says about his candidacy:

“I am focused on ensuring Fort Bend County's continued success and protecting the rights of property owners and taxpayers. While mobility is a critical issue in Fort Bend County, we must exercise caution in defining our future and protect our existing neighborhoods. We should fight to ensure that Fort Bend County controls its own destiny.”

In his candidate’s statement Ordineaux had these words put together in a sentence:

“… the residents of Precinct 1 deserve a full-time commissioner who will listen to their concerns and act in the best interest of the citizens.”

OK, I’ll bite.

Ordineaux thinks that Tom Stavinoha isn’t doing a good job for the residents of Precinct 1 because he doesn’t work hard enough, and works counter to the interests of the residents. In short, Greg Ordineaux is running against the good ol’boy network.

But I don’t know. Some would say that Tom is doing the residents a favor by not working so hard, if he is truly working against the interests of Precinct 1 residents. This is much along the reasoning of those who think having a state legislature meet only 140 days every two years is a good thing.

But more than attacking the good ol’ boy network, it also looks like Ordineaux is capitalizing on Stavinoha’s tacit approval of the Section C corridor for expansion of the Grand Parkway (Highway 99) as a toll road. Why this is, because Ordineaux himself is, of late, Treasurer on the Fort Bend Toll Road Authority board, remains a mystery.

It could simply be the law of the jungle. Stavinoha, in his tacit approval of Section C, and in his non-opposition to expansion of the Blue Ridge Landfill to a proposed 17 story high trash heap, has incurred the wrath of Precinct 1 voters, and like a wounded gazelle, Stavinoha is easy pickings.

But I’ll bet there is more to the story than that.

I’ll bet it’s more of the DeLay scenario, where Republicans see Stavinoha as a weak spot in the down ballot, and would like to replace him with a stronger (that is, less well-known) candidate who is seemingly on the sidelines over the burning issues. Hence his waffling statement: “While mobility is a critical issue in Fort Bend County, we must exercise caution in defining our future. . .”. Meaning of course, that while he once held a post on the Fort Bend Toll Road Authority, that doesn’t mean he is for the Grand Parkway Tollroad.

If you believe that one, I have a gold mine in Alaska that I’d like to sell you.

And why is it important to put a stronger Republican candidate on the ballot in November? Up until recently, the only one who had expressed any interest in running for Precinct 1 Commissioner as a Democrat was Stavinoha’s previous opponent in ’04, Rodrigo Carreon. Stavinoha bested Rodrigo by 67 to 32 percent of the vote in ’04 (although I’d like to see a redo of that with the current demographics of Precinct 1).

But I have been hearing a rumbling on the far horizon for months now, and that rumbling climaxed last weekend at the regular monthly meeting of the Fort Bend Democrats. Richard Morrison, a local trial lawyer, has opted to run for the Democratic Party’s candidate for Precinct 1 Commissioner.

Yes, THAT Richard Morrison. The Richard Morrison who launched Netroots' Draft Rick Noriega movement. The Richard Morrison whose efforts have effectively challenged the expansion of the Blue Ridge Landfill, Tom Stavinoha’s cash cow. The Richard Morrison who showed the world that Tom “The Hammer” DeLay was vulnerable in his once-safe congressional district.

FortBendNow says that Morrison will bring “spice” to the commissioner’s race. That is an understatement. Not only does Richard Morrison’s candidacy bring spice to the race, it brings choice.

Precinct 1 homeowners and residents will have a clear choice in November: vote for the Section C Toll Road by voting for either Stavinoha or Ordineaux (whoever survives the primary) or vote against the Toll Road by voting for Richard Morrison.

Ordineaux and Stavinoha share one point of view. They agree that whatever happens, whoever wins, the Grand Parkway Toll Road is a done deal. No one can stop it. TXDOT has made up its mind.

What does Richard Morrison have to say on that? “That’s bullcrap”.

[Jeez, Richard, don’t mince your words, just tell us what you really think.]

So good ol’ boys or no, to Toll Road or not to Toll Road will be the burning local issue in November ’08, and the lines on this focus issue are clearly drawn.