DA Healey is Being Primaried

Just posted on FortBendNow is some pretty significant local news. Fort Bend District Attorney John Healey is being challenged in next year's Republican Primary.

Well that was a no-brainer. Healey has made himself very vulnerable recently in trumping up charges against the mayor of Fulshear (a Democrat) and against a gang of roofers who started their own business that would be in direct competition with his former Assistant DA’s wife’s campaign fund contributor.

(I know, the last one sounds a little convoluted but that is Republican politics in Fort Bend County.)

In both cases the judges, both of them are Republican, essentially threw the cases out of court. In the case against the mayor, Healey and Mike Elliott, who tried the case, were both severely criticized by the judge.

Healey later fired Elliott in a rather bizarre way.

In a way, this is not good for Democrats. It means that if Healey loses in the primary all of the issues that could be raised by a Democratic candidate against Healey would be moot.

But there is hope on the horizon. Nina Schaefer is the one who has filed to run against Healey. Schaefer, it will be remembered lost her primary bid for an open seat, County Court at Law #1, to Bud Childers, the quintessential good old boy.

You know, Bud Childers, the judge who couldn’t take the heat and recused himself from trying a boy arsonist 19 months ago, then tried to unrecuse himself.

So Nina Schaefer ran against that guy, who turned out to be a train wreck of a judge, and lost.

But wait, it gets better.

Nina Schaefer’s campaign strategist is none other than bug killer extraordinaire and onetime chairman of the Republican Party of Fort Bend County, Gary Gillen.

And why is this good news? You see, here in Fort Bend County, like everywhere else, we have two flavors of Republicans. Spittle-spewing, Bible-pounding, young-Earth-believing Republicans – who are running the show right now – and what I call the “C Club Republicans.” These are maybe a little more center right. Gillen is associated with the latter flavor. In other words, the minority. But not only that, this is the group of Republican voters who don’t show up at the polls in the Republican Primaries.

But don’t get me wrong I am characteristically pessimistic. Healey has a huge stink following him around right now. You have to wonder whether the rightwing will hold their noses and vote for their guy, or put their principles aside in order to get rid of one of their own. One who has become somewhat of a liability for them.

Now this is going to be fun to watch.