SD31: Odessa oil company executive Kirk Edwards, who lost an open-seat primary against now-Sen. Kel Seliger (R-Amarillo) in 2004, backed the incumbent in a letter printed in the Midland Reporter-Telegram. In the letter, Edwards said he hoped voters would “see through what will surely be a huge negative blitz against [Seliger and Rep. Brooks Landgraf (R-Odessa)]” funded by “the very rich Midland money folks.”
HD TBD: Dallas resident Jessica Gonzalez formed a campaign committee for a potential race for state representative but did not indicate which seat she might seek. She may be an attorney who has worked in the law firm of former Rep. Domingo Garcia (D-Dallas) and the Obama 2012 re-election campaign and administration.
Pasadena: Mayor Jeff Wagner proposed the city pay $1M to settle a voting rights lawsuit with Latino residents who sued over a now-scuttled plan to elect council members. The council is expected to discuss the proposal at its Tuesday meeting. In 2013, the city’s charter was amended to change the council makeup to six single-member districts and two at-large seats. A federal judge ruled that the city’s plan intentionally discriminated against Latino voters and ordered the city to revert to a previously used set of eight single-member districts. “I strongly believe that the city did not violate the Voting Rights Act or adopt a discriminatory election system,” Wagner said in a statement. “It’s in the best interest of the city to get this suit behind us.”
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