Straus, Spector, Silber wrap up campaigning for special election

08:12 PM CST on Friday, February 4, 2005

By KAREN BROOKS / The Dallas Morning News

A whirlwind state House campaign – pitting two former officeholders against a front-running newcomer – goes to the voters today in a special election to determine who will represent a conservative San Antonio district for the rest of the legislative session.

The three-week sprint began when Rep. Elizabeth Ames Jones vacated the seat after being tapped for a spot on the Texas Railroad Commission.

Now, the three candidates jockeying for House District 121 are wrapping up their frantic e-mailing, phone banking, radio blitzing, block walking and sign posting in a race both state parties believe they can win.

The candidates are former Texas Supreme Court Justice Rose Spector, a Democrat; businessman and first-time candidate Joe Straus III, a Republican; and former Rep. Paul Silber, an independent. A second Republican dropped out last week and endorsed Mr. Straus.

Mr. Silber, who says his e-mail campaign has been very successful, hopes to force Mr. Straus into a runoff and then beat him with experience.

"I always figured this was a long shot and I'd try to do it and make a statement," said Mr. Silber, 80, an engineer and rancher who led the House school-finance committee in the one term he served, in 1971. "I'm not looking for a long-term political career. I'm just looking at what I can do for public education at this point in time."

Whoever takes the seat will report for duty in Austin next week, where they'll spend the rest of the session mostly working on school-finance issues and property-tax issues. For now, all but one member of the Bexar County delegation are Democrats.

For Democrats, a Spector win could be a sign of a political comeback. They will have picked up two seats since the last session, their first gains in the House in more than 30 years.

But Mr. Straus, 45, is considered the front-runner. Backed by Gov. Rick Perry and Ms. Jones, he has spent more than $140,000 and raised $92,000 in just a couple weeks – largely from local businessmen and political groups.

"I'm not telling folks that as the prospective 150th-ranking member that I'm going to come in and solve the problems, but I am the candidate that's going to bring Republican principles to the debate," said Mr. Straus, a former Republican precinct chairman who owns an insurance and investment firm. "I feel strongly that with my 20-plus years in Republican politics and my relationships with the leadership in Austin, I'm in the best position to be effective for the district right away."

Democrats note that Ms. Spector has been elected 11 times in that district and was an attorney and later a judge during the school-finance lawsuits of the 1970s.

The first woman to be elected to the Texas Supreme Court, in 1993, Ms. Spector, 71, is an attorney and college professor. She is backed by Bexar County Democrats and the bipartisan Texas Political Women's Caucus. She has raised about $16,000.

"When I saw there was a vacancy, I decided [school finance] is really – not only in this race but for me – the first priority," she said. "I believe in public schools and educational opportunity, and I'm just tired of there being a crisis every time they pass something."

As for Mr. Silber, he's hopeful as well. A former Democratic representative who lost his seat after the state changed district lines, Mr. Silber says his lack of party affiliation means he can build consensus. Not to mention, he adds, he's indebted to no one since he's solicited no money and spent only $820 on his race.

One hurdle he has faced is making sure people don't think he's too old for the job.

"I tell people that I'm old enough to be wise, and young enough to get results," he said.

E-mail kmbrooks@dallasnews.com