Fwd: [DemocraticResearch] Blue Dog Senator Armbrister won't seek re-election

Armbrister is known for the picture of a blue dog that hangs in his office.
When other senators left for Albuquerque, Armbrister remained in Austin.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/printstory.mpl/headline/metro/3538968

Dec. 20, 2005, 11:15PM

Veteran Democrat Armbrister won't seek re-election

Victoria state senator's seat is likely to go to the GOP next year

By CLAY ROBISON
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Austin Bureau

AUSTIN - Ken Armbrister of Victoria, a conservative Democrat and one of the state Senate's most senior members, announced Tuesday that he won't seek
re-election next year, opening the door to a likely Republican takeover of his Southeast Texas district.

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Three Republicans already had filed for the seat without waiting for Armbrister to signal his intentions, and more are expected to join the race. The 19-county district includes Waller and part of Fort Bend County in suburban Houston.

A gain of one would give the GOP 20 of the Senate's 31 seats, one short of the two-thirds majority that could prove crucial on controversial, partisan issues. Senate rules require a two-thirds vote to advance legislation.

"After 38 years of public service it's time for new challenges," Armbrister, 58, said in a written statement. He said he intends to serve the remaining year on his current term. That would include at least one more special session on school finance.

Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, Armbrister has been in the Senate since 1987. He previously served four years in the Texas House and before that was on the Victoria school
board and spent 14 years on the Victoria police force.

He is the fourth state senator to decide against running for re-election next year, but his district is the most likely to change partisan hands. Despite his long incumbency and funding edge, a Republican challenger got 45 percent of the vote against him in 2002, the last time the seat was on the ballot.

Armbrister was the only Senate Democrat who didn't fly to New Mexico in 2003 to break a quorum and delay action on a Republican-backed congressional redistricting bill. He said then that his district was more Republican, on paper, than some other Senate districts represented by Republicans.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said he encouraged Armbrister to run again.

"He's a friend of mine, and I'll miss him. He's been a real leader and helped to build consensus," Dewhurst said.

Armbrister also expressed pride in his "bipartisan approach" to problem-solving. During his Senate career,
he has served as president pro tempore and, at various times, has chaired the Criminal Justice, State Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations committees.

In 1997, he helped then-Gov. George W. Bush increase the homestead exemption for property taxes, which provided limited tax relief for many Texans.

Gary Gates, who is in the real estate and ranching business in Fort Bend County and lost two races for the Texas House, has filed for the Republican nomination for the seat. So has David Stall of Fayetteville, the city manager in Shoreacres, and rancher-businessman Herman W. Brune of Columbus.

State Reps. Glenn Hegar, R-Katy, and Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, said they would consider a Senate race, although both seemed reluctant to leave the House. Howard lives outside the Senate district but has a ranch in the district.

Other possible candidates include state Rep. Geanie Morrison, R-Victoria, and mortgage banker Ben Streusand, who lost a
Republican primary race for Congress last year and recently moved into the district.

Other senators not seeking re-election are Republican Jon Lindsay of Houston and Democrat Gonzalo Barrientos of Austin, who are retiring, and Republican Todd Staples of Palestine, who is running for state agriculture commissioner.

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