Three-ring race

The News-Register has learned that student leaders and some campus club members will circulate petitions for independent candidates in the 2006 Texas guberanatorial race. They are also considering a voter registration drive.

The candidates are an interesting bunch.

If Ronald Reagan, Jesse Ventura and Arnold Schwarzenegger can become state governors, how difficult can it be? That’s the sort of question people ask when an actor, wrestler or any candidate from outside established political circles throws his or her hat into the ring.

In 2006, the Texas gubernatorial race includes a three-ring arena.

In one ring is the Republican incumbent, Gov. Rick Perry. In the second ring is Democratic candidate Chris Bell. In the third ring, candidates Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn are working hard to place themselves on the November ballot.

Friedman embodies the spirit of independence, and Strayhorn is a republican who recently embraced that category.

Friedman is a musician, writer and one of the best headline generators around. He is a colorful character with a no-nonsense approach to campaigning. People are often surprised to learn he is a serious candidate.

With a name like Kinky, being taken seriously takes a couple of extra steps.

Strayhorn, the state comptroller, bills herself “as one tough grandma.” Her far-reaching appeal makes success as an independent plausible. Ironically, her son Scott MacClellan is the White House press secretary.

If she ran as a republican she would have gone toe-to-toe with Bush’s gubernatorial successor, Perry. Strayhorn’s other son, Brad McClellan, is her campaign manager.
Friedman and Strayhorn will qualify for the November ballot if they can get 45, 540 registered voters to sign a petition before May 11.

To sign the Friedman or Strayhorn petitions, North Lake students and staff must meet the following criteria, (a) they must be registered voters, and (b) they must not have voted in any primary election this year.

It’s good to see students involving themselves in the political process, regardless of party affiliation. As fall approaches the gubernatorial race will certainly get interesting.