Congratulations to the Chronicle!
After several suggestions from this blog (and even a few emails), a professional journalist covering doctor-councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs’ bid for Congress finally decided to ask her (for the record) why she’s not resigning her council seat to work full-time to introduce herself to the voters of the district (many of whom do not know her):
If Sekula-Gibbs wins the special election she will have to resign from the Houston City Council, even if she doesn’t win the term that begins in January.
“To me, that’s a risk that I am willing to take,” said Sekula-Gibbs, whose council term runs through next year.
“I am not half-hearted in my commitment.”
Asked why she is not giving up her council seat now to focus on the congressional race, she replied, “Because being on the City Council gives me a tremendous opportunity to speak out on issues that are important to our region. I cannot give up that position.”
Kudos to the Chronicle for finally getting an answer to a question that should have been asked of doctor-councilwoman weeks ago. You would have thought doctor-councilwoman would have come up with a better answer, but maybe she didn’t actually expect the local media ever to ask the question.
Democrat Nick Lampson, who is now the heavy favorite to win the Congressional seat, decided not to run in the special election, which he might well lose.
Elsewhere in the story, Kristen Mack quotes Houston bicyclist Bob Stein, which always pleases blogHOUSTON.