First endorsement of the year: Texas House District 9

Democrat Kenneth Franks will once again challenge incumbent Republican Rep. Wayne Christian for the Texas House, District 9, race in November.

Franks, a retired teacher and now rancher and businessman from Pineland, announced his candidacy in an e-mail to eight feet deep sent Tuesday. Christian was first elected to the House in 1995. Christian is a financial advisor from Center. He has served six terms in the Texas House. Christian advises potential investors on his Web site: “Those wanting to “play the market” might want to move on to another site. Our clients provide us their “serious” dollars they don’t desire to lose.” A staunch conservative, Christian said he was honored to be named one of the “worst legislators” by Texas Monthly. So proud is he.

Both state Democratic and Republican party Web sites, checked today, indicated Franks and Christian will have no primary election challengers. The filing deadline was Monday.

District 9 encompasses the Pineywoods counties of Shelby, Nacogdoches, Jasper, San Augustine and Sabine with a total population of almost 140,000 residents, according to the 2000 Census.

Christian defeated Franks by 62-35 percent during the November 2008 General Election. He is president of the Texas Conservative Coalition, which its Web site says is for individual liberty, limited government, free enterprise and traditional family values.

But even though Rep. Christian might espouse some of those virtues, Christian does not seem bothered by favors askew with these values when it serves the Representative or his friends. One wonders if  Wayne Christian was thinking limited government and individual liberty when he sneaked in a last-minute bill  allowing reconstruction of  his beach house on Bolivar Peninsula — out of his legislative district — which was considered by the state as open beach after the property was rearranged by Hurricane Ike. Perhaps Christian and his ilk see limited government as good government … just as long as it is good for Rep. Christian and his beach neighbors.

I don’t know Kenneth Franks very well, mostly our conversations have been via e-mail. We do have some friends and relatives in common. I also wouldn’t be honest if I said I knew all of the policy positions of either Mr. Franks or Rep. Christian. But I do know a little of the non-policy side of Kenneth Franks.

Kenneth grew up in the home of an educator and he spent almost 30 years as a teacher. He was in the inaugural class at Angelina Junior College — now Angelina College — in Lufkin. He transferred to The University of Texas in Austin where he received his undergraduate degree. He later received a Master’s of Education from Stephen F. Austin, back in the Pineywoods, in Nacogdoches. He has taught in schools from 5A to Class A classification.  After retiring from teaching, Kenneth now ranches and operates a car wash.

It is perhaps the education side that drives Kenneth to want student testing to be meaningful and not puntative. Kenneth, according to campaign information on his Web site, supports pay that will actually provide  better lives for teachers and support staffs. He also supports fully funding mandates that will make college tuition more affordable for all eligible students and to help potential teachers  with more financial assistance.

I spent a lot of time in several of the counties of District 9. Add up the three times I lived  there, and I would have lived roughly a quarter of my life in Nacogdoches County. It’s been awhile since I lived there but it will always feel like a “second hometown” to me. That is one reason I want a good Democratic state representative for District 9. The other reason is Texas needs more Democrats in the Legislature. I’m talking Dems who will actually represent and do the state’s business and not those Dems or GOP-ers who are only interested in better positioning themselves.

I think Kenneth will be a fine state representative who happens to be a Democrat. So my first official endorsement of 2010, for what it’s worth, is for Kenneth Franks for District 9, Texas House of Representatives.