Rep. Mark Shelton, who has served two terms in the House, wants to unseat Sen. Wendy Davis, the incumbent Democrat and a former neighbor, but must first defeat Derek Cooper, a political unknown, in the Republican primary for District 10, which includes much of Fort Worth's west side south of Interstate 30, Benbrook and Edgecliff Village.
Who is Cooper?A 50-year-old welder who embraces Tea Party values and says the most important issues to him are protecting gun rights and stopping illegal immigration.As of April 30, Cooper had received a single contribution -- $100 from Marie Howard, a Tea Party leader and Republican precinct chairwoman -- and personally borrowed $5,000 from BBVA Bank.Shelton raised $111,585 in the last reporting period, with a total of $281,900 on hand. His biggest contributors include the Texas Medical Association's PAC ($4,125), home builder Bob Perry ($10,000) and the Texans for Lawsuit Reform PAC ($25,000), which seeks tort changes to limit punitive awards in litigation including malpractice suits.Cooper says that if he gets to Austin he will work to pass an "anti-immigration law on steroids," stronger even than those of Arizona and Alabama. Asked what that would entail, the first-time candidate said he had no specifics now.Asked to differentiate his positions from those of Shelton, Cooper said, "He and I haven't had a disagreement of policy." Then how do they differ? "I'd like to be in the state Senate to protect our state from federal encroachment. His main focus has been medical legislation."Even so, when contacted, Shelton, 57, a pediatrician at Cook Children's Medical Center, declined to discuss how to bridge the gap in care possibly left by the withdrawal of state funding to Planned Parenthood for nonabortion services like breast and cervical cancer screening."The major issue in this campaign is jobs and the economy," Shelton repeated three times when asked about how poor women would receive such checkups. Finally, he said he declined to answer. He set up the HIV program at Cook Children's, and his campaign literature refers to his medical background, calling him "The Doctor We Trust."Cooper was more forthcoming: "My solution would be for Planned Parenthood to set up clinics where they don't do abortions."Shelton opposes the Obama administration's healthcare overhaul, saying current problems of coverage can be solved by encouraging economic growth, which would expand private insurance accessibility. Meanwhile, 80 percent of underinsured children are eligible for the CHIPS Medicaid program in Texas, he said. But Shelton offered no solution on how to encourage their families to apply. He said public education campaigns have been tried.Shelton declined to identify his exact neighborhood when asked where he lives."Southwest Fort Worth," he replied, explaining that he doesn't want to strangers coming to his door. The candidate lives on a leafy, two-lot property in Mistletoe Heights, Davis' former neighborhood, just north of the zoo. Few people would describe the area as southwest Fort Worth."I think District 10 needs a conservative that is in step with the views of the people of this district," Shelton said. "I am a Christian and certainly a pro-life candidate."He co-authored a bill last session that requires a transvaginal ultrasound on women seeking an early-term abortion if the fetal heartbeat cannot be detected by a surface abdominal sonogram. It took effect Feb. 7 in Texas law, delayed by legal challenges.A similar law in Virginia was changed when concerns that women would undergo a highly intrusive procedure hit the national media spotlight. On March 30, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists said such recent laws don't "enhance the health or safety of the patient, but merely establish bureaucratic barriers and add unnecessary emotional and financial stress to an already difficult decision."Later, Shelton did not respond to voicemails and an e-mail asking him to elaborate on how he would create jobs in Texas.Cooper, who has been a steelworker and an oil field welder, reads history for pleasure and studies French, Spanish, Russian and German as a hobby. He became politically active in 2009 after attending Tea Party events. Before that, he voted for conservative candidates of both parties, he said.His interest in the immigration issue heightened after he was called to jury duty. The case involved a man who was being tried on a DUI charge and whom Cooper believed to be an illegal immigrant.After Cooper openly objected that prospective jurors were asked only their views on a possible jail term, not deportation, others similarly spoke up, and "one woman started crying, she was so upset." The entire pool was dismissed, he recalled.He said that if elected, he'd work for "the toughest anti-immigration law in the nation."Barry Shlachter, 817-390-7718Twitter: @startelegramHave more to add? News tip? Tell us
