For two decades, state Sen. Chris Harris represented District 9 and Arlington in Austin, becoming the chairman of powerful committees overseeing criminal justice and commerce issues.
But then the Republican Arlington attorney -- after redistricting drastically changed the boundaries of his district -- suddenly announced in September that he wouldn't seek another term.As a result, three candidates are in the running for the open Senate seat on the Nov. 6 ballot. Former state Rep. Kelly Hancock is the Republican candidate with Democrat and Arlington firefighter Pete Martinez and retired educator and Libertarian Dave "Mac" McElwee also seeking the seat.Hancock, owner of a small chemical distribution business in Richland Hills, represented House District 91 in northeast Tarrant County for five years before entering, and winning, a sometimes bitter primary campaign for the state Senate against state Rep. Todd Smith of Euless.He is well-known throughout the redrawn district which now includes not only parts of Arlington, Fort Worth and Grand Prairie, but parts of cities in northeast Tarrant including Euless, Southlake, Keller, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills, Hurst, Watauga and Haltom City.In the last legislative session, Hancock, who is from North Richland Hills, filed bills favoring mandatory sonograms before abortions, limiting state spending and assisting charger schools. He also was in favor of giving more financial flexibility to life insurance companies based in Texas.If elected Hancock said he would concentrate on economic issues and protect Texas' business-friendly policies."When you lead the nation in job growth then you have other states charging at you and you need to safeguard the economic standing of the state," Hancock said.A former North Richland School Board member, Hancock said he is well-versed in education issues and is prepared to tackle the prickly issue of state school finance.Martinez is a Hurst resident and Arlington firefighter. He studied rehabilitation studies, criminal justice and sociology at the University of North Texas, according to his campaign's Facebook page. Martinez said he believes his campaign is generating a lot of support from young voters.Among the most important issues are education and public safety, he said, and if elected he would work with fellow Democrat Davis on school funding issues."North Texas needs more than just one senator -- Wendy Davis -- tracking education and restoring funding," he said. "There's going to be an even bigger demand for manufacturing and technology jobs, and we lack behind in education. These are local and good paying jobs for North Texans."Martinez said it has been a challenge campaigning in "a very conservative district," and against an opponent with experience in the state House.McElwee is a retired school teacher and 24-year Navy veteran from Arlington. He admits running against Hancock and Martinez is particularly difficult since Republican and Democrat party leaders gave their supporters "marching orders" to vote a straight ticket.Still, McElwee is pushing forward with a campaign that emphasizes smaller government, including having a unicameral form of government by merging the state House and Senate into one legislative body to not only save money but to cut down on the influence of lobbyist."It saves money and because you don't have the duplicated committee system with staff people and the bicameral system is easy prey for the lobbying," McElwee said. "If you can't get your way in one chamber you can go to the other."Tarrant County voters will be voting for candidates in two other Senatorial districts races.Senate District 12Incumbent Republican Jane Nelson of Flower Mound faces Libertarian John A. Betz Jr. No Democrat filed for office. Nelson has been in the Senate since 1993, giving the former teacher and businesswoman the sixth highest seniority in the chamber.Her district takes in parts of Denton County including Lewisville, The Colony and Flower Mound before dipping down into Tarrant County to take in Grapevine then swinging west to take in Haslet, Saginaw, Westworth Village, Westover Hills, White Settlement and Azle.Nelson chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, and is a member of the Senate Finance Committee."The economy and education are the two issues most on voters' minds right now," Nelson said in an email.Betz, who lives in Fort Worth, is a Domino's Pizza deliveryman. Before going to work for Dominos, he delivered pizzas for Mr. Gatti's Pizza and as an officer for a local security company. Originally from Iowa, he studied police science at the Hawkeye Institute of Technology.An Army veteran who served as a military policeman, Betz's admits to being a "paper candidate," who just wanted to make sure the Libertarian Party had someone on the ballot. He admits to being "hermetic" and an "extremely disillusioned" Republican.Senate District 22Republican state Sen. Brian Birdwell of Granbury faces Libertarian Tom Kilbride of Waco. The Democrat candidate withdrew from the race. Under redistricting, District 22 now barely touches Tarrant County taking in parts of Grand Prairie, Arlington and a very small portion of Mansfield before stretching west to take in Hood County then south to Falls County.Born in Fort Worth, Birdwell is a retired Army Lt. Colonel who served in Operation Desert Storm. On Sept. 11, 2001, he was serving at the Pentagon when American Airlines Flight 77 struck, leaving him critically wounded and severely burned. After retirement from the military, Brian and his wife Mel launched Face The Fire Ministries, a non-profit group that supports critical burn survivors and wounded military service members.Birdwell has served as the vice-chairman of the Senate's Higher Education committee and Veteran Affairs committee. He's also been a member of the Economic Development and Government Organization committees.During the last term, Birdwell supported legislation favoring mandatory sonograms before abortions and he says he will support efforts to end the state's controversial policy of allowing some immigrants in-state tuition at public universities. A bill he backed on this issue died in the last session.Mark P. Jones, a columnist for the Texas Tribune, said Birdwell was the most conservative senator in the Senate during the last session.Birdwell said he has been traveling throughout the district and meeting several times a week with school superintendents, city and county officials about the "lingering challenges facing our state."The phone for Kilbride's campaign in Waco was disconnected and he did not return emails seeking comment. On the Project Vote Smart website his profession is listed as a professor at McLennan Community College.On his political website Kilbride stated he supports cutting taxes, ending the War on Drugs by allowing medical marijuana and reducing the penalties for possession of the substance.Staff writer Gordon Dickson contributed to this reportMax B. Baker, (817) 390-7714Twitter: @MaxBBaker
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