SD 17: Exactly The Kind Of Person You Shouldn’t Elect To The Texas Senate

Sadly, I privately predicted the correct outcome of yesterday’s hearing over Stephanie Simmons’ eligibility for the ballot in Senate District 17.

Given the often vague nature of Texas’ election laws when it comes to the intent of one’s residency (coupled with the bizarre facts in this particular case), and the fact that judges most often err on the side of access to the ballot, the decision wasn’t much of a surprise to me.

Nevertheless, yesterday’s hearing did produce a laundry list of reasons that no educated human being on the face of the earth should vote for Stephanie Simmons for any public office, to wit (hat tip to Quorum Report):

After hearing testimony from Simmons herself that she voted in the wrong county for 14 years, District Judge Scott Jenkins was the picture of disbelief. She explained that she thought it was OK to vote in her parents’ voting precinct in Harris County even though she and her husband lived in Fort Bend County. She said it never crossed her mind that she was doing anything wrong and that no one at a polling place for those 14 years asked her if she resided in the precinct.

This woman is actually a licensed attorney. Granted, she works for the parent company of Olshan Foundation Repair, so she’s no election law practitioner. However, how can anyone with who lacks the basic knowledge that should accompany holding a voter registration card actually think they are qualified to serve in the Texas Senate?

Think about this: Every two years, this woman had to go to her parents’ house to pick up her voter registration card. And she never–in spite of the fact that she passed the bar exam in the state of Texas–thought that some law might permit her (nay, require her) to vote where she actually lived (if she lives there)?

Even the trial judge thought she was full of crap:

“It’s straining my credulity,” Jenkins said in response. He used even stronger language while denying the other Democrat in the race, Chris Bell, an injunction that would have removed Simmons from the ballot. He marveled that an intelligent woman and an “officer of the court” – Simmons is an attorney – could have believed that what she was doing was legal.

“It saddens me that I do not believe you,” Jenkins said.

And, try this on for size:

Simmons was accompanied today by former state representative and former Craddick assistant parliamentarian Ron Wilson. Wilson said that he’s known Simmons for about eight years and that she would make a good candidate for SD 17. He denied recruiting her to run for the Senate seat but said that Simmons had talked with him before deciding to run. He also acknowledged helping Simmons with some of the costs of legal representation. For today’s court hearing, she was represented by Austin über-attorney Roy Minton.

Simmons doesn’t exactly keep good company. Ron Wilson is the epitome of a slimy, snake-in-the-grass politician.
And, I’m not sure whose claim is more unbelievable: Ron Wilson’s or Stephanie Simmons.

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Technorati Tags Chris Bell, Fort Bend County, Harris County, Ron Wilson, Roy Minton, Scott Jenkins, Stephanie Simmons, Texas, Texas Senate

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