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Sugar Land mayor quits District 22 race
SUGAR LAND Citing his desire to support the Republican Party in its difficult write-in campaign to hold the congressional seat vacated by Tom DeLay, Sugar Land Mayor David Wallace withdrew from the race Monday. The move leaves Houston Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs as the sole Republican write-in candidate a condition, Wallace said, for $3 million in campaign funding from the national GOP. The state party endorsed Sekula-Gibbs' candidacy last week at a meeting of GOP precinct chairs in the 22nd Congressional District. Wallace said he will support her."Now is the time for all Republicans to unite around one candidate and preserve our conservative voice in Congress," Wallace said during a news conference at Sugar Land City Hall. The withdrawal brings some clarity to a contest that has been in flux since DeLay, a Sugar Land Republican, announced in April that he was stepping down after winning the GOP nomination for a 12th term. A federal court, ruling in a suit filed by Democrats, said Republicans could not replace DeLay on the Nov. 7 ballot, forcing the GOP to mount a write-in campaign. The only candidates on the ballot in November will be Democrat Nick Lampson and Libertarian Bob Smither. Smither has encouraged Republicans to vote for him to keep the Republican-leaning district in conservative hands. Sekula-Gibbs said Wallace called her to declare his plans. "He called me and said I had his full support, and I'm very happy about that," Sekula-Gibbs said. Having just one Republican write-in candidate will improve the party's chances of holding the seat, she said. "He expressed his willingness to be a team player and to work with the party. Basically he would work hard to make sure Congressional District 22 stays Republican," she said. Besides campaigning and voicing her stance on different issues, Sekula-Gibbs said she will have to educate voters on how to vote for a write-in candidate on the electronic or optical scan ballots in use throughout the district. It includes parts of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston and Harris counties. A Republican straight-party vote won't register for Sekula-Gibbs because she is a write-in candidate, so straight party voters still will have to write in her name. Sekula-Gibbs said her campaign speeches and appearances will include a presentation on how to vote for her as well as discussion of issues and qualifications. Posted by: Steve 2006-08-22 |
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