1st two candidates for HD 118

Three time candidate for Sheriff Larry Ricketts and Harlandale School Board member Joe Farias are both set to run for the Democratic primary HD 118.

Farias is a retired City Public Service employee and is serving his third term on the Harlandale board. He voluntarily resigned his position Monday night, saying it would be a conflict of interest if he sat on the board while asking for support from educators.

He said his education background will help him deal with the thorny issue of public school finance. He added that reducing property taxes is another goal of his, if elected.

"It seems like we tax the homeowner all the time. We have to explore other avenues for funds," he said.    

Farias ran for City Council District 3 in 2003 against then-incumbent Toni Mooouse and Ron Segovia, who won the election.

Ricketts is a captain in the Precinct 2 constable's office and a business owner who has run against Sheriff Ralph Lopez three times.

Ricketts and his wife own a day care center. He said he envisions promoting protection of the state's most vulnerable populations, an issue Uresti made a cornerstone of his tenure.

"I'm going to fight for the poor people's rights," he said.

During the last contested election, Rep. Carlos Uresti took the district by almost 57%.  Republican and Physician assistant Steve Salyer has filed again in that district. At that time, HD 118 had no Democrats publicly intending to run and I think he thought he could win a one-horse horse race.

From my memory, Salyer's bio was not that impressive and didn't prove to be much of a fundraiser. "George Antuna, a regional staffer for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, [who] is "seriously considering" a run" for the seat could provide a more serious challenge . However, that district is still firmly Democrat and absent any real fumbling the Democrat primary winner should prevail.