Madla to leave Senate early

Sen. Frank Madla, defeated in the Democratic primary by Carlos Uresti, will resign his seat as of May 31.

Making “the decision to depart at this time was not easy,” Madla said in his letter. “However, after many hours of thoughtful consideration and reflection, I ultimately decided that after 33 years of prioritizing public service, it was time to put my family first.”

Madla, 69, a senator since 1993 after two decades in the House, lost to Rep. Carlos Uresti in March.

He said today he hopes that whoever wins a special election to serve out his term benefits from the experience. Uresti - expected to win the heavily-Democratic district - said he woudl run in any special election to complete Madla’s current term.

“Whoever wins the election will have an opportunity to have a little extra seniority,” Madla said. “Whoever it is - I want to give that individual the opportunity.”

That's actually a fairly decent gesture in and of itself, but what happens if the school finance mess isn't resolved by then? Because, see, as things stand now, Goveror Perry has no plans to call for a special election to replace Madla.

"The governor does not anticipate another special session occurring once this one is over, so the election (to fill Madla's current term) would occur at the next general election," said Perry spokeswoman Kathy Walt.

OK, but what if you're wrong and there is another special session? Do the people of SD19 go unrepresented? It'd be a little late to call the election by then. Would Madla change his mind and agree to stick around until the job is done? I've got a bad feeling about this.

Last word, of course, goes to PinkDome.

UPDATE: Okay, it's The Jeffersonian who gets the last word.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on April 18, 2006 to Election 2006 | TrackBack