The big thing next year in Houston is going to be the mayoral election, which will be wide open since Mayor Lee Brown is prohibited from running again by our stoopid term-limits law. Former City Councilman Joe Roach, who announced his candidacy a few months ago, has now announced that he will drop out of the race, citing concerns about his wife's health. This leaves one known candidate, first-term Councilman Michael "Boy Wonder" Berry, and a whole lotta speculation.

Anyway, as I noted before, Roach would not have been my first choice but he was a serious candidate who would have run a good campaign. I'm sorry to see him drop out and wish him and his wife well.