Out from the woodwork

Like a zombie from a low-budget George Romero knockoff, former district Judge John Devine is coming back.

Devine is the sixth Republican candidate to announce his candidacy for the [newly drawn 10th Congressional District] seat. Others are Pat Elliott of Brenham, Ben Streusand, John Kelley, Michael McCaul and Dave Phillips.

Dream big while you can, fellas. The courts will be ruling soon enough.

By the way, I can see why Devine gave an exclusive on his story to a paper in a small town seventy miles west of where he lives: They were obviously willing to print his press release as is:

[While serving as judge, Devine] received attention for his actions to hold local government accountable when he ruled that taxpayers had a right under the law to vote on a proposed light rail system.

Yes, this was a ruling he gave in 2001 that would have halted the light rail construction after it had already started in order to force a vote on it. A three-judge panel from the 1st District Court of Appeals unanimously overturned Devine's injunction, ruling that he had "erred in application of the law to the undisputed facts." (Houston Chronicle, March 9, 2001) The full court refused to reconsider the appeal on an 8-1 vote, and finally the state Supreme Court refused to hear a final appeal. If he considers his ruling on this case to be a point of pride, that's all you need to know about what kind of Congressman he'd be. Of course, if you still want more info, I've got a few links here to aspects of Devine's colorful career.

Link via Rob.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on November 24, 2003 to Killer D's | TrackBack