One sign of a campaign that’s not doing as well as it might like is the Phantom Endorsement. That’s when some generically nice things said about the candidate by a person of influence is touted in campaign literature as a genuine statement of support. This is usually followed by another statement from the person of influence in question saying that he or she did not in fact endorse that candidate. The point being that if the candidate who falsely claimed the endorsement wasn’t at least a little desperate to proclaim some good news, he or she might have checked to make sure they had what they thought they had.
Such is the case in the HD134 race, where Martha Wong sent out this mailer, which contains a nice quote about Wong by HISD Superintendant Abe Saavedra. You may be asking yourself what a sitting school superintendant is doing getting publicly involved in a partisan legislative race. Turns out Superintendant Saavedra was asking the same thing, for he subsequently released this statement, which says in part:
[I]t is not my practice to make endorsements for any candidate. It is unfortunate that a misunderstanding may have occurred, but I have not authorized my name to be used in campaign materials. I have not endorsed any candidate.
Oops. Better keep looking, Martha. And if that’s not enough, even Governor Perry has publicly questioned things Wong has said.
Gov. Rick Perry’s staff took issue Friday with State Rep. Martha Wong’s claim that her intervention was the reason he pledged $10 million in funds for Houston-Harris County last week to deal with violent crime.
“Even the governor listens to Martha Wong,” she boasted to Bellaire High School students Friday morning during a campaign appearance with her opponent, Ellen Cohen.
Wong was referring to a letter she sent to Perry on Sept. 19, claiming her district was “under siege” and asking for state assistance, including troops, to fight crime.
“The governor has responded,” she said. “He’s going to send $10 million to Houston.”
Kathy Walt, Perry’s gubernatorial press secretary, said the assistance is modeled after a program the governor has implemented with the state’s Homeland Security office along the Texas-Mexico border.
“The idea of expanding a similar program to Houston and other areas has been in the works for some time,” Walt said.
“Rep. Wong certainly knew about it.”
She characterized Wong’s remarks as being “of a political nature, something she’s saying as a candidate.”
Wong later acknowledged she had “talked to Homeland Security…and they were looking into it.”
District 134, which Wong represents, is not experiencing an increase in crime, according to HPD figures and the Bellaire Police Department, which is also in her district.
How embarrassing is that? I mean, besides the idea of the National Guard patrolling the mean streets of West University Place, how often does a Republican State Rep in a tight election battle get slapped by Rick freaking Perry? Good grief.
And speaking of that debate at Bellaire High School, it’s not on the Examiner web page yet, but a copy of an article recapping what happened can be found here. The good bits:
About 400 students – most of them seniors in college-level Advanced Placement courses – attended what was only the second joint appearance by the two candidates.
The candidates’ opening statements and the questions reflected issues of interest to young people – public education, college tuition, sex education, environmental matters.
In an uncomfortable moment, Wong mentioned that she sits on the board of the University of St. Thomas, adding, “so if any of you want to go there…”
Cohen drew cheers when she suggested abandoning the annual TAKS assessment test that determines grade promotions and graduation.
Those who wanted to ask questions had them screened first by teachers, and open displays of support or opposition to a candidate’s remarks were discouraged.
That didn’t stop a regular chorus of cheers and boos. At first, the audience seemed to favor Wong, but by the end of the scheduled session, Cohen was being cheered more vigorously and Wong was being booed.
Oh, Martha, Martha, Martha. Anyway, here’s Ellen Cohen’s response (Word doc) to Wong’s claimed support of Saavedra, which sets a few other things straight as well. At this point, it’s practically piling on.