I Heart Chris Bell (& Off the Kuff)

I’ve sung the guy’s praises before, so it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that I’m happy as heck to see Chris Bell once again running for office. He was my Rep. for a very short time before being redistricted down to the Texas/Mexico border by Tom DeLay and his state legislature cronies as payback for going after DeLay for ethics violations (seriously; look it up), and he always impressed me quite a bit both there and in the H-town City Council. I backed his run for Governor in ’06 and watched in dismay as he lost to Governor “Goodhair” Perry, so I’m glad he hasn’t given up but is trying to get back on the horse, albeit at a lower level.

He’s running for the Texas (not national; see Rick Noriega, who’s also a good guy, for that) Senate this time out, trying for the seat left open by Repub Kyle Janek, who moved from Houston to Austin last year & therefore couldn’t represent his H-town constituency. The Repubs appear to be falling all over themselves to find a replacement for Janek, but Bell’s stepped in strongly, and his push for better healthcare & education for Texans, more oversight on Big Bidness, and real-live ethics up in Austin has made him an impressive contender, at least from where I sit.

To put it bluntly, I really like the guy. He’s honest, straightforward, and smart, and was astoundingly responsive back when he was in the U.S. Congress — to date he’s the only politician I’ve ever gotten a non-form response from, and I think that says something. Excellent local politiblogger Charles Kuffner over at Off the Kuff has a really nice interview up (in MP3 format) w/Bell on his site; check it out here.