Katz for Lieutenant Governor

A man best known to Austinites for his heavy meals is looking to become lite guv. Yes, Marc Katz, he of Katz's Deli and Bar fame, has announced that he's considering a run for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

He's proposing that his campaign will be funded with small donations in the $50 to $100 range: Kind of a change of tune since, when he ran for mayor in 2003, Katz literally made a federal case out of getting the city's $100 campaign contribution cap lifted.

This time, Katz is rolling out a platform of more, better paid teachers, more medical professionals, and cutting taxes on small businesses, putting him in a similar "quirky everyman" mold like gubernatorial hopeful Kinky Friedman. Presumably this means that if they are both successful in the primaries, they would headline the state's most unconventional ticket to date. Failing that, they could consider setting up a combination deli/humidor.

So far, there's been surprisingly little heat around the race for lieutenant governor. On the GOP side of the street, the presumption is that incumbent David Dewhurst will stick around if nothing else opens up. Then there's the constant rumblings that Attorney General Greg Abbott might be considering a shot at a vacant seat if Dewhurst takes a shot at replacing Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison when she leaves DC.

Oddly, there's been a dearth of Democrats saying they'd be making a run. With Gov. Rick Perry at arguably his weakest in a decade, and an open US Senate seat on the horizon, it's not too surprising that the party's most ambitious are looking at a big seat. But considering the massive authority that the lite guv wields in the double role as president of the State Senate, and how much Dewhurst used that to logjam legislation, it remains one of the more important statewide offices up for grabs.