Gómez Goes Negative

Margaret Gómez: We're sure Doggett likes you. He just didn't endorse you. (Photo by Jack Anderson)

UPDATE: After we posted this last night, the Gómez campaign called to set the record straight. First, they say Gómez does live east of I-35, in the 78747 Zip code. Travis County Appraisal District records say otherwise, but we'll let Gómez and TCAD straighten that one out.

Second, the Gómez camp says they've heard no complaints from U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett about using his photo on one of her campaign mailers. We should clarify here that the whole world hasn't complained to us about Gómez's use of the Doggett photo; the only complaints we've heard are from Raul Alvarez's campaign and his supporters. Here's last night's posting:

It's the quiet types that surprise you every time. Take Precinct 4 Commissioner Margaret Gomez, often the most silent voice on the Commissioners Court. In the 11th hour, Gomez shed her public persona of the invisible yet kindly commissioner and butched up her campaign message in a way that suggests maybe she's somebody else altogether.

One of Gomez's recent political mailers attacks opponent Raul Alvarez because he accepted a generous contribution from a Hays County Republican (never mind the sizable sums she takes from lobbyists who do business with the county). But it's the mailer bearing a cheery photo of Gomez and U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett that's drawing the most criticism, largely because it suggests that Doggett is a big Gomez supporter. In fact, Doggett's office tells the Alvarez camp that the congressman did not endorse Gomez, nor did he give her permission to use his photo on her political material. The text of the mailer takes us back to the bad old Tom DeLay days. Ah, yes, the days when Gomez "fought back and stood up for our Democratic values," the days when Gomez "worked hard to re-elect" Doggett.

On another truthiness front, Gomez has recently been noting that she's a lifelong resident of Southeast Austin. This is news to us because when we think of the 78704 Zip code, where Gomez resides, we think of the hip neighborhood south of the river, west of I-35. Gomez's current residence is on the western end of the precinct, near South Lamar and Manchaca.