What's campaign season without free nachos and sausage slices on a cocktail stick? Bill Spelman had his official return-to-council campaign kick-off last night down at Scholz Garten. So far, the LBJ School of Public Affairs professor is the only person running for Mayor Pro Tem Brewster McCracken's Place 5 seat, which Spelman held from 1997 to 2003. Attendees for the bash included an array of familiar local political names, including Mark Yznaga, Tim Mahoney, Jack Kirfman and Margot Clarke (who had her own unsuccessful shot at Place 5 in 2003.) Back in 1997, the Chronicle gave a joint endorsement to Spelman and his opponent Bobbie Enriquez. Spelman received some criticism for breaking what some saw as the "gentleman's agreement" that Place 5 was the 'reserved' Hispanic seat on the council, but soon gained a reputation as an guiding voice on council on controlled development and departmental accountability.) For those interested in political launches in local iconic eateries, Place 1 candidate Chris Riley will be having his campaign kick-off at Threadgill’s World Headquarters, 301 W. Riverside at 6pm tonight, Jan. 23.

Just how close is Texas’ educational system to becoming a laughingstock like that of Kansas? Only a vote or two away. Over the past three days, the State Board of Education’s meeting room Downtown has been the site of a bruising battle between scientists advocating for the theory of evolution versus supporters of intelligent design (aka creationism). The fight centered around the recommendation of scientific and education professionals to remove a requirement that the theory’s “strengths and weaknesses” be taught in Texas high schools, in favor of language requiring that students “evaluate and analyze” evolution. Scientists wanted the language changed for two reasons: One, they argue, the theory has no real weaknesses and is as sound as the theory of gravity; two, “intelligent design” groups such as Seattle’s Discovery Institute in recent years have seized upon the “strengths and weaknesses” language as a wedge to push creationism into the classroom, or at the very least to cast doubts in youngsters’ minds about evolution.

Trains remain pretty much the safest way to travel, but there will always be the dangers associated with living near a railroad track. So with testing of the Capital MetroRail system starting on Feb. 12, Austin ISD, Leander ISD and Capital Metro are joining forces to launch a new rail safety campaign. As part of the Stay off the Tracks! program, they want local kids to help them by designing a new rail safety poster. The competition is open to grades K-12 at schools within half a mile of the new rail tracks The three grand prize winning posters will be distributed to all public schools in the Austin, Leander, Pflugerville and Round Rock ISDs within two miles of the track, as well as private schools and local libraries. See after the break for the full press release, including entry and prize details. Of course, they could just borrow this nightmarish PSA from Britain's Network Rail: Seriously. Stay away from the tracks.

Who will be the next head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the nation's so-called drug czar? At this point its anyone's guess. President Barack Obama has already made his picks not only for major cabinet spots, but also for more modest posts within his administration – like, for example, official photographer – but has not yet named his pick for the person tasked with setting out the nation's drug control "policies, priorities, and objectives." This has left many drug reformers scratching their heads. It certainly doesn't seem that Obama will axe the White House office, but who will be picked to lead the charge (carried under Bush by the smirky John Walters) is anybody's guess. Will there be change or more of the same? Stay tuned …

Austin's role in the elevation of President Barack Obama has yet to be measured, but the fact that he could walk into the heart of Bush country back in 2007 and hold a mass rally at Auditorium Shores showed the significance of his candidacy and its potential. Now the Texans for Obama faithful returned to Scholz Garten for the inauguration watch party this morning. There were boos for Dick Cheney, waves and a chorus of the old standby of "NaNaNaNa, NaNaNaNa, Hey Hey Hey, Goodbye" for soon-to-be Former President George W. Bush. Applause for the Clintons, bigger cheers for Vice-President Joe Biden, and of course a rousing welcome for the big-screen presence of the Obamas. After some giggles when the one-time constitutional lawyer was stuck with Chief Justice John Roberts flubbing the oath of office, the biggest responses were to his policy commitments: Respect for science, infrastructure investment, better market and governmental oversight, and the decision to "reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals." Cue giggles when CNN cut to Former President George W. Bush at that moment.

While the confetti is still dropping in D.C., the state chairs for the Democrats and Republicans in Texas have been busy penning missives to the faithful. Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie is unsurprisingly ebullient, but rather than just doing a victory dance, he echoed the new president's call to arms and unity. "Together, we can find solutions to the problems that touch every American, without regard to political affiliation," he wrote. Meanwhile, Republican Party of Texas Chair Tina Benkiser is convinced she's going to have a really good day … in 2010. Scaring the base with the terrifying specter of President Obama allowing gays in the military (a-booga-booga!), she then goes on to lambast the Democrats as being in the sway of the "Texas Trial Lawyers […] Out-of-State Liberal Special Interests [and the] Hollywood elite." She asks donors to reach into their pockets because, after fighting to keep Sen. John Cornyn in office, "our treasury is drained." According to Benkiser, the Texas GOP needs money "to fight off the Democrats' cut-throat tactics and gutter strategies." Way to stay classy on Inauguration Day, Tina. See below the fold for both statements in full.

Nothing too controversial, of course, but if you're interested in what your local Congressional reps had to say about this historic occasion, here you go: Lloyd Doggett, Democrat, Dist. 25: “This was an extraordinary moment of enthusiasm, hope and renewal. President Obama provided a candid assessment of the cold realities we confront and the strengths we must summon to overcome the failures of the last eight years. Today my biggest challenge was staying warm and seeing around Aretha’s beautiful hat a few feet away to the President. But tomorrow when our Ways and Means Caucus gets underway, the challenge will be to ensure that we get the most economic recovery possible for every federal dollar invested."

On a day when the rest of the nation was coming together to celebrate, guess which lone politician decided to be a grouch and post an objection to Sen. Hillary Clinton’s nomination for secretary of state? That’s right, it’s your junior senator from Texas.

It's been a long time since Sen. Barack Obama first came to Austin as a political figure for the 2006 Texas Book Festival. Now it's Inauguration Day for President-Elect Obama, and there's some bottles getting cracked open all over town. There's be a whole host of inaugural watch parties today (see our calendar calendar listings here, but probably none more deserved than that for Texans for Obama, who return to the site of their first ever volunteer meeting, Scholz Garten, at 10am. For those that want to see the inauguration on a really big screen, there's watch parties at the Alamo Village and Alamo South Lamar, complete with special inaugural brunch menu. For the big-wigs and mucky-mucks, there's the Texas Presidential Inaugural Celebration gala at the Four Seasons tonight. Meanwhile, the Travis County Democratic Party will be saying a farewell (probably not a fond one) to the current administration at its Bush Retirement Party at Antones at 8pm.