Andy Brown Wins Democrats' Nod for County Judge

Andy Brown in 2014 (Photo by Jana Birchum)

On Aug. 16, local Democratic precinct chairs selected lawyer, former Travis County Democratic Party chair, and Beto O'Rourke staffer Andy Brown to be the party's nominee to serve the unexpired term of former County Judge Sarah Eckhardt (who defeated Brown in the 2014 primary for that office). Brown got 56% of the chairs' votes on the first ballot against another former TCDP chair, Dyana Limon-Mercado, and County Commissioner Jeff Travillion.

The rarely used process to fill a vacancy on the ballot – prompted by Eckhardt's resignation to take over Sen. Kirk Wat­son's seat after his own resignation – caused discomfort within a party committed to diversity and small-d democracy. Out of 247 precincts, only 143 have elected chairs; only 136 of those were eligible to vote, all of whom did so. Of those, 120 are white (like Brown, and unlike his opponents).

"It was surprising that it was only a one-ballot election," said Katie Naranjo, the new TCDP chair who was herself selected just two weeks ago, through the same process, to succeed Limon-Mercado. Naranjo stressed that other Texas counties are going through the same process, as required by state law, to fill ballot vacancies that occurred after the March primary.

Misgivings abound, however, from those who felt that the process, though legal, was undemocratic, contrary to the party's values, and a reflection of systemic racism. Ana DeFrat­es, a Limon-Mercado supporter, said, "We can't ignore the demographics of the precinct chairs; we can't ignore the racialized identities of the candidates." Prominent Democratic donor Aimee Cunningham, who worked on Limon-Mercado's campaign, posited that the precinct chairs willfully ignored "what has been happening in Travis County, [which] is choosing to elevate young, experienced people of color," a reference to Delia Garza's and José Garza's victories for county and district attorney. Activist and Austin Community College Trustee Julie Ann Nitsch was likewise disappointed with the chairs: "They said they polled their precincts, [but] that's not okay, because you're still only polling people that are active in the party. This wasn't your vote; this was the county's vote."

Nearly half of the county precincts had no vote at all, since their chairs (also elected in party primaries) are vacant. Limon-Mercado said those vacancies stem from "the natural rhythm of volunteer work" and its high turnover, and the fact that some precincts are more Republican. "It's not just low-income precincts ... It's a reflection of multiple things."

Limon-Mercado says that as party chair, she heard from young precinct chairs of color that "they didn't particularly feel welcome." She attributed this both to history and to lifestyle differences that more easily allow others to devote hours of volunteer effort. While the TCDP is committed to having diverse voices in its leadership, she said, "If we invite them in and we still have this culture that is not welcoming, they're not gonna want to stay." At the same time, she stressed that "the precinct chairs ... really care deeply about this community" and that she has confidence in Naranjo's dedication to equity.

The Democratic electorate was small but not as tiny as the Republicans'. GOP Chair Matt Mackowiak chose their candidate himself: Michael Lovins, an attorney, who in a press release said he is running to "prioritize public safety" by "expand[ing] county law enforcement patrols within the City of Austin." Conversely, Brown said his top priority is criminal justice reform. "I want to do everything I can to increase diversion programs and ... increase funding for mental and behavioral health options. I think Commissioner Travillion and I have a lot of common goals ... I'm looking forward to working closely with him on the Commissioners Court."