So the recount’s in, and the result stands: Rep. Linda Harper Brown has held her House District 105 seat by 19 votes: one vote down from her election day defeat of Democratic challenger Bob Romano. Let’s see if she treats it like a sweeping mandate next session.
That leaves the House tied at 76-74, advantage Republicans, and now the discussion turns back to legislative agendas. Talking to Rep. Donna Howard this morning, she said the only real question remains who will be speaker. She really only echoed what everyone else was thinking. Since (as Rep. Mark Strama pointed out last week) the Democrats got bludgeoned in statewide races, they would have had little leverage in a tied house to get one of their own in the big chair. So they’re hoping that a Republican more amenable to working with them gets to be the one handing out the plumb committee appointments.
Most especially, keep an eye on the House Committee on Calendars. They’re the ones that decide when (and if) the House ever gets to discuss a bill. If Craddick goes, look for his Republican loyalists like Dan Branch and Myra Crownover, plus those Dem members sometimes written off as “Craddick Ds” like Norma Chavez and Dawnna Dukes, to be pondering their future.
This article appears in December 5 • 2008.
