House District 47 Republican hopeful Paul Workman has gone negative fast in his primary fight with Holly White Turner by accusing her of carpetbagging in the race to challenge incumbent Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin. Two years ago, Turner was campaign treasurer for her husband, Chris Turner (not to be confused with Rep. Chris Turner, D-Arlington), when he unsuccessfully ran for Fort Worth City Council. Giving an insight into the strength of his opposition research team, Workman’s campaign has released her Travis County voter registration information, showing it only became effective Dec. 19, 2009. It takes 30 days for a registration to be processed by the county, raising questions of whether Turner has lived in the district the required minimum one-year residency. Playing up his own 24 years in the district, former Real Estate Council of Austin board member Workman said, “My opponent may not own property in HD 47, or have any history fighting for Republican causes in Travis County, but at least she will be eligible to vote for herself.” This could be a sign of a vicious campaign to come: Workman’s team includes Eric Bearse, who, as Gov. Rick Perry‘s former director of communications and communications strategist for ex-Speaker Tom Craddick, oversaw some hard-hitting campaign tactics. Turner is not without assets: Husband Chris is a partner in Republican campaign consultancy Murphy Turner Associates, winners of the American Association of Political Consultants’ 2009 Pollie Award for best use of negative/contrast in a campaign ad.
This article appears in December 25 • 2009.
