Austin consultant Alfred Stanley plans to kick off the New Year with a new political action committee, Too Close to Craddick, and an accompanying Web site that takes aim at House Democrats who are way too chummy with Speaker Tom Craddick. “I intend to lose some friends over this,” Stanley said. Yet Stanley believes there are enough House members on both sides of the aisle who are ready and willing to overthrow Craddick. Rep. Brian McCall, R-Plano, has mounted a serious campaign to try to do just that. Before McCall publicly confirmed his intentions over the Christmas break, Houston Democratic Rep. Senfronia Thompson had been the only candidate running for speaker but was not regarded as a serious threat to Craddick. Democrats are now looking to McCall as the person to beat Craddick. It matters little that McCall is a conservative Republican, Democrats say. What’s important is that he works and plays well with others. It it happens that Craddick wins re-election when House members cast their votes on Jan. 9, watch for Stanley to go after Craddick’s Democratic allies with metal tongs at the yet-to-be-launched www.tooclosetocraddick.com
This article appears in December 22 • 2006.
