When Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Bill White‘s campaign called recently and told us that we could look over his shoulder as he spent the day working the rooms in Williamson, Hays and Travis counties, we didn’t think they were being literal.

Turns out that we got to spend much of the day riding with White and his staff in his campaign car (suitably for a former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy, a hybrid.)

What was most surprising was how hands-on White is with the minutiae of the campaign. Talk to an election pro, and odds are that they will quietly bemoan the fact that, while they love their candidate, their client just doesn’t seem to understand that running for office is a full-time and detail-oriented job. For a man that is known as too much of a policy wonk to really love live on the campaign trail, White seemed to be making the job as easy as possible (or, depending on your point of view, as hard as conceivable) for his staff by really being the team leader.

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This article appears in February 19 • 2010.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.