Williamson County state representative, state board of education candidates head to runoff

By Kathryn Eakens Wednesday, 03 March 2010

WILLIAMSON COUNTY — Top finishers in the Republican primaries for State Representative District 52 and State Board of Education District 10 are headed for a runoff election April 13, as no candidate garnered more than 50 percent of votes in the March 2 election.

John Gordon will face Larry Gonzales in the runoff for the Republican nomination for State Representative District 52—which includes the cities of Hutto, Taylor and Thrall, large portions of Round Rock and Georgetown, the communities of Anderson Mill, Jollyville and Brushy Creek, and a small portion of Austin. The winner of the runoff will face Democratic incumbent Diana Maldonado, who ran unopposed, in the November 2 election.

Gordon led the race with 1,775 votes, or about 41 percent, and runner up Gonzales held just over 38 percent with the support of 1,637 voters. Candidates Stephen Casey and Alyssa Eacono received 14 percent and just over 7 percent, respectively.

“I’m very pleased I received the most votes and look forward to the runoff,” said Gordon, who helped establish the Williamson County Republican Party in 1978 and has served terms as county party chair and Precinct 23 party chair. “The voters are looking for someone they can trust to be a conservative and moral voice for the district, and I think I fit that bill.”

Gordon made his first bid for the Republican nomination for State Representative District 52 in 2008. The nomination eventually went to Bryan Daniel, who was defeated by Maldonado.

Gonzales has worked nine regular legislative sessions and four special legislative sessions for members of the House, the Lt. Governor and Attorney General. Most recently he served as assistant vice chancellor for governmental relations for the Texas State University System as a liaison to the Texas Legislature and other state agencies.

“In a four person race, it’s very difficult to get the majority. We’re exactly where we thought we would be. Now we’re going to get the voter list and start building our game plan,” Gonzales said. “We ran our race based on the issues, and we’ll continue to run our campaign based on the issues.”

Marsha Farney will face off against Brian Russell in the runoff for the Republican nomination for State Board of Education District 10—which includes all of Austin, Bastrop, Burleson, Colorado, DeWitt, Fayette, Gonzales, Lavaca, Lee, Milam, Waller, Washington, and Williamson counties, as well as portions of Brazoria, Fort Bend, and Travis counties.

Farney—who holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction from the University of Texas has taught at both the elementary and university levels—led the race with 10,923 votes, or about 40 percent. Runner up Russell held 33 percent with the support of 8,878 voters.

“Rebecca Osborne ran a great race, and I respect her as a dedicated teacher who did a great job. She and I have the same conviction that it’s in the best interest of our children to have an educator on this board,” Farney said of her opponent, who garnered just over 26 percent of votes. “Now it’s up to the voters to decide who they think is best to develop curriculum standards for our public schools.”

Russell is a partner at the Austin law firm Dillon & Yudell and has represented Senate District 14 on the State Republican Executive Committee of the Republican Party of Texas since 2004.