Dallas County Judge Jim Foster running for re-election

by John Wright of Dallas Voice

Openly gay Dallas County Judge Jim Foster confirmed this week that he plans to seek re-election in 2010.

“Absolutely,” Foster told Dallas Voice. “There’s no question about it.”

Foster, a Democrat, said he’s been reluctant to discuss the matter because he believes the party should be focusing on 2008 races, including lesbian Sheriff Lupe Valdez’s bid for re-election.

“We’ve got a whole slate of folks we need to concentrate on right now,” Foster said. “My election is 2 1⁄2 years down the road.”

Foster said he felt compelled to address the issue after at least five fellow Democrats indicated they may challenge him in the party’s 2010 primary.

“I think the time has come not to be quiet about it,” he said.

Foster was a relative unknown when he pulled off a surprise upset of Republican incumbent Margaret Keliher as part of the countywide Democratic sweep of 2006. And he’s faced his share of criticism during his first 18 months in office.

But Foster said this week he feels he enjoys broad bipartisan support.

“My support goes across party lines,” he said. “I think it’s very strong.”

Foster acknowledged that it’s rare for an elected official to have potential challengers from within their own party so far in advance of an election.

“It’s very rare, and I question the motives behind it,” Foster said. “A lot of them will drop out. … You’ll have to raise a significant amount of money in order to pull this off.”

Those who’ve indicated they may challenge Foster include openly gay former Dallas City Councilmen John Loza and Chris Luna. Former state Rep. Sam Coats, former City Councilman Larry Duncan and local attorney Grier Raggio also have said they may run as Democrats for county judge.

Foster declined to elaborate on what he thinks his potential challengers’ motives may be.

“If you look at my previous campaign, I just talked about the issues. I didn’t talk about my opponents, and I’ll do the same on this campaign,” Foster said. “I’ve always stayed away from it [dirty politics], and I’ll continue to do so.”

Foster declined to comment on whether he intends to pursue nondiscrimination policies prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation among county employees. Foster has said he doesn’t think such a proposal would pass due to the Republican majority on the Commissioners Court.

However, Foster has asked the county’s human resources director to research the matter and provide him with more information.