by Bill Baumbach of The Collin County Observer

All three races have at least one candidate who is aligned with mainstream Plano Republicans.

In 2010 three members of the Collin County Commissioners Court will face re-election. All three races will provide interesting choices.

The Commissioners Court is divided. It all too frequently passes proposals by 3-2 margins. The divisions in the court mirror divisions in the Collin County Republican Party. Newcomers County Judge Keith Self and Commissioner Matt Shaheen frequently challenge both the more moderate members of the court and what they perceive as the political establishment. They were both elected on anti-establishment platforms, and both defeated incumbent Republicans.

This year, it appears that the supposed "establishment" is fighting back. Many in the GOP feel that Self and Shaheen have taken the county too far to the right. They see the newcomers as more libertarian than conservative. They want to offer more pragmatic leadership.

All three races have at least one candidate who is aligned with mainstream Plano Republicans. It will be a very interesting primary.

So far only one Democrat has shown serious interest in running for the commissioners court.

The Collin County Observer plans to provide more analysis of these races as they develop, but for now we will simply introduce the players:

County judge

Judge Keith Self is running for re-election after serving his first term. In 2006, he defeated long serving incumbent Ron Harris and fellow challenger Rick Neudorff to win the GOP nomination. He was unopposed in the November general election. He is a West Point graduate and was an Army officer for 25 years.

Plano ISD Trustee John Muns has begun his unannounced bid to unseat Self. Muns is he is currently serving his fifth term on the Plano ISD board. He has been a partner with Muns Enterprises since 1990, formerly working for eight years as vice-president of real estate and construction for Wyatt Cafeterias.

Former Plano City Councilman David M. Smith, a Democrat, is rumored to be considering a run against Self or the GOP nominee. Smith is a long time Democratic political consultant and telecommunications engineer.

Commissioner, Precinct 2

Commissioner Jerry Hoagland is the senior member of the commissioners court. Some history buffs quip that he predates the Republic of Texas, but in reality he has been on the court court only since November of 1980. He was previously elected to the Plano City Council. He faces two challengers in the Republican primary.

(Full disclosure note: I ran as a Democrat against Hoagland in the 2006 general election. As you might have guessed, he won.)

Former Plano City Councilwoman Cheryl Williams is mounting a bid for the Precinct 2 slot. She is the owner of the Williams Consulting Group, a land use and zoning consulting firm in Dallas.

Republican activist Karl Voigtsberger has also tossed his hat in the ring for Hoagland's seat on the court. In 2006 Voigtsberger lost a primary bid to unseat Kenneth Maun as county tax assessor.

Commissioner, Precinct 4

Another three-way race is in the offing for the seat held by Commissioner Kathy Ward. Ward is presently serving out the remainder of the term that Jack Hatchell won in 2006. Ward was appointed to the court by Judge Self following Mr. Hatchell's death, and won an election against Plano Democrat Jean Power in 2008 to finish out the 4 year term. Before her election as commissioner, she served as party chairman of the Collin County GOP. Ward currently works as director of operations for Debt Settlement America (DSA), having previously worked as the company’s media relations/process manager.

Ward will likely face Plano ISD Trustee Duncan Webb in the Republican primary.Webb is a principal of the law firm Webb & Webb, P.C., and is currently serving his fourth term on the Plano ISD board. During his tenure as a trustee, he has held the offices of president, vice president, and secretary of the board.

Recently, the Observer has heard rumors that Plano lawyer and P & Z member Tracey Dry is also considering a run for the GOP nod. Dry is the daughter-in-law of District Judge Robert Dry and is chair of the board of directors of Collin County Child Protection Services.

If I have missed anyone who plans to run, or put someone on the spot who is no longer in a race, I'd appreciate hearing about it. I have tried to be as accurate as current rumors allow.

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