As the Forward Times continues to follow the complicated and rare process that has come, as part of the domino effect caused by the vacant seat left on Harris County Commissioner’s court by the late El Franco Lee, who died of a fatal heart attack in January, the latest selection has been made.
This past Saturday, State Representative Borris Miles (District 146) was selected by the Democratic precinct chairs in Senate District 13 to replace State Senator Rodney Ellis on the November ballot.
Four individuals were vying to receive the blessing of the Democratic precinct chairs in Senate District 13, who were tasked with the state-mandated responsibility of selecting a Democratic candidate to replace Ellis on the November ballot.
As the Forward Times previously reported several weeks ago, Ellis secured the Democratic nomination on the first ballot to replace El Franco Lee’s name on the November ballot for the Harris County Commissioner Precinct One position.
Within minutes of the official selection of Ellis as the Democratic nominee for Harris County Precinct One had been announced, several individuals had already put out political signage and announced their candidacy for the Senate District 13 seat that Ellis had to vacate, including Miles, state representative Senfronia Thompson, former City Controller Ron Green and James Joseph.
Each candidate had several weeks to try and convince the precinct chairs that they were the right candidate to select as the replacement for Ellis, but when the vote was cast, of the 84 out of 96 precinct chairs voting, Miles finished ahead of his three opponents with 49 votes; Thompson received 30 votes; Green had 4 votes; and Joseph received no votes and one abstained.
In her loss, Thompson issued the following statement:
“I want to thank each precinct chair for their service today. I understand the process was not an easy one. I congratulate Senator-elect Borris Miles on a hard-fought victory to win the Senate District 13 senatorial seat. While the outcome was not what our team would have preferred, I am extremely proud of and thankful for each staff member and volunteer who worked so tirelessly over the short campaign period. We ran an honorable campaign. Everyone poured their hearts into it and that means so much to me. I also want to thank each of my endorsers and supporters. We earned the strong support of many community leaders, elected officials and organizations. That support will not be forgotten. Finally, I want to thank the community. I’ve received hundreds of messages, calls, and social media posts–all very positive and supportive. It’s heart-warming to be appreciated for the work I’m privileged to do on their behalf. I look forward to the next Legislative Session. As I’ve shared, I’d like to see more be done in the areas of mental health and increasing access to treatment, foster care system funding, improving community-police officer relations, and public education funding, to name a few. I will continue to fight for the ‘little dogs,’ and especially tackle the tough issues that have been systemically plaguing our community for far too long.”
Senate District 13, with has a population of over 800,000 and spans all the way from Missouri City to Northeast Fort Bend County, has 78 precinct chairs in Harris County and 17 in Fort Bend County.
Miles will now have to officially withdraw his name from the November ballot for the seat he has held in District 146, and be replaced on the ballot by another individual who will be chosen by the precinct chairs in District 146.
Now, as the Forward Times also previously reported, the “trickle-down” effect continues, as there will have to be another selection process by Democratic precinct chairs in District 146 to replace Miles’ name on the November ballot for District 146, which has to be selected before August 29.
Within minutes of the official selection of Miles as the Democratic nominee for Senate District 13 had been announced, several individuals had already announced their candidacy for the District 146 seat that Miles will have to vacate.
Harris County Board of Education Trustee Erica S. Lee, Rashad Cave and James Donatto II have all thrown their names in the hat already. The Forward Times will continue to follow the outcome of this extremely unique and complicated process and any new developments that arise.