October 1, 2007

Temple City Council Member Gets Jump
on Competition in State House Scramble

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

Temple Mayor Pro Tem Martha Tyroch is the first Republican out of the blocks but not the only potential candidate weighing a GOP primary bid in the race to replace powerful State Rep. Dianne Delisi in next year's elections.

Tyroch - a city council member for the past seven years - plans to have Houston Astros owner Drayton McLane Jr. of Temple and Belton businessman Jay Taggart by her side Wednesday when she declares at a news conference at the Bell County Courthouse that she's running for the House District 55 seat. Delisi, who's represented the Central Texas district for almost 17 years, announced last month that she won't seek re-election in 2008.

The news about the vacancy has sparked scrambling on both sides of the aisle even though the district is dominated by Republicans. A pair of businessmen - John Alaniz of Temple and Michael Pearce of Harker Heights - have both indicated that they will decide soon on whether to enter the competition for the GOP nomination in the battle for the opening that Delisi's retirement from the House will create.

The names of two Democrats have been thrown into the mix of possible HD 55 contenders as well. Samuel Murphey, an Army veteran and longtime aide to U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco, has suggested that he's on the verge of making a decision on a HD 55 bid. Murphey said the congressman was one of a number of people who've encouraged him to pursue a state House race.

Ann Utley - a Salado art gallery owner who chaired the state's Mental Health Mental Retardation board under Governor Ann Richards and her successor, George W. Bush - has been mentioned as a possible candidate for Delisi's seat as well.

Tyroch, who served on the Temple Planning and Zoning Commission in the early 1990s, won a seat on the city council in 2000 when she defeated Connie Madsen in a runoff. She's been mayor pro tem since 2004. Tyroch and Alaniz are both members of the Central Texas Workforce board of directors.

Alaniz is a community activist who's been a member of the Texas Association of Business' board of director. Pearce, a former Marine, taught social studies in Killeen until leaving the post this summer to pursue a small business opportunity in the educational field.

Most if not all of the HD 55 candidates and potential contenders - including Murphey the Democrat - have praised Delisi and her work as their state representative during a nine-term House stint. Delisi was a key player before the GOP gained a House majority in 2003 - and she quicly evolved into one of the chamber's most influential members after Republicans took control of the Capitol's west wing.

Delisi, who chairs the House Public Health Committee, represents a district where Republican candidates won two-thirds of the votes in 2006 after claiming 70 percent in the elections two years before that. Democrats, nonetheless, think HD 55 could be in reach as the GOP braces for a potential electoral backlash in 2008 as a result of the war in Iraq, the Bush Administration's low approval ratings and other factors at the national level.