July 17, 2007
Zaffirini Facing Former Challenger's
Brother in Primary Re-Election Battle
By
Mike Hailey
Capitol
Inside Editor
If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
Or let your brother take a shot.
Four years after trouncing Raymond Bruni
in the Democratic primary election for the state
Senate District 21 slot, State Senator Judith
Zaffirini of Laredo faces a challenge
in her bid for re-election from her former challenger's
brother, ex-Webb County Judge Louis H.
Bruni.
But nothing's quite that simple in Web County
politics - and the Bruni brothers are not your
average tag team.
Louis Bruni, who served two-terms on the Laredo
City Council before his stint as county judge,
revealed his plans on Tuesday to run for the seat
that Zaffirini has represented for the past 20
years. Bruni touted his record on balanced budgets,
indigent health care management, transportation
and water exploration - and he vowed to focus
on property tax relief, education, health care,
the environment and criminal justice reform if
elected.
Bruni also suggested that the longtime incumbent
has been a pretender in public office. "As
a state senator, one cannot pretend to share in
our values and concerns while the legislative
effort says otherwise," Bruni said, promising
to show voters "proof of my commitment to
our shared values" as a candidate and legislator.
Louis Bruni will be hoping to have better luck
against Zaffirini than his brother did when the
veteran state senator received 79 percent of the
Democratic primary vote the last time she was
on the ballot three years ago. Ironically, Zaffirini
theorized then that Raymond Bruni, her opponent
that year, was going after brother Louis when
he criticized her for accepting government funds
for conducting communications workshops for public
employees in Laredo as part of her consulting
business. The senator's husband, Carlos
Zaffirini, had been a lawyer for Louis
Bruni several years before that in a suit that
Raymond Bruni filed against his brother in a dispute
over common interests in the oil business. Judy
Zaffirini dismissed the criticism as "outrageous"
and "ridiculous."
While a lawmaker's values and record are always
fair game for debate on the campaign trail, Zaffirini's
work ethic and effectiveness on certain issues
would be difficult to challenge. Zaffirini has
been the Senate Finance Committee vice-chair since
Republican Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst
appointed her to that post in 2003. She also chairs
the Senate's Higher Education Subcommittee - and
she led the Health & Human Services Committee
as its chair for several years during the 1990s
when Democrat Bob Bullock was
presiding over the upper chamber. Zaffirini passed
more than half the bills she filed this year while
shepherding more than 70 pieces of legislation
to Governor Rick Perry's desk.
She also had more bills vetoed by Perry with six
red pen rejects.
Zaffirini has a reputation for arriving for work
at the Capitol during sessions long before the
sun comes up and staying late when needed. She
had a perfect attendance record for 16 years before
joining fellow Democrats in a month long out-of-state
boycott that prevented Senate debate on a congressional
redistricting plan that Republicans favored and
eventually passed in 2003.
While incumbent Texas Senate members are tough
to beat - thanks to the way their districts are
drawn and the war chests they're able to accumulate
during four-year terms - freshmen State Senator
Carlos Uresti of San Antonio
proved that it can be done when he unseated veteran
lawmaker Frank Madla in the Democratic
primary election last year. But Madla had $92,000
in the campaign bank at the midway point of 2005
while Zaffirini reported cash on hand of more
than $820,000 in the finance report she filed
with the Texas Ethics Commission this week. Zaffirini
raised more than $120,000 during a two-week period
in June after the prohibition on contributions
during a legislative session expired.
Louis Bruni borrowed $17,000 for the Senate race
from an oil company that he owns - and he reported
spending most of that.
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