Before the 2000 census there were 5 house districts in Travis County, 2 held by Republicans, and 3 by Democrats. The redistricting based on 2000 census created a new Republican leaning district in the Northeast corner of the county. In 2002, four Republicans battled for the seat, and Jack Stick won the runoff by a huge margin. During his term, he was placed on the appropriations committee, and also assisted in the second redistricting that redesigned the congressional districts for the 2004 elections.
Two issues dogged his re-election efforts. The more widely known was his relationship with the GOPAC political action committee that Ronnie Earle accused on impropriety for the purpose of besmirching then Speaker of the House Tom Delay. Less known was a situation with a MUD board in Canyon Creek. One of the MUD board members asked Jack to sponsor a particular piece of legislation that would assist the MUD board. Jack agreed to do that, and arraigned for a hearing in the appropriate subcommittee. The MUD board representative, Don Zimmerman, acted poorly during the hearing, so the legislation never made it out of committee. But Don blamed Jack, and wanted to get even. In 2004, he ran against Jack in the primary, was soundly defeated, but refused to support him in the general election. Instead he convinced over seven hundred people in Canyon Creek MUD to vote for a Libertarian candidate instead. Jack lost by just under 500 votes to Democrat Mark Strama, who has held the seat since.
Strama was supported by a number of large Republican donors because he supported tort reform, and because his uncle is one of these rich insiders. He walked to re-election in 2006 against Jeff Fleece, and again in 2008 against Jerry Mikus.
2010 promises to be a bit different. First, the money-men supporting tort reform are mostly done with their agenda. They still have a few tweaks they would like to see, particularly with asbestos liability reform, but that’s not a terribly controversial issue. Secondly, there are rumors that Strama might be offered a post in the Obama Administration. Third, the electoral climate is expected to be more favorable to Republicans due to the way the Obama Administration has angered both the left and the right. And fourth, the race this year is expected to be “interesting” to the large Republican donors, who are not enamored with Strama’s efforts on Redistricting. As the 2010 census will lead to redistricting in 2012, and Texas is likely to receive three or four additional seats in the US Congress, Republican strategists are very interested in protecting the process to fairly represent the Republican majority that lives in Texas, and Strama’s efforts would undermine that.
The House District 50 primary promises to be very interesting. The race in general will be even more interesting if Strama receives an appointment in Washington DC.