Matthew Hudson is one of a wide field of hopefuls vying to fill the vacant District 3 City Council seat in Southwest Fort Worth. Hudson is a past president of the Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods and boils down his campaign message to these three elements: retain the character and quality of life in our neighborhoods, restore the character and quality of life in our neighborhoods that have been neglected or forgotten, and revive a spirit of service and volunteerism in our city. Below are the answers he submitted to the questionnaire sent by West and Clear last week.
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Clyde Picht, the former City Council representative and current mayoral candidate, is not exactly Mayor Moncrief’s biggest fan. The homepage of his website says it all. Underneath the “ImPicht Moncrief” headline, he lists his campaign platform: return ethics to local government, decentralize government to better serve the people, bring public safety and environmental quality to Barnett Shale, return the public to the process of government and fix suburban streets before they become impassable.

Below are Picht’s answers to West and Clear’s email with a few questions about his campaign:
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The Star-Telegram published this update on campaign funding and the upcoming City Council election. Although I know I’m stating the obvious, I believe that money and organization rules in local races. That’s why incumbents do so well — they’ve got both. As result, I haven’t seen anything to change my mind about my original assessment of the race, a few things stand out:

Is Rick Perry making a bad situation worse by rejecting the $555 million stimulus package for unemployment insurance? Mitch Schnurman does the math in this morning’s Star-Telegram and finds that rejecting the federal money will actually cost Texas businesses $60 per employee in extra taxes over the next year. Paul Burka at Texas Monthly explained the convoluted UI mess last week and how employers would face a “deficit tax” of 1.09 percent to help replenish the state UI fund if Texas turns down the stimulus money — a $935 million hit. So, when times are bad, Perry actually wants to tax Texas businesses more. Brilliant, but it’s a strategy that will play well with the far right of his party that Perry needs if he to survive his primary battle with Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Now that the filing deadline is past, let’s take a look at how the Mayor and City Council races are shaping up.

Check the Biz Press to read the candidates in their own words.

Trying to get caught up on a few political odds and ends:

Wendy Davis filed a bill in the Senate yesterday that would give local governments more authority in prohibiting the Railroad Commission from issuing permits for disposal wells.

Disposal wells became a hot issue locally in 2007 when Chesapeake Energy received a permit for an East Fort Worth disposal well before the city declared a moratorium on disposal wells permits. Currently, the city is exploring a pilot program at the East Fort Worth site that would pipe water in from four or five wells and use catalytic heat to dehydrate the heat before injecting it into the earth.

SB 752 — along with last week’s bill to require the Texas Department of Transportation to allow gas gathering lines in freeway rights-of-way — would be a step in the right direction to address some of the problems that Fort Worth has stumbled across as it has begun living with urban gas drilling.

> In the State House: Freshman state reps Mark Shelton and Chris Turner filed their first bills.

> In the State Senate: Todd Hill at Burnt Orange Report has been hanging with Wendy Davis this week. And, yes, there was a Bernie Scheffler sighting.

> Palin endorses Perry for Guv: You betcha!

> KBH Questions: Who really supports Kay?

> Kay votes nay: Kay Granger voted against the Lily Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Hmmm.

> Getting ready to rumble: In case you missed it, Mike Lee has your City Council election roundup.

Um … what? Did all of the Republicans go skiing? A new Gallup Poll is out on the political party affiliations of the states and I’m having a hard time believing what I’m reading. that Texas is “competitive.” Really? While I believe that more states may be feeling the love for Democrats than before, this just seems a little to skewed? What do you think? Is it just me? And Oklahoma is a Democratic lean? I thought the only thing Oklahoma leaned toward was sucking? OK, that was over the line. My apologies.

There’s an interesting story in the latest Texas Observer on Annie’s List, the statewide political network that raises money for Democratic women candidates. Annie’s List became the 18th biggest donor to Texas campaigns in 2008, disbursing more than $800,000 total—including more than $155,000 to Fort Worth’s Wendy Davis in her state senate run.

Wendy told the Observer: “The important thing was the early seed money they provided. I had $50,000 to start the race; my opponent had almost $1 million in his war chest. But just as important as the contributions from them directly, Annie’s List opened an avenue to so many other donors who were absolutely crucial to my campaign. They connect you with so many people around the state who are supportive of progressive women in public office. There’s a ripple effect from the Annie’s List endorsement.”
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