Campaign filing for the 2020 Texas primary doesn’t begin for nearly four weeks, but it looks like we might have a front-runner in the race to fill the Precinct 3 Commissioners Court seat being vacated by Kevin Wolff
Trish DeBerry, former KENS-TV reporter and longtime public relations consultant, officially declared her candidacy last weekend. She’ll be running as a Republican in a precinct that has long been the only GOP-controlled turf in the county.
DeBerry’s candidacy was a prime topic of discussion on this week’s episode of the Express-News’ Puro Politics podcast.
“If name ID means anything, readers, listeners and viewers of local news have seen her and her name for years,” said Greg Jefferson, the business editor of the Express-News. “So, I would think that has to count for something.”
On ExpressNews.com: Race to succeed Kevin Wolff will get crowded
DeBerry not only brings a strong set of local business connections (for a race that comes with no restrictions on individual donation amounts), she comes to the race with experience both as a candidate and a strategist.
She managed Ed Garza’s successful 2001 mayoral campaign and eight years later launched her own bid for the mayor’s office. Although she fell short in an election that felt almost preordained for Julián Castro, she garnered more than 22,000 votes (29 percent of the vote) and outperformed — by a considerable margin — the two sitting councilwomen who were on the ballot.
The Precinct 3 county commissioner race also has attracted developer Mitch Meyer, conservative firebrand Weston Martinez, former Judges Celeste Brown and Genie Wright and bank executive Kenny Vallespin. City Councilman Clayton Perry has expressed some interest in the county commissioner race, but might choose to stick with his current seat, rather than give it up for a difficult primary race.
Jefferson said the key question surrounding the race is what kind of GOP electorate turns out for a primary in which President Donald Trump’s name will be on the ballot.
On ExpressNews.com: DeBerry on winning, failing and learning what makes San Antonio tick
“If it’s an anti-establishment election year, she (DeBerry) is not in a good way,” he said, pointing to the fact that her firm has done a lot of contract work for local government entities.
“Just by virtue of the fact that her firm’s name is The DeBerry Group, she’s tied to a lot of those personalities and a lot of those issues that are pretty establishment.”
Hear this and other topics discussed on this week’s edition of the Puro Politics podcast.
