District I race already heating up

This is the first in a series of posts about the simmering 2007 City Council races. Check Houstonist in the next week or two for information about Districts D and E and At-Large Positions 3 and 5.

Current District I Representative Carol Alvarado is term-limited this year, and two contestants are hotly vying for her seat. James Rodriguez, Alvarado's former chief-of-staff and her pick for the position, announced his candidacy late last year - a sign that any other challengers should be prepared for a long race and lots of fundraising. In spite of this, John Marron, a retired AT&T (headquartered in San Antonio) employee, has also thrown his hat into the ring. Both contestants grew up in District I, which includes neighborhoods in downtown and East End.

James Rodriguez has a valuable endorsement from Carol Alvarado, but John Marron is backed by Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia. That's great, but we think sharing campaign logos is taking things too far. U.S. Rep. Gene Green has also thrown his support behind Marron, although Carol Alvarado spent much of her formative political years working for Green. Marron may have these powerful endorsements, but he's not very popular with City Hall blog commenters.

District I may end up a little bit of a political soap opera, and this will definitely be a long and hard-fought race between two qualified candidates. Both candidates are holding campaign events next Thursday evening: James Rodriguez will be hosting Cocktails with the Candidate at 13 Celsius and John Marron will have a reception with Rep. Gene Green at Brady's Landing.