Pickett Resigns

Long-time El Paso law-maker Joe Pickett announced he was retiring today due to some medical issues. Pickett has been rumored to be mulling over retirement for as long as I can remember but today's announcement was a shock to many with the legislative session starting in just a couple weeks.

That will trigger a special election and that makes the situation unique because it would require a quick turnaround on a campaign. And I mean really quick. The governor calls for the special election and its likely to be very soon.

So that limits the field to just a very small group of people that would have the capacity, name ID, and fundraising capability to run a race like that - all in a short period of time.

The first name that comes to mind is Art Fierro, who is currently a trustee with El Paso Community College. He's lead that board for several years now, has a lot of contacts in Austin with the type of folks that fund campaigns and he's run campaigns himself.

Anyone wanting to take on Fierro has a steep hill to climb because of two factors, money and time. Fierro isn't a household name among the electorate but his connections in Austin make him very formidable as a candidate.

Stay tuned.