By Kurt Kuhn
These days, the term “western swing” means something a little different to me than two-steps, cowboy boots, and sawdust floors. Last week, I went on a campaign swing in the western parts of the Third Court’s district—Eldorado and San Angelo.
San Angelo was my first stop. I had been invited to speak at a dinner meeting of the Tom Green County Democratic Party. I arrived in town early to visit with local lawyers and others interested in the campaign. A surprise highlight of the trip happened when Marilyn Aboussie, retired chief justice of the Third Court, met me at my first stop for a hug and a few words of encouragement. Judge Aboussie was the first woman ever elected to the Third Court and is widely-admired, including by me.
As my day continued, I met with attorneys in San Angelo who expressed the same concerns I have heard throughout my travels in the district. The Third Court needs to be better, more productive and less partisan. I appreciate hearing from so many lawyers, many of whom rarely have cases on appeal, who understand the importance of the Third Court to the entire State of Texas.
The evening was capped with a wonderful dinner. We had over 60 fired-up Democrats in attendance, and they seemed genuinely concerned about the Court and enthusiastic about my campaign. We ended up with good local newspaper and TV coverage, but a personal highlight was that this was the first public speech I have given while standing under the watchful eye of a mounted longhorn head.
The next morning, I swung down to Eldorado, where I had a great lunch with the Schleicher County Democratic Party. One word of warning for other candidates: it is hard to concentrate when delivering your speech over a plate of chicken fried steak.
As I headed home to my family that afternoon, Ray Benson and Asleep At The Wheel played over my car stereo, a fitting end to my western campaign swing.
