Former Rep. Dick Reynolds wants another go at the Texas House. Reynolds, a Republican, will be in the HD-47 race.  He's had a number of government jobs: insurance commissioner, Texas Workers' Compensation Commissioner, executive director at TWCC, councilman and mayor pro tem of Richardson, and then two terms in the Texas House representing Richardson, Garland, and North Dallas.  

Norval Pohl will leave his post as president of the University of North Texas next year when his contract expires. He took the job in late 2000, and told the Denton Record-Chronicle he's been at it long enough and is "losing enthusiasm" for it. Matt Matthews, a lobbyist who's run for office and worked as a legislative aide, is talking to Kay Bailey Hutchison's campaign about helping the senior U.S. senator with her reelection bid in 2006. He's not commenting on it at this point. Terry Sullivan, hired to run what at one time looked like a race for governor for Hutchison, will stay with the campaign but is stepping out of the day-to-day operations. John Neal, an assistant attorney general, is leaving that gig to be chief disciplinary counsel at the State Bar of Texas. He's a former district attorney in Young and Stephens counties and had a private practice before joining state government. Gov. Rick Perry appointed Ross Fischer of Kendalia (it's in the Hill Country, kinda between Austin and San Antonio) to the Texas Ethics Commission. He's assistant chief of the State Bar of Texas' disciplinary office and the former Kendall County attorney. Carolyn Boyle left the Coalition for Public Schools, an anti-voucher group, to start up a political action committee called the Texas Parent PAC. They're hoping to raise $250,000 to use in the next election cycle to, in her words, "elect some new legislators who are committed to support and strengthen public schools." They'll be non-partisan; their materials say they think lawmakers are underfunding and short-changing neighborhood schools. Texas Supreme Court Justice Dale Wainwright got a scare, but doctors sent him home after an overnight hospital stay saying, according to a court spokesman, that the judge " apparently experienced irritation in the pleura, the tissue sac
that lines the exterior of the lungs. It was felt to be benign and to be temporary." Doctors told him he can go back to work. Chris Cutrone is the new deputy press secretary to House Speaker Tom Craddick. He's been teaching English in Europe, but before that was an executive assistant to then-Attorney General John Cornyn. 

Sen. Todd Staples, R-Palestine, hasn't officially declared his candidacy for Texas agriculture commissioner, but there are four people running for the seat he holds now, and the Texas Farm Bureau's political action committee -- AGFUND -- has endorsed him for the statewide post. A few days earlier, AGFUND blessed current Agriculture Commissioner Susan Combs' bid for comptroller. She's the only candidate actively running for that job, which is open because Carole Keeton Strayhorn is running for governor against Rick Perry next year. 

Austin attorney William "Bill" Davidson is running for the 3rd Court of Appeals as a Republican.  Austin attorney William "Bill" Davidson is running for the 3rd Court of Appeals as a Republican. He's running for the position now held by Democrat Bea Ann Smith, who's not seeking reelection. He's a lawyer with Minter, Joseph & Thornhill and he's been in Austin for 49 years. Diane Henson, a Democrat, has already said she's after the same job.