Rep. Vilma Luna, D-Corpus Christi, is resigning from the Texas House, where she's among the most powerful Democrats in a Republican administration. Luna, elected in 1992, is vice chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee and is a member of the Calendars panel that sets the House's legislative agenda and the Ways & Means Committee that writes tax bills.

She's one of a handful of Democrats who were early and strong supporters of House Speaker Tom Craddick, who rode a Republican wave in 2002 to become the first Republican speaker since Reconstruction. And she's one of a few Democrats who've got real clout in his administration. If you're inclined to keep score on the next speaker's race, her resignation at least temporarily takes a vote out of Craddick's column; where it lands will be up to her replacement.

Luna's an attorney with the Watts Law Firm in Corpus Christi. She held a local press conference to announce she'll resign at the end of this month. She said she's got no immediate plans but wants to "have more flexibility" in her personal life and said she's looking at opportunities in the private sector. Her resignation immediately triggered rumors that she'll join an Austin lobbying firm; she neither confirmed nor denied that.

The first name out there in the replacement sweepstakes is Solomon Ortiz Jr., son of the local congressman and the current head of the Nueces County Democratic Party. He said in an email to supporters that he'll "be aggressively seeking the Democratic nomination." Next came an announcement from Danny Noyola Sr., a former school principal. He's in. Luna doesn't plan to endorse anyone, and predicted a strong field of candidates.

She said her resignation gives both parties time to nominate ballot replacements. She was alone on the November ballot, but the opening apparently puts the GOP back in the game, allowing them to name a candidate for November even though no one ran for the HD-33 post in their primary.

Kinky Friedman's lawyer wants the Texas Secretary of State to take another look at what the election code says about the names of candidates. The way they read it, their man ought to be able to get on the ballot without having Richard or the initial R. as a prefix to the moniker by which he's known.Richard's the name his parents gave him, but he's been known as Kinky, his lawyer says, when he was a freshman at the University of Texas in 1962. Attorney Blake Rocap's argument is that the statute allows the candidate to use a bona fide nickname, and he says his client's got one: "... It is not a name that people occasionally call him; it is not a name that only a few know him by; it is not a name that is only mentioned in concert with his first name to differentiate him from other Richard Friedmans. He signs his name Kinky Friedman, he introduces himself not as 'Richard Friedman, but people call me Kinky,' but as simply 'Kinky.' He has recorded and released ten albums, published twenty-six books, and countless articles have been written about Kinky Friedman or published under the byline Kinky Friedman..." He closes by saying they want the name straight — Kinky Friedman — without any other attachments. Secretary of State Roger Williams will decide any day now how to put Friedman's name on the ballot. And also, whether any of the gubernatorial candidates will be I.D.-ed as "Grandma." Carole Keeton Strayhorn's attorney sent a letter in last week. And there's a bit of election statute being peddled to the press that seems to say Williams missed his chance to rule on the names. It says the SOS has just five days to review applications from candidates before telling them they've got something that needs review. The names on the ballots weren't flagged that early. But Williams' aides say the same law exempts all the materials that come in with petitions. Both of the independents handed in petitions to get on the ballot. Strayhorn partisans say the five-day rule applies even when petitions are included. Williams says no.

Rosa Rosales of San Antonio is the new president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, succeeding Hector Flores of Dallas. She was the group's Texas director during the early 1990s, and the national vice president for the last four years.

Hector Gutierrez picked up stakes and moved back to El Paso, where he's now executive vice president of external affairs with El Paso Electric. Gutierrez had been with Hillco Partners, a lobbying outfit, and before that worked for Rick Perry. Gutierrez will oversee the company's lobby and media operations in Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona.

Victoria Ford — Gov. Rick Perry's deputy director for legislative affairs — is quitting government after 14 years to join the lobby shop at Hughes & Luce. Ford was previously a health policy wonk for Perry, and before that, worked in both the House and the Senate for Democrats Leticia Van de Putte and Frank Madla, both of San Antonio. She'll join the law firm in September.

Press Corps Moves: Lee McGuire is leaving KVUE-TV in Austin, where he regularly covered legislative and state news, for its sister station in Houston, KHOU-TV. He'll still do some politics, but he'll trade the Lege for hurricanes.

This isn't a move so much as a new gear: Texas Monthly writer-editor-pundit Paul Burka has started a blog, which you'll find at www.burkablog.com. That'll give him a spot for the stuff he can't get into the magazine, like his obsession with baseball.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed five folks to the Parental Advisory Council that's appended to the Department of Family Protective Services to counsel on policies involving parents, abuse and neglect and other issues. They are John Castle Jr. of Dallas, an attorney and retired exec with EDS; Lois Gamble, a child care consultant; Tim Lambert, who heads the Texas Home School Coalition (and used to be a national GOP committeeman from Texas); Herschel Smith Sr. of Houston, a pastor and the founder and director of the Fellowship Home for the Homeless; and Francisco Zarate of Rio Grande City, director of the Community Action Council of South Texas.

Department of Corrections: Tom Stephens was director of governmental affairs at Atmos Energy, as we said, but he wasn't lobbying. He did, however, manage that firm's hired lobbyists. Sorry, sorry, sorry.

Deaths: Former Enron chief and political financier Ken Lay, who was awaiting prison time on convictions stemming from his contributions to the collapse of that company, apparently of heart failure. He was 64... Beatrice "Bea" Kastenbaum Mann, who owned and ran Gem Jewelers down the street from the Capitol, a source for award, friendship, consolation, and fence-mending gifts for hundreds of political people over the last 55 years. The store closed in April. She was 80.