Bill Dingus, the Democrat hoping to challenge House Speaker Tom Craddick in November, quit the Midland City Council to make a run for statehouse possible.Dingus isn't eligible to run for the state job while he's on the city council. A federal judge stated that in a ruling last week without actually ordering Dingus off the ballot. Dingus blamed the state GOP for forcing him to give up the city job, by forcing the Democrats into court to test his eligibility. His lawyer, Renee Hicks of Austin, says the resignation should cure the problem. He's reading state law to say the problem is that the terms of the offices would overlap; by resigning, Dingus puts that to rest. Other lawyers have told us that's only the first step, that Dingus has to get off the council and off the ballot, then winning approval from party officials in the House district's five counties. They're charged with naming his replacement once he's off the ticket, and there's apparently no law against replacing him with his own self. Hicks says "there's a very good chance this will end up in court." And he's hoping that's relatively quick, so that Dingus and the Democrats can get on the ballot "and the voters will be able to have a real choice on Election Day." He wrote an open letter to the citizens of Midland blaming the Republican Party for challenging his eligibility. He ended it like this: "I thank you, good citizens of Midland, for the honor of serving as your City Councilman. God willing, I will serve you again."

The outcome of the HD-73 election won't be certain until the middle of May at the earliest.

State District Judge James Clawson set a May 19 trial date. The candidates have to file briefs by May 5 and come to a preliminary hearing on May 14.

Rep. Nathan Macias, R-Bulverde, lost the election to GOP challenger Doug Miller by a handful of votes — 17 — but contends that a number of voters cast more than one ballot and that that group of double-voters was big enough to flip the election result.

His lawyers asked Clawson to remove himself from the case without saying why; he declined to do that.

Trey Trainor, a lawyer for Macias, said they were "extremely pleased" with the trial date. He didn't know whether they would appeal the judge's decision to remain in charge. Craig Murphy, a spokesman for Miller, said, "we couldn't be happier."

You'll hear Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst mentioned if you start a conversation about the next governor's race, but the stars are aligning to send him to Washington, if he's interested.

Nobody wants to run against Dewhurst in a Republican primary, even if they think they can beat him. He's got money, a political base, and it'd be an expensive and maybe harmful adventure for any opponent.

Risky.

For all those reasons, Gov. Rick Perry, who is now saying he'll seek four more years in 2010, would rather see Dewhurst stay out of the race. And U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, who's talking openly about running for governor in 2010 — Perry or no Perry — would rather see Dewhurst stay out, too.

Add Attorney General Greg Abbott and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, each of whom has expressed interest either privately (Abbott) or publicly (Patterson) in running for lieutenant governor. They'd rather not run against Dewhurst, who has incumbency on his side in addition to that money thing.

If you squint and use a little imagination, that's four potential endorsements for a Senate run if and when Hutchison gives up the seat.

It would ease the competition for Perry and Hutchison, and clear the way for Abbott and/or Patterson. Bringing any of those onboard a Dewhurst candidacy would chill potential competitors in the GOP who might otherwise want to run for the Senate seat.

What's more, Dewhurst could set the table for his and other contests. Declaring for Senate before anyone else would raise the stakes for campaign donors, who have to deal with Dewhurst as Lite Guv during the 2009 legislative session. Don't want to oppose a fellow with a gavel unless you must.

It could box Hutchison a bit, too, which would make Perry happy. She's already said she won't seek another term, so the seat opens in 2012 for sure. If Dewhurst jumped in this year, or hinted strongly at it, she'd be on the spot to state her plans. That doesn't mean she'd have to say, just that everyone in the joint would be asking about it all the time.

The hardest sell, in spite of some self interest in a Dewhurst run, would be the governor. He's never named a favorite in the race for Senate if Hutchison were to resign. When Phil Gramm was talking about leaving the Senate a few years ago, Perry wanted to appoint Tony Garza. Gramm wanted U.S. Rep. Henry Bonilla for the job. He didn't quit, and the appointment wasn't made. Garza is now U.S. Ambassador to Mexico — out of position for a Texas race. Bonilla lost his seat to Henry Cuellar.

Perry hasn't stated a preference for Hutchison's replacement. Dewhurst has some selling to do if he wants the gig.

Former Texas Railroad Commissioner and three-term state Rep. Lena Guerrero, D-Austin, died after a long fight with brain cancer. She was 50. Guerrero, a close ally of former Gov. Ann Richards and former House Speaker Pete Laney, turned to lobbying after she left office. Guerrero, the highest-ranking Hispanic woman in Texas at the time (and since), lost to Republican Barry Williamson after voters found she'd claimed a college degree she hadn't earned. She fought brain cancer for more than eight years, worked while she was under treatment, and even endorsed an old colleague — Democrat-turned-Republican Rick Perry — in his reelection bid last year. There's a spot for Guerrero in the Texas State Cemetery; she'll be buried there on Saturday, after a mass in Austin.

Badly Kept Secret: Deirdre Delisi of Austin and Bill Meadows of Fort Worth are soon to be named commissioners at the Texas Department of Transportation. Delisi was Gov. Rick Perry's chief of staff until last summer. Meadows is an exec with Wm. Rigg Co., a large insurance firm, and the vice chairman of the North Texas Tollway Authority, or NTTA.

Add state Reps. Yvonne Davis of Dallas and Rene Oliveira of Brownsville to the luminaries list at the state Democratic convention. They'll be honorary co-chairs, and party Chairman Boyd Richie is keeping the tennis ball balanced on the net: Davis backs Obama, and Oliveira backs Clinton.

H.B. "Trip" Doggett is the new COO at ERCOT (the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, better known as the electric grid). Doggett has been a consultant to the agency, and landed the post after a nationwide search to replace Sam Jones, who retired.

Thompson & Knight added Ashley Phillips, an environmental lawyer, to their Austin shop. She's done time with the Environmental Protection Agency and with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

The governor's latest appointees include:

• Ben Gorzell Jr. and Carolyn Liner to the Texas Municipal Retirement System Board of Trustees. He's a CPA and the City of San Antonio's finance director; she's director of human resources for the City of San Marcos (and a re-appointee to the board).

• Thomas Leeper, a Huntsville city attorney, and retired attorney Raymond Carter Sanders of Austin to the Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation Board. Leeper will be the presiding officer on that panel.

• Williamson County Commissioner Lisa Birkman of Round Rock and Georgetown banker Stanley Ray to the Texas Agricultural Finance Authority Board of Directors. Ray's an exec at the Farm Credit Bank of Texas.

• Tarrant County Commissioner Gary Fickes of Southlake, Tracye McDaniel of Houston, and Alejandro "Alex" Meade III of Brownsville to the Advisory Board of Economic Development Stakeholders. McDaniel is an exec with the Greater Houston Partnership and Meade is principal of P3 Economics, an eco devo consulting firm.

• Thomas Oliver of Baytown, J. Russell Shannon of Andrews, and David Young of Grand Prairie to the state's Aging and Disability Services Council. Oliver is a CPA, Shannon is president of the National Bank of Andrews, and Young is a healthcare consultant. Shannon's new to the board; the others are being reappointed.

Indicted: Former U.S. Rep., state senator and representative Craig Washington, on a charge of aggravated assault with a gun on New Year's Day. He's accused of firing at another man's car.

Deaths: Former state Rep. Russell Cummings, D-Houston, of cancer. Cummings, who served two terms in the 1960s and later worked for the state for 20 years, was 82... Kevin Housley, a Christoval Republican who lost a bid for the state Legislature in 2006 and who had worked for Tom Loeffler, Bill Clements and Dick Armey. He was 45... Homer Scace, former assistant director of the Legislative Budget Office. He was 85.