Kyle Janek, a Houston anesthesiologist first elected to the Legislature in 1994, plans to leave the Texas Senate this spring — two years before his term ends. He'll likely be replaced in a special election in November.

He initially planned to resign March 1, which would have made it possible to hold a special election May 10 to replace him. But he says he decided to make that last day a bit later in the spring so that the special will be in November. That way, voters won't get stuck with primaries in March, runoffs in April, a special election in May and a possible runoff in June. They'll just vote on the normal election day in November, with a possible December runoff. It also gives potential candidates more time to line up their ducks.

Janek, who served in the House from 1995 and was elected to the Senate in 2002, moved his family to Austin last year. Speculation about his resignation has dogged him since the end of the last legislative session.

Half the Senate is up for reelection this year, but Janek's not in that bunch. Whoever replaces him will have to run again in 2010, when his term expires. Janek himself won the seat in a special election in November 2002, after Sen. J.E. "Buster" Brown, R-Lake Jackson, resigned early.

This is a freebie in the political sense — House members can run for that Senate seat without giving up their current positions (As usual, it's more complicated than it first seemed). Rep. Charlie Howard, R-Sugar Land, already told the Houston Chronicle he's interested, as did former Harris County GOP Chairman Gary Polland. The only Democratic House member who lives in the district is Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston.

The district includes parts of six counties: Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, and Jefferson. It was at one time a very solid Republican district, but that's less true than it used to be. Republicans in statewide elections usually win there, but by smaller margins than they get statewide. The Texas Weekly Index — our measure of how a district voted in the last two general elections — leans 15.4 to the Republican side: That was the margin for statewide Republicans over statewide Democrats in the last two cycles. But districts in that range have been competitive in legislative races for the last few years, and a well-funded and/or well-known Democrat could make the contest competitive. That party — a 20-11 minority in the Senate — is mounting serious challenges against two other Republican senators — Kim Brimer of Fort Worth and Mike Jackson of La Porte — in this year's general elections.

Janek initially tried to engineer things for a successor.

Last week, Janek began squiring a possible successor around the district, helping Spencer Tillman, an African-American Republican from Sugar Land, raise money and to lock down some support that might otherwise go to other candidates. By the end of last week, Janek said, the two had already raised $75,000 for Tillman's bid.

Tillman was a college football star at the University of Oklahoma who went on to play for the Houston Oilers and the San Francisco 49ers. He's now a sportscaster for CBS. But while Tillman lives in Sugar Land, he doesn't live in the district, so the outgoing incumbent might end up without a favorite in the race.

With his favorite out of the running and with local officials raising concerns about voter burnout, Janek decided to delay his retirement so that the election to replace him will be in November instead of May.

Janek tried to keep his announcement a secret until a press conference at the state Capitol, but told Senate colleagues in a conference call a day earlier. He swore them to silence; the news blazed threw the capital while that phone call was still underway. We'll quote Ben Franklin: "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead."

Rep. Robert Puente won't finish his current term. The San Antonio Democrat — chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee — wrote Gov. Rick Perry to officially say he'll leave office on February 1. That's this Friday.Puente had already decided not to run for reelection, but his current term runs until the start of the legislative session in January 2009. Democrat Roland Gutierrez is the only candidate on the November ballot. Puente says quitting now gives Gutierrez a chance to get a few months seniority over other incoming House members, which can come in handy later on. Perry can call a special election in five weeks if he deems the vacancy in HD-119 an emergency. The next uniform election date — probably more likely, but there's no announcement yet — is on May 10. Puente, an attorney, says he'll return to his practice and will remain in San Antonio. Still, that could include some lobbying or Austin work. He's a legislative leader on water issues, so don't be surprised if that turns out to be a specialty. One more thing: Puente didn't close his campaign account, and says he wanted to keep it active in case a political opportunity arises in the future. If the right job opened up, he might be interested in returning to government. Here's his letter:

Carl Mica, formerly an aide to U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, joins the University of Texas System as director of business relations. Mica was with Hutchison for 10 years, most recently as district director. He'll succeed John de la Garza Jr., who retired.

Amber Moon is leaving the Texas Democratic Party, where she's been director of communications for two years. That job goes to Hector Nieto, who's been the deputy until now. Moon is moving to Houston, still working for the Democrats.

Anita Givens is the new deputy associate commissioner for standards and alignment at the Texas Education Agency. That's a promotion; she's been with the agency for 17 years.

Gov. Rick Perry appointed:

• To the new Task Force on Higher Education Incentive Funding: Kern Wildenthal, president of the UT Southwestern Medical School in Dallas; Bernie Francis, owner and CEO of Business Control Systems in Carrollton; Woody Hunt, chairman and CEO of Hunt Building Corp. in El Paso; A.W. Riter, president of Riter Management Co. and a family foundation in of Tyler; and Robert Zárate of San Antonio, a retired public school educator. They'll join four others on a panel making recommendations on higher ed incentive funding to the next Legislature.

• Hope Andrade of San Antonio to the middle seat at the Texas Transportation Commission. She's been on that panel; she'll replace the late Ric Williamson as chair, on an interim basis.

• Ernie Morales of Devine as presiding officer of the Texas Animal Health Commission. He co-owns Morales feed lots. The Guv put some others on that board, including Randy Chris Brown, vice president of City Bank Texas in Lubbock; Dr. William Edmiston Jr. of Eldorado, a veterinarian and rancher; Ken Jordan, owner and operator of Jordan Cattle Auctions in San Saba; Mark Wheelis of Victoria, general ranch manager of D.H. Braman Jr. Ranches; Dick Winters Jr. of Brady, general partner and manager of Winters Livestock and Land; and Chuck Real of Marion, owner and operator of Real Hog Farms.

• Four new regents for the University of Houston System. The newbies: Nelda Blair, president and owner of the Blair Law Firm and chairman of the board of directors of The Woodlands Township; Jacob Monty, managing partner of Monty Partners LLP, a Houston law firm; Mica Mosbacher, a fundraiser and philanthropist; and Carroll Robertson Ray, an attorney with Andrews and Kurth.

• Charles Crenshaw of Austin, Mark Smith of Dallas, and Doris Davis Washington of Arlington to the Texas Private Security Board. And he named John Chism of Irving to be that board's presiding officer. Chism is a private eye, Crenshaw and Smith both run alarm and security firms, and Washington is a Realtor.

• James Earl Toups of League City to the Board of Pilot Commissioners for Galveston County. He's retired from Amoco Chemicals.

• Kristin Benton of Austin, Sheri Crosby of Mesquite, Marilyn Davis of Sugar Land, Richard Gibbs of Mesquite, and Mary Jane Salgado of El Paso to the Texas Board of Nursing. Gibbs and Davis are nurses, and Benton teaches nursing at Austin Community College. Crosby is an attorney, and Salgado is a real estate agent and an economic developer of the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.

Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and House Speaker Tom Craddick named their joint appointees to the Select Committee on Public School Accountability. That list: Dalia Benavides, an elementary school principal from Midland; Susan Lewis, an elementary math teacher in San Antonio who's also active in the Texas Classroom Teachers Association; and David Splitek, superintendent at Lackland ISD.