[AGL] Kinky in the Bayou City

[Harry Edwards]

March 18, 2006, 10:28PM


Friedman supporters are taking names

Gubernatorial candidate visits local volunteers on petition drive

By ALEXIS GRANT
Copyright 2006 Houston Chronicle

Many of the Kinky Friedman supporters who gathered in Houston on 
Saturday for the gubernatorial candidate's petition drive had never 
before been involved in politics.

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But then, Friedman isn't your typical politician.

"We won't get a hell of a lot done in the morning, but we'll work late, 
and we'll be honest," the musician/author-turned-governor hopeful told 
supporters while gripping his signature cigar.

That fired up a crowd of about 150 volunteers, who then scattered 
around the city to collect signatures to put Friedman's name on the 
November ballot.

The independent candidate has until May 11 to gather 45,540 signatures 
to challenge Republican Gov. Rick Perry. Comptroller Carole Keeton 
Strayhorn, also running as an independent, must meet the same standard. 
Former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell of Houston is the Democratic candidate.

"If we get on the ballot, there will be no turning back, and we'll win 
the election," Friedman said.

Some volunteers, many clad in "Kinky for Governor" shirts, hats and 
buttons, went door to door in search of signatures, while others staked 
out public places.

They were careful to solicit only eligible Texans: registered voters 
who did not vote in the primaries or sign a petition for another 
candidate.

About 5 percent of the state's 12.7 million registered voters cast 
Republican ballots in the primaries, and 4 percent voted in the 
Democratic race.

"I haven't voted since JFK, but now I'm out campaigning," said W. Russ 
Erickson, who drove to Houston from Key West, Fla., to help.

He pulled in signatures quickly outside the Houston Museum of Natural 
Science, largely because of the large, colorful bird that sat on his 
shoulder. The name of the blue-and-gold macaw? Kinky Friedman.

"I met him this morning for the first time," Erickson said, referring 
to the real Kinky, not his bird. "I love the Kinkster."

Ryan Martinez, a student at Houston Community College, was one of the 
locals who canvassed familiar neighborhoods.

"Now that I'm able to vote, I'm able to get involved," said Martinez, 
18, who lives in the Heights.

Some who signed the petition said they did so not necessarily because 
they plan to vote for Friedman, but because they wanted another 
candidate in the mix.

"Everybody needs a chance to get on the ballot," said Eric Crumb of 
Katy.

Others, like LeaAnn McInturff of Cleveland, said they avoiding voting 
in the primaries so they could sign Friedman's petition.

"I like some of his ideas about natural energy," McInturff said.

The only successful independent candidate for governor in Texas history 
was Sam Houston, who took office in 1859.

But that didn't seem to dim the spirits of the volunteers, who hoped to 
get enough signatures in Houston alone during the next two months to 
put Friedman on the ballot. They expected to collect thousands in this 
weekend's drive.

Houston was the only stop on the petition trail for most of the 
volunteers who showed up Saturday. But Jean Spain Moats, a resident of 
Timpson in East Texas, canvassed in Dallas recently and plans to 
participate in the Austin and San Antonio drives as well.

At 68, Moats is dipping her toes into political waters for the first 
time.

"I just felt like it was my time in life to do something good," she 
said. "And besides," she added with a smile, "I like him."