After aggressive campaign, Cohen prevails in District 134
By LORI RODRIGUEZ
Nov. 8, 2006, 2:40AM
Houston Chronicle In what was expected to be the tightest state House race in Harris County, Democrat Ellen Cohen easily toppled Republican state Rep. Martha Wong on Tuesday. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Cohen won the race to represent House District 134 with 55 percent of the vote. After being introduced by her mother and daughter as "hopefully, the new state representative from District 134," Cohen stopped short of declaring victory but delivered an optimistic speech. An enthusiastic crowd chanted, "Ellen, Ellen, Ellen." "I'm feeling very good about making this speech," Cohen said. "This has proved that people want reasoned discourse, not partisan politics, and they want an open hand, not a closed fist. And it's not about Ellen Cohen, state rep. It's about Ellen Cohen, representative of District 134." Cohen said her agenda initially would focus on shoring up the Children's Health Insurance Program and increasing support for stem cell research and public education. Wong, speaking earlier in the evening, expressed confidence that she still could pull ahead. "Democrats are very energized. They're working the polls early," she said. After brief remarks, Wong sent her supporters home before midnight but did not concede. Meanwhile, with 96 percent of precincts reporting in the closely watched House District 149 rematch, Democratic incumbent state Rep. Hubert Vo defeated former Republican state Rep. Talmadge Heflin with 54 percent of the vote. After narrowly losing the seat he had held for two decades in a surprise upset two years ago, Heflin, former chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, alleged that illegal votes had been cast and demanded a recount. After a lengthy investigation and legal battle, a House committee declared Vo the winner by 16 votes. Vo is the first Vietnamese-American elected to the state House and represents a far southwest Houston district that, increasingly, is Asian, black and Hispanic. In her aggressive campaign to represent the diverse House District 134, Cohen — a cancer survivor and longtime CEO of the Houston Area Women's Center — had accused Wong of pandering to the far right of her party. Cohen said Wong had lost touch with residents of the district, which includes Montrose, River Oaks, West University Place, Bellaire, the Medical Center and parts of Meyerland. Wong accused Cohen of supporting higher property taxes but mainly found herself on the defensive, forced to explain votes she had made on issues including abortion, gay rights and cuts to the Children's Health Insurance Program. Cohen also hammered Wong on her environmental record and her vote for a GOP-led plan to fund public schools that the challenger said cut property taxes too severely to properly support education. In a state Senate race, conservative radio broadcaster Dan Patrick was elected to an open District 7 seat, handily defeating his Democratic opponent, F. Michael Kubosh, by a two-to-one margin. Patrick, a Republican, was considered a shoo-in to represent the northwest Harris County District. Chronicle reporters Claudia Feldman and Todd Ackerman contributed to this report. lori.rodriguez@chron.com
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