Friedman calls for ‘power to the people' in bid for ag commissioner

In his two previous bids for the Texas governorship, Hill County musician and humorist Kinky Friedman has faced criticism that he’s nothing but a showboat, a seeker of the limelight with no real chance of winning, or a novelty candidate not to be taken seriously.

Now as a Democratic candidate for Texas agriculture commissioner, having dropped out of the gubernatorial race to endorse former Houston Mayor Bill White for the Democratic Party nominee, Friedman is being taken seriously by at least two of the state’s major newspapers and a well-known former ag commissioner.

Jim Hightower, the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram have all endorsed Friedman for the job, even while his primary opponent, East Texas rancher Hank Gilbert, claims Friedman’s run is mostly about entertainment value and self-promotion.

Not so, insists Friedman, 65, who says he dropped out of the governor’s race rather than divide the Democratic vote. White’s war chest was also much bigger, as was that of fellow Democratic contender Farouk Shami. In a phone interview with The Herald during a recent South Texas campaign swing, Friedman says the job of ag commissioner is essentially to "protect the land, look after animals and listen to the people," and that incumbent Todd Staples hasn’t been doing it.

"That’s the job and it hasn’t been done since Hightower was in office," Friedman says. "I’m a man of the people who listens and would be a lobbyist for the people. I don’t see any of them in elected office doing that right now. I want to take the Democrats back to Ann Richards, Molly Ivins and Barbara Jordan."

Friedman notes that a recent poll by the University of Texas/Texas Tribune showed him with a five-point lead over Gilbert, though that’s within the poll’s margin of error.

"My opponent lost to (Staples) last time and he’s not going to win this time," Friedman says.

Friedman is hammering on a few fundamental themes, including growing the economy by encouraging Texas farmers to grow crops for alternative fuels and — with Willie Nelson as spokesman — "selling biodiesel at every truck stop in Texas." He also wants to establish no-kill animal sanctuaries in every region of Texas based on the nonprofit Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch Friedman founded near Kerrville in the 1990s.

"It’s a failure of our society that we kill all these stray animals," he says. "I’d like to help correct that, and we can."

Friedman also says he would fight on the side of small landowners in eminent domain cases for toll road right-of-ways.

"My message really is ‘power to the people,’ " he says. "I believe that power has been hijacked by politicians. I want to get it back where it belongs."

Friedman adds that he would expand the scope of the ag commissioner’s office to include rural education and other pressing needs that aren’t being addressed. He would expand soil and water conservation programs, provide more funding for farmer co-ops and implement a national "Go Texan" advertising campaign for state products and producers.

Hightower, a populist Democrat who served as ag commissioner from 1982 to 1991, would be actively involved in a Friedman administration, Friedman says.

"He is an unabashed champion of working families and for the poor," Friedman says. "He can’t be bought."

While he does has some big names on board, coupled with Friedman’s own brand recognition, other big-time endorsements have eluded him, including those from the San Antonio News-Express and the Austin Chronicle, both of which have endorsed Gilbert.

Friedman disputes critics who say his main goal in pursuing elected office is self-promotion. That said, a talent for self-promotion isn’t necessarily a handicap for an ag commissioner, he says.

"Writing books and promoting them — that’s called making a living," Friedman says. "It’s called ‘not being a lobbyist.’ If I’m such a genius promoter, don’t I sound like the obvious guy to sell Texas products to the country and the world? I think I’m the right guy to do that. They’re kind of making my point for me."