Rodriguez announces run for Congress

State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez formally announced his candidacy for the 35th Congressional District on Thursday, pitting him against Council Member Greg Casar, who has been preparing for the race for quite some time. Rodriguez made his announcement with the backing of Austin state Reps. Sheryl Cole, Celia Israel, Gina Hinojosa, Donna Howard and Vikki Goodwin. Rodriguez has served as a state representative since 2002. His supporters include Cleo Petricek, who tweeted her support for him. (Petricek and Travis County Republican Party Chair Matt Mackowiak are the founders of Save Austin Now, the group that put the police item on the Nov. 2 ballot, which Austin voters rejected by a two-to-one margin.) There are at least three other candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination– Claudia Zapata, James Sasinowski and David Anderson, Jr. More importantly, San Antonio state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer announced Tuesday that he would run for reelection, not for Congress. According to the San Antonio Express-News, Martinez Fischer said he is going to concentrate on challenging the redistricting he believes put Austin voters at an advantage over San Antonio. In the meantime, Casar announced he had raised more than $100,000 in the first three days of his campaign. The Council member also announced three back-to-back parties on Saturday, starting with an 11 a.m. kickoff at AquaBrew in San Marcos. Next, the campaign will host a party at the Cherrity Bar in San Antonio at 3 p.m. Finally, the Austin kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Native Hostel at 807 E. Fourth St.