William James Dennis, who rose to national prominence under the moniker Willie D with the Geto Boys, has become the second member of the Geto Boys to seek a seat on the city council and has filed a campaign treasurer’s report to run.
This is a clear indicator that he is scheduled to run in a field of 11 candidates. The district he’s running in is wide open as incumbent councilman Jerry Davis has served the maximum terms and is barred from seeking reelection. His felony status for a wire fraud conviction in 2010 could have some bearing on that as well.
The Texas Election Code says candidates are eligible to run for office if they have not been “finally convicted” of a felony from which they have “not been pardoned or otherwise released from the resulting disabilities.”
Dennis will face District B candidates Robin Anderson, Cynthia Bailey, Patricia Bourgeois, Alvin Byrd, Karen Kossie-Chernyshev, Tarsha Jackson, James Joseph, Alyson Quintana, Renee Jefferson Smith, Ben White Jr., and Huey Wilson.
The district is comprised of the Fifth Ward, Kashmere Gardens, Greenspoint and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
Scarface, running as Brad Jordan, is the other Geto Boys member who is running for city council. He announced his candidacy for District D in June, the seat currently held by Councilman Dwight Boykins.
The stories that the Geto Boys brought to the world were inspired by the streets of the very districts in which their macabre tales emerged. Perhaps it is destiny that they now get to move resources in favor of those very districts, or perhaps not.
Though their popularity in the Houston metro area iis almost without measure within these districts, political analysts do not believe this means with Scarface or Willie D’s victories are a sure thing.
This comes at a time when there are a large number of seats open and the city’s recent change from two-to four-year terms.
Bushwick Bill, the third member of the Geto Boys, died of pancreatic cancer last month at age 52.
