Not So Fast Mr. Hall

2 on the Beat made a quick stop Thursday night by the law offices of  prominent Houston Attorney Ben Hall.

There were a lot of excited people, TV cameras and newspaper reporters waiting for the big announcement from  Hall that he is jumping in the already crowded race for Mayor of Houston.

Mr.and Mrs. Ben Hall

Instead Hall told the disappointed crowd that he is still mulling over his options, and would make a decision sooner rather than later.

Hall later told me that he received a phone call Thursday from someone who asked him to hold off  on announcing his plans.  Hall and the mysterious caller plan to meet soon!

The wanna be mayor would not identify the caller, but he said he agreed to wait out of   “professional courtesy.”

(Journalists are supposed to report facts and not speculate,  but I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the caller was likely another Mayoral Candidate  who wants to talk Hall out of running. )

A four way race with Hall, City Council Member Peter Brown, City Comptroller Annise Parker and former City Attorney Gene Locke would split the vote and complicate everyones campaign strategy.

Anyone entering the tough  race will need enough money and name identification to finish in one of the top two spots in November, and then sustain the energy, voter support and fund raising efforts to win in a runoff election.