Texas Republicans were competing in runoffs Tuesday for the elected offices once held by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and a powerful prosecutor who resigned amid a scandal over inappropriate e-mails.
In DeLay's old Houston-area congressional district, Pete Olson led Shelley Sekula Gibbs in early returns for the chance to run against first-term Democratic Rep. Nick Lampson. Sekula Gibbs got the most votes in March in the 10-candidate Republican field.
Sekula Gibbs, a former Houston City Council member, temporarily held the office after DeLay resigned his congressional seat in 2006 following his indictment in a Texas campaign finance case. Olson is a former aide to U.S. Sens. Phil Gramm and John Cornyn.
The congressional contest could be affected by turnout in the race for district attorney of Harris County, which includes Houston. Kelly Siegler, a flamboyant prosecutor, battled Pat Lykos, a former police officer and judge, for the Republican nomination.
Chuck Rosenthal resigned as district attorney amid a contempt of court charge and a scandal involving racist, pornographic and political e-mails found on his county computer. Some were sent by Siegler's husband, physician Sam Siegler. Kelly Siegler attempted to distance herself from the e-mails but has been taking heat for her unorthodox, rule-bending courtroom style.
Lykos says the office needs a leader who's not connected to the scandals.
The GOP winner will face Democrat C.O. Bradford, a former Houston police chief whom Rosenthal once charged with perjury. Bradford was accused of lying under oath about the chastising of a subordinate, but a judge summarily acquitted him after prosecutors laid out their case.
In Austin, two Democratic assistants to Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle - Rosemary Lehmberg and Mindy Montford - competed for the chance to succeed him. Earle, whose office investigates alleged corruption in state government, brought the charges against DeLay, who maintains his innocence and claims the case against him is politically motivated.
In California, former legislator Jackie Speier had big advantages in fundraising and name-recognition over her rivals for the San Francisco-area congressional seat held by Rep. Tom Lantos before his death in February.
Leo Ryan held the seat in 1978, when he was killed while on a fact-finding trip looking into the Jim Jones cult in Guyana. Speier, also on the trip as an aide to Ryan, was seriously wounded before Jones and 912 of his followers died in a mass murder-suicide.
Speier, a 57-year-old Democrat, has since represented much of the area within the 12th Congressional District as a San Mateo County supervisor, assemblywoman and state senator.
Democrat Michelle McMurry, Republicans Greg Conlon and Mike Moloney and Green Party candidate Barry Hermanson also are in the running to finish Lantos' term. If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote there will be a June 3 runoff.
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Associated Press Writer Samantha Young in Sacramento, Calif., contributed to this report.
Some might wonder why anyone would go to a restaurant that makes you cook your own food. But there is a sense of camaraderie and even adventure that comes from gathering with friends around a fondue pot or tossing Korean barbecue onto a tabletop grill.
The latest version of DIY dining to hit the South Bay is Japanese shabu-shabu. First there was Shabuway in Mountain View, and now there is Shabu-Shabu House in San Jose's Japantown.
The storefront restaurant is sparsely decorated, with plain white walls and an old checkerboard linoleum floor. At the heart of the restaurant is a tall, modern U-shaped counter with about 20 individual burners. It's topped with a dramatic stainless steel hood.
Shabu-shabu is Japanese for "swish, swish," which gives you a clue as to how to cook the meat by swirling it through boiling water.
The menu at Shabu-Shabu House is as basic as it gets: shabu-shabu regular ($9.95 at lunch, $12.95 at dinner), shabu-shabu large ($11.95, $15.95) or veggie ($9.50, $12.50). The regular is a smaller portion of paper-thin rib-eye sliced on a large deli slicer right out in the dining room. The meal also comes with rice and a large plate of vegetables, noodles and soft tofu.
The wait staff is kind to the uninitiated, explaining the ritual of shabu-shabu. When you sit down at the counter, they flip on the individual burners to get pots of water boiling. Once the water
is bubbling, you receive plates of uncooked meat, vegetables, tofu and noodles and set to work.
Use chopsticks to immerse the meat or vegetables in boiling water. The meat is so thinly sliced, it should only take a few swishes to cook. Remove the freshly cooked food and dip it into one of two accompanying sauces - a ponzu sauce with citrus that I found lively and bright, or goma, a thick and savory sesame sauce that clings and flavors the vegetables, udon noodles and rice-flour noodles. If you want, you can doctor up the sauces with grated daikon or scallions.
The waiters drop by occasionally to skim out foam that develops from the meat.
I found shabu-shabu regular to be satisfying for either lunch or dinner, though bigger appetites might be left wanting and may require shabu-shabu large. There is an extensive array of vegetables on the platter - springy, mild enoki mushrooms, napa cabbage, carrots and bitter greens.
Swish, swish. Yum, yum.
Shabu-Shabu House
171 Jackson St., San Jose, (408) 279-4251
Hours: 11:30 a.m-2:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. daily.
Types of food: Japanese-style hot pot.
Average meal price: $10-12 at lunch, $12-16 at dinner.
Good choices: Shabu-shabu regular has enough meat and vegetables to satisfy most appetites.
Attitude: Attentive and helpful to newcomers
Amenities: Tall counters under sparkling stainless steel hoods are a fun place to gather with friends.
Vegetarian options: Veggie shabu ($9.50, $12.50 at dinner)
Drinks: Green tea, sodas, sake and Japanese beer
Who goes there : Overflow crowds from Japantown mainstays
Credit cards: Yes
Parking: Metered parking
Contact Sylvia Ulloa at (408) 920-5629 or sulloa@mercurynews.com.
