Keough, Metcalf, Collier file election paperwork

The election season is heating up with local state lawmakers Mark Keough and Will Metcalf filing official candidacy paperwork for the 2018 election, while Kingwood resident Mike Collier filed his candidate papers for the Democratic nomination to try to unseat Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick.

Keough, a Republican who represents The Woodlands in the Texas House of Representatives, filed papers on Saturday to run for Montgomery County judge in the March 2018 Republican Party primary election. Keough had announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking another term in the House.

"I got there at 9 [o'clock] and filed at 9:11 [a.m.]," Keough said of his filing in Conroe on Saturday, adding that he's "entering into a new phase."

Also filing election paperwork over the weekend was state Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe. Metcalf is seeking another term representing state District 16, which includes Conroe and surrounding areas. Metcalf, who succeeded Brandon Creighton when Creighton ran for Texas State Senate, won the general election in 2014 getting nearly 84 percent of the vote.

"I am proud of recent conservative accomplishments, but there is more work to be done to defend our constitutional rights, reduce property taxes, and, above all, keep our Montgomery County families safe," Metcalf said in a statement.

Rep. Cecil Bell Jr., R-Magnolia, says he has not yet filed his paperwork to run for office again because he's required, since he represents more than one county, to file in Austin. He plans to file in early December during a trip to the area.

As for Collier, he had announced his intention to challenge Patrick last month, but made it official by signing election paperwork in Austin Monday afternoon.

Collier, who is a longtime resident of Kingwood, embarks on his second foray into state politics. He ran for state comptroller in 2014, winning the Democratic primary unopposed but then losing in the general election to Glenn Hegar, gaining less than 38 percent of the vote

Collier, a CPA, has worked for audit and financial firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers and has served as a managing director for Duff & Phelps, a corporate finance advisory firm. He says he's stepping away from his work in finance to focus on his campaign.

"I'm once again suspending my work as a financial professional to end the divisive, deceptive, and absurd antics of the politicians in Austin," Collier said. "My goal is to reform our state's finances, un-rig the property tax system, bring Texas pride to our public schools, and restore compassion and integrity to Texas politics."

Patrick, who had announced in January that he would run for re-election, filed his filing paperwork on Saturday. He says on his campaign web site that he has helped to cut property and business taxes, while also expanding "accountability" in education.

In the 2014 election, Patrick handily won the race for lieutenant governor nabbing more than 58 percent of the vote against Democrat Leticia Van de Putte.