If the electoral process to choose a Texas senator to succeed Kip Averitt seems long, convoluted and baffling, we share your concerns. We also urge you to stick with it and vote for David Sibley, former state senator. The increasingly dire situation in Austin, including a state budget shortfall of up to $15 billion, the possibility of another round of school finance and the crisis that redistricting will likely precipitate — demands experienced, insightful and mature leadership.

Sibley’s reluctant offer to return to the halls of power in Austin falls into the idealized concept of those Americans who leave the plow of private endeavor to undertake public service because of the challenges ahead. In this case, Sibley was among those this year pressing his onetime protege Averitt to continue on. When Averitt declined because of health problems, Sibley opted to quit his lucrative lobbying business to return to the Texas Senate, if only long enough to address several major issues looming over lawmakers. For those concerned about such things, he tells us he has no intention of returning to the lobbying business once he’s done in the Senate.

That sense of duty and honor is something those of us long in Central Texas have become accustomed to. Although he routinely was praised as one of the top state lawmakers during the 1990s, back when he served with such statesmen as Bill Ratliff and John Montford, he honored his original term-limit pledge and left power after 11 years on the job. By then he had come to impress many others, including a man who became his close friend and today stands as possibly his most fervent supporter in Central Texas — George W. Bush.

We’ve heard cries from some that Sibley would be partial to Waco to the exclusion of other parts of the district. He is certainly a supporter of our endeavors at home and was mayor of Waco years ago. But if his earlier career in the Senate is any indication, he also champions rural Texas. He touts such efforts as his bill to bring Internet technology to rural stretches of Texas. He vows to fight redistricting that would put asunder any counties in our area — and not just McLennan County. Happily, he would return to the Senate with his original seniority intact.

Yes, he remains proud of his efforts to deregulate the electric industry in Texas back in 1999, even as critics harp about higher rates. He says cheaper rates are there if Texans will take the time to actually shop for them. We would respectfully suggest he help facilitate this by pushing efforts to make rates more readily understandable if he does wind up back in the Senate. Which, all things considered, is one more reason that we encourage Central Texans to vote for him on Saturday.

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