Gubernatorial hopeful Shami invited to a debate. But is he a serious candidate?

This just came in. Dallas TV station KERA, a PBS affiliate, has just announced that it will sponsor a Feb. 8 debate between Democratic hopefuls Bill White, the former Mayor of Houston, and Houston hair-care magnate Farouk Shami.

One question that comes to mind is what criteria the station used to invite the two candidates considering there are seven Democrats running in the March 2 primary and with the exception of White they are virtually unknown. The only thing Shami has going for him is his money.

Shami, who was born in what was once Palestine but is now a U.S. citizen, has vowed to spend at least $10 million of his own to run for governor. But other than that, it is hard to see how he qualifies as a serious candidate worthy of an invitation to a televised debate.

For instance, the Austin American-Statesman just reported on its Website that in a meeting with the newspaper’s editorial board Shami could not name state officials like the attorney general and the state comptroller. Nor did he know who represents him in the Texas Legislature. And certainly he didn’t know the size of the state budget.

Millions of Texans probably don’t know their state representative or senator either much less the comptroller or the attorney general. But then again, most people don’t run for governor either. However, they expect their candidates not only to be well-informed but –most important – be qualified for the public office they seek.

So far Shami has come across as unprepared which is why it is hard to take him seriously as a candidate for governor.