Jake Ellzey of Midlothian, a career naval aviator, will join the Republican primary in HD-10, where state Rep. Jim Pitts, R-Midlothian, is retiring next year. 

State District Judge Elizabeth Coker of Polk County agreed to resign and to never sit as a judge again, after the State Commission on Judicial Conduct investigated complaints that, among other things, she had texted a prosecutor during a trial to suggest questions in an attempt to help the state win a conviction. The commission didn’t make any official findings, and the judge didn’t admit to anything. But she agreed to quit and not ever return to the bench. 

Former state Rep. Mike “Tuffy” Hamilton told KIII-TV he will run for Orange County judge, a seat opening with the retirement of Carl Thibodeaux.

Karin Johanson will oversee Democrat Wendy Davis’s campaign for governor. Johanson was most recently the campaign manager for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wisconsin. 

Dallas developer Donald Huffines said he will challenge state Sen. John Carona of Dallas in next year’s GOP primary. Huffines said he has never run before; Carona has been in the Legislature since 1990.

Gerald Parker Jr. is the new veep for public health preparedness and response at the Texas A&M Health Science Center. He was previously deputy assistant secretary of defense.

No surprise here: Texas A&M’s board of regents approved the appointment of former state Sen. Tommy Williams as vice chancellor of federal and state relations for the A&M System. Gov. Rick Perry hasn’t called one yet, but there will be a special session to replace Williams until his term is up in 2016.