Former Council member Mitchell Rasansky is pondering whether to run for the Republican nomination for county judge.

"If I don't think I could offer some sort of financial advice to the commissioners, I won't go down there," Rasansky told me earlier today.

Rasansky, who served eight years on the council, would be a formidable candidate in both the Republican Primary and the general election.

His council District 13 is one of the highest voting areas in the region. His name recognition far exceeds any candidate on the race_ Democrat or Republican.

Rasansksy is a fiscal conservative known for guarding taxpayer money like it's his own. He's also a former Plan Commission member and was briefly a mayoral contender in 2007.

If he does run, Rasansky would be matched against Cedar Hill council member Wade Emmert in the GOP Primary.

The Democratic field includes incumbent Jim Foster, Dallas County Schools President Larry Duncan and Dallas lawyer Clay Jenkins.

Foster shocked the local political establishment by beating incumbent Republican Margaret Keliher in 2006, a year when Democrats won every countywide race they entered.

But Dallas County is still split evenly between Republicans and Democrats.

If Republicans get their voters to the polls, Rasansky or Emmert have a shot.