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Curry: 'We've always been tough on crime. ... I'm running on that record.'

The table was a big one, and the discussions -- about current events and social justice -- could get hot. Moore is the youngest of nine children, born in Cleburne, the source of her rural Texas twang. Her father was a plumber, her mother a homemaker. "I grew up in a family where my parents encouraged us to read the newspaper and watch the news every night," Moore said. "We had conversations at the supper table about current events. They were always conversations about the haves and the have-nots and how the have-nots get screwed. It always boiled down to a fairness and justice type of thing."

Her father died when she was in the ninth grade. She graduated from Texas Christian University and the South Texas College of Law. On her first day of law school her mother died. She was hired out of law school by Tim Curry in 1987 and sent to misdemeanor court, trying drunk-driving and shoplifting cases. After eight months, she was moved up into trying felony cases. Her first case was what the office referred to as a "misdemeanor murder."

"It was what the office called a case when it was one black guy murdering another black guy and the one that got killed had a criminal history a mile long," she said. "The only picture I had of the victim was him in his prison uniform. I realized at that time that these people and their families deserve as much justice as anyone else."

In 1981, she married Carlos Moore, a longtime political worker for former U.S. House Speaker Jim Wright. Ten years before they met, Carlos was indicted in a 1971 tax evasion case involving campaign contributions to Wright and others. He pleaded guilty to lesser charges and was given probation. Some have contended that Carlos, who runs his own advertising and public relations firm, is the puppeteer behind Terri's run for office. "I support my wife in her bid for office, but I'm not out there telling her what to do," he said. "If you know Terri at all, you know she makes the decisions on her own and sticks to them."

Moore became one of the stars in Curry's office and established a gang unit in the mid-'90s when gang murders became commonplace. She was promoted to deputy chief of the Criminal Division, the only woman ever to hold the position. She never lost a murder case, and she put together an 89-4 record in felony cases -- all this while she helped run the office as Curry's top administrator.

She also became known as someone who was tough on crime but great with victims as well. Jana Freelove's daughter Channing was murdered in 1995 by a gang member in a drug deal gone bad. On Moore's web site, Jana Freelove offers this testimonial to Moore's ability as a prosecutor. "I pray that you never suffer the pain and destruction that my family has endured," she wrote. "But, if you do, I hope that you are blessed by a prosecutor like Terri Moore to guide you through the criminal justice system. Terri is so kind and compassionate. She held my hand and gave me a shoulder to cry on. She spent countless hours listening as we described our daughter to her. Terry gave us love and information. I could not believe someone as precious as Terri could be so ruthless in the courtroom."

In early 1998, Moore had a job offer from then-U.S. Attorney Paul Coggins in Dallas. She went to Curry to find out if he planned to run for re-election that year.

"I went into his office to talk to him about the fed offer, and I asked him about whether he was running," she said of her conversation with Curry. "He said, 'I'm going to run in '98, and I'm not going to run after that. This is really my last term. If you want to run in 2002, I hope you get it, and I'll help you get it. I wish you well.' "

So Moore took the job with Coggins and established herself as a top-flight federal prosecutor. One of her biggest cases was the largest internet child pornography case in U.S. history, a case that Attorney General John Ashcroft has pointed out as the type of case his department will be pursuing in the future.

"Terri did a great job," said Coggins. "I'll put Terri's experience at the state and federal level and match it with anyone's in the country. She has the ability to reach outside the office and mobilize people. When you are talking about a county district attorney, the ability to lead and put a face on justice is huge. She's tough as can be, but she has the compassion to work with victims' groups. Both attributes are equally important in that job."

Those are the kind of attributes one local judge had in mind when he offered his analysis of the D.A.'s race.

"The problem for Curry is that Terri has such a great record," said the Republican criminal court judge, who asked not to be identified. "Everyone who has worked with her knows she is a first-rate trial lawyer and served as a great manager in the D.A.'s office. It is very hard to attack her on her record. So If Curry sits back and says 'Vote for me because I'm a Republican,' he's going to lose. She is too strong a candidate for that. Curry is going to find himself in a tough fight, and if you haven't had a tough fight in a long time, you'll find out you're out of practice."

The Moore campaign said its polls show she is winning by 60 percent to 31 percent, as of the end of July. The assertion made Curry's campaign treasurer laugh hysterically. "That's so ridiculous, it's hardly worth commenting on," said Don Curry (no kin to Tim). The D.A.'s polls show that "it's no contest at this time," Don Curry said. "She's got no name recognition."

Moore herself is confident that the votes are out there. Her strategy is to concentrate on women, particularly those in the Northeast Tarrant suburbs and Arlington who have moved into the county in the past 10 years and have no political loyalty to Curry. She also plans to ride the coattails of the Democrats at the top of the ticket: Tony Sanchez for governor, Ron Kirk for U.S. Senate, and John Sharp for lieutenant governor. The presence of these three strong candidates is sure to increase voter turnout for Democrats, particularly among Hispanic voters. Moore thinks she'll have the numbers when the minority voters in the city are combined with Republican-leaning women in the suburbs. The strategy with Hispanic voters will be to emphasize fairness in prosecutions, but also to have better outreach with victims' rights groups. She is working hard on their behalf to have the Fort Worth Police Department start a cold-case unit.

The incumbent's plan, Don Curry said, is to go to the voters "with Tim Curry's exemplary 30-year record. ... We'll do some signage, mailings and some radio," but won't spend money on tv ads "until we see if this develops into a full-blown campaign."

Curry, however, seems to be raising money as if the race is already full-blown. Through July 15, he's raised $135,800, with Bass family PACs kicking in the largest share at $15,000. Plus, Curry has "some funds from past campaigns on hand," Don Curry said, although he declined to say how much. Moore has $125,192; her largest contributor is campaign treasurer Kelly Puls at $45,000.

Don Curry seemed astonished at Puls' $45,000 contribution, calling it "a real head-scratcher for a local race, makes you wonder."

"I've known Terri since we were freshmen in TCU," Puls explained. "She's our [Puls and his wife's] good, good friend. I have nothing against Tim -- he's an old friend, too -- but it's time to bring our generation into that office, and Terri's simply the best one to do it." There's no quid pro quo in this, he said, since he's a civil attorney who would have no cases before the D.A.'s office. Puls said that he's been "fortunate in making a lot of money" as a personal injury lawyer. "I believe in putting your money where your mouth is, giving back, and that's it."

As for the contention that a win from Moore could be the unraveling of the Republican stranglehold on the county, party chairperson Pat Carlson also laughed. "She's not going to win," she said. "This is Republican country. We will sweep the ballot -- again." Don Curry also pooh-poohed Moore's contention that she could appeal to suburban Republican women. "She comes from the liberal wing of the Democratic Party," he said. "She doesn't fit the mold for conservative women."

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