AUSTIN - Democratic state Supreme Court candidate Jay Gibson said he will not pull down his campaign television commercials despite the threat of a libel lawsuit by his opponent.

Lawyers for Justice Raul Gonzalez told Gibson they would sue him unless the commercial, which says Gonzalez accepted campaign funds from "insurance lawyers, their clients and political action committees," are canceled.

Gibson, a former member of the Texas House from Odessa, said Gonzalez's campaign "does not want the people of Texas to know the truth about him."

"It has resorted to the threat of a lawsuit, apparently to intimidate me and, perhaps, the television stations," he said. "From what I know of libel law, the truth is a complete defense."

James George Jr., a lawyer for Gonzalez, said the television ad implies that Gonzalez accepted a campaign donation from a corporation, which is a violation of state law.

Gonzalez, a former Corpus Christi appeals court judge, is seeking election to the Place 4 post to which Gov. Mark White appointed him last year.

Meanwhile, in the Republican Party primary in Place 1, Dallas Appeals Court Judge Charles Ben Howell Monday filed a libel lawsuit against his GOP opponent, Dallas District Judge Nathan Lincoln Hecht.

Howell's lawsuit, filed in state district court in Dallas, claims Hecht libeled him in an April 16 letter to Republican Party leaders.

In the letter, Hecht said Howell was "widely considered an embarrassment to the judiciary and the Republican Party."

Hecht also said Howell had been "cited twice for contempt of court and reprimanded by the State Bar for misrepresenting facts in a divorce case. In 1981 he served 13 weekends in jail for contempt of court. He has worn pajamas to court."

"These charges against me are stale. They are old hat," said Howell. "If they are dealt with in a halfway fair manner, there is nothing to them."

He said the charges of contempt and professional misconduct were brought against him 15 years ago by a Democratic district judge.

Howell said he regretted having to take action against a fellow Republican, but he said "the deliberate distortions in this case have simply gone too far."

In other campaign developments, two Democratic candidates for the Texas Railroad Commission agreed on new rail safety efforts but disagreed on the need for a health care investigation.

"I want to see Texas first in rail safety, not last," John Sharp of Victoria said, urging that Texas adopt federal standards.

"This is a solveable problem and I believe adoption of the hazardous materials regulations is the first step in getting Texas railroads back on tracks," Sharp said.

"I raised this issue a couple of months ago," replied John Pouland of Dallas. "This is just one of the issues we happen to agree on."

Pouland took issue with Sharp over a resolution passed during the 1985 Legislature calling for a legislative committee to look into auditing procedures of the Department of Human Resources.

Pouland said the resolution was "nothing more than a blatant attempt to intimidate DHS auditors," who had warned Girling Health Care Inc. about an alleged failure to document up to $5.6 million in services billed to the state.

"All I did was get a complaint from a constituent of mine and I got a committee appointed to investigate and I assume the committee is studying the situation," Sharp said.

Sharp said additional rail safety regulations are needed because most Texans do not realize "the same chemical which killed 2,000 people in Bhopal , India, methyl isocyanate, is transported weekly through Freeport, Angleton, Houston, New Caney, Cleveland, Moscow, Diboll, Lufkin and Nacogdoches."

He said adopting Department of Transportation regulations would not stop transportation of the hazardous materials but would set strict standards for containers, handling of dangerous chemicals and track conditions.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Bill Hobby, seeking re-election, urged all Democrats to vote in the May 3 primary.

"We would like to have a large turnout so that our nominees have a strong foundation for the general election and so that special interest and fringe candidates don't get a disproportionate vote," Hobby said.

Hobby also noted that today is the last day for absentee voting.