(Posted on the Statesman web site at 6:21 p.m.) Kelly Fero, a well-known Democratic Party political consultant and strategist, was found dead at his North Austin home this afternoon, friends of the family confirmed just a few minutes ago. According to his wife, Fero had not been feeling well recently. No age was given, but the story said that in 2008, he had been 56. * * * * I found Kelly to be someone who enjoyed life immensely. I sat on panels with him, and he always had interesting things to say. We appeared at a TMA event once and he won over the heavily Republican audience with his jokes about being a Democrat. His best known client in Texas was John Sharp, but he was fluent in Spanish and also ran campaigns in Latin America. His death is a huge loss for Democrats, as Kelly was the best consultant they had. The field is not deep.