Dan Patrick isn’t the only one seeking to change how we select judges in Texas. Freshman state Rep. Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, is an attorney who has been frustrated for years by this state’s hyper-political process for selecting judges (and the big money that flows into those races), and he was tempted to prescribe a [...]
Posts Tagged ‘judicial races’
Jefferson pushes for judicial reforms
Most of what Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson had to say to the Lege during his biennial address was good stuff that I hope the Lege will heed. Presenting his State of the Judiciary speech to Texas lawmakers, Jefferson said that “wrongful convictions leave our citizens vulnerable, as actual perpetrators remain free” and [...]
A Republican view of 2014 in Harris County
Big Jolly is feeling pessimistic about his team’s chances in Harris County next year. Now let’s look at who will be on the playing field for us. There will be a lot of statewide action, with unknown Dems – let’s ignore them for now. Sen. John Cornyn is a good conservative senator but at this [...]
January finance reports for Harris County offices
For the most part, it’s way too early to start thinking about the 2014 Harris County elections – we have a legislative session and a city election cycle to get through first – but since January 15 is a reporting deadline for county officeholders, I figure I may as well have a peek at who [...]
A personal view of judicial elections
I’ve mentioned in this space before that my father Charles A. Kuffner, Jr. was a Supreme Court justice in New York. (Note: The Supreme Court in New York is basically the equivalent of a District Court in Texas. The top court in New York is the Appellate Court.) He was elected to that position in [...]
Once more to the judicial elections well
I swear, I thought I was done talking about judicial elections, at least for now until one or more of the bills that would affect them comes up in the Lege, but then there was this op-ed in the Chron, and I just couldn’t help myself. In states across the country, the selection of judges [...]
It’s the vote spread that matters
I had an email conversation with Judge Mark Davidson regarding my post about straight-ticket voting and its effect on judicial races. He said I misunderstood the point he was trying to make in that Chron story. From his email, quoted with permission: Your analysis fails to look at what I call the “Straight Ticket Judicial [...]
Straight ticket voting and judicial races elsewhere
You may be wondering, after reading my post about straight ticket voting and judicial races if the same thing is true in counties other than Harris. I got to wondering that myself, so I checked out the results from a dozen other counties for 2012. County ST Advantage Contested Races Closest Win # Affected ================================================================== [...]
Pity the poor judges
It’s hard out here on a judge. For longer than anyone remembers, you had to be a Democrat to be a district judge in Texas – or just about any other political office. When the Democratic Party split apart in the South over civil rights, Republicans gained the upper hand, so much so that by [...]
If eliminating straight ticket voting is the solution, then what’s the problem?
With the opening day of bill-filing season comes the recurrence of a not-so-old chestnut that like many other bills is a solution in search of a problem. Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, said he wants to end straight-ticket voting for judges because the political winds often determine the fate of a judicial candidate instead of qualifications. [...]
Endorsement watch: A useful explanation
The Chron endorsed the two Republican incumbents for Harris County Civil Court At Law – they were both appointed to fill vacancies, so it’s not accurate to say they’re running for re-election – but the interesting thing about the endorsement is the lucid explanation of what exactly the Harris County Civil Courts At Law do: [...]
Endorsement watch: Criminal district courts
Nine of the 22 Criminal District Court benches are up for election this year in Harris County. Democrats hold seven of those nine positions. The Houston Chronicle has endorsed for of those seven incumbent judges for re-election. 176th Criminal District Court: Since her election to the bench in 2008, Democratic Judge Shawna Reagin has applied [...]
Judicial Q&A: Michele Petty
Note: As I have done in years past, I am conducting written Q&As with judicial candidates. This one is a little different in that the questions were originally asked by someone else, but the idea is the same. Further explanation after the post. 1. Please explain why voters should elect you over your opponent. Justice [...]
Endorsement watch: Civil courts, part 2
Finishing what they started the day before, the Chron endorses three of the four remaining Democratic civil district court judges for re-election. Civil District Court 133: With 30 years’ legal experience under her belt, Democratic incumbent Judge Jaclanel McFarland was a strong candidate when first elected in 2008. But with a life story that ranges [...]
Endorsement watch: Civil courts, part 1
The Chron gets started on candidate endorsements with a first look at the civil court races. They made recommendations in seven of the 14 District Civil Court races, and in five of those seven they endorse the Democratic incumbent for re-election. Civil District Court 11: Incumbent Judge Mike Miller, a Democrat and a four-year bench [...]
Precinct analysis: The two races we’re all glad to see the end of
For my last look at precinct data from the Harris County Democratic primary of 2012, let’s see what happened in the two most contentious races on the ballot: Elaine Palmer versus Steven Kirkland, and Keryl Douglass versus Lane Lewis. First up, Palmer-Kirkland: Dist Palmer Kirkland Palmer % =============================== 126 791 417 65.48% 127 860 466 [...]
Endorsement watch: Kirkland
Nearly all of the judicial primary action this year is on the Republican side, since nearly all of the incumbents running for re-election are Democrats; there are no contested Democratic primaries for the few Republican-held benches. The one contested Democratic judicial primary is a challenge to a sitting judge, Judge Steven Kirkland on the 215th [...]
30 day financial reports, Harris County offices
Candidates for county offices who are in contested primaries are also required to submit 30 day campaign finance reports. I’ve been going through the County Clerk’s campaign finance reports page to collect what’s there; ones for Democratic races are on the 2012 Primary page. Since I whined so piteously last time about how sucky the [...]
Again with judicial elections
Here we go again. Texas is one of seven states that holds partisan elections for judges, a practice that one watchdog group says can lead to conflicts of interest. “We have a judiciary at the highest level, the Texas Supreme Court, that gets 40 to 50 percent of its campaign money from the very people [...]
2012 Democratic primary overview – Harris County
So with the start of the new year, we turn our attention to the primary elections, whenever they may turn out to be. I’ve added a new page to the site, for 2012 contested Democratic primaries in Harris County. It has the usual information about candidates that are in contested primaries – links to campaign [...]
Commissioner Cagle
As predicted, the new County Commissioner is County Court Judge Jack Cagle. “Cactus” Jack Cagle was named Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner this morning by County Judge Ed Emmett, ending two weeks of political intrigue that followed former Commissioner Jerry Eversole’s announcement that he would resign. Eversole, who had represented the area since 1991, stepped [...]
Credit where credit is due
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson calls on the Lege to protect legal aid funding. The budget crisis threatens to leave the state’s neediest without legal representation, Jefferson said, and even now “the courthouse door is closed to many who have lost their jobs, veterans and women who struggle with physical abuse.” As he [...]
On straight ticket voting
After Democrats made big gains in 2008 in Harris County thanks in part to straight ticket voting, I defended the practice from the Republican concern trolls that came out to wring their hands about it now that they were no longer its primary beneficiary. I’m not going to change my mind after this election just [...]
How many votes did we think we’d need?
We’ve already established that this election saw an historically high level of turnout in the county, and an historically high level of vote support for Republican candidates. It’s clear that Republican candidates rode a wave of voters who don’t normally participate in the off year elections to across the board victory. But would Democratic levels [...]
Judicial Q&A: Janiece Horn
(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were not in contested primaries. You can see those earlier Q&As, as well as all the [...]
Judicial Q&A: Dennis Slate
(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were not in contested primaries. You can see those earlier Q&As, as well as all the [...]
Judicial Q&A: Michael Gomez
(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were not in contested primaries. You can see those earlier Q&As, as well as all the [...]
Judicial Q&A: Ursula Hall
(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were not in contested primaries. You can see those earlier Q&As, as well as all the [...]
Endorsement watch: Probate court
The probate courts in Harris County have been messed up for some time. The Chron is ready for some changes. Harris County Probate Court No. 1: Kathy Stone, the Democratic incumbent, is our choice to be returned to this bench. Harris County Probate Court No. 2: Joellen Snow, the Democratic challenger, would bring rich professional [...]