Tag Archives: Lane Lewis

Of course Republicans have benefited from voting by mail

Obviously. And yes, even in recent elections. The coronavirus pandemic is expected to drive millions of Americans to vote by mail this year, a shift that data suggest is underway even in Texas, where only some voters are allowed to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

So what do we think final 2019 turnout will be?

Let’s take the numbers we have so far and try to hone in a bit more exactly on what to expect tomorrow, shall we? I’m going to go back a little farther into the past and establish some patterns. 2019 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Lillie Schechter elected HCDP Chair

Six candidates were nominated for HCDP Chair at Sunday’s County Executive Committee meeting: Dominique Davis, Johnathan Miller, Chris Spellmon, Keryl Douglass, Eartha Jean Johnson, and Lillie Schechter. Each candidate was given two minutes for a speech in a pre-determined order, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Lillie Schechter elected HCDP Chair

Date set for HCDP Chair election

From the Inbox: Two months ago, I announced my intention to resign in February 2017. This will result in a vacancy, therefore we must move forward with a special election. The Precinct Chairs of Harris County will elect a replacement … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Still more HCDP Chair hopefuls

From the inbox, from precinct chair Sterling Camp: 10 Possible County Chair Candidates I’ve been emailed that Keryl Douglas, former executive director of Houston NAACP, will be running for County Chair. The list grows to 10. Tomaro Bell Robert Collier … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Still more HCDP Chair hopefuls

What I’m looking for in the next HCDP Chair

Following up on yesterday’s post, here are a few issues I’ve been thinking about regarding the position of HCDP Chair. 1. Focus on voter registration My main takeaway from this past election is that Harris County is now fundamentally blue, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

So who is running to succeed Lane Lewis as HCDP Chair?

It has been over a month since Lane Lewis announced his impemding departure as HCDP Chair. Since then, I have been asked by multiple people if I have heard from any potential candidates to replace him. My answer has been, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Lane Lewis to step down as HCDP Chair

From the Inbox: It has been 5 years to the month since you first elected me to be your Party Chair. Over the last 5 years, our social media presence grew and enabled us to deliver our message to thousands … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Chron overview of judicial races

In case anyone is paying attention to them. As Harris County goes, so go most of its judicial races. That truism appears to be good news for Democrats seeking to scoop up more district court benches in November, when two … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chron overview of judicial races

Reps. Green and Green want investigation of voting machine shortage

I have three things to say about this. Two Houston congressmen are asking the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate whether unequal distribution of voting machines and polling locations in Harris County disenfranchised minority voters during the March 1 primary … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Chron story on Locke running for Commissioner

It’s officially official now. Harris County Precinct 1 Commissioner Gene Locke, appointed to fill the unexpired term following the sudden death of longtime Commissioner El Franco Lee last month, said Tuesday he may seek the nomination for the powerful local … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2016 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On succeeding El Franco Lee

Don’t rush anyone. Within hours of longtime Commissioner El Franco Lee’s sudden death Sunday, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett received calls from three people vying for his seat. Emmett, who alone must appoint a temporary successor, said he will not … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Precinct analysis: At Large #1

This week I’m going to look at the five At Large Council races, beginning with At Large #1. Before I get into the district breakdown, here’s a number to consider: In Harris County, there were 76,675 undervotes in this race. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Initial day-after-election thoughts

– We now have two cycles’ worth of data to suggest that having more good candidates in a Council race does not necessarily lead to better outcomes. Following in the footsteps of At Large #3 in 2013, a handful of … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 28 Comments

8 day finance reports: Controller candidates

How about a look at the 8 day finance reports for Controller candidates? I figure if you’re reading this blog you won’t look at me funny when I say things like that, so here we go: Candidate Raised Spent Loans … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Chron race overview: At Large #1

Here’s the Chron overview of the race to succeed term limited Council Member (now Mayoral candidate) Steve Costello in At Large #1. M. “Griff” Griffin A perennial candidate in Houston politics, Griffin is running for the council for the 11th … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mail ballot update

Carl Whitmarsh forwarded me a breakdown of all mail ballot applications that have been received by the County Clerk’s office as of Friday, October 2. I saved the file here, but for ease of discussion here’s a screenshot: That’s a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Off to a good start, predictions-wise

First Chron endorsement of the season, and it’s one I called. When government is broken, who do you hire to fix it? For the Harris County Housing Authority, the answer was Tom McCasland. Plenty of candidates can tout their ideas … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Off to a good start, predictions-wise

Time to guess the Chronicle’s endorsements

We are a bit more than a month out from the start of early voting, and as such we are getting close to the start of Chronicle endorsement season. I know from doing candidate interviews that the Chron has been … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Does your JP still do marriages?

Some do and some don’t. Last Wednesday, Judge Dale Gorczynski, a justice of the peace in Harris County, heard 19 eviction cases, sent 147 traffic and misdemeanor cases to trial and presided over five weddings: Three for same-sex couples and … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Does your JP still do marriages?

Endorsement watch: The score so far

We’ve had a slew of endorsements for municipal races this past week. I’ve been keeping track of them as best I can on my 2015 Election page. This isn’t always easy to do, because some groups are not very good … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Interview with Lane Lewis

We are now done with the district Council interviews, so we move on to the At Large races, where most of the non-Mayoral action is happening this year. There are two open At Large seats, and both of them have … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Lane Lewis

Endorsement watch: Houston GLBT Political Caucus 2015

Congrats to all the endorsees. A raucous municipal endorsement meeting brought mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner the coveted backing of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus on Saturday, positioning the 26-year state representative to broaden his coalition to include the city’s progressive … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Finance reports come trickling in

As always, the Mayoral reports lead the story. Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia closed out the first half of the year with more than $1.3 million in the bank, eclipsing City Councilman Stephen Costello by a mere $7,423. According … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Finance reports come trickling in

Should Lane Lewis resign as HCDP Chair to run for Council?

That’s the question some people are asking. “What I want is someone who is going to be, at least in the political world, dedicated 100 percent to the mission of advancing the ideals of the Democratic Party,” said John Gorczynski, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Lane Lewis announces for At Large #1

Interesting. Harris County Democratic Party chair Lane Lewis will run for an at-large city council position, he told Democratic activists Wednesday evening. Lewis, who has led the county’s party operation since 2011, is running to succeed Stephen Costello in At-Large … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Mail ballots

Campos: I put out this yesterday and it got some buzz: In 2010, here in Harris County, 54,625 folks voted by mail. 24,231 went straight GOP and 11,448 went straight Dem. 31,101 voted for Governor Perry and 22,875 for Bill … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pushing absentee voting

We’ll see how this goes. Texas Democrats, armed with better data and a reinvigorated ground game, have launched an aggressive campaign to turn out voters in November who have spurned them by wide margins for decades: the elderly. The state … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Pushing absentee voting

And now a word from the HCDP

Note: The following is a guest post written by Michael Kolenc A week has come and gone since the election, and while we still wait for the provisional ballots to be counted, we can say that the 2012 elections gave … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on And now a word from the HCDP

Everybody loves early voting now

From the County Clerk’s office: The Chief Election Officer of the County, Stan Stanart, announced [Monday night] that Harris County voters set a new record for voting during the first day of Early Voting in person. 47,093 persons voted on … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Oliver to remain on the ballot

Can’t say I’m surprised. Attorneys representing Harris County Democratic Chairman Lane Lewis and the state Democratic Party argued that perennial candidate [Lloyd] Oliver should be kept off the ballot because he violated a party rule prohibiting a complimentary remark he … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Oliver sues to stay on ballot

We’ll find out who’s right soon enough. On Friday, Houston attorney Lloyd Oliver filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the Harris County Democratic Party’s attempts to oust him from the ticket. “They’re not going to put any candidate on the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dems boot Oliver

Here we go. The Harris County Democratic Party worked Wednesday to take district attorney nominee Lloyd Oliver’s name off the ballot, deciding to go forward without a candidate in November’s general election. Whether they can actually take the outspoken and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Birnberg files complaint to force Oliver off the ballot

I’m far from thrilled to have Lloyd Oliver as the Democratic nominee for District Attorney, but this seems a bit much to me. Gerry Birnberg, the former party chair, filed a complaint earlier this month to have Oliver removed from … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment