Looks like we’ll have at least one high profile Democratic primary next year. Domingo Garcia’s pursuit of the national presidency of the League of United Latin American Citizens has just as much to do with politics as activism. The former state representative is considering whether to seek a rematch against Rep. Marc Veasey in the [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Marc Veasey’
On Latinos not winning Latino Congressional districts
I have a problem with this analysis by Nathan Gonzales, at least as it pertains to the three Texas districts included. Even though a record number of Latinos are serving in the 113th Congress, Hispanic candidates are significantly underperforming in heavily Hispanic districts, particularly compared to other minority groups. Nationwide, just 41 percent of congressional [...]
Keeping the push for immigration reform
From the Texas House: Democratic Texas House members [have] filed an immigration resolution that could serve as a litmus test for Republican support for reforms being suggested at the national level. House Concurrent Resolution 44, which urges the U.S. Congress to “swiftly enact and fund comprehensive immigration reform that creates a road map to citizenship,” [...]
Optimism abounds at inauguration time
Inauguration time is always a good time to be optimistic. Texas Democrats haven’t had a lot to cheer about in recent years. As San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro is quick to remind you, the political score in Texas is 29-0. In favor of the Republicans. That means 29 Republicans in statewide offices; zero Democrats. But [...]
All the interviews for 2012
As we begin early voting for the November election, here are all the interviews I conducted for candidates who are on the ballot as well as for the referenda. These include interviews that were done for the primary as well as the ones done after the primary. I hope you found them useful. Senate: Paul [...]
Fall interview season begins tomorrow
I know that we just finished the primary runoffs, but we’re also now more than halfway through August, so it’s time to start doing interviews with candidates for the fall. I’ll be up candid, I don’t know exactly how many interviews I plan to do. For the most part, I don’t anticipate re-interviewing candidates that [...]
2012 Democratic primary runoffs
All state results here. Best news of the night was Paul Sadler‘s easy win. Can we please raise some money for this guy? Congressional results: James Cargas in CD07, Pete Gallego in CD23, Rose Meza Harrison in CD27, Marc Veasey in CD33, and Filemon Vela in CD34. I’m delighted that three quality members of the [...]
Runoff Day
At long last, the 2012 primary season is about to be over in Texas, other than perhaps the HCDE race. To say the least, it’s been a long, strange trip, one that I hope goes down in the books as a bizarre aberration, never to be repeated or approximated. If you have not voted yet [...]
Interview with Marc Veasey
In Week 2 of my contested Congressional tour of Texas, I have one interview from the most heavily populated primary, and two from the second most heavily populated. First up is State Rep. Marc Veasey, who is running in the hotly contested race for the new CD33 in the Metroplex. Veasey was elected to HD95 [...]
The home stretch for interviews
Barring anything unusual, I’ve done all of the Harris County interviews I’m going to do at this point. You can see who I’ve spoken to and listen to them all on the Harris County primary page. You may have noticed that there’s still a couple of weeks till early voting, and you might be wondering [...]
It’s Williams on Williams time again
I would not call it a good thing to come out of the updated interim maps since there’s a good chance one of these jokers will get elected, but for those of you with a morbid fascination with sideshows, the two Williams non-brothers who have spent the past year or so seeking out an office [...]
State agrees to leave SD10 unchanged
This is big. Negotiators in San Antonio — trying to find common ground on state legislative and congressional districts so a primary date in Texas that can stick may finally be set — agreed to leave unchanged state Senate District 10, now represented by state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth. This district has been the [...]
First thoughts on the new Congressional map
OK, down to business. Here’s a map of the new plan, which was unanimously approved by the three judges, the 2008 election data, and here’s 2010 election data. Going by the 2012 data, I break it down as follows: Strong R Dist Obama Pct Houston Pct ============================ 01 30.5 36.4 02 34.4 35.6 03 37.4 [...]
Will we get some interim maps Monday?
Maybe. A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio announced Thursday they would postpone a trial over the redistricting plan for the Texas Senate so they can focus on developing interim redistricting maps for the 2012 election. Texas Redistricting has more on the court’s action and on one possible map. Basically, once the DC [...]
The interim plans
Monday was the deadline for parties in the redistricting lawsuit being heard in San Antonio to file interim plans for the court to consider in the event preclearance is not granted in time for candidate filing. Texas Redistricting summarizes the various plans that were presented to the court: The Plaintiffs’ Interim Plans All of the [...]
DOJ says redistricting plans purposely discriminated
Game on. The Justice Department said late Friday that based on their preliminary investigation, a congressional redistricting map signed into law by Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry appears to have been “adopted, at least in part, for the purpose of diminishing the ability of citizens of the United States, on account of race, color, or [...]
Davis and Veasey will be allowed to intervene in redistricting litigation
From the Lone Star Project, via the inbox: Sen. Davis, Rep. Veasey Win Key Redistricting Ruling Federal Court rejects Texas Republican argument and grants North Texas Intervenors the right to participate in redistricting trial A group of North Texas citizens supported by the Lone Star Project and the Texas Justice Fund and led by State [...]
Taking aim at the Voting Rights Act
In responding to a petition by State Rep. Marc Veasey and State Sen. Wendy Davis to intervene against the state in its lawsuit to get the federal court to pre-clear the new maps, the Attorney General responded by saying that the Voting Rights Act is too big a burden for it to deal with. The [...]
More redistricting plaintiffs
Here’s an update to the scorecard, for those of you hoping to keep track of the players. The Texas Democratic Party officially entered the court fight over Republican-dominated redistricting maps Wednesday. The new claims by the state Democratic Party came a day after the NAACP and other leading African American groups joined three redistricting lawsuits [...]
Veasey joins in redistricting litigation
Add another redistricting lawsuit to the pile. Brought by state Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, the lawsuit is another attempt to get a three-judge panel hearing redistricting cases to reconsider the entire state map by focusing on how the districts are drawn around the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. “You want to show that, statewide, 90 percent [...]
Plans from an alternate universe: The Alonzo plan
Here’s my third entry in the the Redistricting Plans From An Alternate Universe series. So far, we’ve seen the Veasey-West proposal and the Gallegos plan and Uresti amendment. Today I have what I consider to be the most interesting map I’ve seen. It was submitted by State Rep. Robert Alonzo during the House Redistricting committee [...]
Plans from an alternate universe: The Veasey-West plan
Congressional redistricting, which took so long that it couldn’t be done during the regular session, has zipped through the special session, thanks in no small part to the virtual elimination of public testimony. At this point, the full House needs to pass the map that emerged from the House Redistricting Committee last week, then either [...]
The Seliger-Solomons Congressional map is out
And it’s a joke. Seriously, I can’t describe it any other way. Look at the following districts – go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us/ and look up Plan C125 – and tell me how they can possibly satisfy any rational legal argument for compactness or communities of interest. Let’s start with CD36, which forms a giant Gateway-style arch [...]
Veasey’s Congressional plan
We didn’t get a Congressional map from the Senate Redistricting Committee, though we may now get one in a special session but that didn’t stop State Rep. Marc Veasey from drawing his own before sine die. In Veasey’s map, thirteen of the state’s 36 districts would be minority districts, all of which would lean Democrat, [...]
Census data is on its way
Via Greg, who is predictably jazzed about it, the state of Texas expects its detailed Census data this week, meaning that the redistricting battle is set to begin in earnest. Demographers expect the data to validate projections of surging growth in metropolitan areas, stagnant or declining population in much of rural Texas, and striking gains [...]
Adding Tim Cole amendment to the call
As you saw from the Senate’s pre-filed bills, there are a number of items being pushed by legislators that aren’t a part of the call for the special session. If one believes Governor Perry, it’s unlikely that anything else will get added, at least if the session is on track to finish up by the [...]
Gearing up for the voter ID showdown
SB362 was not on the calendar today, but it is expected to be brought to the House floor before the Tuesday deadline for approving Senate bills, perhaps as early as tomorrow. House Dems had a press conference today, accidentally pre-empting a Republican presser in the process, to decry voter ID and vow to fight it [...]