Tag Archives: Senfronia Thompson

The only constant is change

This DMN story is about the wave of changes to the various legislative caucuses in North Dallas, but if you pull the lens back just a little, you can see how universal it is. Proponents of term limits complain that … Continue reading

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Voter suppression bill passes the House

It was always to be, it was just a matter of when. After months of drama and political resistance, the curtain has lowered on Democratic attempts to stave off a far-reaching rewrite of the state’s voting laws coveted by Republicans … Continue reading

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Meet the new special session

Same as the old special session, at least at first. It appears likely that not enough Democrats will show up for the Texas House to conduct business when a second special legislative session convenes Saturday. Some of the more than … Continue reading

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Day 17 quorum busting post: Testify

Ladies and gentlemen, Ms T. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson described to a U.S. House committee on Thursday occasions in 2010 and 2012 when white Republican poll watchers showed up at a Houston polling place where she and many other Black … Continue reading

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Day 13 quorum busting post: Just a reminder, the voter suppression bill still sucks

I’ll get to that in a minute, but first there’s this bit of business. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, signed a civil warrant for the arrest of state Rep. Philip Cortez, a San Antonio Democrat who rejoined his colleagues … Continue reading

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Day 2 quorum busting omnibus post

Gonna round up a few stories here. Don’t know how often I’ll be this energetic, or how often there will be this many stories that I see that are worth commenting on, but it is Day Two. We’re just getting … Continue reading

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The next voter registration project

Necessary, but not sufficient. Texas Democrats’ takeaways from the 2020 election are clear: to take back our state from Texas Republicans, Democrats need to register more voters. With Republicans’ increasing extremism and relentless attacks on Texans this spring, the stakes … Continue reading

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More on the post-quorum break fallout

This Trib story mostly centers on the perspective of the Black legislators during the SB7 fight, and it’s a good read for that, but I want to focus on this bit here: While the legislation in the Senate partly targeted … Continue reading

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There’s lots of room to improve sexual harassment training at the Lege

They’re starting from a really low point. You could miss both questions about sexual harassment and still pass the preventative training required every two years for Texas House staffers. The online training, a roughly 15-minute lecture on sexual harassment sandwiched … Continue reading

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Houston police reform items announced

It’s a start. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Thursday unveiled a sweeping effort to reform policing in Houston by banning no-knock warrants for non-violent offenses, restructuring the police oversight board, publicly releasing body camera footage when officers injure or kill residents, … Continue reading

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HISD Board declines to hire Lathan permanently

A national search will be conducted, with still-interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan encouraged to apply. Houston ISD trustees voted Thursday against committing to Interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan as the district’s long-term leader, opting instead to launch a national search before filling … Continue reading

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Looks like (maybe) we have a Speaker

I give you Rep. Dade Phelan. May he not spontaneously combust in spectacular and self-inflicted fashion like a drummer for Spinal Tap the last Speaker. State Rep. Dade Phelan, R-Beaumont, announced Wednesday he has the votes needed to become the … Continue reading

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We need an official Speaker candidate tracker

We’re up to five now, and we’re likely not done yet. State Reps. Trent Ashby of Lufkin, Chris Paddie of Marshall and John Cyrier of Lockhart join two Democrats in seeking the gavel: Senfronia Thompson of Houston and Trey Martinez … Continue reading

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TMF files for Speaker

Now it’s a race. State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer announced Monday that he is running for Texas House speaker, becoming the second Democrat in the lower chamber to launch a bid for the gavel. Martinez Fischer, from San Antonio, joins … Continue reading

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Rep. Senfronia Thompson files for Speaker

One hat in the ring, who knows how many to go. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson, the longest-serving woman and Black person in the history of the Texas Legislature, filed Friday to run for speaker of the Texas House, making her … Continue reading

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Speaker’s race? What Speaker’s race?

Just a reminder that one of the three most powerful political offices in the state is on the ballot this November, even if it’s largely invisible to us. State Rep. Senfronia Thompson fielded a question last week that’s been on … Continue reading

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Introducing the George Floyd Act

Coming this spring to the Legislature. Black lawmakers at the Texas Legislature unveiled on Thursday the George Floyd Act, a sweeping police reform proposal that would ban chokeholds across the state and require law enforcement officers to intervene or render … Continue reading

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Release the audit

That’s my three-word response to this. A growing chorus of elected officials is calling on Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to release the findings of an internal audit on his department’s narcotics division, arguing that the chief’s refusal to do … Continue reading

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A bipartisan equality bill

I appreciate the effort, but we can’t expect too much to come of this. Five Democratic and two Republican state legislators announced plans Wednesday to file a bill next legislative session that would bar discrimination against LGBTQ Texans in housing, … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Some State Reps

The Chron made seven endorsements in contested Democratic State Rep primaries on Thursday, plus two in contested Republican State Rep primaries. This must be Part One, because there are multiple races left for them to do. I’ll get to that … Continue reading

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January 2020 campaign finance reports: State House, part 1

I’m going to take a two-part look at the finance reports in State House districts. Part One will be from Harris County, looking at both contested primaries and contested November races. Part Two will focus on races in the counties … Continue reading

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Where the primary action is

It’s on the Democratic side in Harris County. This should come as a surprise to no one. The crowded Harris County Democratic primary field reflects a new reality in Houston politics: With the county turning an even darker shade of … Continue reading

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

Time for the 2019 outrageous and dishonest mailer

There’s at least one every cycle. A handful of black Democratic elected officials are expressing outrage over a campaign mailer that appears to have used photos of the politicians without consent to falsely suggest they endorsed a slate of City … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

The secret sexual predators of Texas politics

Come in, sit down, make yourself comfortable. Maybe a nice cup of hot tea? There now, all settled in? Good. Now steel yourselves and read this. More than a year before the now-infamous “shitty media men” list, women in Texas’s statehouse … Continue reading

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Amendment focused on school bathrooms passes the House

I had some hope that we could make it through this session without something like this happening, but clearly we could not. Amid threats of a special legislative session over the “bathroom bill,” the Texas House on Sunday took a … Continue reading

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Fighting the bathroom bill

It will take all hands on deck. During a panel discussion hosted by the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, [Sen. Sylvia] Garcia suggested that lawmakers should concentrate on issues like education funding and the state’s ongoing child welfare crisis. “It’s a … Continue reading

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Miles wins SD13 nomination

And so we gathered again to pick a nominee to fill an open slot on the ballot, though at least this time the “we” who did the actual picking did not include me. I went to observe, say Hi, gather … Continue reading

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Today’s the day for SD13

Feels like we’ve been here before, doesn’t it? Today is the day for the Senate precinct convention in SD13, in which a nominee for that office to replace Sen. Rodney Ellis will be chosen. There are 96 precinct chairs in … Continue reading

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Chron overview of SD13

Not much new here. Amid frantic wooing of Democratic precinct chairs, the unconventional sprint to succeed state Sen. Rodney Ellis is boiling down to an argument over tenure: Is it better to move a seasoned legislator to the Senate, or … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: The Chron for Rep. Thompson

The Chron endorses Rep. Senfronia Thompson in SD13, though they spend most of their time attacking Rep. Borris Miles. In 2008 [Rep. Miles] was indicted (and later acquitted) for deadly conduct in a bizarre scenario that had him accused of … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Labor for Thompson, the Mayor for Miles

From the inbox: The Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO today announced their support of Senfronia Thompson for State Senator District 13. “Our unions screened two candidates for Senate District 13 — Representatives Senfronia Thompson and Borris Miles,” said … Continue reading

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More on the SD13 race

From the Trib: In the span of a month, a Texas Senate seat will have been vacated and effectively filled, an unconventional turn of events that has Houston Democrats scrambling to replace one of their most venerated legislators. The highly … Continue reading

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SD13 nomination process update

Two possible candidates have taken themselves out of the running. State Rep. Garnet Coleman and former City Councilman C.O. Bradford have decided not to run for Rodney Ellis’ state Senate seat, citing a desire to retain seniority in the state … Continue reading

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Here come the candidates for SD13

Here we go again. State Rep. Borris Miles came prepared with signs Saturday when Rodney Ellis all but secured a seat on Harris County’s Commissioners Court – not in support of Ellis, but to launch his own campaign. Ellis’ selection … Continue reading

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