Author Archives: Charles Kuffner

Paxton prosecutors respond to his “but I’m an orphan!” motion

Posted on February 14, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

They’ll fight it out on Friday. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton will be in a Houston court Friday in a nearly 9-year-old securities fraud case he is now seeking to dismiss. Paxton could face trial as early as April 15. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Charlene Ward Johnson

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Next up in HD139 is Charlene Ward Johnson, who has served on the HCC Board of Trustees since winning a special election to fill the seat left vacant by Rhonda Skillern-Jones in 2022. On the HCC Board she is the … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Justice Peter Kelly

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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HISD chooses its longer year calendar

Posted on February 13, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Plan your vacations accordingly. Houston ISD’s appointed Board of Managers unanimously approved a new academic calendar on Thursday that will start the next school year earlier in August and add more days of instruction to students’ schedules. Under the finalized … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mo Jenkins

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Believe it or not, early voting for the 2024 primaries begins next week. I have a full week of interviews to bring you to get us there. The first three will be for the open seat in HD139, and the … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Justice Charles Spain

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Allred and more

Posted on February 12, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Colin Allred in the Democratic primary for US Senate. Texas voters eager to see U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz retire to Cancun permanently, not just on a quick trip during a devastating winter storm, have a choice between … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for February 11

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

“I’m sorry for everything you have all been through. No one should go through the things that your families have suffered, and this is why we invest so much, and we are going to continue doing industry-wide efforts to make … Continue reading →

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January 2024 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Harris County offices Senate As noted, we’re still doing the Congressional reports separately until we winnow down the fields. The October 2023 reports are here, the July reports for both Congress and Senate are here, and the … Continue reading →

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Don’t expect much from that Uvalde grand jury

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, I wasn’t, but in case you were, don’t. After more than a year of pressure to file criminal charges against some of the Texas law enforcement officers responsible for the botched response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, … Continue reading →

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Judge Aguilar suspended

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. A judge charged in January after a domestic violence allegation by his girlfriend has been suspended from the bench with pay, officials said. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct signed a suspension order Wednesday against 228th District Court … Continue reading →

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January 2024 campaign finance reports – Senate

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Harris County offices The field is set, with one more person than we had in October. Again, until we’ve narrowed this down to at most two, I’ll do this separately from the Congressional candidates. Here are the … Continue reading →

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Yes, please do investigate Jared Woodfill

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Is there a petition I can sign for this? A former client of Houston attorney and Texas House candidate Jared Woodfill is asking state and federal investigators to give fresh scrutiny to a 2017 investigation into allegations that he misappropriated … Continue reading →

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The principal shuffle

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have some thoughts about this. The memos came in one after the other, a laundry list of grievances listing all the ways Federico Hernandez was supposedly failing as principal of Houston ISD’s Middle College High School. A teacher used … Continue reading →

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Interview with Gion Thomas

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up Legislative And Congressional Week #1 with our next contender in CD38, Gion Thomas, who moved to Katy as a 12-year-old in 2005 after being forced out of his home by Hurricane Katrina. A graduate of Katy High … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Nicole Perdue

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Dispatches from Dallas, February 9 edition

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think. This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth we have a lot of election news plus the World Cup and some zoo babies. Since I … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Two at a time

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is meandering along through their primary endorsements. I can’t complain too much, they’re making progress and we’re still more than a week away from the start of early voting, it’s just that there’s no pattern to it. Whatever. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Melissa McDonough

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to finish up the week with two interviews from CD38, the still-new drawn-to-be-red district on the west side of the county. We have two candidates vying for the nomination, and today we will hear from Melissa McDonough, who … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Tracy Good

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Paxton invokes the “but I’m an orphan!” defense

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This fucking guy, I swear. Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal team is asking a Harris County district judge to dismiss his securities fraud charges, claiming his right to a speedy trial has been violated in the case that has gone … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 5

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that candidate filing for those county appraisal district elections that you may or may not be aware of are happening now as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Interview with Ashton Woods

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Moving to our next contender in HD146 we come to a familiar name. Ashton Woods has been a fixture on the scene as an organizer and activist since moving to Houston from New Orleans in 2005, just before Hurricane Katrina. … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Chavon Carr

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Two uphill battles

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Two new endorsements from the Chron, in races that aren’t likely to be competitive but whose primaries feature a candidate who’s going to give their best shot and a candidate who’s literally nothing but a name on the ballot. First … Continue reading →

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HCAD candidate filing update

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember how I said I was going to check and see if we had any candidates for those newly to-be-elected positions on the HCAD Board of Trustees? Well, I checked, and as of yesterday afternoon no one had applied … Continue reading →

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Interview with Lauren Ashley Simmons

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We move over to HD146 for the next two days. This is the home of the latest problematic legislator, Rep. Shawn Thierry, who has drawn a pair of challengers after making some bad votes and troubling statements on book bans … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Brittanye Morris

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Houston to get seven World Cup matches

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not bad. Houston will host seven matches in the 2026 World Cup. In the expanded 48-team tournament, NRG will host a Round of 32 match on June 29 and a Round of 16 match on July 4. The group stage … Continue reading →

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Interview with Danny Norris

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

For the next two weeks I will have interviews with various legislative candidates – for HDs 139, 142, and 146, for SD07, and for CD38. This will get us up to the start of early voting, which begins on February … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Vivian King

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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The Boca Chica land swap

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners are considering a land swap with SpaceX that would give Elon Musk’s space exploration company about 43 acres from Boca Chica State Park. In exchange for the land in Texas’ southernmost strip … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for February 4

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

“Pop superstar Taylor Swift might have helped register enough voters in a single day last September to swing close races in multiple states, with turnout experts predicting a strong youth vote for the 2024 presidential election.” “No, office mandates don’t … Continue reading →

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January 2024 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Lina Hidalgo Rodney Ellis Adrian Garcia Tom Ramsey Leslie Briones Kim Ogg Sean Teare Dan Simons Ed Gonzalez Vergil Ratliff Joe Inocencio Mike Knox Joe Danna Paul Day Glenn Cowan Christian Menefee Umeka Lewis Jacqueline Lucci Smith … Continue reading →

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