Category Archives: Election 2012

Filing season opens today

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s supposed to open today, anyway. It may get pushed back a day or two until the remaining legal actions get sorted out. As we know, after being turned down by the San Antonio federal Court, AG Greg Abbott is … Continue reading →

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Galveston County redistricting plan blocked by federal judge

Posted on November 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Seems to be a lot of stories like this these days. A U.S. District Court judge has blocked the county’s redistricting plan for this election cycle because it has not received preclearance from the U.S. Department of Justice. In an … Continue reading →

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Rep. Charlie Gonzalez to retire

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As the story says, it’s the end of an era. Rep. Charlie Gonzalez said Friday he will not seek re-election, a decision that will end the congressional tenure of a Democratic family whose name has been synonymous with the city … Continue reading →

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Going for the stay

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Late Wednesday, AG Greg Abbott requested that the San Antonio court stay its order implementing new maps for Congress, the State House, and the State Senate, exhibiting his usual grace and class in doing so. Not unexpectedly, the San Antonio … Continue reading →

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Pena steps down

Posted on November 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Bye-bye, Aaron. State Rep. Aaron Peña will retire at the end of this term rather than seek re-election under interim political maps for the Texas House of Representatives that stripped him of a district offering the best opportunity for a … Continue reading →

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Minor tweaks to interim county map approved

Posted on November 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Barring anything strange, we should have a final county map for the 2012 election. A federal judge has granted several small changes Harris County requested to an interim redistricting map produced as part of a lawsuit Latino activists filed against … Continue reading →

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Modified House and Senate maps are out

Posted on November 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal court in San Antonio has now issued orders that slightly tweaked the State House and State Senate maps; the new plans are H302 and S164, respectively. The modifications are minor and mostly affect a few districts in Harris … Continue reading →

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First thoughts on the new Congressional map

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 … Continue reading →

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Interim Congressional map is out

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a Thanksgiving miracle! Plan C220, which you can find here, is the Court’s proposed interim map for Congress. I will be looking at this, and will have my thoughts plus electoral data later.

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Chron story on the interim Harris County map

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the weekend order to implement an interim map for Harris County. As expected, the plaintiffs are happy about this. Of interest to me is the county’s response. Gene Locke, an attorney representing the county, said … Continue reading →

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More map feedback

Posted on November 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to AG Abbott’s pitiful whining, a few other parties have been heard from regarding the interim legislative map. First, Speaker Joe Straus performs his duty as a Republican. Here’s his statement: “As the panel of three federal judges … Continue reading →

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Harris County interim map is out

Posted on November 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, judges do work on weekends, because federal Judge Vanessa Gilmore issued this order on Saturday creating an interim map for Harris County, to be used for the 2012 election while the Section 2 lawsuit is being litigated. Greg has … Continue reading →

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State objects to court-drawn maps

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s office on Friday slammed an interim redistricting map proposed by a three-judge panel in San Antonio, saying the federal jurists overstepped their bounds in redrawing House and Senate district lines that could cost … Continue reading →

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First impressions of the new maps

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Before I get too into this, the invaluable Texas Redistricting reminds us that the parties in the lawsuit will be able to make objections and comments to the proposed maps today at noon. Meaning, there may yet be some tweaks … Continue reading →

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Interim State House and State Senate maps are out

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

And I don’t have any time right now to analyze them, but believe you me, I will. Go here and look at Plans H298 and S163, the latter of which appears to mostly restore Sen. Wendy Davis’ district. Also take … Continue reading →

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Harris interim map up to the judge

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the San Antonio interim map action, we are fixing to get a 2012 map for Harris County courtesy of the federal judiciary. A federal judge will draw interim boundaries for Harris County commissioner precincts after the county … Continue reading →

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Yet another redistricting update

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Once again, I point you to Michael Li. What’s next in the D.C. case? Basically two things. The first is that the D.C. panel will issue a memorandum opinion explaining in greater detail the reasons for its denial of summary … Continue reading →

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Austin will get its vote on district Council seats

Posted on November 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You Austin folks won’t get to vote for Council members next November, but you will get to vote for what kind of Council members you have. The council approved Thursday a resolution that calls for a district proposal to go … Continue reading →

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Will we get some interim maps Monday?

Posted on November 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 … Continue reading →

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Berlanga and Craig to retire from SBOE, Ames Jones changes Senate races

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This could be bad news. Longtime State Board of Education members Bob Craig, R-Lubbock, and Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi, said they will not run for re-election in 2012. First elected in 1982, Berlanga said 30 years on the board … Continue reading →

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DC court denies summary judgment on preclearance

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official, the maps the Lege drew for itself and for Congress will not be used in the 2012 election. A Washington-based federal court on Tuesday rejected Texas’ request to approve new political districts without a trial. In a brief … Continue reading →

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New filing dates announced

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The federal court in San Antonio has taken the first steps towards defining what the 2012 election will look like in Texas. A panel of three federal judges in San Antonio on Friday changed key rules for some candidates for … Continue reading →

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Still nothing interesting in the 2012 Presidential polls of Texas

Posted on November 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a new UT/Texas Trib poll of the Presidential race in Texas, and while most of it is about the Republican nomination, the bit that interests me as always is regarding the general election: Perry would do better in a … Continue reading →

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Third quarter Congressional fundraising

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has the highlights from some of the contested Congressional primaries that are shaping up. Texas congressional incumbents raised more than $4.7 million during the third quarter of the year, but some of them face challengers who also displayed … Continue reading →

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Dan Grant forms exploratory committee for CD25

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

BOR: Dan Grant announced that he’s forming an exploratory committee for CD-25, the Congressional district that includes much of East and Central Austin. Overall, the new CD-25 includes all of Johnson, Hill, Bosque, Somervell, Hamilton, Coryell, Lampasas and Burnet Counties, … Continue reading →

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Can you feel the McCaul-mentum?

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

You know what the race for the Republican nomination for Senate is missing? Another rich old white right-winger. Four-term U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul, one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. House, is burnishing his conservative credentials and taking stock … Continue reading →

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Senate changes

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not worried about the State Senate becoming more conservative, I’m worried about it becoming more stupid. “A seat in the Texas Senate does not come open very often, and all of a sudden now there are four,” said Sen. … Continue reading →

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Austin ISD moves its election to November

Posted on October 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As the song goes, two out of three ain’t bad. The Austin school board voted unanimously on Monday to move trustee elections from May to November. The school district will share November election costs with the county and the Austin … Continue reading →

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Austin officially keeps May elections

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That’s all she wrote. The Austin City Council decided Friday to hold the 2012 council elections in May instead of November, ending a weeks-long debate marked by accusations of voter suppression and political expediency. A new state law aimed at … Continue reading →

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Sen. Chris Harris and Rep. Will Hartnett to retire

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One more out the door of the upper chamber. State Sen. Chris Harris, R-Arlington, announced [Monday] afternoon that he will not seek reelection — the fourth veteran lawmaker to announce their retirement from the Upper Chamber. He is the longest … Continue reading →

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Ron Paul got no respect

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Poor dear. Ron Paul says Republican leaders in the Texas legislature asked him how he would like his district to be changed during the recently completed redistricting process. “So they did exactly the opposite,” the libertarian congressman told Texas on … Continue reading →

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Austin will keep May elections for now

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the city of Austin holds its municipal elections in May. They have three year terms for City Council, so half of their elections are held in even-numbered years. As we also know, a bill that was passed … Continue reading →

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Changes will be coming

Posted on September 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Robert Miller has a look at who we know won’t be back in the Lege for 2013. It’s a list that’s sure to get longer – I’m aware of a few more rumored retirements, and there’s already numerous primary challenges … Continue reading →

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Gallego to run for CD23 and other updates

Posted on September 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Pete Gallego has decided to run for Congress in CD23. Gallego first won election to the Texas House in 1990 and has chaired various committees and also been part of the Democratic leadership, doing time as head of … Continue reading →

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