Category Archives: Election 2012

We really don’t know anything about the “Ministers for Keryl” email

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s something I recently learned: You can create a free account on MailChimp, the bulk mailer used by the Keryl Douglas campaign and also by whoever sent that awful “Ministers for Keryl” email. You can do this pretty much anonymously, … Continue reading →

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Chron profiles of Lykos and Anderson

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already had an overview of the GOP DA primary, but that race is apparently too big for just one story, so now we have profiles of the two candidates, Pat Lykos and Mike Anderson. I figure if you’re following … Continue reading →

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Interview with Marc Veasey

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

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 … Continue reading →

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March fundraising reports for Congressional candidates

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a roundup of campaign finance reports for Congressional races and candidates of interest. I’ve been collecting links to the reports for contested Democratic races on my 2012 primary pages. Area races Nick Lampson had a typically strong fundraising report, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ciro Rodriguez

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Also running to reclaim CD23 for the Democrats is the man who last held it for the Dems, Ciro Rodriguez. Rodriguez served five terms in the State House before being elected to CD28 in 1996, where he served until being … Continue reading →

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Interview with Pete Gallego

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There are two Congressional districts in Texas that are on the national radar as November battlefields. One is CD14 thanks mostly to the candidacy of Nick Lampson, and the other is CD23, which flipped to the Democrats in 2006 after … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rep. Silvestre Reyes

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As discussed last week, we now enter a period in which I will be publishing some number of interviews with Congressional candidates in contested Democratic primaries around Texas. There’s a lot of interesting and high-profile races and I’d love to … Continue reading →

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The truth is out there on the Ministers for Keryl email

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In response to my previous post about the homophobic “Ministers for Keryl” email, a couple of commenters said that we didn’t have enough evidence to determine whether or not the email was genuine or spoofed. So, based on that feedback … Continue reading →

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Some useful stuff from the LWV

Posted on April 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here, from the League of Women Voters Houston are a couple of useful documents for you: the Handy Dandy 2012 Primary Guide and the 2012 Directory of Elected Officials. It’s true that you could find this stuff for yourself online, … Continue reading →

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Douglas denies sending anti-gay email

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Keryl Douglas held a press conference Thursday afternoon to discuss the Willie Howard email, and she sent out this statement regarding the matter. Let me begin by stating immediately and unequivocally that I did not write, nor cause to be … Continue reading →

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The home stretch for interviews

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

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 … Continue reading →

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Campaign for Primary Accountability aims at Republicans

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A Houston-based super PAC aiming to unseat long-time congressional incumbents added Reps. Joe Barton of Arlington and Ralph Hall of Rockwall to its hit list [last week]. The two Republicans join Democrats Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas and Silvestre … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mary Ann Perez

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We come now to my final interview for Harris County and for the State House. Next week I will start running interviews with Congressional candidates from elsewhere in Texas. Today’s candidate for HD144 is Mary Ann Perez. Perez was elected … Continue reading →

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Nasty yet nice

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s characterization of the GOP primary race for District Attorney as a nasty fight between polite people strikes me as apt. Complaints about Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos buzz through Houston’s criminal courthouse. Assistant district attorneys, police officers … Continue reading →

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A little bit of NOM comes to the race for HCDP Chair

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

NOM is the National Organization for Marriage. They are big proponents of “traditional” marriage and opponents of marriage equality, and have been the driving force behind anti-marriage equality initiatives around the country, including California’s notorious Proposition 8. They have been … Continue reading →

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Interview with Kevin Risner

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My second interview in HD144 is with Kevin Risner. Risner is a Pasadena native who is employed with CBS Radio as a Senior Account Manager for all marketing and public relations campaigns for State agencies. He previously worked for then-Congressman … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ornaldo Ybarra

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This week we return to the State House and wrap up the Harris County interviews for the primary cycle. HD144, which mostly covers the city of Pasadena, is one of the stronger pickup opportunities for Democrats this fall, having been … Continue reading →

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Interview with Phillip Andrews

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Wrapping up this week’s worth of Congressional interviews we have Phillip Andrews, who is also running for CD07. Andrews is the President and CEO of Daugherty International, which supplies private security forces, and is also the manager of his wife’s … Continue reading →

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Interview with Lissa Squiers

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My next interview for CD07 is with Lissa Squiers. Squiers was a write-in candidate for this office in 2010 after deciding that incumbent Rep. John Culberson should not go unchallenged by a progressive. Squiers has been active with Occupy Houston, … Continue reading →

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Open The Taps voters’ guide for 2012

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Want to know how your preferred legislative candidates stand on the important issue of beer freedom in Texas? Then the Open The Taps Voters Guide for 2012 is for you. As a reminder, Open The Taps is about the following: … Continue reading →

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Patterson wants to vote out anti-open beach Supreme Court justices

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Voters should replace the five members of the Texas Supreme Court who issued an opinion weakening the state Open Beaches Act, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said Monday. “We now have private beaches in Texas where the public … Continue reading →

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Interview with James Cargas

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We come now to the three-way race for the nomination in CD07. The first candidate in this diverse primary is James Cargas. Cargas is an attorney with a background in environmental and energy law who has done two stints in … Continue reading →

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Interview with KP George

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There are many contested Democratic Congressional primaries around the state this year, but in a sense the most important one is for a race that’s not on any national list of races to watch. I’m talking about the CD22 primary, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Nick Lampson

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I still have one more State House primary to cover, that being the one in HD144, but the way things worked out I wound up doing interviews with local Congressional candidates first, so I’m going to run those this week. … Continue reading →

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If it were good for Travis it would be good elsewhere as well

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This article asks if Travis County is better off being split into five different Congressional districts. Seems to me that’s a question that answers itself, but I’ll play along. The voters and geography of Travis County are split among five … Continue reading →

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There’s only one Democrat running in CD22

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We all need to be clear about that. Both candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the congressional seat famously held for two decades by Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, are unusual. K.P. George’s background makes him an improbable … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sarah Winkler

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Wrapping up a week of conversations with candidates who hope to succeed Rep. Scott Hochberg in HD137, today we have Sarah Winkler. Winkler has served on the Alief ISD Board of Trustees since 1997 and on the Texas Association of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jamaal Smith

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with the candidates who hope to succeed Rep. Scott Hochberg in HD137 we have Jamaal Smith, whom you may remember from his time as Executive Director of the HCDP and as the Deputy Campaign Manager and Campaign Manager from … Continue reading →

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Interview with Gene Wu

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The second candidate running to succeed Rep. Scott Hochberg in HD137 that I interviewed is Gene Wu. Gene is currently a felony prosecutor in the Harris County District Attorney’s office, and he also has legislative experience, having previously been the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Joseph Carlos Madden

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There’s one open Democratic seat in Harris County for the State House: HD137, in which State Rep. Scott Hochberg decided not to run for re-election. There are four Democrats vying to succeed Rep. Hochberg, and I will be presenting their … Continue reading →

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The Congressional Geezer Caucus

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN notices that a sizable portion of Texas’ Congressional delegation is, um, old. Of the most populous states, Texas has the oldest congressional delegation, averaging nearly 63 years old, while the average for Congress as a whole is about … Continue reading →

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Electing educators

Posted on March 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This sounds good, but there are a couple of things missing. More than a dozen Republicans and Democrats who have sat on school boards are running for the Texas House this year, and a backlash over spending cuts and standardized … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rep. Borris Miles

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

State Rep. Borris Miles is in his second term representing HD146, though his terms were not consecutive. He knocked off longtime Rep. Al Edwards in 2006, lost a rematch in 2008, then won again in 2010. He will face Edwards … Continue reading →

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Sen. Wendy Davis’ office firebombed

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my God. State Sen. Wendy Davis’ West Seventh Street office in Fort Worth was firebombed Tuesday afternoon, according to reports, but no one was injured in the attack. According to scanner traffic, Fort Worth patrol officers were searching for … Continue reading →

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