Category Archives: Election 2010

Interview with Barbara Radnofsky

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Coming into the home stretch, we move towards the top of the ballot with Barbara Radnofsky, who is running for Attorney General. Radnofsky, the 2006 Democratic nominee for Senate, is an attorney and mediator who has remained very active in … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Mistakes are made

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has decided for some unknowable reason to endorse County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez for re-election. Sanchez contends the treasurer’s office provides a vital checks-and-balances function on county spending, and that it would be a mistake to phase it out, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Statesman and Express News for Weems

Posted on October 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Three for three. Commission Chairman Victor Carrillo suffered a stunning upset in the March primaries, setting up a contest between candidates who represent the state’s two major parties but who are also unknowns: Republican David Porter, who wrested the nomination … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the County Treasurer race

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

With this story, the Chron has overviewed all of the countywide races. The main issue to discuss, of course, is just what exactly is it that the Treasurer does. Four years ago, [incumbent Treausrer Orlando] Sanchez’s Democratic opponent advocated eliminating … Continue reading →

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Some Prop 3 action

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Campos observed last week that there hasn’t been any action on Prop 3, which is the red light camera referendum. That’s about to change. The Houston Professional Firefighters Association, a group that represents more than 4,000 firefighters, said it supports … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Family Court judges

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ten more benches, ten more endorsements, only this time the score is 8-2 Democrats: 245th Family District Court: Janiece Horn, a Democrat, is our choice for this open bench. 246th Family District Court: Sherri Cothrun, the Democratic challenger, says she … Continue reading →

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Interview with Hank Gilbert

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the third and final Commissioner candidate, we have Hank Gilbert, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner. Gilbert ran in 2006 and was the top non-judicial vote-getter for the Democrats that year. Gilbert is a rancher from the Tyler area … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Tax Assessor race

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes, the difference between two candidates is especially clear. Don Sumners has been complaining about government for so long that the Republican’s slogan for his campaign for tax assessor-collector is “I was tea party before tea party was cool.” Elect … Continue reading →

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What will the teabaggers do?

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the most part, I don’t really care what they’ll do, but there is one point worth noting: “I can’t say the tea party support for Rick Perry is very strong, but the opposition to Bill White is intense,” said … Continue reading →

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We’ll only debate you on our terms

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Democratic SBOE candidates accept yet another debate invitation – by all-Republican panel Earlier: Republicans turn down debate after debate and hide from voters, claiming sponsor League of Women Voters is “too Democratic” Note: The following statement is … Continue reading →

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HISD versus Prop 1

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This would be a tough obstacle to overcome. HISD Board President Greg Meyers on Wednesday raised the specter of teacher layoffs if the school system is forced to pay an estimated $2.5 million to $3.5 million a year in drainage … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Civil district courts

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose I was too quick with the kudos for the Chron on their endorsement schedule. They still haven’t endorsed in the Lite Guv and AG races, in any Congressional or state Legislative race, or in any county races, not … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Kathy Stone

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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Disclosure for thee, but not for me

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You don’t need to know. Gov. Rick Perry said [Monday] that he wouldn’t release documents revealing investors in recipients of Texas Emerging Technology Fund recipients. […] The governor’s office is told of investors in the tech fund applicants, a staffer … Continue reading →

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Overview of the Land Commissioner race

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You may never have seen a race quite like the 2010 race for Texas Land Commissioner. Meet Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, a Republican, and Democrat Hector Uribe, who offers some mild policy disagreements over the job Patterson has done … Continue reading →

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Lyceum poll: Perry 48, White 43

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Statewide poll numbers released today show that Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Houston Mayor Bill White trails Republican Governor Rick Perry by five points. The fourth annual 2010 Texas Lyceum Poll, conducted September 22nd – September 30th, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Hector Uribe

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Next up is Hector Uribe, who is the Democratic candidate for Land Commissioner. Uribe is a former State Rep and State Senator from the Rio Grande Valley and a movie actor as well as my favorite candidate from this cycle. … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Cheryl Harris Diggs

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Dallas Democratic legislative candidates

Posted on October 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the Dallas Morning News dumped Double-Dip Joe Driver from its list of endorsed candidates. Here’s what they said about some other legislative races of interest to Democrats: Editorial: We recommend Haldenwang in HD105 Republican Linda Harper-Brown has … Continue reading →

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30 days out gubernatorial fundraising numbers are in

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of money out there. A handful of mega-wealthy donors helped Gov. Rick Perry raise almost twice as much money as Democrat Bill White between July and September, according to campaign releases Monday. The $8.2 million that poured into Perry’s … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Tammy Manning

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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The social network campaign

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Governor Perry won’t show up at a debate, but he is a presence on the Internet. The list of things that Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Bill White, his Democratic opponent in November, disagree upon is long. But on the … Continue reading →

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The Perryless debate

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The debate went on as planned. In the fall campaign season’s first debate open to all candidates for governor, Democrat Bill White waited until his closing statement to attack the candidate who wasn’t there, incumbent Rick Perry, regarding allegations that … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jeff Weems

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we head into the last two weeks before the start of early voting, it’s time to turn attention to the statewide candidates. First up is Jeff Weems, the Democratic candidate for Railroad Commissioner. Weems is a Houston-based attorney whose … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Chron for Prop 1

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise here. The city’s capital improvement program, which issues debt-incurring bonds to fund construction, is far behind the curve in dealing with the situation. According to at-large City Council member and engineer Stephen Costello, 65 percent of the city’s … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the County Clerk race

Posted on October 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview story of the County Clerk race between Democrat Ann Harris Bennett and Republican Stan Stanart to replace the retiring Beverly Kaufman. This is the bit that interested me: Where Bennett and Stanart diverge is their approach … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Statesman for White

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Two for two. If you’re driven by campaign-trail zingers, [Bill] White might not be your candidate. But a longer listen produces the inescapable conclusion that White is a thoughtful, experienced, unifying leader — just what Texas needs now. That’s why … Continue reading →

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Matt Angle’s mission

Posted on October 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Good story in Mother Jones about Matt Angle and the Texas Trust, which was founded in the aftermath of the Tom DeLay-generated re-redistricting of 2003, after which Angle – chief of staff for then-Rep. Martin Frost – found himself out … Continue reading →

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It’s good to be the king

Posted on October 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From TPJ: Governor Rick Perry has received $17 million in campaign contributions from his political appointees and their spouses, according to a new report by Texans for Public Justice. One out of every $5 raised by Governor Perry since 2001 … Continue reading →

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Monday is the deadline to register for this election

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar Leo Vasquez reminds citizens who have not yet registered to vote that Monday, October 4 is the registration cutoff for this year’s Nov. 2 election. “Although this not a presidential … Continue reading →

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Interview with Stephen Brown

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve focused entirely on Harris County so far in this interview series. That’s because there are a lot of interesting races here, both at a district and countywide level, and also because that’s where I live. But there’s a lot … Continue reading →

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The anti-Prop 1 factions gear up

Posted on October 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The usual suspects have gotten the band back together to ensure that no action is taken to mitigate flooding in Houston. Former Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt has teamed up with anti-tax advocate Bruce Hotze and conservative activist Norman … Continue reading →

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Interview with Council Member Stephen Costello

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to all of the partisan and special elections on the ballot, there are three referenda for City of Houston residents. One is a fairly non-controversial one to change residency requirements for Houston Council districts for the 2011 election, … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Jim Sullivan

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: I am running a series of Q&As for Democratic judicial candidates on the November ballot. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. These Q&As are primarily intended for candidates who were … Continue reading →

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