Monthly Archives: February 2018

Early voting, Day 8: So how worried should Republicans be?

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Worried enough to fundraise off of the Dems’ EV numbers, for what that’s worth. Through Sunday in the 15 Texas counties with the most registered voters, 135,070 people had voted in the Republican primary and 151,236 in the Democratic. Compared … Continue reading →

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HISD’s budget deficit is a little smaller

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of good news. Houston ISD administrators do not expect to cut magnet programs or re-open the magnet application process ahead of the 2018-19 school year, an announcement likely to ease fears among parents who send their children to … Continue reading →

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White and Valdez call for sensible gun control measures

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The recent Florida school shooting is spurring the Democratic gubernatorial field to press for new firearms restrictions, looking to draw a contrast with Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s response to the massacre — and touching on a sensitive subject in … Continue reading →

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Hey, let’s file another lawsuit to kill Obamacare!

Posted on February 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Texas is suing the federal government over President Barack Obama’s landmark health law — again. In a 20-state lawsuit filed Monday in federal court, Attorney General Ken Paxton argued that after the passage of the GOP’s tax … Continue reading →

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2018 primary early voting, Day 7: Projecting final turnout

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

KUHF starts with the speculation. Harris County Democrats are voting in record numbers ahead of next week’s primary. Total returns for the first six days of early voting put Democrats nearly even with Republicans. As of Sunday night, Democrats’ combined … Continue reading →

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Beware billboard blight

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Does anyone actually want this? Some 25,000 billboards along certain stretches of Texas highways could soar in size under a regulatory change approved by state transportation officials. The Texas Transportation Commission voted unanimously Thursday to eliminate the existing 42½-foot height … Continue reading →

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The National Democratic Redistricting Committee in Texas

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s say I’m hope but verify on this one. Former President Barack Obama and members of his administration are ready to take another shot at chipping away at Republican domination in Texas. A new group headed by former Attorney General … Continue reading →

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The Socialists are coming

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

To a primary ballot near you. The revolution will be down-ballot. Or such is the implicit promise of Franklin Bynum’s campaign for Harris County misdemeanor court judge. A 35-year-old former public defender, Bynum said he’s seen Houston’s criminal courts routinely … Continue reading →

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2018 primary early voting, Day 6: The fifteenth county

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Sunday is the shortest and least busy day of early voting, and it is the transition to Week 2, when all the days are 12 hours long and numbers start to go way up. Here’s what this Sunday looked like. … Continue reading →

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Possibly the last thing I’ll have to say about Laura Moser and the DCCC, at least for now

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Nothing like having a seemingly bloodless bit of tactics turned in to a multi-day story. Democratic congressional candidate Laura Moser packed her Saturday with campaign events: spinning in the morning, drinking mimosas shortly after, block walking in the afternoon and … Continue reading →

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A look at CD16 and CD03

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As one might expect, the primary race for Beto O’Rourke’s soon-to-be-former Congressional seat is compettiive and < and getting a little salty. [Now-former El Paso COunty Judge Veronica] Escobar is running, in part, on her experience as a former leader … Continue reading →

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Electoral College lawsuit filed

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure about this. Saying Texas’ current practice is discriminatory, a group of Hispanic activists and lawyers has sued the state in hopes of blocking it from awarding all of its Electoral College votes to one candidate during presidential … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for February 25

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Ancient bird poop is surprisingly good at giving answers to ecological questions. How the Grammys stack up against other major awards in terms of female representation. “All in all, the odds are disconcertingly high that Russia, or somebody, has blackmail … Continue reading →

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2018 primary early voting, Day Five: A Democratic day

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The early vote hours for Saturday are 7 to 7, so the report comes out later. So, I’m just going to cut to the chase: EV 2010 EV 2014 Day 5 EV 2018 totals Year Party Mail In Person Total … Continue reading →

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January 2018 finance reports: Harris County candidates

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill. Links to reports where I could find them, plus a summary table at the end. Let’s do this. County Judge Ed Emmett Lina Hidalgo Commissioner, Precinct 2 Jack Morman Adrian Garcia Roger Garcia Daniel Box Commissioner, … Continue reading →

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More judges caught up in the bail scandal

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

More judges to vote out. For more than a decade, most of Harris County’s felony court judges directed magistrates to deny no-cash bail to all newly arrested defendants, in apparent violation of state judicial conduct rules, according to internal documents … Continue reading →

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Local control and local races

Posted on February 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From Texas Monthly: At the end of last week, the Austin City Council voted to pass a new ordinance requiring local businesses to give their employees paid sick leave. It was the end result of a long and intense fight, … Continue reading →

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2018 primary early voting, Day Four: On to the suburbs

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Mike Snyder ventures outside Harris County for early voting numbers. As the Chronicle’s Jeremy Wallace reported, nearly 50,000 people voted in the Democratic primary on Tuesday, the first day of early voting, in the state’s 15 most populous … Continue reading →

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More on the DCCC-CD07 mess

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Other folks have weighed in on the DCCC drive-by on Laura Moser from Thursday – Mother Jones, Stace, Campos, Indivisible Houston, the HCDP, and others. I’ve seen plenty of talk of this on Facebook, and I’ve yet to see a … Continue reading →

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The case for the Astrodome

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg lays it out. But here’s the thing: leaders have to balance today’s needs with tomorrow’s. The long view has its virtues. And frankly, it’s been all to absent in the decision-making of Houston and Harris County. Shortsightedness has … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A veritable plethora, part 5

Posted on February 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, part 4 is here and the full endorsements page is here. We finish with the Republican races with challenged incumbents. And the first thing to note is the … Continue reading →

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2018 primary early voting Day Three: A look around the state

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s just jump right into the numbers: EV 2010 EV 2014 Day 3 EV 2018 totals Year Party Mail In Person Total ======================================= 2010 Dem 3,851 6,132 9,983 2010 Rep 7,929 8,803 16,732 2014 Dem 3,048 4,228 7,276 2014 Rep … Continue reading →

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DCCC versus Laura Moser

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t care for this. The campaign arm of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives set its sights on a surprising target Thursday: Democratic congressional hopeful Laura Moser. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee posted negative research on Moser, a … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A veritable plethora, part 4

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, part 3 is here, and the full endorsements page is here. I had thought this would finish up all the races of interest for us, but then I decided the Republican races … Continue reading →

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Sen. Uresti convicted on fraud charges

Posted on February 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Time to resign. The courtroom was silent and thick with anxiety Thursday morning as the judge’s deputy read the verdicts: “Guilty,” “guilty,” “guilty” — 11 times over, and on all felony counts. State Sen. Carlos Uresti sat stone-faced, his gaze … Continue reading →

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2018 primary early voting Day Two: When is it a trend?

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I think we can say that people noticed the Day One early voting numbers. Democrats have more than doubled their early voting in the state’s biggest counties compared to four years ago, leading some party leaders to point again to … Continue reading →

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Sri Kulkarni’s youthful indiscretion

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how big a deal this turns out to be. A candidate’s drug arrest at the age of 18 has riled up a Democratic primary contest for the right to challenge five-term Republican incumbent Pete Olson in a potentially … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A veritable plethora, part 3

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 is here, part 2 is here, the full endorsements page is here, and today we have the rest of the statewides, which I appreciate since these are the races I wanted more input on. US Senate: Beto O’Rourke … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 19

Posted on February 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is thankful Adam Rippon is here to distract us from everything else as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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2018 primary early voting Day One: Let’s get this started

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re off, with a few concerns about aftereffects of Harvey. Hurricane Harvey may loom large in many Houston-area residents’ minds, but the storm is expected to have a limited impact on participation in the Texas primary, which kicks off … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: John Stephen Liles

Posted on February 21, 2018 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: A veritable plethora, part 2

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

A quick look at the Chron’s endorsements page shows they basically did a massive update on Sunday night/Monday morning. Most of them are in legislative races, but there are a couple of others. I think I’m going to need two … Continue reading →

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Action alert: Rally at Culberson’s office for a clean DREAM Act

Posted on February 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Mothers, children, and other allies will gather in front of John Culberson’s office to demand a Clean DREAM Act this Thursday at 4 PM. The gathering will feature remarks from children of mixed status parents and mothers … Continue reading →

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Interview with Natali Hurtado

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And so we come to the end of another interview season. Don’t worry, I’ll be back in the saddle in a few weeks to cover some Congressional runoffs, and we’ll see from there. Like the rest of the county in … Continue reading →

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