Monthly Archives: January 2022

Weekend link dump for January 23

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“There’s really no reason to object to a national ID and every reason to think it would be a great convenience.” “Actual pro-democracy reporting doesn’t simply entail writing movingly about its death. A genuine pro-democracy reporter would also write – … Continue reading →

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District G special election final early turnout

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m going to start this post with some numbers, to provide context. Election Mail Early E-Day Total Mail% Early% ========================================================== May09 Dist H 647 1,259 2,280 4,186 33.9% 45.5% May18 Dist K 1,737 1,867 1,531 5,135 41.2% 70.2% Jan22 Dist … Continue reading →

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Please watch over the fraudit

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good idea. A group of Democratic members of Congress from Texas has sent a letter to the Department of Justice requesting that it closely monitor the ongoing election audit in four Texas counties. Last September, Texas Republicans began an audit in Harris, Tarrant, … Continue reading →

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Who’s worried about electricity in Texas?

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The guy who writes The Watchdog for the DMN, for one. The people with real power in this state, not so much. I was lonely. For more than a decade, it was as if I were the only North Texas … Continue reading →

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Interviews and judicial Q&As through January 21

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Updating from last week and the week before. This is to put all of the interviews and judicial Q&As in a single post for your convenience, in case you missed something. This past week was the County Treasurer and District … Continue reading →

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January 2022 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You know what January means around these parts. There’s lots of action in Harris County, so that’s where we’ll begin. Here’s my summary of the July 2021 reports as a reminder. Let’s dive in. Lina Hidalgo, County Judge Ahmed Hassan, … Continue reading →

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Paxton thumbs his nose at open records demand

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Water is wet. The sun rises in the east. Ken Paxton DGAF about government, ethics, accountability or any of that other namby-pamby stuff. Attorney General Ken Paxton said the Travis County district attorney’s determination that Paxton violated open records laws … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

SB8 litigation will stay with SCOTx

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Another game of Calvinball, same result. The U.S. Supreme Court denied on Thursday abortion providers’ latest request to intervene in the ongoing legal challenge against Texas’ restrictive abortion law, cutting off one of their few remaining paths to a speedy … Continue reading →

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On speed limits

Posted on January 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Food for thought. Speeding is a national health problem and a big reason why this country is increasingly an outlier on traffic safety in the developed world. More than 1 in 4 fatal crashes in the United States involve at … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Blair McClure

Posted on January 21, 2022 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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Sid Miller’s political consultant indicted

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is interesting. Todd Smith, a top political consultant to Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, was indicted Tuesday on felony charges of theft and commercial bribery related to taking money in exchange for state hemp licenses that are doled out … Continue reading →

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The Houston Local News Initiative

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

More news is good news. Five foundations, including three local philanthropies, are investing more than $20 million to launch an independent nonprofit news outlet in Houston, entering the city’s competitive media landscape. The Houston Endowment, the Kinder Foundation and Arnold … Continue reading →

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Have I mentioned that we need to get more kids vaccinated?

Posted on January 21, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously, y’all. Since November, 693,345 Texas elementary-age children have received at least one dose of the vaccine, accounting for about 24% of the state’s 2.9 million children ages 5-11 — and a figure in line with the national rate. Nearly … Continue reading →

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Interview with Desiree Broadnax

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up our exploration of the non-County Judge executive offices with Desiree Broadnax, who is running for District Clerk. Broadnax is the manager of the Intake division at the District Attorney’s office, which means she has responsibility for all … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Natalia Oakes

Posted on January 20, 2022 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 →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Beto starts strong on fundraising

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good start, needs more of same. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke raised $7.2 million in the first 46 days of his campaign, while Republican incumbent Greg Abbott raked in $18.9 million over the last six months as his war chest … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of January 17

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance does not hang up on Steve Inskeep as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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You (probably) still have to get vaxxed if you work in Houston

Posted on January 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see this, but there’s a huge question that this story doesn’t address, much less answer. Local companies say they will maintain their vaccination policies despite last week’s Supreme Court ruling that struck down the Biden administration’s vaccination … Continue reading →

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Interview with Marilyn Burgess

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The other contested executive office that we will explore this week is Harris County District Clerk. This office was briefly held by a Democrat following a special election in 2008, but otherwise had been in Republican hands since the 1990’s, … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge David Patronella

Posted on January 19, 2022 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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SB8 lawsuit moves to SCOTx

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Like I said, the fix was always in. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday sent the legal challenge to Texas’ restrictive abortion law to the state’s Supreme Court, a move that is expected to significantly delay the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Sure, let’s blame the supply chain for voter registration problems

Posted on January 19, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have a simple solution for this, if anyone wants to hear it. The Texas Secretary of State’s office is having more trouble than usual getting enough voter registration cards to groups who help Texans register to vote. Sam Taylor, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Carla Wyatt

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Challenging the incumbent in the Democratic primary for Harris County Treasurer is Carla Wyatt, a longtime employee of the county. Wyatt has a PhD in Environmental Toxicology from Texas Southern University, where she also received bachelor’s and master’s degrees. She … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Greg Glass

Posted on January 18, 2022 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 →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Unprecedented” meddling in the Census

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

They weren’t subtle about it. A newly disclosed memorandum citing “unprecedented” meddling by the Trump administration in the 2020 census and circulated among top Census Bureau officials indicates how strongly they sought to resist efforts by the administration to manipulate … Continue reading →

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FBI seeks Astroworld info

Posted on January 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Spill ’em if you got ’em. The FBI has created a website that seeks information on the deadly Astroworld Festival, the Houston Police Department said Friday. Members of the public can upload photos and video from the Nov. 5 event … Continue reading →

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Interview with Dylan Osborne

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This week I’m going to focus on the two executive offices in Harris County that are not County Judge that feature contested primaries. Both were won by Dems in the countywide sweep of 2018, and so both are held by … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Chris Watson

Posted on January 17, 2022 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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Bypass the GLO

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Heck yeah. All five members of Harris County Commissioners Court signed onto a letter Friday asking the local congressional delegation to ensure that future disaster relief bypasses the state government and goes directly to large counties. The letter is the … Continue reading →

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Nobody is voting by mail in the District G special election

Posted on January 17, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the early voting report through Saturday for the District G special election. A total of 1,608 ballots have been cast in the first six days, of which 1,569 have been in person and thirty-nine (39) have been by mail. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Weekend link dump for January 16

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of musicals currently in development as movies. The CW is for sale, if you’ve got a bit of spare change for a questionably viable broadcast TV network. “The president of Turkmenistan is calling for an end … Continue reading →

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Lots of mail ballot applications are being rejected now

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This is a feature, not a bug. Hundreds of Texans seeking to vote by mail in the upcoming March primary elections are seeing their applications for ballots rejected by local election offices trying to comply with stricter voting rules enacted … Continue reading →

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On primarying the quorum breakers

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Working Families Party, a political party and relative newcomer to Texas politics that backs Democrats aligned with their platform, aims to spend in the ballpark of half a million dollars this cycle, WFP Texas Co-director Pedro Lira told … Continue reading →

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Austin aims for pot decriminalization

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how this goes. I suspect the measure will pass, but I’m not sure it will be allowed to take effect. As greater numbers of Texas voters sour on harsh punishment for marijuana offenses, Austin voters will likely decide … Continue reading →

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