Monthly Archives: January 2022

Sheriff Gonzalez re-nominated for ICE

Posted on January 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Take two. Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez is still President Joe Biden’s pick to lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even after the Senate failed to confirm him last year. Biden renominated Gonzalez for the ICE director on Tuesday. His … Continue reading →

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Interview with Reagan Flowers

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up the week of speaking to candidates in HD147 today by talking with Reagan Flowers, who currently serves as HCC Trustee in District 4. I had a conversation with her a few months ago, as she was running … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Abigail Anastasio

Posted on January 7, 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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Paxton still wants to be supreme prosecutor

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Please hold firm, CCA. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the state’s highest criminal court to reconsider a recent decision that stripped his agency of the power to prosecute election law violations. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, in … Continue reading →

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Another lawsuit filed over Commissioners Court redistricting

Posted on January 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

What a bunch of crybabies. A former county commissioner is suing Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, claiming Hidalgo and the county violated state law when they met to approve redistricting maps. Former Commissioner Steve Radack argues the commissioners violated the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Danielle Bess

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Next up in HD147 we have Danielle Bess, a native Houstonian and real estate professional. Bess has been involved in politics for a long time, having worked with campaigns ranging from Obama for America, Sheila Jackson Lee for Congress, Annise … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Hilary Unger

Posted on January 6, 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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Erica Davis announces herself

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Her timing is interesting. Former Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Chief of Staff Erica Davis announced her run for Harris County Judge on Wednesday, joining 11 other challengers in the race to unseat Lina Hidalgo. Davis has worked as the Trustee … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of January 3

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy, safe, prosperous, and hopefully COVID-free 2022 as it brings you the year’s first roundup.

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Three comments about three vaccine mandate news stories

Posted on January 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Item one: A U.S. district judge in North Texas has blocked a mask mandate and vaccine requirement for staff and students in the Head Start program that was issued by President Joe Biden. Head Start is a federal school readiness … Continue reading →

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Interview with Aurelia Wagner

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s candidate for HD147 is Aurelia Wagner, who had run in the primary for this seat in 2020 as well. Wagner is a teacher and graduate of Texas Southern University, where she participated on the debate team. She served in … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Lucia Bates

Posted on January 5, 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 plaintiffs want their lawsuit moved back to district court

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As is usually the case, the lawless Fifth Circuit is the problem, with a generous assist from SCOTUS. With the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals set to hear arguments about Texas’ restrictive new abortion law Friday, abortion providers have … Continue reading →

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Get ready for more construction in 2022

Posted on January 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Happy New Year! Here are the places you’ll want to avoid driving in 2022. Flush with green, Houston area transportation officials have a whiteboard full of highway and transit projects poised to start in 2022, but rolling out all that … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jolanda Jones

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There are seven candidates in the Democratic primary for HD147, and I think it’s fair to say that one of them is better known than the others. That candidate is Jolanda Jones, who has been a fixture on the local … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Glenda Duru

Posted on January 4, 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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The final official death toll from the big freeze

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s undoubtedly an underestimate. Texas has added 36 more deaths to the official death toll from the February snow and ice storm, bringing the total to 246 in what was one of the worst natural disasters in the state’s history. … Continue reading →

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Corbevax gets its approval

Posted on January 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Kudos. Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine today announced Corbevax — a protein sub-unit COVID-19 vaccine — has received approval from the Drugs Controller General of India to launch in that nation. The vaccine has been developed in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Nam Subramanian

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

We are now at the start of interview season. I began running the judicial Q&A responses last week, and this week I will begin running interviews with candidates in contested Democratic primaries. Lots of candidates, lots of races, not much … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Judge Tristan Longino

Posted on January 3, 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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Fraudit fizzling

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Who could have ever predicted this would be a big ol’ nothingburger? The Texas secretary of state’s office has released the first batch of results from its review into the 2020 general election, finding few issues despite repeated, unsubstantiated claims … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for January 2

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

“Now more than ever, you need to know these 9 phrases to avoid like the plague in 2022″. “It’s a small mercy that I at least never attended an anti-abortion protest. That was a little too tacky, too “political” for … Continue reading →

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What does “race blind” redistricting even mean?

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good question. In states like Texas and North Carolina, Republican lawmakers in charge of redrawing the political maps for the next decade say that the new plans are “race blind.” Their opponents in court say that the claim is implausible and one … Continue reading →

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Back to school, kids

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll probably be fine. And honestly, there’s no appetite for anything else. Most of Texas’ roughly 1,200 school districts will welcome students and staff back within the next week, even as other states debate whether to mandate vaccines for teachers … Continue reading →

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Still no Metro redistricting

Posted on January 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Check again in 2031. Growth in western Harris County outside Houston’s boundaries was not enough to tip Metro’s board to 11 members during the 2020 Census, transit officials said “It didn’t occur, so we have the same board composition,” said … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Gonzalez’s status

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Two words: In limbo. The Senate has yet to confirm Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez as director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, meaning he will likely need to be nominated again and will face an uphill battle to be … Continue reading →

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One reason for the fight to stop the I-45 project

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Because the project as it now stands would be bad for a lot of kids. Principal Shawn Nickerson can see the highway connector from Bruce Elementary’s basketball court. Cars whiz by, spewing dangerous pollutants into the air. And if the proposed Interstate … Continue reading →

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It was twenty years ago today

Posted on January 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As of today, this blog is officially 20 years old. I started it because I wanted an outlet for my writing – before that, I mostly shared my thoughts via email, mostly but not entirely on various email discussion lists, … Continue reading →

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