Monthly Archives: February 2022

Endorsement watch: Commissioners Court and Treasurer

Posted on February 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes another obvious call and endorses Commissioner Adrian Garcia in Precinct 2. Among the frequent criticisms we hear about Harris County Commissioners Court is that it’s an opaque repository for political insiders, an entity with limited authority beyond … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Veronica Monique Nelson

Posted on February 12, 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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Yes, most people will generally support the idea of decent election reforms

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But that doesn’t mean they’ll vote for politicians who support them, and that right there makes all the difference. From the UH Hobby School, here’s part four of their January 2022 public opinion fest, which began with their election poll. … Continue reading →

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Here comes that AstroWorld task force

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Got to admit, I had thought this had already happened. Three months after 10 people were killed at the Astroworld Festival at NRG Park, Houston and Harris County have named a 10-person task force to review procedures, permitting and guidelines … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Finally, some judicial races

Posted on February 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

There are so many contested judicial races on the primary ballot, but we’re just now starting to get some judicial race endorsements from the Chronicle. Let’s being this roundup with three criminal district court races, in which the Chron went … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Manpreet Monica Singh

Posted on February 11, 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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On to the next mail ballot problem

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of the people who managed to fill out the mail ballot application form correctly have failed to fill in the newly-required voter ID information on the ballot and have to get that fixed or have their ballot tossed. … Continue reading →

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HCC special election set

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

All you need to know. On Saturday, May 7, 2022, Houston Community College System (“HCC”) will hold a special election to fill a vacancy in the HCC Board of Trustee position for geographic district II for the unexpired term through … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Bess and Benton

Posted on February 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron finally addresses one of the higher-profile local primaries, and endorses Danielle Bess in HD147. Democrats have to make a choice about how they want to put up a fight in the Texas Legislature. In 2020, the party mounted … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Steve Duble

Posted on February 10, 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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January 2022 campaign finance reports: Congress

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The filing deadline has passed, the primary lineups are set, and we have a new set of races and candidates to review. As was the case in the past two cycles, I’ll follow the contested primaries as well as the … Continue reading →

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The CDC gets in on the “track COVID in the wastewater” project

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. U.S. public health officials are expanding their monitoring of Covid-19 in sewage, which has become a crucial early warning for surges of new cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week began sharing virus wastewater … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of February 7

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is glad that our creaky power grid made it through this cold spell as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Endorsement watch: Definitely in no rush

Posted on February 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

After a few days of only Republican endorsements, we get three Democratic ones. First up is the most obvious, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. Even those who treated 27-year-old Lina Hidalgo like she was born yesterday when she was elected … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Ieshia Champs

Posted on February 9, 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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Here’s the support for challengers to quorum breakers

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s limited, but it’s not nothing. A new coalition that wants to install “better” Democrats in the Texas Legislature is endorsing primary opponents to two House members who were central in intraparty disputes last year. The Texans for Better Democrats … Continue reading →

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Ken Paxton cannot be trusted to prosecute anyone

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Scary story: . From Statesman columnist @bgrumet: “@TXAG Ken Paxton is using the powers of his office to treat a good-faith mishap as a crime, after coming under political pressure from his own base to file charges.” — Austin Statesman … Continue reading →

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San Antonio airport tunnel update

Posted on February 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This continues to boggle my mind. A plan by Elon Musk’s Boring Company for a project that would connect the San Antonio airport to downtown via twin underground tunnels is among two proposals a local transportation agency is considering. In … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jay Kleberg

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

As noted yesterday, this will be my last interview for the March primary. I may do some for the runoffs – the Attorney General race will surely go into overtime, and perhaps the Lt. Governor’s race will as well – … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Paul Calzada

Posted on February 8, 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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Chris Hollins to run for Mayor

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Chris Hollins, the former Harris County elections chief who pushed measures aimed at expanding ballot access during the November 2020 election, announced Monday that he’s running for Houston mayor in 2023. “The challenges that we’re facing as Houstonians are … Continue reading →

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How the grid held up

Posted on February 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Basically, this cold front wasn’t anything like last year’s cold front. Texas’s power grid passed its biggest test since last year’s deadly blackouts, keeping most lights on during a wintry blast. This storm, however, was far less severe than last … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jinny Suh

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

This week I will run my last two interviews for the March primary. It’s always a challenge doing primary interviews, as there’s an increasing number of candidates (hooray!) and very little time. There are some great candidates running statewide and … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Andrea Beall

Posted on February 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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MKT Bridge repairs finally on the schedule

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Houston Parks Board has good news to share about the MKT Bridge! The plan documents needed for the additional repairs to address damage caused by the August 2020 fire have received expedited approval by the City of Houston … Continue reading →

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The noble sacrifice of the coin miners

Posted on February 7, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

You’re welcome. Chad Harris got an urgent phone call during last February’s epic Texas winter storm, something he was expecting as the operator of the single largest bitcoin mining and hosting facility in North America. “You need to shed your … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for February 6

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Conspiracy Chart. Helpful and comprehensive. And note what it says about the top layer. “At their imperial peak 500 years ago, the Aztec rulers sacrificed 20,000 or more people each year, some estimates suggest. By the reckoning of experts … Continue reading →

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Does Houston get its fair share from Harris County?

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s complicated. Do property taxpayers inside the City of Houston subsidize Harris County services? It’s a question that comes up a lot, given the fact that city residents—like their counterparts in the county—pay separate property taxes to the county, but … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the HD26 primary

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I can’t do interviews in all of the primaries of interest, so I’m glad to see articles like this in the Chron, in which they sent out a brief Q&A to the two Democrats and one (incumbent) Republican running for … Continue reading →

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Chip your dogs and cats

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s the law now in Houston. The city now will now will require resident pet owners to get microchips for their dogs and cats, and will ban so-called ‘puppy mill’ breeders from providing animals to pet stores. City Council voted … Continue reading →

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Interviews and judicial Q&As through February 4

Posted on February 6, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Updating from last week. 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 CD38 plus Candis Houston in HD142 and Chase West … Continue reading →

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Anti-Israel boycott law knocked down again

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Turns out this is a First Amendment violation. Who knew? (Spoiler alert: Pretty much everyone else in the world.) Texas can’t forbid an engineering firm from boycotting Israel as part of its contract with Houston City Hall, a federal judge … Continue reading →

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Paxton files corrected finance report

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I feel duty-bound to note this. Attorney General Ken Paxton, who is in a hotly contested primary, has filed a corrected campaign finance report after he did not disclose a large portion of his donors from the last six months … Continue reading →

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The wastewater is once again in our favor

Posted on February 5, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

But there’s still a lot of room for improvement. The latest samples of Houston’s flushed wastewater show diminishing traces of COVID-19 across the region — a promising sign that the highly contagious omicron variant is in retreat. Hospital admissions are … Continue reading →

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