I have to link to this atrocious Chron endorsement of Republican Alexandra Mealer, but I refuse to quote from it. Instead, I’m going to crib from the daily Texas AFL-CIO email newsletter, which had its own thoughts on the matter:
Judge Lina Hidalgo
Our Brothers and Sisters in the Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation are standing tall for the reelection of County Judge Lina Hidalgo, a champion of working families. The ALF today posted a list of Hidalgo’s amazing accomplishments as she navigated a concentration of natural disasters in her first term.
The timing of the statement was appropriate. In a tortured editorial, the Houston Chronicle today endorsed Hidalgo’s Republican opponent. The editorial has so much praise of Hidalgo, so many misgivings about her opponent, and so much acknowledgment of disagreement on the editorial board that it has the clear look of a publisher’s intervention.
Hidalgo beat the Chronicle’s endorsement in 2018 and the labor movement is working overtime to make sure she does so again in 2022.
Statement from ALF Political Director Jay Malone:
“We’re incredibly disappointed in the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board’s decision to back an extremist candidate for Harris County Judge. Not only has Lina Hidalgo consistently invested in public safety – including a proposed 10% increase in next year’s budget – but she also recognizes that security and safety isn’t just about crime, it’s also about keeping families in their homes, helping them to keep the lights and heat on, and expanding opportunities for everyone, regardless of the zip code you live in.”
“Under Lina Hidalgo, Harris County has kept over 70,000 working families in their homes during the pandemic, expanded access to affordable childcare, worked to raise wages for essential workers and improve safety standards on construction sites and in retail stores, and implemented common-sense measures to keep us safe during the pandemic. And she fought back when state leadership tried to prevent Harvey recovery dollars from going where they’re needed, recovering $750 million earlier this year.
“Unlike her opponent, who is funded by West Texas billionaires and county contractors, Lina has taken a stand to end the corrupt system that puts the interests of the rich and connected first and leaves the rest of us with failed drainage, pockmarked highways, and collapsing bridges. The working people of Harris County stand with Lina.”
Throughout her tenure in office, Judge Hidalgo has worked closely with the labor movement to develop, pass, and implement policies to expand opportunity and keep working people safe, healthy, and in their homes. Among the accomplishment of Harris County Commissioner’s Court since Lina was sworn into office in 2019:
- Raised the County minimum wage to $15 an hour for employees and certain construction contract workers
- Implemented family-friendly workplace policies, including 12 weeks paid parental leave for both mothers and fathers and additional sick leave to care for ill children
- Stood up for common-sense public health measures to keep working families safe, despite efforts by Governor Abbott to block them
- Expanded access to the polls through innovative programs, such as drive through and 24 hour voting
- Established work safe guidelines for grocery and construction workers
- Implemented one of the most effective housing assistance programs in the country
- Invested in a complete census count to ensure working families in Harris County receive the assistance they need after state leaders failed to do so
- Created a fund to provide frontline workers with direct cash assistance
- Required those who do business with the County to support and protect workers when considering awards for construction contracts.
- Stood up against the Trump administration’s effort to instill fear in our immigrant communities. Judge Hidalgo has worked to fight against family separation policies, planned immigration raids in the County, and the inclusion of a citizenship question on the 2020 Census.
- Launched the $84 million Brighter Futures for Harris County Kids initiative to expand access to affordable childcare and youth healthcare
I completely agree. I was especially angered when they blamed the Republican quorum breaking on the Democrats on the Court, for not being flexible enough in their negotiations, as if they somehow could not grasp that Commissioners Cagle and Ramsey have no incentive to bargain in good faith. They get what they want if nothing happens! Even better, they get simps like the Chron editorial board to blame the other guys for their actions. I don’t know if they’re being deeply naive or willfully blind, but it’s infuriating that they can’t see this basic fact. Their ending note that they hope Mealer will somehow overcome her partisan preferences and govern in a manner that is completely at odds with her own campaign has big “endorse Ted Cruz in 2012 on the hope that he’ll somehow morph into Kay Bailey Hutchison 2.0″ energy. How’d that one work out?
And to think, my day started by reading the print edition endorsement of Chuck Crews in HD128, in which they gave a proper lashing of Briscoe Cain, and thinking I’d get to blog about that and it would all be puppies and sunshine. But that one still isn’t on their site (at least as of last night when I drafted this), and instead this turd is. Where do I send the invoice for that new bottle of Tums I had to buy?
Honestly had nightmares after reading the chron’s stinking pile of words. Triggered my PTSD from their 2020 Crenshaw endorsement taken straight from middle school: “he’s so popular!”
As I have stated in the past, the Houston Chronicle is a whore that sells its influence to the person who pays the most. The GHP is the puppet master in my opinion.
They have lousy reporting and lazy reporters.
The Houston Comical is still a newspaper/newsprint organization with actual employees ?
I was disgusted too, but I interpreted the “endorsement” of Mealer as “Most of us really want Hidalgo except some really important person who has the final say, so we’ll fall in line and endorse Mealer but say as many positive things as we can about Hidalgo.”
I think I’ve seen at least 2 other Chron “endorsements” in the past few years, but I can’t remember who they were for off the top of my head.
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