Tag Archives: Dan Patrick

Does primary turnout in a district predict the November result?

Posted on March 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Karl Rove would like you to think so. At the House level, Democrats hope to win three districts won by Hillary Clinton and now held by Republican incumbents, as well as some of the six seats opened up by GOP … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Endorsement watch: Not Dan Patrick

Posted on March 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Scott Milder, who was defeated by Dan Patrick in the Republican primary, endorses Mike Collier for the general election. Scott Milder, who lost his Republican primary challenge to incumbent Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick two days ago, says he will vote … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

2018 primary results: Statewide

Posted on March 7, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Statewide Dem totals Statewide GOP totals Harris County Dem totals Harris County GOP totals (Please note that all results were coming in very slowly. I expect there will still be some precincts not yet reported by the time this publishes. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

UT/TT poll: Trump approval more or less the same as before

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

A tad bit more positive than last time, but still nothing to write home about. With the usual disclaimers about partisan imbalance, President Donald Trump’s job approval ratings are holding steady, according to the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on UT/TT poll: Trump approval more or less the same as before

Endorsement watch: A veritable plethora, part 1

Posted on February 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Whoa, all of a sudden the Chron is chock full of endorsements. Let’s run through ’em. Actually, let’s start to run through them. So many appeared all at once that I’m going to need to break this into more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Sandra Bullock hurts Dan Patrick’s fee-fees

Posted on February 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Poor little snowflake. Texas Lieutenant Gov. Dan Patrick is not too pleased that Oscar winning actress Sandra Bullock has agreed to star in a movie about former state Sen. Wendy Davis, whose 13-hour filibuster helped stall an anti-abortion bill in … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege, TV and movies | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

No, the bathroom bill issue hasn’t gone away

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg tries to argue that the bathroom bill issue has faded away this election, but I don’t buy it and I don’t think she does, either. But there’s one hot-button issue that’s been notably absent: the bathroom bill. And … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Sylvia and more

Posted on February 6, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes the obvious choice in CD29. The frontrunner is clearly state Sen. Sylvia Garcia, the only current elected official on the ballot, who has name identification with this area’s voters that stretches back more than 20 years. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Sylvia and more

Voter registration deadline is Monday

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Check your registration status. Houston-area voters are registering to vote in record numbers just in time for the March 6 primaries, and the two major political parties are bracing for yet another wave of newcomers over the next few days. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Voter registration deadline is Monday

Republicans “against” Dan Patrick

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe reports on a “loose coalition” of business and education interests who are seeking to clip Dan Patrick’s wings. [FBSID Board President Kristin] Tassin is now running for a seat in the state Senate, and she is just one … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Republicans “against” Dan Patrick

Dan Patrick wants SAPD Chief arrested

Posted on January 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday asked the state’s attorney general to determine if the chief of the San Antonio Police Department violated the state’s immigration-enforcement law during a human smuggling incident. Late last month, San … Continue reading →

Posted in La Migra, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Filing news: Jerry’s back

Posted on December 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Former Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson would like his office back, please. Patterson, who was first elected as the state’s land commissioner in 2003, wants to head the agency that manages state-owned lands and the Alamo. He gave up the job to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

State of the County 2017: Ed Emmett versus state leadership

Posted on December 1, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you heard was a fight breaking out. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett on Tuesday used his annual State of the County speech to blast state leaders who he said attack local governments and seek to cut needed taxes … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

There’s scared and there’s strategy

Posted on November 21, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

What we’re seeing from the GOP is some of both. Republicans are beginning to worry that a “blue wave” of Democratic voters angry with the Trump administration could crash into the 2018 election, even in the deep red state of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Patrick gets a primary challenger

Posted on November 3, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The plot thickens. Former Rockwall City Council member Scott Milder will challenge Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in next year’s Republican primary, Milder announced formally on Thursday. Milder, a public education advocate and resident of North Texas, is the first Republican … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Patrick gets a primary challenger

Framing the 2018 question

Posted on October 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story asks the question “what might it take for a Democrat to win statewide in Texas in 2018, then never actually engages it. At the five-top table in the corner at Russell’s Bakery, a northwest Austin restaurant and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The lost Harvey tax break

Posted on October 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have mixed feelings about this. Owners of nearly 300,000 homes damaged by Hurricane Harvey in Texas won’t see any break in their property taxes because of political wrangling this year in the state Legislature over completely unrelated issues – … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The lost Harvey tax break

Huffman gets a Republican challenger

Posted on September 30, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is definitely one to watch. Kristin Tassin, the president of the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees, is running against state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston, in the 2018 GOP primary. “I’m officially running,” Tassin told The Texas Tribune on … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Huffman gets a Republican challenger

Abbott says he wants a list from Turner

Posted on September 29, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

A list of funding priorities, he says. Because he’s passive like that. Answering Houston’s latest complaints over funding for Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts, Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday told Mayor Sylvester Turner the state can step up with more money … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Has Harvey changed anything politically?

Posted on September 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

You’d think it would, but it remains to be seen as far as I’m concerned. A month to the day after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, the reality of the storm was beginning to sink in on the minds … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Can anyone beat Greg Abbott?

Posted on September 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s early days and all that, but the evidence at hand now isn’t positive. The reason for that is fairly simple. A poll circulating among the state’s Democratic leadership—which I was given on the agreement that I would not identify … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Mayor Turner lowers tax rate hike amount

Posted on September 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure we’re all glad to see this. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday said the temporary property tax rate hike he has proposed would be cut in half after federal officials approved his request to increase reimbursement for the city’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

More on recapture and the Rainy Day Fund

Posted on September 18, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

There are some conditions that have to be met to get our recapture money back. Houston Independent School District won’t have to hand millions of dollars to the state to spend at other schools if HISD needs that money to … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Will we spend on some flood mitigation projects?

Posted on September 13, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. We’ll see. In the wake of Hurricane Harvey, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is calling for the construction of flood control infrastructure in the Houston area — things he said should have been built “decades and decades ago” — including … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The trans community is fully engaged now

Posted on September 11, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

One positive thing came out of this months-long anti-transgender legislative assault. For more than a year, [Dan] Patrick pulled out all the stops for the bathroom bills, which would have restricted restroom use based on biological sex and undone local … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

No special session needed to address Harvey flooding

Posted on September 2, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

So says Greg Abbott. Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday another special session of the Texas Legislature won’t be necessary to deal with the response to Hurricane Harvey. “We won’t need a special session for this,” Abbott told reporters, noting that … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo, Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Pastoral malignancy

Posted on August 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Know your enemy. A day before the Texas Legislature ended its special session this week, a session that included a high-profile fight over a “bathroom bill” that appeared almost certainly dead, David Welch had a message for Gov. Greg Abbott: … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 22 Comments

The long view of the bathroom bill

Posted on August 20, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron considers the future of the bathroom bill. Texas’ controversial bathroom bill, championed by Gov. Greg Abbot and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, may have been declared dead, but some say it could be revived soon enough. “Like Frankenstein, the … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Let’s play two?

Posted on August 17, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, God, please, no. Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday put blame on the House — particularly Speaker Joe Straus — for the shortcomings of the special session and left the door open to calling another one. “I’m disappointed that all … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Smell ya later, Senate

Posted on August 16, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? The special legislative session is over — in one chamber, at least. The Texas House abruptly gaveled out Sine Die – the formal designation meaning the end of a session – on Tuesday evening after voting to … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

From the “Actions speak louder than words” department

Posted on August 9, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe of Texas Monthly speaks to former Railroad Commissioner and Texas Education Commissioner Michael Williams about his disapproval of bathroom bills. RGR: You told me political parties over time curdle and spoil, but is there something about the debate … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on From the “Actions speak louder than words” department

Dan Patrick hates Texas’ cities

Posted on August 7, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I have so many things to say about this. City governments, particularly those led by Democrats, are to blame for problems nationwide, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said during a nationally televised interview Friday. “People are happy with their governments … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Ethics, schmethics

Posted on August 6, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This little exchange says so much about our weak and insecure Governor. The fireworks began with a press conference called by GOP Rep. Sarah Davis, chair of the House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics. Davis, flanked by both Democratic … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Ethics, schmethics

House passes school finance bills

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

I doubt they’ll meet a different fate than they did in the regular session, but kudos anyway. The Texas House on Friday passed a package of bills that would put $1.8 billion into public schools and help out struggling small, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on House passes school finance bills