Tag Archives: Election 2008

How about that CCA’s reputation for fairness?

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is just precious. The longest serving Judge on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Lawrence “Larry” Meyers, has announced he is seeking re-election in 2010. The Court has been called a national laughingstock by one of its other members … Continue reading →

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What about Dwayne?

Posted on June 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Lone Star Project turns its attention to Ed Johnson‘s partner, State Rep. Dwayne Bohac. [Friday], the Lone Star Project formally submitted open records requests of Dwayne Bohac, Tax Assessor Collector Leo Vasquez, Harris County DA Pat Lykos -a CDS … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Chron reports on Ed Johnson

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s their story about Ed Johnson and his questionable side venture as a Republican consultant. It doesn’t add much to what we already know, but it does get some local reaction, including from Johnson’s boss, Harris County Tax Assessor Leo … Continue reading →

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Feds’ report on Harris County jails

Posted on June 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Still a lot of people dying in the jails here, at least as of the last federal inspection. Their experiences are detailed in a U.S. Department of Justice report, completed last week and obtained Monday by the Houston Chronicle, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

More on Ed Johnson

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected, the Lone Star Project adds quite a bit to the Ed Johnson story from yesterday. Boy, do they ever. [Johnson] is a paid Republican campaign consultant. His company, Campaign Data Systems (CDS), has numerous Harris County Republican candidate … Continue reading →

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

Ed Johnson’s conflict of interest

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, there was a lawsuit filed against Paul Bettencourt and the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office over allegations of illegal mishandling of provisional ballots in the past November election. That suit was later expanded to include allegations of … Continue reading →

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Juvenile justice in Harris County

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Is rather an oxymoron, it seems. Apparently, the process for certifying juveniles to be tried as adults, which according to the DA’s office is supposed to be only done on “the worst of the worst”, is a mere formality. In … Continue reading →

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One week of early voting in the District H runoff

Posted on June 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I did my civic duty on Friday at Moody Park, early in the morning – according to the sign-in sheet, I was the fifth person to vote that day. That makes me one of 1302 people to cast their ballot, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

One more from Annie’s List

Posted on June 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Annie’s List announced their first endorsed candidate for 2010 over the weekend. Now they have a second, and she’s in Houston. From their email: Annie’s List is proud to announce our endorsement of Kendra Yarbrough Camarena for State House District … Continue reading →

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Annie’s List kicks off the 2010 elections

Posted on June 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Even for me, it’s a little early to be thinking about most of the 2010 races, especially for the State House. But I’m glad it’s not too early for some folks, such as Annie’s List. Here’s an email they’ve sent … Continue reading →

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Pity and loathing

Posted on May 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still working through my feelings about this Newsweek piece regarding George W. Bush’s not-exactly-triumphant return to Texas. I don’t know if the author realized he was basically writing about Norma Desmond, but that’s the main impression I got from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

And so the chubbing comes to an end

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So, as far as I know at this point, SB362 is dead, other bills may or may not be dead, and some semblance of normality will return to the House for the remaining days of the session. After seeing so … Continue reading →

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Voting right on climate change, take two

Posted on May 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yo, Democrats. You were given a mandate this past November. Please act like it. Democratic leaders pushing to cap greenhouse gas emissions were working Wednesday to appease key lawmakers who want to ease the financial burden that the climate change … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We need more early voting locations

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Greg made an observation about the District H result that I’d like to explore a bit. Yolanda’s early numbers were a little surprising as it would have meant a runoff between her and Ed if those numbers held. But even … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We need more early voting locations

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Greg made an observation about the District H result that I’d like to explore a bit. Yolanda’s early numbers were a little surprising as it would have meant a runoff between her and Ed if those numbers held. But even … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Challenging Chet

Posted on May 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Eye on Williamson, I see the national GOP is once again looking to try to beat Rep. Chet Edwards in CD17. There’s little question Republicans are looking to target Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas), who could face yet another tough … Continue reading →

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Projecting District H

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The final early vote tallies are in, and thanks to relatively busy days on Monday and Tuesday, a total of 1870 ballots have been cast by mail or in person as of the end of early voting on Tuesday. That’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Garcia’s plan to fix the jails

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sheriff Adrian Garcia is off to Austin to explain how he’s going to fix problems with the Harris County jails. Garcia, who took office in January, inherited a massive downtown detention system under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department and … Continue reading →

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Joe for Galveston

Posted on May 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From my inbox, some good news from Joe Jaworski: Galveston matters, and the Island’s next Mayor must ensure this message is clearly understood: Galveston is more than a storm ravaged Island with a history; it is an iconic Texas coastal … Continue reading →

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Burka on the Census and redistricting

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Paul Burka takes a look at Census figures and projections for 2010 and considers the implication for the 2011 Legislative Redistricting Board redraw of State House and State Senate lines. There is going to be carnage in rural Texas, especially … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Wendy Davis

Posted on May 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been a fan of freshman State Sen. Wendy Davis since I interviewed her last year at the state Democratic convention. You could tell she was smart and ambitious, and if given the chance could really go places. I’ve been … Continue reading →

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Juan Garcia takes a job in the Obama administration

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats to former State Rep. Juan Garcia on his new gig. The White House issued a news release announcing Juan Garcia, Obama’s former law school classmate and one-term Texas House member, will be nominated to be Assistant Secretary of the … Continue reading →

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Early voting in District H

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Not a whole lot of people have voted in the District H special election so far. You can see the daily totals here (PDF). Through Wednesday, a grand total of 832 in-person and mail ballots have been cast. I think … Continue reading →

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Is the Lege going back on red light cameras?

Posted on April 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last session, after several prior attempts to ban cities from using red light cameras, the Lege passed a bill (SB1119) that granted cities the authority to use them, with some restrictions. Via Matt Stiles, it seems one of the legislators … Continue reading →

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Two legislator stories

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a nice profile of State Rep. Kristi Thibaut, who had a very busy year last year. Thibaut first ran for the Legislature in 2006. She had been a state Senate messenger and a government major while in … Continue reading →

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Gay rights support in Houston

Posted on April 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. [A]ccording to the latest Houston Area Survey, fewer than half of Harris County residents believe homosexuality is morally wrong, 61 percent believe it’s an innate characteristic rather than a lifestyle choice, and 43 percent believe gay marriages should … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act … Continue reading →

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Perry walks back secession talk

Posted on April 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As the sun rises in the east, so do politicians who say stupid things revise and extend those remarks afterward when people start asking them questions about what they really meant. And so it was the case with Rick Perry, … Continue reading →

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White rakes it in for his Senate bid

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Among other things, today is the deadline for federal candidates to report their campaign finance status. Of the many contenders for Kay Bailey Hutchison’s Senate seat, whenever that becomes available, I think it’s safe to say that Bill White had … Continue reading →

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Vasquez responds to Coleman and Hernandez

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I received the following statement from the office of Harris County Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez, which was sent to KHOU and Fox 26 in response to the charges made by State Reps. Garnet Coleman and Ana Hernandez about the voter … Continue reading →

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Presidential results by Congressional district

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Swing State Project has compiled a list of Presidential results by Congressional district, for all 435 DCs around the country. I’ve pulled out the Texas numbers and put them in a Google spreadsheet for ease of viewing. Here are a … Continue reading →

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Rep. Brown’s apology

Posted on April 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In case you missed it, here’s State Rep. Betty Brown’s apology for her dumb remarks about Asian names. Answering a swarm of phone calls during a brief break on the House floor, Rep. Betty Brown , R-Terrell, kept telling reporters … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Precinct data: The City Council districts revised

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I presented data on the 2008 election results by City Council district and by city of Houston/not City of Houston. I said at the time that the measurement was a bit rough because precinct boundaries do not conform … Continue reading →

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More on Day One of the House hearings on voter ID

Posted on April 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

House Elections Committee Chair Todd Smith is full of ennui at how things have gone so far. Throughout today’s proceedings, Chairman Todd Smith, R-Bedford, has repeatedly insisted that he is “unimpressed,” and even on one occasion, “fabulously unimpressed,” with both … Continue reading →

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