Tag Archives: Lina Hidalgo

There were fewer voting sites with paper issues than we thought

Posted on April 21, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s my takeaway from this. On Election Day last year, an unusual problem occurred around 6 p.m. — the polling place at El Lago City Hall ran out of paper ballots. Republican presiding judge Chris Russo, the election worker running … Continue reading →

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Hegar caves on phony “defunding” claim again

Posted on April 4, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Clown the Comptroller II: Electric Boogaloo. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Monday backed off his claim that Harris County “defunded” a constable’s office in violation of a state law intended to prevent cities and counties from cutting their police budgets, … Continue reading →

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Checking in on the Astrodome

Posted on April 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

With the Final Four in town, we have visitors at Reliant Stadium looking over at its unused predecessor and wondering what’s going on with it. The short answer is, not much. The state of the dome and prospects for its … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court supplements Public Defender budget and supports adding more courts

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good moves. Harris County Commissioners Court this week approved a package of public safety measures to support state legislation to create additional district courts, expand the county’s holistic assistance response team program and look at enlarging the public defender’s office. The measures are … Continue reading →

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Harris County creates reproductive health access fund

Posted on March 18, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Good. In a bid to protect residents’ already restricted access to reproductive health care, Harris County officials voted to approve a proposed fund to go toward Harris County Public Health and smaller community organizations at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting. The … Continue reading →

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Court blocks phony “defunding” claim again

Posted on March 12, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: A Travis County District Court temporarily blocked Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar’s determination that Harris County defunded the Precinct 5 Constable’s office in violation of state law. The order means the Comptroller’s determination as to Harris County’s budget … Continue reading →

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The past history of TEA takeovers

Posted on March 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

As of Monday afternoon there’s still no word from the TEA about the fate of HISD, so while we wait we ponder what history can teach us. Assuming that history doesn’t contain anything gay or CRT-related so we’re allowed to … Continue reading →

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You still have time to donate to the Democratic judges’ legal fund

Posted on March 2, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder: Here @JudgeGenesis Draper. She is 1 of 17 elected Harris County Dem. judges sued to undo ‘22 election. Judges can’t take pro bono help to defend selves. Can’t let Mattress Mack undo election wins. Clubs In Action … Continue reading →

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We do need more felony courts

Posted on March 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good start. County officials are considering adding new district courts and making more room for detainees in an effort to reduce to county’s court backlog and alleviate overcrowding at the Harris County Jail. During Commissioners Court on … Continue reading →

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Tell me you have no evidence of voter suppression without telling me you have no evidence of voter suppression

Posted on February 23, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Hilarious. Houston furniture magnate Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale has launched a website in hopes of gathering evidence of voter disenfranchisement in Harris County’s November 2022 election. The initiative follows the Gallery Furniture owner’s lawsuit filed last week accusing the Harris County Elections Administrator’s Office of refusing … Continue reading →

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Harris County votes to sue Hegar again

Posted on February 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Phony Defunding Claims II: Electric Boogaloo. Harris County Commissioners Court on Thursday voted to sue Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar‘s office in response to his comments accusing the county of defunding law enforcement. Hegar’s claim is a repeat of a fight that already played out between the … Continue reading →

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You can help Democrats being sued by election losers

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, sent to me by former HD133 candidate Sandra Moore: Below is a list of the judges and electeds being sued by the Republicans. These are nuisance suits but the Judges and Lina have had to hire attorneys … Continue reading →

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Here we go again with the “defunding” baloney

Posted on February 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I was all set to have a peaceful weekend when I came across a press release from Commissioner Ellis’ office on Friday afternoon about this. Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar on Friday accused Harris County of defunding law enforcement, rekindling a feud from … Continue reading →

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Even the Republicans know their election contests are losers

Posted on February 8, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

This Chron story is about Dan Patrick telling a group of local Republicans that the 2022 election should be re-done in Harris County, because he has nothing better to say or do with his time. His claims, which the story … Continue reading →

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Harris County restores some public safety funding

Posted on February 6, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

A bit of post-quorum-busting cleanup. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved nearly $10 million in additional funding for the sheriff and district attorney, three months after the Democratic majority said the unplanned adoption of a lower tax rate would … Continue reading →

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January 2023 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Posted on February 1, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: City of Houston January 2022 reports are here, July 2022 reports are here. I did not get around to doing the 30-day and 8-day reports from 2022, so what you see here in these reports is not contiguous for … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Inside and out of the city

Posted on January 17, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Most years we don’t get the data to differentiate between votes cast by residents of Houston and votes cast by Harris County non-Houston residents. There needs to be a citywide referendum of the ballot in order to get at this … Continue reading →

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Additional Losing Candidates File Election Contests in Harris County

Posted on January 7, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the subject of the following email I got in my inbox yesterday, and I can’t do any better than that for a post title. Additional Losing Candidates File Election Contests in Harris County Houston, Texas – Today, several losing Republican … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Hidalgo versus Mealer

Posted on December 29, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY Beto versus Abbott Beto versus the spread We’ve looked at the Governor’s race, in which Beto was the top Democratic performer. Now we’ll look at the next highest profile race, in which the result was a surprise to some … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Specifically, my precincts

Posted on December 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still waiting for the full landscape canvass data from Harris County – things are a bit up in the air right now because of the lawsuit filed by the local GOP, but I expect to get that data soon, … Continue reading →

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Whitmire launches his Mayoral campaign

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

And we’re off. State Sen. John Whitmire formally launched his campaign for Houston mayor Tuesday evening with a fundraiser at the ritzy Post Oak Hotel, attended by dozens of the city’s political luminaries — including the hotel’s billionaire owner, Tilman … Continue reading →

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Local AstroWorld task force gives its report

Posted on December 1, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Sounds mostly okay to me, but one person who knows a lot more about this stuff than I do is not impressed. A task force formed after the deadly Astroworld concert unveiled a clearer agreement Monday between Houston, Harris County, … Continue reading →

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What to expect when you’re expecting a (larger) Democratic majority

Posted on November 25, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Despite narrowly winning reelection against bruising campaigns by well-funded challengers, the Democratic majority on Commissioners Court has made clear it intends to continue its progressive remake of Harris County. Though neither County … Continue reading →

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A few words from Judge Hidalgo

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Plus a few words that she could have said but didn’t, which I will fill in. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, who narrowly won re-election last week over a strong push from GOP candidates and donors, outlined plans for her … Continue reading →

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DaSean Jones wins after provisional and cured mail ballots are counted

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure someone is going to throw a fit over this. The Harris County felony judge race for the 180th criminal state district court flipped Friday night in favor of incumbent DaSean Jones after new mail and provisional ballots were … Continue reading →

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Commissioner-elect Briones

Posted on November 18, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good story. Yes, Lesley Briones secured a victory that handed Democrats a stall-proof majority on Harris County Commissioners Court. And yes, she upset Republican Commissioner Jack Cagle in a precinct where he has won reelection every cycle since 2011, beating … Continue reading →

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State and county election result relationships, part 4: What happened in 2022

Posted on November 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Now that the final totals are in, let’s go back and do the same exercise in comparing overall results for statewide candidates to the results they got in Harris County, and then from there … Continue reading →

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In which Harris County Republicans look for moral victories

Posted on November 13, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Believe me, as a Texas Democrat and a longtime fan of the Rice Owls, I know what it looks like to search for moral victories in the face of defeat. It looks like this. Harris County Republicans on Tuesday posted … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo celebrates her win

Posted on November 11, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Winning is sweet. Victory laps are even sweeter. Fresh off a narrow reelection that was anything but assured, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Wednesday held a news conference to praise colleagues, thank supporters and call out some members of … Continue reading →

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Some opening thoughts on the 2022 election

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Done in the traditional bullet-point style. There may or may not be a part 2 to this, depending on the usual factors. – Obviously the overall result was disappointing. It was harder to see a Beto victory this year from … Continue reading →

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What AG “task force”?

Posted on November 10, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Who knows? The fact that Paxton – who helped lead the charge to overturn the 2020 national election results and promoted false claims that it was stolen – now planned to send people from his office to monitor Harris County … Continue reading →

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Omnibus 2022 election results post

Posted on November 9, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

It’s already midnight as I start writing this. I’m just going to do the highlights with the best information I have at this time. – Nationally, Dems are doing pretty well, all things considered. As of this writing, Dems had … Continue reading →

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Justice Department agrees to send election monitors

Posted on November 8, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Good. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday it will send election monitors to three Texas counties — Harris, Dallas and Waller — to keep an eye on local compliance with federal voting rights laws on Election Day. Monitors from … Continue reading →

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Here’s the result of the Republican Commissioners’ budget busting

Posted on November 4, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

The Republican minority on Commissioners Court made this happen. Harris County will eliminate more than 500 vacant jobs, delay some flood control projects, postpone a sheriff deputy cadet class, and cancel raises and cost of living adjustments for county law … Continue reading →

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