Tag Archives: Election 2010

ReNew Houston officially makes the ballot

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From their press release: The ReNew Houston Campaign is pleased to announce it has met state requirements for qualified signatures from registered Houston voters to call for a charter amendment to create a dedicated funding source to improve and renew … Continue reading →

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Houston Votes kickoff party

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Votes, which is well on its way towards its goal of registering 100,000 new voters in Harris County for this election, is having a party and you’re invited. RSVP here. Drink specials, no cover, and cool people. Come out … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Ted Ankrum

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Not a whole lot of Congressional action in Harris County this year, as no Democrat ran in CDs 02, 07, and arguably 22. The one race to watch is in CD10, where Ted Ankrum takes another crack at Rep. Mike … Continue reading →

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Gambling industry support

Posted on August 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN has an interesting story about gambling industry players making large campaign finance contributions, but there’s some context missing. A review by The Dallas Morning News of contributions since last July shows horse track interests have poured more than … Continue reading →

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Interview with Judy Jennings

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Completing our tour of the SBOE candidates, I bring you an interview with Judy Jennings, who is running for the open District 10 seat that the uber wingnut Cynthia Dunbar has vacated. Jennings has a PhD in educational psychology and … Continue reading →

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The Trib’s electoral three-parter

Posted on July 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In case you haven’t seen it, I recommend the Trib‘s three-part series on the state of electoral politics in Texas, which was done in conjunction with the El Paso Times: The Map: Can A Democrat Win? The Map: The Giant … Continue reading →

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Dirty deals, done dirt cheap

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So I missed this DMN story from the weekend about Rick Perry’s excellent fortune in the real estate market. Three years after Gov. Rick Perry’s biggest real estate score, questions persist about whether the governor benefited from favoritism, backroom dealing … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Where’s Birdwell?

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib re-raises the question of the newest Senator’s eligibility to serve. The newest member of the Texas Senate, Brian Douglas Birdwell, voted in the November 2004 presidential election twice, choosing between George W. Bush and John Kerry in Tarrant … Continue reading →

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If it’s not your car, why did you get mileage reimbursements on it?

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Back to Basics PAC has more questions about “Linda Harper-Benz”. Remember our prior post on the scandal about how State Rep. Linda Harper-Brown was caught driving a brand-new 2010 Mercedes-Benz ME550 Sedan that was given to her by a state … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interview with Rebecca Bell-Metereau

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Next up is Rebecca Bell-Metereau, who is running for SBOE in District 5, which also touches San Antonio and goes north into the Hill Country. Bell-Metereau is also a professor of English, at Texas State University. She is running against … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: SBOE

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Really only two races of interest here, SBOE 5 and SBOE 10. Let’s take a look. http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/php/summary.php?rn=458837&form=COH Totals From Report For Rebecca L. Bell-Metereau Filed on: July 15 2010 Covering the Period February 21, 2010 Through June 30, 2010 Total … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

In case you need a reminder to vote this November

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What we have to look forward to in Austin next year if nothing changes. Legislators next year will face severe budget problems, divisive redistricting, school funding troubles and reviews of major state agencies, including the Texas Commission of Environmental Quality … Continue reading →

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Interview with Michael Soto

Posted on July 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s time to start up the interview machine again, as election season will be on us before you know it. (Fun fact: We’re less than 90 days out from the start of early voting.) I’ve got a trio of SBOE … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fort Bend Democratic Party HQ grand opening

Posted on July 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Looking for something to do tomorrow afternoon? Come out to Fort Bend and celebrate the grand opening of their first ever Democratic Party headquarters. This ain’t Tom DeLay country any more. The FBC has been trending steadily Democratic this decade. … Continue reading →

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John Bradley is a political hack: Film at 11

Posted on July 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

John Bradley, the District Attorney for Williamson County and the hand-picked-by-Rick-Perry Chair of the Forensic Science Commission, continues to be the single biggest impediment to the Commission doing the job it was specifically created to do. In an op-ed on … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Meet the Mostyns

Posted on July 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I have two things to say about this. Attorney Steve Mostyn said Tuesday he and his wife, Amber Anderson, are committed to putting a “substantial” amount of money that likely will exceed $3 million into ending hard-right Republican politics in … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: Harris County State Reps

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve collected fundraising reports for Harris County State Rep races of interest; they’re all beneath the fold. Here are the highlights: – In the rubber match between State Rep. Kristi Thibaut in HD133 and former State Rep. Jim Murphy, Thibaut … Continue reading →

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More on the broadband map of Texas

Posted on July 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Shouldn’t a map that purports to document broadband availability in Texas do a better job than this of actually including broadband providers? At an unveiling last month, the Texas Department of Agriculture touted its map of broadband Internet availability as … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: Harris County

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The top story for the Harris County money race is that County Judge Ed Emmett has a big lead in financial resources over challenger Gordon Quan. Gordon Quan said he knew from the start that challenging County Judge Ed Emmett … Continue reading →

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Opposition to Renew Houston

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last Tuesday, while I was out of town, Council Member Stephen Costello did a presentation about Renew Houston at HCDP headquarters. (CM Sue Lovell was supposed to be with him but was unable to make it because a committee meeting … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Comparing the reports

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just out of curiosity, I thought I’d see how Bill White did with his fundraising compared to the last two Democratic candidates for Governor. Here’s what it looks like: Bill White Totals From Report For William H. White Filed on: … Continue reading →

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Back to Basics PAC back on the air

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the “Stuff That Happened While I Had Put Down The Internet” department, here’s an update on the Back to Basics PAC, which produced and ran a great TV ad about Rick Perry’s budget hypocrisy. Since we’ve released the ad … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: Other statewides

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Bill White kicked butt in the fundraising department, but how did the other statewide candidates do? Not nearly as good, unfortunately. Here’s a look: http://www.ethics.state.tx.us/php/summary.php?rn=458383&form=COH Totals From Report For Linda Chavez-Thompson Filed on: July 15 2010 Covering the Period February … Continue reading →

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Perry settles lawsuit with Bell

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The settlement in the lawsuit by Chris Bell against the Rick Perry campaign over allegations of illegal campaign contributions to Perry by the Republican Governors Association (RGA) is now official. Gov. Rick Perry’s campaign paid $426,000 to former Democratic challenger … Continue reading →

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Just so we’re clear

Posted on July 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

While I was out in the wilds of New York, I got word from Harold Cook that a fellow named Daniel Melder had criticized Land Commissioner candidate for his most recent press release, the one about the guy in Indiana … Continue reading →

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Term limits commission makes its recommendation

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Term Limits Commission finished its work on Monday and voted on a proposal that will be considered by Council. Houston’s Term Limits Review Commission voted Monday night to recommend changing the existing limits from three 2-year terms to two … Continue reading →

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White reports $9 million on hand

Posted on July 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Not too shabby. Democrat Bill White hit the mid-year mark with more than $9 million in the bank for his November challenge to Gov. Rick Perry. White raised $7.4 million since his last report, in February, bringing to $16.4 million … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Rick and Bill at the Farm Bureau

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The gubernatorial campaign, in a nutshell. Gov. Rick Perry delivered a patriotic speech to the Texas Farm Bureau on Thursday, but gave short shrift to the property rights issue that caused a split between him and one of the state’s … Continue reading →

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Join Senator Kirk Watson & Bill White in Online Video Town Hall, Monday July 12

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Senator Kirk Watson will host an online video town hall with Bill White on Monday, July 12th at 5:30pm. You can join the conversation yourself, submit questions, and enjoy a high-tech, low-key campaign chat with two of Texas’ most … Continue reading →

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Renew Houston submits petitions

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Renew Houston has submitted signatures to get its drainage improvement proposition on the ballot this November. Renew Houston, a group of influential local engineers, has collected more than 30,000 signatures in a push to seek voter approval for an $8 … Continue reading →

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Beware the false moderates

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Marsha Farney, the Republican running to succeed super wingnut Cynthia Dunbar in SBOE 10, was considered the more moderate candidate in the GOP primary runoff for that nomination. When compared to Dunbar, or to her hand-picked successor, Brian Russell, Farney … Continue reading →

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Dems drop effort to remove Greens from the ballot

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After the initial Supreme Court ruling, it was probably a long shot. The Texas Democratic Party today cleared the way for Green Party candidates to remain on the ballot this year by dropping its state Supreme Court challenge to the … Continue reading →

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On we go with the red light camera debate

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN has a story about the ongoing red light camera debate around the state. There’s a lot of familiar stuff in there, but this bit caught my eye: While camera critics dispute the safety data, the money generated has … Continue reading →

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Being Hector Uribe

Posted on July 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There are days when I truly love being a political blogger, because they give me a reason to take note of stuff like this. Somewhere in Indiana, a man needs a date. And he’s using Democratic land commissioner candidate Hector … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2010 | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments