Tag Archives: Election 2002

Colyandro takes a plea

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this on Friday. It took five minutes for Capitol figure John Colyandro to end a decade-long saga that swept his boss, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, out of Congress and politics altogether. Colyandro, the last individual with … Continue reading →

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DeLay argues his case before the appeals court panel

Posted on October 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an old, familiar argument. Former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay should not go to prison on money-laundering charges because the 2002 campaign transaction involved a $190,000 check and not cash, his lawyer argued before the Third Court of … Continue reading →

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Doesn’t he know that Valjean was French?

Posted on September 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Poor, pitiful Tom DeLay. DeLay, and his attorney, Brian Wice, are hoping to get his convictions overturned. On Oct. 10, they will finally get a chance to make their case to the 3rd Court of Appeals, arguing the once-powerful Republican … Continue reading →

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A look at HD136

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman takes a look at the new State Rep. district in Williamson County. All county and state elected officeholders from Williamson County are Republicans. The party has long dominated the area. But Democrats are eyeing the new district as … Continue reading →

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More DeLay trial news

Posted on August 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some other action on the Tom DeLay front this week. The Tom DeLay legal marathon inched forward Wednesday on two separate fronts. John Colyandro, a DeLay co-defendant who has been under investigation since 2003, found out his trial won’t start … Continue reading →

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Former DeLay aide Ellis pleads guilty

Posted on June 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This was out of the blue. Tom DeLay’s chief political aide, Jim Ellis, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony charge of making an illegal campaign contribution during the 2002 election. Ellis, who headed DeLay’s Americans for a Republican Majority political … Continue reading →

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On primary challenges

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I bookmarked this Statesman story about State Sen. Jeff Wentworth and the primary challenge he faces back when it ran, not because I was terribly interested in that particular race (though some elements of it are quite entertaining) but mostly … Continue reading →

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When is a filing deadline not a filing deadline?

Posted on December 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Answer: When there will be another filing period after the filing deadline, as will be the case in Texas, according to the Secretary of State. “Based on the federal court’s order handed down December 16, candidates will be permitted to … Continue reading →

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Two more points about redistricting

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

First, go read what Greg has to say about the San Antonio federal court’s logic in drawing the districts that it did. I tried to get at some of this in this post, but he digs in and says it … Continue reading →

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“Checks aren’t cash” back before 3rd Court of Appeals

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes when you least expect it, Tom DeLay pops up in the news. It would defy common sense to reverse the three-year prison sentence of former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay because his money-laundering case involved a check instead … Continue reading →

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Is there or isn’t there a Latino opportunity precinct in the new Commissioners Court map?

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Many Latinos say No. “This map is an insult to the Latino community,” State Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, said at a public hearing Wednesday night. “The proposed map is full of the Christmas turkey.” Gallegos called on Commissioner El Franco … Continue reading →

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Patterson to run for Lite Guv

Posted on July 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

With Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst running for the Senate, everyone else in state government that’s been waiting for a chance to move up is undoubtedly making plans to do so. At the front of the line is Lanc Commissioner Jerry … Continue reading →

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On challenging Ron Paul in CD14

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Jason Stanford has a question. So why aren’t we targeting Ron Paul again? The Texas legislature drew him the reapportionment equivalent of a target on his back. They took away some of his red meat territory and gave him Galveston … Continue reading →

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New map, new opportunities: Harris County

Posted on May 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For our last stop on this tour we look at Harris County, which provided several pickup opportunities for Democrats last decade. How will they fare this time around? Republicans started the last decade with a 14-11 advantage – they intended … Continue reading →

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More on Judge Priest recusing himself

Posted on March 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We now have a reason for Judge Pat Priest recusing himself in the upcoming trial of DeLay associates Jim Ellis and John Colyandro. Senior District Judge Pat Priest , who sentenced DeLay to three years in prison for laundering corporate … Continue reading →

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Judge Priest recuses himself in DeLay associates’ trial

Posted on March 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t see this coming. Two associates of former U.S House Majority leader Tom DeLay will get a new judge. State District Judge Pat Priest of San Antonio, who oversaw the month-long trial of DeLay last fall, surprisingly recused himself this … Continue reading →

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The Hammer goes to the slammer

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Judge Pat Priest sentenced Tom DeLay to three years in prison. The three-year sentence was on the charge of conspiring to launder corporate money into political donations during the 2002 elections. On the charge of money laundering, DeLay was … Continue reading →

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Rats of a feather

Posted on January 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

My schadenfreude-o-meter goes to 11. As convicted felon Tom DeLay prepares to find out Monday whether he will go to jail or get probation, his lawyer complained Friday that Travis County prosecutors offered immunity for testimony from two former DeLay … Continue reading →

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Some Garcia 2002 numbers

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When I did an analysis of County Commissioner Precinct 2 for this year’s election, I said that I couldn’t include a comparison from 2002 because I didn’t have precinct-level data for that year. I got an email the other day … Continue reading →

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DeLay convicted

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just in time for the holiday. Tom DeLay, the former U.S. House majority leader whose name became synonymous with the Republicans’ controversial rise to power in the Texas House, was found guilty today of laundering money in connection with the … Continue reading →

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Still no verdict in the DeLay trial

Posted on November 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Two days of deliberation, lots of questions being asked, but still no decision from the DeLay jury. They’ll try again today, and I’ll be a little surprised if they strike out again. Having said that, a hung jury is certainly … Continue reading →

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DeLay jury deliberating

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No verdict yet, and the jury has been sent home for the night. Prosecutors and the defense made closing statements to the jury about whether a $190,000 corporate money swap between DeLay’s Texas committee and the Republican National Committee actually … Continue reading →

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As goes Harris, so goes CC2

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just as HD133 was a microcosm of Harris County in 2008, Sylvia Garcia’s County Commissioner precinct was a miniature version of the county as a whole in 2010. Take a look at how Democratic candidates did in County Commissioner Precinct … Continue reading →

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DeLay trial: Defense rests, summaries to begin

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Thursday was a wrap, at least as far as evidence and testimony go in the Tom DeLay trial. This much both sides seemed to agree on: DeLay’s chief political aide, Jim Ellis, negotiated a deal with the Republican National Committee … Continue reading →

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DeLay trial: The prosecution rests

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The prosecution has rested its case in the money laundering trial of Tom DeLay. Visiting Judge Pat Priest today denied former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s motions for a directed verdict of innocent in the political money laundering trial against … Continue reading →

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Thibaut versus Murphy, third time around

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the story of HD133, which has now been won twice by Jim Murphy and once by Kristi Thibaut, is one of turnout. With sufficient turnout in the Democratic part of the district – that is, the precincts … Continue reading →

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On Latino turnout

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how to make more Latinos vote. But I do know these things: 1. Whatever it is that Texas Democrats have been doing, assuming there is something that qualifies as some kind of action in this area, it … Continue reading →

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How many votes did we think we’d need?

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already established that this election saw an historically high level of turnout in the county, and an historically high level of vote support for Republican candidates. It’s clear that Republican candidates rode a wave of voters who don’t normally … Continue reading →

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From the “Grant me the grace to accept the things I cannot change” department

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

What’s that old saying? “Could be worse. Could be raining.” As Democrats around the country girded for a midterm GOP tsunami, Bill White and his down-ballot Democratic cohorts spent the weekend tacking up political plywood and looking for signs, any … Continue reading →

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Final early vote wrapup

Posted on October 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As was the case in 2008, we saw record levels of early voting this year in Harris County. As polls closed Friday before Tuesday’s general election, as many as 450,000 people are expected to have cast their ballots early or … Continue reading →

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“The cul-de-sac battleground”

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer has an interesting look at three State House races in suburban areas that were once Republican strongholds but have now become battlegrounds. Two of them are Democratic-held – HDs 52 and 133 – and one (HD105) is still … Continue reading →

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Early voting: The Democratic voters start to show up

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After one full week of early voting, the proportion of votes coming from Republican State Rep districts was tilted about two percentage points more towards the GOP than it was in 2006. I’ve argued that this is nothing to be … Continue reading →

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For those who are just tuning in to the whole Tom DeLay saga

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman has a useful overview of How We Got Here in the DeLay money laundering case, which goes to trial today. I love the fact that it all began with a little hubris. It was November 2002, just days … Continue reading →

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Once again, I’ll take the under

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a bizarre new UT/Texas Trib poll that’s so odd I can’t even come up with a good introduction for it, so I’m just going to jump straight to the weirdness: Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill … Continue reading →

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