Tag Archives: Election 2012

Still no voter registration cards yet

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written about this before, but apparently there are some rumors running around regarding voter registration cards. Central Texas elections officials are warning against a rash of emails spreading false information about voter registration — an already confusing issue for … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Harris County GOP to harass Mayor Parker about gay marriage

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it. The Harris County Republican Party is calling on its members to tell the mayor to back off on same-sex marriage. In an email blast sent out Monday, Chairman Jared Woodfill asks recipients to call or email the mayor … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Sean Hubbard

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Sean Hubbard has been in the race for Senator longer than any other candidate, having started his campaign in January, 2011, right when Sen. Hutchison made her retirement official. Hubbard is easily the youngest candidate running for Senate at 30 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

It’s always easier to talk in the abstract

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The city of Houston has been papering over multimillion-dollar budget deficits for nine years by borrowing money, tapping its rainy day fund, selling buildings and just plain putting off bills to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

From the “How can we miss you if you won’t go away?” files

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Perry is doing his best to make us miss him. After almost six months away from the state to campaign for president, Rick Perry has barely returned to his Capitol office since arriving back in Austin, state records show. … Continue reading →

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

Pinterest

Posted on February 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Rachel brings up a topic that I admit had not occurred to me. Raise your hand if you’ve heard of Pinterest. Chances are, if you’re a woman, your hand is up right now. Chances are, if you’re a man, you … Continue reading →

Posted in Websurfing | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Santorum surges in January UT/Trib poll

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There will come a day when using the word “surge” to describe the now-frontrunning Republican Presidential candidate in Texas will get old. That day has not arrived yet. Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania has a commanding lead among Republican … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Interview with Paul Sadler

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have just a couple of Harris County Democratic races left to deal with, and I will return to them in two weeks. In the meantime, we now have a sorta-kinda primary date of May 29, but we still don’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Weekend redistricting update

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One more plaintiff has signed on to the Abbott map deal. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is now joining the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in saying that the state-backed Congressional District 35, a proposed new district that … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Weekend redistricting update

Calling for a special session

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It started with the Texas State Teachers Association. The Texas State Teachers Association today urged Gov. Rick Perry to call the Legislature into special session now to appropriate $2.5 billion from the Rainy Day Fund and head off another round … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Harry Potter and the Truly Awful Presidential Candidates

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You tell ’em, Daniel Radcliffe. [Daniel Radcliffe, star of the “Harry Potter” movies, says] that he has been “disgusted, amazed, stunned” by candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination, such as Rick Santorum or Michele Bachmann, who have been openly hostile to … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Harry Potter and the Truly Awful Presidential Candidates

Non-discrimination ballot referendum coming

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been waiting for this. Activists are preparing a petition to put a referendum on Houston’s November ballot, calling for a ban on discrimination against gays and permission for the city to grant health insurance benefits to the unmarried partners … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

State agrees to leave SD10 unchanged

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is big. Negotiators in San Antonio — trying to find common ground on state legislative and congressional districts so a primary date in Texas that can stick may finally be set — agreed to leave unchanged state Senate District … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Mike Anderson

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Challenging Pat Lykos in the GOP primary for District Attorney is another person who has spent years as a judge, Mike Anderson. Anderson started out in the DA’s office after completing law school and spent 17 years as a prosecutor, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The plaintiffs’ proposal for the Lege

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I know it will break your heart to hear that Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill is a little peeved at Greg Abbott and Steve Munisteri because he thinks the Abbott map makes Harris County too Democratic. What got Woodfill … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Ames Jones resigns from the Railroad Commission

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We have our answer about how confident she was in her defense of that lawsuit. Elizabeth Ames Jones resigned from the Texas Railroad Commission on Monday to devote herself full time to running for state Senate District 25, she said … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

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 →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on On primary challenges

They want to be relevant

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Republicans are looking longingly at the utter depraved insanity excitement of the apparently competitive GOP Presidential primary and hoping that they will still have a voice in picking the winner. Texas may be “the conservative epicenter of this country,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Interview with DA Pat Lykos

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For my interviews this week, I’m going to take a brief detour from the Democratic primaries to converse with the two candidates in the highest profile Republican primary in Harris County. That would be the District Attorney race, and we … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

That’s hitting them where they live

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Clever. Railroad Commission Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones vacated her office when she moved from Austin to run for the state Senate, and she should not be continuing to collect her monthly salary, a lawsuit filed [last week] alleges. In the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interim map hearing tomorrow

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Big day in San Antonio tomorrow. Groups involved in the state’s redistricting fight were ordered by a San Antonio federal court Friday to continue negotiations through the weekend over interim redistricting maps for the 2012 election. The court order comes … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Alan Rosen

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Concluding my series of Precinct 1 Constable candidate interviews is Alan Rosen. Rosen has worked in law enforcement for 21 years and is currently a Major and Commander of the Special Operation Bureau for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Interview with Quincy Whitaker

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing on with the Constable interviews in Precinct 1, today I present Quincy Whitaker. Whitaker is a native of Nacogdoches who has lived in Houston for 21 years, after being discharged from the army where he was a military policeman. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Quincy Whitaker

While we wait for another deal, if there is one

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Michael Li reminds us what comes next. The San Antonio court has scheduled a hearing on interim maps and the election schedule for next Wednesday, February 15, with briefs on a broad range of issues due this Friday. That gives … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Cindy Vara-Leija

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Next up for Precinct 1 Constable is Cindy Vara-Leija. She is the only one of the four candidates to have worked as a Constable deputy, spending 35 years in the Precinct 1 office before retiring last year. She started out … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

The numbers in the “deal”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As I start to type this I have no idea if the “deal” that was announced earlier today will be in effect or on the trash heap. I think it’s instructive to look at the numbers in the proposed maps … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

As always, the hole is bigger than we thought

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember how the Republicans in the Lege underfunded Medicaid by $4.5 billion, which they will have to tap the Rainy Day Fund in 2013 to deal with, in order to make the budget for this biennium appear to be “balanced”? … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on As always, the hole is bigger than we thought

Abbott proposes redistricting deal

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We may yet have a deadline deal on interim maps, though it is as yet unclear which plaintiffs have agreed to this deal and which have not. For now, you can see what the fuss is about here: Congress Map … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Interview with Grady Castleberry

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This week I will be covering Constable candidates. I am limiting myself to Constable Precinct 1, partly because that’s my Constable precinct and I need to figure out who I’m going to vote for, and partly because there are just … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Grady Castleberry

Roseanne!

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your newest Presidential wannabe. The Associated Press and TMZ are reporting that comedienne and self-proclaimed “domestic goddess” Roseanne Barr has filed documents to run for president. Apparently, she thinks that only a woman can solve this nation’s problems. Check … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Roseanne!

January finance reports: Congress and Senate

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The last batch of finance reports to come in are the federal reports, which for the most part don’t get posted till a full month after they’re due, which in this case was February 1. I’ve created a Google spreadsheet … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Gibson drops Senate bid

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’d been saving this Chron profile of Democratic Senate candidate Jason Gibson for when the FEC finally got around to posting finance reports from the fourth quarter of last year, since the story gave the indication he was going to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Gibson drops Senate bid

What is an investigation?

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when I said that the grand jury saga wasn’t over yet? After denying any investigation into the grand jurors who for six months investigated her office, Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos disclosed that she directed her chief investigator … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

DC court will take its time

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At least a month. A panel of federal judges told parties in a Texas redistricting case Wednesday not to expect a ruling within 30 days, throwing the date of the state’s political primaries further in doubt. A ruling by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments