Tag Archives: Ag Commissioner

Endorsement watch: Fitzsimons for Ag Commissioner

Posted on February 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron recommends Hugh Fitzsimons as the best choice for Ag Commissioner in the Democratic primary. A 59-year-old San Antonio native and third-generation rancher, Fitzsimons produces honey and raises grass-fed organic bison on his ranch in Dimmit County. One of … Continue reading →

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January finance reports for Democratic statewide candidates

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

With the exception of a stray missing report here and there, all of the January campaign finance reports for state office holders and seekers are up on the Texas Ethics Commission webpage. Here’s a brief look at the reports filed … Continue reading →

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Kinky and pot

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib talks to Kinky Friedman, making another run for Ag Commissioner as a Democrat, and his new signature issue. Friedman, 69 — a singer, humorist, novelist and hawker of tequila — has tried, frequently, to add “elected official” to … Continue reading →

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Parker 2018

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It seems pretty certain that a statewide candidacy is in Mayor Parker’s future. LSQ: What’s next for you after your term expires at the end of 2015? There’s been a lot of talk that you will run for statewide office … Continue reading →

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Final filings: We have a statewide Democrat

Posted on December 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, I didn’t see this coming. Longtime Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Judge Lawrence “Larry” Meyers announced Monday that he is leaving the Republican Party to run as a Democrat for the Texas Supreme Court. Meyers, of Fort Worth, filed … Continue reading →

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Why some polls are less accurate than others

Posted on October 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The local GOP had a rally Monday night that among other things featured a “straw poll” of the faithful to see who their preferences were in the upcoming primary election. Harris County Republicans worked to energize their base on Monday … Continue reading →

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Sam Houston officially announces for AG

Posted on October 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Houston attorney and fortuitously named Democrat Sam Houston announced Thursday his plans to make a statewide run at Attorney General, making him the first Democrat to officially toss his hat in the ring. Houston, who received the most votes … Continue reading →

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Kinky for Ag Commish, Sam Houston (maybe) for AG

Posted on October 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

One and a half candidate announcements to note from the weekend. First, from the Trib, is the quadrennial appearance of Kinky Friedman. Singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist and former Independent gubernatorial candidate Kinky Friedman will run for the Democratic nomination to … Continue reading →

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The Rick Perry bailout

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t think I’d ever heard about this before. Over his eight years as Texas’ [Agriculture Commissioner], [Rick] Perry oversaw a loan guarantee program with so many defaults that the state had to stop guaranteeing bank loans to startups in … Continue reading →

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Feral hogs: Still a problem

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve always been glad to live in the city because of stuff like this, but maybe it’s not enough any more. Arlington and Dallas are among cities along the Trinity River that also have reported problems with wild hogs that … Continue reading →

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Interview with Hank Gilbert

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the third and final Commissioner candidate, we have Hank Gilbert, who is running for Agriculture Commissioner. Gilbert ran in 2006 and was the top non-judicial vote-getter for the Democrats that year. Gilbert is a rancher from the Tyler area … Continue reading →

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UT/TT poll: Perry 39, White 33

Posted on September 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Another poll result. Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill White, by 6 percentage points — 39 percent to 33 percent — in the latest University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll. Libertarian Kathie Glass has the support of 5 … 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: 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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Was there no one in Texas that could tell us about our broadband situation?

Posted on June 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little late in picking this up, so bear with me. Last week, the Texas Department of Agriculture published a map detailing where broadband access exists and doesn’t exist in Texas. Democratic candidate for Ag Commish Hank Gilbert, after … Continue reading →

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Meet the statewides: Uribe and Gilbert

Posted on May 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing with the TDP’s “Meet the Statewides” production, here we have intro videos for two more candidates. First up is my favorite candidate for this cycle, Land Commissioner hopeful Hector Uribe. Next up is the Democratic candidate for Texas Agriculture … Continue reading →

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The Commissioners

Posted on March 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a look at how the candidates in the three Commissioner races did across Texas. – In the Democratic primary for Land Commissioner, Bill Burton won a majority in an astonishing 193 counties; of those, he scored better than 70% … Continue reading →

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Election results: Other statewides

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The big story in the other statewide primaries is the loss of Railroad Commission Chair Victor Carillo to a first-time candidate. David Porter, who moved to Giddings after building a business in Midland, ousted Victor Carrillo, the highest-ranking nonjudge Latino … Continue reading →

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Two Trib primary stories

Posted on February 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has done a series of good, informative stories on primary battles across the state, which I recommend you read. Two of their most recent are especially worthwhile: First is HD43, in which freshman Dem Rep. Tara Rios Ybarra … Continue reading →

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Eight days out reports

Posted on February 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The 8 days out reports aren’t available on the TEC website yet for the Governor’s races, so I can’t show you the details. The Trib did it the old-fashioned way, by viewing the actual paper forms, so go look at … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Land Commish and Ag Commish

Posted on February 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Two more endorsements from the Chron, both for the Democratic primary. First, for Ag Commish: In the Democratic primary contest to select an opponent to face Republican incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Todd Staples in November, the Chronicle recommends native Houstonian and … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Star-Telegram goes Kinky

Posted on February 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure if there’s something in the water up in the Metroplex, but the Star Telegram joins its sister paper to the east in endorsing Kinky Friedman for Ag Commish. Although Friedman has pockets full of one-liners at his … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Where I stand

Posted on February 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting begins in the primaries today. With that in mind, the following are Democratic candidates I will be voting for, or would be voting for if I lived in their district. I am only addressing contested races – you … Continue reading →

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Two more polls

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We are suddenly awash in hot polling goodness. First up, a new result from the University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll: Gov. Rick Perry is well ahead of U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and former Wharton County GOP chair Debra Medina, … Continue reading →

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Statesman on Hank versus Kinky

Posted on February 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty good overview of the Ag Commish primary race between Hank Gilbert and Kinky Friedman. The winner will face Republican incumbent Todd Staples, who heads the state Department of Agriculture, which has a biennial budget of $905 million, 666 full-time … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: DMN for Ratliff and Kinky

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Dallas Morning News has a couple of endorsements of interest, one good and one puzzling. In the good one, they endorse challenger Thomas Ratliff in his GOP primary race for the SBOE against wingnut Don McLeroy. McLeroy, a board … Continue reading →

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January finance reports for statewide candidates

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It almost seems a bit silly to look at the January campaign finance reports, since the 30 days out report is due in two weeks, but I’ve created a Google spreadsheet with summaries for the statewide candidates. A couple of … Continue reading →

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Kinky drops out of Governor’s race, will run for Ag Commish

Posted on December 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Musician and author Kinky Friedman will drop his Democratic bid for Texas governor and seek the agriculture commissioner post, instead. “This has never been about me; this has always been about what … Continue reading →

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Carole the chameleon and Kinky the commissioner

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This would be a little too weird. [Bill] White, expected to say Friday that he’s shifting his political sights from the U.S. Senate to the Democratic nod for governor, confirmed Thursday that [former Comptroller Carole Keeton] Strayhorn has tried to … Continue reading →

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White makes it official

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, between a dead car battery, a preschool that closed early, and a wife that had an unbreakable noon appointment, I am at home instead of at the Bill White for Governor launch. At least I have Elise Hu’s liveblog … Continue reading →

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Eat your veggies, kids

Posted on October 12, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Texas school children don’t have sufficiently healthy diets. I know, I can’t believe it, either. Only 8 percent of Texas teens are eating enough fruits and vegetables, a new report finds, despite efforts to stock school cafeterias with healthier foods. … Continue reading →

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Gilbert for Governor?

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Hank Gilbert, the 2006 Democratic candidate for Ag Commissioner who had been up till recently running for that office again, is now thinking about running for Governor. [A]ccording to multiple sources that have confirmed this to Burnt Orange Report, Hank Gilbert, … Continue reading →

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More names surfacing for statewide runs

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Greg, it appears that Smokey Joe Barton may want to party like it’s 1993. No one seems to be mentioning U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, R-Arlington, as a candidate to replace outgoing Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas. Turns out that … Continue reading →

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Jeff Weems

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been hearing plenty about the top of the ticket for Democrats in 2010, but there are still several slots to fill. One of them is the Railroad Commissioner seat held by Victor Carrillo. Via email to Carl Whitmarsh, here’s … Continue reading →

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