Tag Archives: Sylvia Garcia

How Greg Abbott enabled the payday lenders

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Lone Star Project kicks it off: Abbott’s Green Light to Predatory Lenders Key AG document provided payday lenders a loophole to bilk Texans Greg Abbott’s office issued the key document that has allowed payday lenders to operate outside of Texas usury … Continue reading →

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Payday lending ordinance passes

Posted on December 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, it wasn’t close. The Houston City Council overwhelmingly passed restrictions on payday and auto title lenders Wednesday, avoiding rumored parliamentary maneuvers to delay the vote and calling on the state Legislature to follow suit. The vote was … Continue reading →

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District I runoff overview

Posted on December 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s runoff and a rivalry, all in one. Saturday’s runoff in City Council District I, which covers downtown and the East End, pits the protégés of two pillars of Hispanic politics against each other in the sort of showdown political … Continue reading →

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It’s still Gene Green’s world

Posted on December 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this story about Rep. Gene Green. The affable, low-key former printer’s apprentice is a legend across his gritty, blue-collar domain along the 54-mile Houston Ship Channel, where he represents the most heavily Hispanic … Continue reading →

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Bob Stein on the District I runoff

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll cut to the chase and just excerpt the conclusion of Rice poli sci prof Bob Stein’s analysis of the District I runoff between Graci Garces and Robert Gallegos. The runoff election in District I should be highly competitive with … Continue reading →

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Sen. Garcia joins the fight in Pasadena

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good. State Sen. Sylvia Garcia on Tuesday joined forces with four Pasadena council members and a community organizing group to mount a campaign against a new redistricting plan they say is designed to dilute the voting strength of Pasadena’s growing … Continue reading →

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Pasadena proceeds with its needless redistricting

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. Except for one agenda item which drew a large crowd, many public speakers, an unusually long time of councilmember’s explanations and a 5-4 vote, Tuesday’s (August 20) Pasadena City Council meeting was “Regular.” Their … Continue reading →

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Unfair pay

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Patricia Kilday Hart uncovers some skulduggery in one of Rick Perry’s vetoes. Gov. Rick Perry vetoed a bill that would have let victims of wage discrimination sue in state court after receiving letters against the measure from the Texas Retailers … Continue reading →

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Senate approves redistricting bills

Posted on June 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

As pro forma as they wanna be. The Texas Senate voted to ratify court-drawn political maps that were used for legislative and congressional races in 2012. The bills now head to the House. In party-line votes, Senators voted 16-11 to … Continue reading →

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The redistricting road show is coming

Posted on June 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The House Redistricting Committee is taking it on the road. Rep. Drew Darby, chairman of the House Select Committee on Redistricting, said at a hearing Saturday that he’s decided to hold informational sessions in three of the state’s largest cities … Continue reading →

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At the Battleground Texas kickoff meeting

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I attended the Battleground Texas kickoff meeting for Houston on Saturday. Houston was one of the last stops on their statewide introduction tour. I estimated about 300 people in attendance; BGTX gives it as 350, which is probably the more … Continue reading →

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Senate passes its budget

Posted on March 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let the damning with faint praise for this jerry-rigged excuse for not adequately funding our needs yet not eviscerating them as badly as last time begin. The Texas Senate approved a $195.5 billion two-year budget Wednesday, with Democratic state Sens. … Continue reading →

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An opponent for the Controller

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Big Jolly reports on a new candidate. There are two powerful elected positions in the City of Houston: Mayor and City Controller. So naturally I was curious when I heard that someone was going to challenge the incumbent Controller Ronald … Continue reading →

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Sen. Sylvia Garcia

Posted on March 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Sylvia Garcia has been sworn in to succeed the late Mario Gallegos in SD06. Sen. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, took her place in the Texas Senate chamber Monday to succeed the late Mario Gallegos. “We have 31 members. We are complete,” … Continue reading →

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Sen.-elect Garcia ready to get going

Posted on March 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The only thing holding Sen.-elect Sylvia Garcia back at this point is the bureaucracy. “Sylvia’s well poised to have an impact in the senate. For one thing, Senate districts are too big to ignore,” [Democratic political consultant Harold] Cook said. … Continue reading →

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Sylvia Garcia wins SD06 runoff

Posted on March 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Sen.-elect Sylvia Garcia. Former Harris County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia beat State Rep. Carol Alvarado in the runoff race for the Senate District 6 seat, according to preliminary results. Garcia earned 53 percent of the vote, compared to Alvarado’s 47 … Continue reading →

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Today is Runoff Day in SD06

Posted on March 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Harris County’s Chief Election Official Stan Stanart reminds eligible voters in State Senate District 6 that the last day to vote in the Special Runoff Election is Saturday, March 2, 2013. Polls will be open from 7 … Continue reading →

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Early voting ends in SD06

Posted on February 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting ended in the SD06 runoff yesterday. As of when I went to bed, the final daily totals had not been sent out – the daily totals as of Monday, which are here, hit my inbox at 9:30 AM … Continue reading →

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Day One runoff EV totals

Posted on February 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s your Day One runoff EV report for the SD06 election. For comparison purposes, here’s the final report from the first round. This isn’t apples to apples, of course, because there were 12 EV days in Round 1 whereas there … Continue reading →

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Early voting starts today for SD06 runoff

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s runoff time for SD06. Early voting begins today and runs through Tuesday, February 26. Here are the early voting locations, which are the same as they were for the first round: Location Address 1 Harris County Administration Building 1001 … Continue reading →

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We have a runoff date

Posted on February 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s earlier than I thought it would be. Gov. Rick Perry on Friday set a March 2 special runoff election to fill the open seat created by the death of the late state Sen. Mario Gallegos. The race, between State … Continue reading →

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It’s Sylvia versus Carol in the runoff

Posted on January 27, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty much as expected. Here’s the vote totals from the County Clerk: Candidate Votes Pct ========================= Garcia 7,416 45.37 Alvarado 6,803 41.62 Bray 1,014 6.20 Olmos 461 2.82 Martinez 403 2.47 Reyes 125 0.76 Selva 73 0.45 Delgado 52 0.32 … Continue reading →

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Election Day in SD06

Posted on January 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s highly unlikely that this will settle anything, but today is Election Day in SD06. If you live in SD06 and have waited till today to cast your ballot, you can find your polling place here or here. I’ve already … Continue reading →

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Final SD06 early voting turnout

Posted on January 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the final daily record of early voting in SD06. Tuesday was the strongest day as expected, with a bit over 1,000 ballots being cast, but that just got the total to 8,245. With four more days for mail ballots … Continue reading →

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Last day of early voting in SD06 today

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the last day for early voting in the SD06 special election. Voting has not been terribly brisk so far. Through Monday there have been 7,178 total votes cast. You can see the daily figures here. Monday was a … Continue reading →

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January reports for SD06 candidates

Posted on January 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Stace beat me to the punch in reporting on the January campaign finance reports for SD06, so I’ll have to one up him by being more obsessive thorough in bringing the numbers. So here we go. Seven of the eight … Continue reading →

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Three days of early voting in SD06

Posted on January 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not sure that the Chron’s classification of early voting so far in SD06 is accurate, but I’m not sure how I myself would characterize it since we have so few precedents to draw on. Three days into early voting, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Why not both?

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I should have seen this coming. [Sen. Mario] Gallegos’ passing opened the Senate District 6 seat after the deceased man polled 70 percent in the November general election against a Republican opponent. No fewer than eight candidates are seeking to … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of SD06

Posted on January 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The day before early voting begins in the SD06 special election (which is today), the Chron previews the race. It has a lot of stuff we already know, and it mostly focuses on the two frontrunners, Sylvia Garcia and Rep. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sylvia Garcia

Posted on January 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The special election in SD06 to succeed the late Sen. Mario Gallegos is Saturday, January 26, and early voting for this election begins Wednesday, January 9. There are two serious candidates in this race, State Rep. Carol Alvarado and former … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: GLBT Caucus for Sylvia

Posted on January 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Caucus membership met Wednesday evening to consider endorsement for the vacancy in Senate District 6 created by the passing of Senator Mario Gallegos. Members had to make a very difficult decision between two amazingly qualified and … Continue reading →

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There are eight candidates who have filed for SD06

Posted on December 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday I made an inquiry with the Elections division of the Secretary of State’s office, to ask how many candidates had filed for the special election in SD06. They kindly forwarded me a scan of all eight candidate applications, which … Continue reading →

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So who’s in for the SD06 special election?

Posted on December 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As noted, yesterday was the official filing deadline for the SD06 special election. I didn’t have the chance to call the Secretary of State’s office to ask what filings they had received, and as of last night I had not … Continue reading →

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Trib overview of SD06 special election

Posted on December 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For all the delays in getting this called, the special election in SD06 is one month from today. The Trib takes a look. State Rep. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, and Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat and former Harris County commissioner, are vying … Continue reading →

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