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January 2024 campaign finance reports – Congress

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY:
State offices
Harris County offices
Senate

As noted, we’re still doing the Congressional reports separately until we winnow down the fields. The October 2023 reports are here, the July reports for both Congress and Senate are here, and the April reports for both are here.

Sandeep Srivastava – CD03
John Love – CD06
Lizzie Fletcher – CD07
Pervez Agwan – CD07
Michelle Vallejo – CD15
Sheila Jackson Lee – CD18
Amanda Edwards – CD18
Isaiah Martin – CD18
Francine Ly – CD24
Sam Eppler – CD24
Julie Johnson – CD32
Brian Williams – CD32
Alex Cornwallis – CD32
Justin Moore – CD32
Callie Butcher – CD32
Raja Chaudhry – CD32
Melissa McDonough – CD38
Gion Thomas – CD38


Dist  Name             Raised      Spent    Loans    On Hand
============================================================
03    Srivastava      283,425    204,406  543,233     82,611
06    Love             30,570     15,175        0     16,048
07    Fletcher      1,289,340    606,949        0  2,004,097
07    Agwan         1,151,062  1,052,034        0     99,027
15    Vallejo         520,325    305,781  100,000    226,261
18    Jackson Lee      77,163    224,990        0    223,483
18    Edwards       1,308,195    452,419        0    855,776
18    Martin          375,006    144,934        0    230,072
24    Ly               61,557     60,079    7,653        811
24    Eppler          274,499    203,996        0     70,502
32    Johnson       1,066,084    492,626        0    573,458 
32    Williams        982,441    439,010        0    543,430
32    Cornwallis      106,097     36,599  104,350     71,131
32    Moore           157,720    149,044   17,035      8,675
32    Butcher         121,477    120,336   46,182      1,190
32    Chaudhry              0     39,148  305,350    266,201
38    McDonough        74,553     71,546   61,974      4,787
38    Thomas            9,828      8,666   10,927      1,162

Sandeep Srivastava has less money raised on this report than he did in October. I think that may be because some of what had been actually loan money is now not being counted as having been raised, but I’m just guessing. It’s either that or something weird is going on. Also, the issue of how loan money is accounted for will come up again later.

Pervez Agwan has raised a ton of money and has been spending it nearly as quickly. I can’t say that spending has been visible to me other than in the form of campaign signs, mostly on non-residential properties, but I don’t live in CD07. Per Daily Kos, Rep. Fletcher has a new ad out, but it too has not been visible to me. Anyone in CD07, what are you seeing from these campaigns?

Michelle Vallejo has been added to the DCCC Red to Blue campaign, so expect to see her fundraising totals go up. She has an opponent in her primary who has reported raising no money so far.

On the one hand, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee has a shockingly small amount of money raised so far – I mean, she’s an incumbent in a highly contested primary. On the other hand, she only declared her candidacy for re-election on December 10, so she’s had just three weeks at Christmastime to raise any money. It’s fair to say she has enough name ID to not sweat this too much. I do live in CD18 and I’m seeing a handful of Amanda Edwards yard signs in my neighborhood, but my neighborhood is not at all typical for CD18. Take that for what it’s worth. Note that Isaiah Martin did raise and spend some money before he dropped out and endorsed SJL. There is a third candidate in this race, who has also not reported raising any money.

I’m not following Rep. Henry Cuellar anymore, since he didn’t draw a primary opponent and I don’t expect him to be seriously challenged. Rep. Vicente Gonzalez has a serious Republican challenger, the same person who had won the special election for CD34 in 2022, but he beat her easily enough in November 2022 and I doubt this will be an easier cycle for her, especially as a non-incumbent. If anything changes in these races I’ll add them back in, but don’t count on it.

State Rep. Rhetta Bowers dropped out of CD32 to run for re-election in the Lege. Raja Chaudhry is a new entrant, and his report showed that $305,350 as having been raised, but a closer look showed it was actually all loan. Because that was easy enough to separate out I did so, but several candidates who show loans on their reports, including both candidates in CD38, seem to count loan totals towards their amount raised. I made that change in Chaudhry’s case because it was so easy to do, but note that going forward for candidates who also report significant loan totals.

As I did in 2018, I may add in other races if their candidates appear to be generating some interest. For now, this is what we have.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Alex Cornwallis, Amanda Edwards, Brian Williams, Callie Butcher, campaign finance reports, CD03, CD06, CD07, CD15, CD18, CD24, CD28, CD32, CD38, Congress, Democratic primary, Election 2022, Election 2024, Francine Ly, fundraising, Gion Thomas, Henry Cuellar, Isaiah Martin, John Love, Julie Johnson, Justin Moore, Lizzie FLetcher, Melissa McDonough, Michelle Vallejo, Pervez Agwan, Raja Chaudhry, Rhetta Bowers, Sam Eppler, Sandeep Srivastava, Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas | 5 Comments

Don’t expect much from that Uvalde grand jury

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, I wasn’t, but in case you were, don’t.

After more than a year of pressure to file criminal charges against some of the Texas law enforcement officers responsible for the botched response to the Robb Elementary School shooting, local prosecutor Christina Mitchell last month convened a grand jury to investigate.

But even after that monthslong review is complete, law enforcement officers may not face criminal charges, legal experts say. That’s because police officers are almost never criminally prosecuted — and charges for failing to act are even more rare.

Grand jury proceedings in Texas are kept secret and it’s not typically known how cases are presented to jurors who decide whether there’s enough evidence to formally charge someone with a crime or proceed to a trial.

It’s unclear whether Uvalde’s District Attorney plans to present evidence to grand jurors that some victims would have survived had medical responders started treatment earlier. Hundreds of officers who responded to the shooting waited 77 minutes to breach the classrooms, where a gunman used an AR-15 rifle to indiscriminately shoot students and teachers in two adjoining fourth-grade classrooms. Nineteen students and two teachers died in the May 24, 2022 shooting.

The Texas Rangers in August 2022 asked Dr. Mark Escott, medical director for Texas Department of Public Safety and chief medical officer for the city of Austin, to look into the injuries of the victims and determine whether any victims could have survived. Four of the victims are known to have had heartbeats when they were rescued from the classrooms.

But one year later, Mitchell’s office told Escott it was “moving in a different direction” and no longer wanted the analysis to be performed.

“It’s unclear to me why they would not want an analysis such as this done,” Escott said.

Escott said he was never given access to the autopsy reports or hospital and EMS records. Based on the limited records he did review, he believes at least one individual may have survived had police officers intervened earlier.

[…]

Even though police training instructs officers to confront a shooter, hundreds of officers responding to Robb Elementary waited over an hour to confront the gunman

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently held that officers do not have a constitutional “duty to protect,” even if they have been trained to do so. And even if the Uvalde grand jury decides to indict officers, prosecutors would then have the difficult burden of proving beyond a reasonable doubt that the officers were under a specific legal duty to act and that in failing to act they caused a specific harm.

“There’s a big difference between what is morally right and what the law actually requires,” said Seth Stoughton, a professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law and former police officer. “I’d be very surprised if there was a straightforward path to criminal prosecution.”

See here for some background. As I said back then, charging a couple of law enforcement officers, even the likes of Pete Arredondo, doesn’t get at any root causes here. One can plausibly argue that holding these people legally accountable may have the effect of ensuring that the next batch of cops who encounter an active shooter situation will do a better job of following accepted best practices, and that may in turn lead to a less bad outcome. But honestly, until we start to do something to address why there are so many mass shootings in the first place, we’re not getting anywhere.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center, Christina Busbee, DPS, gun control, guns, Justice Department, lawsuit, Merrick Garland, National Association of School Resource Officers, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services, Pete Arredondo, schools, Texas, Uvalde | Comments Off

Judge Aguilar suspended

Posted on February 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

As expected.

A judge charged in January after a domestic violence allegation by his girlfriend has been suspended from the bench with pay, officials said.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct signed a suspension order Wednesday against 228th District Court Judge Frank Aguilar about two weeks after Galveston County prosecutors charged him with misdemeanor assault. He is accused of assaulting his girlfriend at his Galveston property.

Aguilar’s defense attorney, Mark Diaz, pointed to a recent affidavit that the girlfriend filed asking that prosecutors dismiss the charge, saying that the events of Dec. 31 were not as described. She wrote that she felt coerced.

“Frank Aguilar never touch me or hit me,” she wrote in a recent filing. “I fell from stairs inside house.”

She said she had taken sleep medication that had an adverse effect from alcohol and caused her to walk in her sleep and fall down the stairs.
In a separate affidavit, the woman said she would not testify in his case.

Aguilar was acquitted of another domestic violence allegation years earlier. The 2010 incident involved a family member.

The judicial suspension could be lifted if prosecutors were to dismiss the charge against Aguilar or if a jury decided to acquit him of the offense.

In the wake of the charge, Harris County prosecutors filed several recusal requests asking that Aguilar step down from cases involving similar allegations. He declined and referred the matter to the Eleventh Administrative Judicial Region of Texas.

Judge Susan Brown, who oversees the region, had not ruled on the recusal requests but is now expected to tap a visiting jurist to replace Aguilar in the wake of his suspension.

See here for the background. We’ll have to see how this plays out. I know it’s not uncommon for victims of domestic assault to later recant and deny the allegations they had initially made. I also know that sometimes the police get this wrong. I don’t know what happened here, and all we’ll have to go by is the ultimate outcome of the case. Judge Aguilar will be on the ballot again in 2026, if he chooses to run.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged domestic violence, Frank Aguilar, Harris County, State Commission on Judicial Conduct, Texas | Comments Off

January 2024 campaign finance reports – Senate

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY:
State offices
Harris County offices

The field is set, with one more person than we had in October. Again, until we’ve narrowed this down to at most two, I’ll do this separately from the Congressional candidates. Here are the July reports, and the April reports.

Colin Allred – Senate
Roland Gutierrez – Senate
Carl Sherman – Senate
Thierry Tchenko – Senate
Heli Rodriguez-Prilliman – Senate
Steve Keough – Senate
Tracy Andrus – Senate
Meri Lizet Gomez – Senate
Mark Gonzalez – Senate


Dist  Name             Raised      Spent    Loans    On Hand
============================================================
Sen   Allred       18,391,703  8,285,648        0 10,106,054
Sen   Gutierrez     1,065,784    751,152   71,825    314,632
Sen   Sherman         157,456     99,757        0     57,699
Sen   Tchenko         100,236     91,914        0      8,322
Sen   R-Prilliman      30,002     29,166   37,357        855
Sen   Keough           27,357     27,730    6,050          0
Sen   Andrus           18,385      9,275        0      8,724
Sen   Gomez            11,044     11,000        0         44
Sen   Gonzalez         14,676     11,237    3,900      3,438

As previously reported, Colin Allred has outraised Ted Cruz for each of the last two quarters and has more cash on hand than he does. As I’ve said before, I hope he spends some of that cash in the primary. I mean, he clearly has – his Spent number is about $2.6 million higher now, so that’s some real spending. I haven’t seen any ads yet, is what I guess I’m saying. (*) For comparison, Beto O’Rourke had raised $13.2 million through Q2 2018, with $6.7 million in the first three months of the year and thus about $6.5 million raised as of the January report. Allred is well ahead of that pace, even adjusting for inflation and the fact that there’s just a lot more money in these nationalized races now. Beto eventually topped $80 million raised, and in the end he came close but didn’t win. There’s a lot more of this story to be written.

The good news for Sen. Roland Gutierrez is that he’s now raised over a million bucks. The bad news is that he’s not even close enough to Allred to eat his dust, and he has about sixty grand less on hand now than he did in October. He ought to have enough support to force a runoff, but at this point I don’t see how he can compete.

As for the rest, I mean, I still have no idea what Carl Sherman was thinking when he entered this race. I have to assume Mark Gonzalez, who would have been a pretty exciting candidate if he had been the first person in the race, probably thought he’d have done better than $14K raised. Whoever Meri Lizet Gomez is, the system is still showing her Q3 totals, not that it really matters.

Anyway. It’s a big field but there’s not much to say about the finance reports. I’m ready to get to the voting. Up next, I’ll look at the Congressional reports. Let me know what you think.

(*) I started writing this last weekend, and now I can say that I saw a Colin Allred ad on this Monday’s episode of The Bachelor. That’s what I’m talking about.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Beto O'Rourke, campaign finance reports, Carl Sherman, Colin Allred, Democratic primary, Election 2018, Election 2024, Heli Rodriguez-Prilliman, Mark Gonzalez, Meri Gomez, Roland Gutierrez, Senate, Steve Keough, Ted Cruz, Texas, Thierry Tchenko, Tracy Andrus | 1 Comment

Yes, please do investigate Jared Woodfill

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Is there a petition I can sign for this?

A former client of Houston attorney and Texas House candidate Jared Woodfill is asking state and federal investigators to give fresh scrutiny to a 2017 investigation into allegations that he misappropriated hundreds of thousands of dollars from his firm’s clients.

In a sworn affidavit sent this week to the Texas Rangers, the FBI’s Houston office and U.S. attorneys in the Southern District, Amy Holsworth, the former client, alleges that Harris County prosecutors mishandled her case against Woodfill and unexpectedly closed it. She also suggests the outcome of the case may have been improperly influenced by District Attorney Kim Ogg and Rachel Hooper, a Houston attorney and counsel for the Texas GOP whose relationship with Ogg has been under scrutiny since January.

Holsworth said in the new complaint that she recently learned that Hooper was associated with Woodfill’s legal team during the 2017 investigation into his firm. Woodfill appeared in a video with Hooper that was taken at the Harris County courthouse days after investigators raided his office. In October 2021 — a month before Holsworth says she was told the Woodfill case was closed — Hooper was reportedly hired as a contract employee for the district attorney’s office.

[…]

The complaint centers around a fraud and money laundering investigation into Woodfill’s firm that began in 2017, after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge found more than $140,000 in unaccounted funds or overpayments to Woodfill’s firm. In a massive findings of fact document that was filed in federal court at the time, the judge detailed more than a year of alleged financial “discrepancies,” overcharged attorneys fees and other instances of financial mismanagement by Woodfill’s firm.

At one point, the judge found, there was only $650 left of the $225,000 that was placed in a trust to fund legal services for Holsworth and her then-husband. Her husband declared bankruptcy, and Holsworth eventually filed a criminal complaint against Woodfill with the district attorney.

Woodfill’s firm disputed the judge’s findings.

In a separate complaint filed with the Houston Police Department around the same time, Woodfill was accused of misusing at least $300,000 from a trust account in a different divorce case.

In November 2018, Woodfill’s law offices were raided by the District Attorney’s Office, which seized more than 127 boxes of files and six computers, according to a search affidavit from the time. The warrant also cited a second complaint from a woman who hired Woodfill’s firm in 2013, as well as an employee for Woodfill’s firm who said that Woodfill often moved money between client accounts and his own bank accounts.

Woodfill was also publicly reprimanded and fined by the Texas Bar for violations related to the complaint.

In her new complaint, Holsworth wrote that she had expected charges to be filed in the case, given the detailed allegations that were already outlined by a federal judge.

At one point, Holsworth, who was previously active in Harris County conservative politics, alleges that her friends and employer were contacted by a private investigator claiming to work for Woodfill. She wrote that Hooper’s husband Don, who runs a small conservative blog, spread “malicious gossip” about her and harassed her in online Republican groups.

Holsworth said that she spent years contacting officials in the District Attorney’s Office to check on her case. She wrote that she also ran into Ogg at a 2020 political event, and introduced herself as one of the victims in the Woodfill investigation.

“Ogg said that she knew exactly who I was and that she would reach out soon,” Holsworth wrote. “I never heard from DA Ogg.”

In the year after, Holsworth wrote that she and another alleged victim of Woodfill’s continued to contact investigators, who told them that they were waiting for Ogg’s approval to bring the case to a grand jury.

In November 2021, Holsworth said she was unexpectedly told that the case had been closed.

“This came as a complete surprise to me,” she wrote. “I was always given the impression that they believed they had a very strong case against Woodfill.”

See here and here for more on that office raid. Jared Woodfill is pond scum and a menace to society, and you don’t have to convince me that he’s dirtier than the Reliant Stadium floor after a monster truck show. I have no idea if Amy Holsworth’s complaints have merit or not, but you know how we can find out? By investigating them, which I sincerely hope that the Rangers and the FBI do. The allegations are credible, so let’s see where the evidence takes us. Public safety and common decency require nothing less. As for the allegations that the case was improperly dropped by the DA’s office, that’s obviously very troubling. There’s a lot to unravel here, and again the remedy for that is more investigation. Let’s get on with it.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Amy Holsworth, bankruptcy, District Attorney, FBI, Harris County, HPD, Jared Woodfill, Kim Ogg, Rachel Hooper, Texas, Texas Rangers | 2 Comments

The principal shuffle

Posted on February 10, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I have some thoughts about this.

The memos came in one after the other, a laundry list of grievances listing all the ways Federico Hernandez was supposedly failing as principal of Houston ISD’s Middle College High School.

A teacher used Post-It notes rather than index cards during a lesson, according to one complaint from Hernandez’s supervisor. Others allowed students to sit in the back of a classroom or kept a light off during class. Some implemented multiple response strategies, “but not correctly,” read the memo shared with the Houston Chronicle.

Even though the school, which operates on Houston Community College’s Felix Fraga campus, boasts an A-rated academic performance, those were among the infractions that got Hernandez removed from his job less than two months into the school year.

He is one of at least 58 principals who left their schools, involuntarily or otherwise, in 2023 since Superintendent Mike Miles was appointed to his post by the Texas Education Agency on June 1, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of HISD staffing records. After taking into account schools that share a principal, such as Jane Long Academy and Las Americas Newcomer School, or those that recorded multiple changes between June and December, such as Madison High School, the Chronicle confirmed there have been at least 61 leadership changes across 59 campuses.

That means about 1 in 5 HISD campuses saw a leadership change in just seven months, roughly matching the national average over the course of an entire school year.

Hernandez said he gave teachers a little leeway at the small, alternative East End campus that serves students for whom “the traditional high school setting is not an effective model,” according to the school’s website — but his reasoning went unheeded.

“I was trying (to follow the rules) to the best of my ability, but at the same time during all my training to be an educational leader, I was always told that you make decisions with your students’ best interest in mind,” Hernandez said. “Some of those decisions, I was trying to implement, but in a manner that wouldn’t negatively impact the students, because it was already starting to negatively impact them.”

Of the 58 principals who have left their campuses since June, at least 14 did so after the school year started on Aug. 28. At least 16 principals have resigned or retired since Miles took over, and at least eight have been shuffled to other schools or promoted to central office positions.

In the majority of cases, the Chronicle was unable to confirm the exact reason for a principal’s departure through various public records requests over the course of several months. Inconsistencies in HISD’s staffing records make reliable year-to-year comparisons difficult.

[…]

Erica Harbatkin, an education policy expert at Florida State University who studies principal turnover, said it is not unusual for administrators to reassign principals in an attempt to shake up under-performing schools. They typically don’t do so during the school year, though, because principals need time to plan and coordinate their staff, and “coming in after the school year started… obviously undermines some of those strategies.”

Harbatkin said replacing a principal is one of the quickest ways to effect change at a school, for better or worse.

“The theory of action behind more contemporary school turnaround and improvement policy is that these schools are in this pattern of low performance, and they need something to get them out, some sort of big external shock … and one of the ways that happens is through replacing the principal,” Harbatkin said.

If not done carefully, however, principal turnover can lead to negative effects on student achievement, Harbatkin said. Her research found that principal turnover “is associated with lower test scores, school proficiency rates, and teacher retention.”

“When principals turn over teachers tend to turn over as well, and if that turnover is not well-planned, if there’s not good distributed leadership in the school or someone who can step into the role, that’s likely to make those negative effects even larger,” Harbatkin said.

There’s more, so read the rest. My thoughts, in no particular order:

1. HISD appropriately does not comment about any of the principal changes, in general or at specific schools. That’s how it should be in employment matters. It’s also a little frustrating given the overall lack of communication from HISD and Mike Miles during his time here.

2. It’s really unfortunate that we don’t have the data for a baseline comparison. Obviously, some number of principals leave one way or another in the course of a school year. That’s just life. This is as far from a normal school year as it’s possible to get, and yet we can’t tell if there’s a connection with principal turnover. We may not have any idea about this until several years down the line, when we can see what subsequent years, including the post-Miles years, look like.

3. As we know, there has also been a lot of turnovers among the teachers. The Chron noted in a recent editorial that this could be good, if Miles has chased off bad teachers who didn’t think they could keep up with the higher standards, and it could be bad if his model of control and chaos has caused the top performers to seek better options for themselves. There are a lot of factors in play here, but as a general rule I’d say principals leaving schools that have good accountability ratings = not good. As with item #2, we’ll know more later, when it will be too late to react.

4. One detail in this story that made me unhappy was that several principals talked about how hard it has been to enforce all of Miles’ rules, how little leeway they have in helping teachers follow those rules, and how much pressure they feel as a result. I’ve never worked at a school but I have worked in corporate America for a long time, and in my experience that just sounds like bad leadership. It certainly doesn’t sound like an environment in which people will thrive.

5. As I’ve said multiple times before, we may ultimately get the results that Miles is aiming for, but I fear that it will come at a high cost and be unsustainable in the long run. I hope I am wrong about that part.

Posted in School days | Tagged HISD, Houston, Mike Miles, schools, Texas Education Agency | 1 Comment

Interview with Gion Thomas

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Gion Thomas

We wrap up Legislative And Congressional Week #1 with our next contender in CD38, Gion Thomas, who moved to Katy as a 12-year-old in 2005 after being forced out of his home by Hurricane Katrina. A graduate of Katy High School and TSU who later got a postgraduate certificate in public administration from Harvard, Thomas has been a community organizer who has worked on a variety of campaigns including those of Beto O’Rourke and Rochelle Garza, and has served as the vice president of the Katy Democrats. He also created and hosted the Raw Take podcast. You can go though his back catalog, and you can listen to what he has to say here:

cakuffner · Gion Thomas Interview 020224

PREVIOUSLY:

Karthik Soora, SD15
Michelle Bonton, SD15
Molly Cook, SD15
Rep. Jarvis Johnson, SD15
Todd Litton, SD15
Beto Cardenas, SD15
Annette Ramirez, Tax Assessor
Danielle Bess, Tax Assessor
Jerry Davis, Tax Assessor
Desiree Broadnax, Tax Assessor
Claude Cummings, Tax Assessor
Amanda Edwards, CD18
Pervez Agwan, CD07
Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, CD07
Christian Menefee, Harris County Attorney
Umeka Lewis, Harris County Attorney
Kim Ogg, Harris County District Attorney
Sean Teare, Harris County District Attorney
Danny Norris, HD142
Lauren Ashley Simmons, HD146
Ashton Woods, HD146
Melissa McDonough, CD38

We are in the home stretch now. I will have more legislative and Congressional interviews leading up to the start of Early Voting. You can keep track of all my interviews and judicial Q&As on the ever indispensable Erik Manning spreadsheet.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged CD38, Congress, Democratic primary, Election 2024, Gion Thomas, interviews, Texas | Comments Off

Judicial Q&A: Nicole Perdue

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in March. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. Much more information about Democratic primary candidates, including links to the interviews and judicial Q&As, can be found on Erik Manning’s spreadsheet.

Nicole Perdue

1. Who are you and what are you running for?

My name is Nicole Perdue. I am a native Houstonian and a lifelong Democrat, and I am running for Judge of the 133rd Civil District Court.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The 133rd District Court is a civil court of general jurisdiction and hears, among other things, matters involving constitutional questions, business disputes, land disputes, personal injury claims, and expunctions. This court does not hear criminal, family, probate, juvenile, or bankruptcy cases.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

I have always been a true believer that the Constitutions of the United States and Texas create an equal playing field for all individuals and entities. Harris County deserves to have judges who will be fair to all—no matter their walk of life, individual or corporate status, representation by attorneys at big firms or small, or representing themselves.

I have a reputation for being respectful, treating all people with dignity, and seeking justice for all—and if elected, that will not change. I will treat everyone who enters my courtroom with dignity and respect and be impartial to all parties. I am also known for my hard work and efficiency. I will ensure that my court is organized, efficient, and decisive—one that moves cases along so that litigants can have their day in court or resolve their matters in a timely and efficient manner.

Running for the 133rd District Court is particularly meaningful to me because of the court’s 85 years of distinguished history and my continued commitment to securing fair representation for all people. The portraits hanging on its walls of previous judges to preside over this court include the Honorable Matthew Plummer, the son of a former slave who was the first black investigator employed in the Harris County District Attorney’s Office and the first black judge appointed to preside as a district court judge in Harris County. I am committed to maintaining the Court’s legacy by bringing over 25 years of legal and courtroom experience to the bench.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

I have been practicing civil trial law in an active courtroom practice for 27 years. I have the integrity, temperament, knowledge, and ability to do this job and do it well. I graduated with honors from Texas A&M University and South Texas College of Law. During law school, I served as Chief Note and Comment Editor of the Law Review and earned national titles with the school’s distinguished moot court program and membership in the National Order of Barristers and the Order of the Lytae. I also served as a briefing clerk for the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court and briefing attorney for the Chief Justice of the First Court of Appeals in Houston, Texas.

Over my 27-year career, I have successfully represented plaintiffs and defendants in virtually every kind of case that this court will hear. I have tried cases to jury verdict and final judgment and have handled numerous appeals to the Houston Courts of Appeals, the Texas Supreme Court, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

I am routinely appointed by Harris County civil district courts to serve as a guardian ad litem. In this role, I have represented the interests of dozens—if not almost 100—of children who have been either injured or lost a parent in a tragedy in complex litigation from mediation through final resolution. And, before the U. S. Supreme Court issued its Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization opinion, I spent countless hours working hand-in-hand with Jane’s Due Process as a guardian ad litem assisting young women navigate the judicial bypass procedure formerly authorized by Chapter 33 of the Texas Family Code and advising Harris County judges overseeing these cases on the applicable legal standards governing judicial bypass cases. I have also served as an adjunct professor at South Texas College of Law, teaching trial advocacy and courtroom skills and working with moot court students in preparation for national competitions.

I know my way around the courtroom, and I know from personal experience how the system is supposed to work; I am familiar with the rules of civil procedure and the rules of evidence—through practice. I have a reputation for being patient yet firm, respectful, and courteous to opposing counsel and their clients, and for my ability to know and apply legal rules, analyses, and procedures to different facts and circumstances and quickly perceive, comprehend, and understand new concepts and ideas.

5. Why is this race important?

Every judicial race is significant as the impact of the courts can affect the lives of every citizen. The courts are our last line of defense—therefore, it is critical that we have the best and most qualified individuals on the bench.

Because the role of the judge is to fairly and impartially try cases, it is important to elect people to the bench who have experience as practicing lawyers in these courts. Due process requires more than a sense of fairness and equality: a judge must have a thorough understanding of the rules of procedure, rules of evidence, and rules of law and why they exist so that they can be applied fairly and equally. Too much is on the line for a judge to begin learning the real-world functions of a civil district court docket after being elected. It is also necessary to have someone on the bench who will consider the perspective of every person who enters the courtroom and ensure all are welcome at the courthouse and part of our civil justice system.

I am the only candidate in this race who fits the bill. I will be fair but also will bring a unique and different perspective, as shaped by my life experiences, my love of the law, and my passion for serving the community to the 133rd District Court.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

The depth and breadth of my legal experience, the diversity of my practice areas, and my courtroom experience make me the best candidate for Judge of the 133rd Civil District Court.

The citizens of Harris County deserve a civil district court judge with meaningful civil law experience and who thoroughly understands the intricacies of the law relevant to the specific bench—and I am that person. I am the only candidate in this race with a remarkable depth and breadth of experience in civil trial law and in the courtroom.

I am also a person of integrity and progressive values, and I have the personal characteristics and temperament that enable me to serve as a judge and serve with distinction. As evidenced through my work and community service, I am a compassionate and devoted advocate for justice, fairness, and equality. If elected, everyone who enters my courtroom can have confidence that there is a level playing field for all parties and without fear or concern that one side or the other might have some advantage because of their status or resources. I can assure you that my past, present, and future experiences will always ensure that my courtroom will be a place
where everyone will be respected and heard.

I ask for your vote! If you want to learn more about me and my campaign, please go to www.nicoleperdueforjudge.com

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2024, Harris County, judicial races, Nicole Perdue, Q&A | 2 Comments

Dispatches from Dallas, February 9 edition

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.

This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth we have a lot of election news plus the World Cup and some zoo babies.

Since I haven’t been up to writing reports since before my surgery in January, I’m starting with the easier news, and hope to catch up on other things along with weekly news for the next few weeks or maybe with an extra catch-up post. My surgery was successful and after pathology and follow-up it looks like my cancer was caught early enough that removing the affected organ did the trick. I’m grateful for the good work of my surgeon and oncology care team at UTSW, who have quite literally saved my life.

This week’s post was brought to you by the music of the Decemberists, who are touring and will be in Dallas in May. I got presale tickets!

And on that note, let’s look at election-related news.

You’ve probably heard about those AI robocalls in the New Hampshire primary that had an AI “Biden” telling people to stay home. Turns out the likely culprit is here in North Texas. The Guardian has more.
State HD 2, the seat formerly occupied by Bryan Slaton, had its special election. Jill Dutton won the election for the remainder of the term. You may recall that her opponent Brent Money had the Abbott and Paxton endorsements and that this election was considered a first look at the Abbott and Paxton revenge tours of 2024, even though Dutton and Money were both voucher supporters. Dutton and Money will face off again in the March primary for the 2025 term. The Texas Tribune has more, including the Money campaign’s allegation that Dutton received Democratic votes, as if those votes somehow shouldn’t count or that the special election was actually a Republican primary. In a related story, Texas Monthly elaborates on cross-party voting in primaries and notes it probably isn’t happening in the numbers that Money and his backers want to claim.
Speaking of vouchers, the DMN had a piece in January on the role of vouchers and a big donation by a pro-voucher billionare from Pennsylvania in the upcoming primary, where those donations are financing challengers to Republicans who voted against vouchers. And here’s Star-Telegram piece pointing out how Greg Abbott’s endorsements are all about vouchers and only about vouchers.
Also in the DMN: a big analysis of the key races and trends in the March primary, including my own SD 16.
And the Texas Standard has their overview of the local races including (sigh) Allen West’s bid for Dallas County GOP chair. (I’ve seen those signs driving across town for medical business. They’re Very Loud and Very Full of Patriotic Signifiers.)
The big race on the ballot statewide in the primaries is the Democratic primary for Senator. We’ve got a DMN analysis, a Texas Monthly piece, and the Texas Tribune on fundraising. The DMN is all in for Allred for obvious reasons, so I read everything from them with that filter on.
We’ve had several publications look at the race for CD 12, which is Kay Granger’s old seat: the DMN; the Texas Tribune; and a couple of items from the Fort Worth Report about state House Rep Craig Goldman raising $1M and a report on this week’s primary debate.
You probably blinked and missed the wildest bit of social media kerfuffle about the Republican primary for CD 26, Michael Burgess’ seat: George Santos accused Southlake Mayor John Huffman of supporting Black Lives Matter and then apologized in a peace brokered by my House Rep, Beth Van Duyne.
Meanwhile in Dallas’ CD 32, Colin Allred’s district, we had a debate with the Democratic primary candidates and the DMN covered it.
Texas Monthly had an interview with Averie Bishop, the former Miss Texas who will be the Democratic candidate in HD 112, running against Angie Chen Button, the incumbent. (Bishop has no opponent in the Democratic primary.) Bishop also recently won a GIFFORDS Champion award for work against gun violence. The award comes from the organization founded by former Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords, who survived an assassination attempt in 2011. Another winner this year is Dr. Brian Williams, who’s one of the Democratic primary candidates in CD 32.
There was a Republican primary debate for HD 97, the seat that Craig Goldman is leaving to run for CD 12, and the Fort Worth Report has that story.
Collin County’s GOP had debates back in early January. KERA explains how Ken Paxton, who wasn’t present, was the ghost at this debate. Personally, reading this account, I’m glad I don’t live in HD 61, because the incumbent (Frederick Frazier, the ex-cop who was caught sign-stealing) sounds terrible even if he did vote to impeach Paxton, and the challengers don’t sound any better. The Collin County Democrats got their coverage in this piece a couple of weeks ago and this follow-up.
Local blogger Mark Steger has the news about Richardson area primary filings, including RISD seats. When I clicked through while writing this piece, I found that Megan Timme had filed since Steger’s post.
In lighter news: Dallas’ bid for the World Cup finals in 2026 fell short, but we’re getting 9 semifinals instead. I agree with the Star-Telegram on why Dallas lost their bid: nobody can compete with New York as tourist destination; East Rutherford, NJ is the NYC-area stadium that’s getting the final. In related news, AT&T Stadium, which is actually in Arlington, will be renamed Dallas Stadium during the World Cup. Also, in a rare case where Betteridge’s Law of headlines is wrong, the DMN asks Thousands will visit D-FW for the World Cup. Is a transportation disaster ahead?. Arlington has no public mass transit; despite planned improvements to area transit ahead of and for the World Cup, I’m expecting all kinds of trouble. The sort of people who ride their helicopter to the stadium will be fine, but rideshare drivers are going to make some serious bank off everybody else.
And those zoo babies I promised you, all from the Fort Worth Zoo:
- Moja is a lion cub;
- Korbel is a baby giraffe and check out this sweet Instagram reel of him.
- And baby Ruby is the first mandrill born in Fort Worth in decades. Here’s reel of Ruby with her mom Scarlett.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged Dallas, guest post, linkdump, Texas | Comments Off

Endorsement watch: Two at a time

Posted on February 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron is meandering along through their primary endorsements. I can’t complain too much, they’re making progress and we’re still more than a week away from the start of early voting, it’s just that there’s no pattern to it. Whatever. Next on their list is Allison Mathis, the challenger for the 338th Criminal District Court.

Allison Jackson Mathis

Allison Mathis had no plans to run for district court judge in Harris County. One hearing she observed last spring as a spectator in Judge Ramona Franklin’s courtroom changed everything.

Mathis watched as Franklin rejected Eric Cano’s request to die at home with his family. Cano, who was charged with murder in 2020 after being accused of shooting a man after a drunken fight, was terminally ill from cirrhosis in his liver. He could not walk or bathe himself and was in a declining mental state with weeks left to live at a county jail ill-equipped to provide hospice care. Unmoved, Franklin denied Cano’s request to release him on a lower bond. Cano died in custody weeks later.

“The defendant was dying on a gurney in a hallway in a dirty diaper, and then she refused to reduce his bond,” Mathis said. “And so I decided if no one else was going to primary (Franklin), that I would.”

We’re glad someone did. Franklin, first elected to the 338th District Court in 2016, has had a tumultuous second term that raises serious questions about her fitness for the bench.

[…]

Mathis, 40, is a native Houstonian yet her first job as an attorney sent her across the Pacific Ocean as a public defender in the Republic of Palau, a small island nation, where she says she litigated a case that ended their practice of solitary confinement. She returned to the U.S. and began a somewhat nomadic career as a public defender, first in Fort Bend County, then in Aztec, N.M., then for the Swinomish Indian Tribal Reservation in Washington state.

Mathis returned to Harris County in 2019 and joined the public defender’s office, first as a felony trial attorney and then as the lead attorney in the office’s post-conviction writs division. After leaving to start her own defense practice, she represented migrant defendants who were ensnared for trespassing under Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star program.

My Q&A with Mathis is here. I sent a Q&A to Judge Franklin but have not received a response from her; if I do, I will put it in the queue. The Chron covers some of the information she included in her Q&A. Whether it’s been her own campaigning or whether Judge Franklin had a bad reputation I can’t say, but one look at Mathis’ campaign Facebook page shows that she’s been racking up the endorsements. That’s quite remarkable for a challenger to a two-term incumbent, who if nothing else has had the time to establish relationships with the various political groups. You never know what will happen in a judicial primary, but there are clear indicators in this one.

The Chron then goes back to Congress to endorse Melissa McDonough in CD38.

McDonough, 51, is a Realtor with a passion for extracurricular political activism. She has traveled to Austin and Washington, D.C., independently and for the National Association of Realtors to lobby the Legislature and Congress.

“When you go to the table, you go to the table with solutions, and you go with a wide variety that will hit somewhere in the middle,” McDonough told the editorial board. “We’ve been able to find common ground with children and education, we’ve been able to find common ground with expansion of health care, we’ve been finally able to find common ground on how to turn the chaos that is seen in 45-second sound bites into something meaningful that voters can tangibly grasp onto.”

In her spare time, McDonough organizes working groups where bankers and mortgage lenders connect with low-income renters to help set them on a path toward home ownership.

McDonough’s “purple” solutions include using Title 1 federal funding to fund health clinics in public schools that can provide care for low-income children. For a district where flooding is a perennial concern, she wants to ensure that FEMA’s disaster fund is solvent, while also thinking big-picture about new infrastructure such as underground tunnels that can convey floodwaters to the Houston Ship Channel. She wants to balance federal subsidies for oil and gas as well as renewables while providing funding to leverage the ingenuity of the district’s Energy Corridor to cultivate new energy sources.

McDonough’s opponent, Gion Thomas, 31, is a community activist and former semi-pro football player who runs a nonprofit that focuses on getting young people registered to vote and politically active. Thomas is campaigning on bold ideas such as Medicare for All and a $20 per hour minimum wage and reducing federal subsidies for oil and gas to combat climate change.

Thomas’ passion for uplifting working class people is genuine and admirable. We believe McDonough’s more moderate platform stands a better chance of swinging votes in a general election against Hunt and being a more effective representative in Congress.

My interview with Melissa McDonough is here and my interview with Gion Thomas is here. As with the last two races in which the Chron endorsed, this is a longshot battle. At least here there are two candidates who are both running active campaigns, and that’s a good place to start. Listen to those interviews if you’re in the district and make your choice.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Allison Jackson Mathis, CD38, Congress, Democratic primary, Election 2024, endorsements, Gion Thomas, Harris County, judicial races, Melissa McDonough, Ramona Franklin, Texas | Comments Off

Interview with Melissa McDonough

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Melissa McDonough

We’re going to finish up the week with two interviews from CD38, the still-new drawn-to-be-red district on the west side of the county. We have two candidates vying for the nomination, and today we will hear from Melissa McDonough, who had entered the race fairly early on last year. McDonough is a realtor of over 30 years and has been an owner or manager or a real estate brokerage for 20 years. She has served as an election judge, including service on the Signature Verification Committee and Early Voting Ballot Board. She has also lobbied Congress on behalf of national realtor organizations on matters of consumer protection and health care. Here’s the interview:

cakuffner · Melissa McDonough Interview 020224

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Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged CD38, Congress, Democratic primary, Election 2024, interviews, Melissa McDonough, Texas | 1 Comment

Judicial Q&A: Tracy Good

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Tracy Good

1. Who are you and what are you running for?

My name is Tracy D. Good, a proud native Houstonian. I am seeking the position of Judge for the 333rd District Civil Court. Married for over 35 years, I hold a Bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Houston and earned my Law Degree from the University of Houston Law School. With a background as a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor, I bring a unique blend of corporate accounting, internal audit, and 19 years of legal experience to this endeavor. Having served as an Associate Judge for Harris County Court 309th, my commitment has always been to interpret the law fairly with judicial temperament.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The 333rd District Civil Court handles cases involving litigation over money, encompassing personal injury matters, contract disputes, and more.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

I aim to leverage my corporate accounting and internal auditing skills, combined with my legal and judicial background, to benefit both litigants and the court’s administration. This unique combination positions me to bring efficiency and effectiveness to the role.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

With over a decade of corporate accounting and internal audit experience, complemented by 19 years of legal expertise, I am a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Internal Auditor. Having previously served as an Associate Judge for Harris County Court 309th, my diverse skill set is well-suited for the responsibilities of a Judge on this Court.

5. Why is this race important?

This race holds significance as it represents differing visions for the future of the court. My goal is to streamline the judicial process, reducing the time from case filing to final verdict or orders. Implementing strict docket control orders and expanding web conferencing options will enhance flexibility for litigants, and I plan to revamp the Court’s Statistic matrices for increased transparency and better public utilization.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

I am the superior candidate for this role, offering a unique blend of professional experience, a dedication to efficiency, and a commitment to enhancing transparency in the legal process. Your vote for me ensures a more effective and forward-thinking approach to the administration of justice in the 333rd District Civil Court.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2024, Harris County, judicial races, Q&A, Tracy Good | Comments Off

Paxton invokes the “but I’m an orphan!” defense

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This fucking guy, I swear.

A crook any way you look

Attorney General Ken Paxton’s legal team is asking a Harris County district judge to dismiss his securities fraud charges, claiming his right to a speedy trial has been violated in the case that has gone on for more than eight years.

His team filed a motion to dismiss Paxton’s indictments on Tuesday, which was the deadline for pretrial motions. Paxton is facing two felony indictments that allege he broke state securities regulations and failed to disclose stock transactions to the state. That case has been delayed since 2015. The trial is currently set for April 15.

In the filing, Paxton’s lawyers argued the delay has been “excessive.”

[…]

Paxton’s security fraud case was originally set in Collin County, where Paxton lives, but in 2017 prosecutors began a fight to change the venue to Harris County. They argued that finding potential impartial jurors and getting a fair trial would not be possible in the area that Paxton had represented politically for 12 years. Before becoming attorney general, he was a state representative for 10 years and a state senator for two years.

The fight over a change in venue went on for years. Paxton’s team successfully got the case back to Collin County in 2020 after arguing the judge who had sent the case to Harris County no longer had jurisdiction in Paxton’s case. Prosecutors appealed and ultimately got the case back to Harris County after the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals ruled in their favor last July.

The battle over which county his case would be heard in was only one factor of several that caused years of delays. Issues with six-figure payments for the prosecutors in the case lengthened the time of the appeal, and additionally, defense lawyers for Paxton took issue with the grand jury procedure in his indictment and had asked to get the charges dismissed altogether.

“The length of the delay was excessive and weighs heavily against the State and in favor of Paxton,” the attorney general’s lawyers wrote in the court filings. “Most of the delays were due to the State seeking to transfer the case from Collin County, opposing moving it back to Collin County, and more than any other cause, the pro tems seeking attorney’s fees. None of these
events or causes were Paxton’s fault.”

I’m sorry, but there’s only one appropriate response to this.

I’m sure the prosecutors will clean it up and add some legal stuff when they file their response. Given the aptitude for snark that we’ve seen from Brian Wice in the past, I suspect my sentiment will be lurking in there. There will be a hearing for the pre-trial motions, including this one, next Friday the 16th. Houston Public Media and Texas Monthly, which provided a nice summary of this case’s interminable history so I didn’t have to, have more.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Brian Wice, Collin County, Court of Criminal Appeals, Harris County, Ken Paxton, Kent Schaffer, Servergy, special prosecutor, Texas | 4 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of February 5

Posted on February 8, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance reminds you that candidate filing for those county appraisal district elections that you may or may not be aware of are happening now as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged blog roundup, TPA | Comments Off

Interview with Ashton Woods

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Ashton Woods

Moving to our next contender in HD146 we come to a familiar name. Ashton Woods has been a fixture on the scene as an organizer and activist since moving to Houston from New Orleans in 2005, just before Hurricane Katrina. Woods is an advocate for the LGBTQ+ community and the co-founder and lead organizer for Black Lives Matter Houston. He was appointed in 2016 by Mayor Turner to be on the board of the city’s first LGBT Advisory Committee. He ran for City Council At Large #5 in 2019. You can listen to the interview I did with him for that office here, and you can listen to the interview for HD146 here:

cakuffner · Ashton Woods Interview 011824

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Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Ashton Woods, Democratic primary, Election 2024, HD146, interviews, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Judicial Q&A: Chavon Carr

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Chavon Carr

1. Who are you and what are you running for?

I am an experienced Probate attorney who has actively practiced for 17 years. I have served as an advocate for hundreds of individuals and families helping them navigate the probate and guardianship process. As a champion for mental health, I hold a Certificate in Health Law and have served as an attorney ad litem for the mental health docket for over 5 years. I have the temperament and compassion to serve in this area of law and am committed to ensuring that legal processes are administered with the utmost integrity, professionalism, and empathy. My desire to become a Probate Judge is rooted in my commitment to justice, empathy for those facing difficult life situations, and dedication to upholding the law with integrity. I am eager to use my skills and passion to serve my community and contribute positively to the Probate Court system.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The Judge of Harris County Probate Court 5 is charged with presiding over the administration of decedent’s estates, overseeing guardianships for individuals who cannot manage their own affairs and assets, as well as overseeing the administration of mental health care. In so doing, the judge is to be the neutral party that ensures Constitutional rights are protected and that cases are heard in a timely manner. Additionally, there are a number of administrative duties involved with serving as a probate court judge, which include setting policies and procedures for the Harris County legal system.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

In addition to being an experienced Probate, Estate Planning, and Real Estate Attorney for over 17 years. I hold a certificate in health law which better equips me to understand the needs and challenges to oversee the mental health docket. I have also participated in candidate trainings by Vote Run Lead, an organization that focuses on empowering and training women to run for political office. As a board member of various nonprofits, I have also received leadership and governance skill training.

5. Why is this race important?

This is a newly created court to deal with the growth of Harris County. The Judge of this court will set the tone for this court going forward. This court deals with individuals when they are at their most vulnerable and needs a Judge who will lead with competency, courtesy and compassion.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

The judiciary needs leaders who are compassionate, competent, and courteous. I have listened to the needs of the community and advocated for them in the probate system for many years. I am the candidate who has actively practiced in all areas that come before the court including probate administration, guardianship and the mental docket. I am committed to ensuring that the legal processes are administered with the utmost integrity, professional and empathy. I have empathy for those facing difficult life situations and am dedicated to upholding the law with integrity. I have the right temperament to set the tone for this newly created court.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Chavon Carr, Democratic primary, Election 2024, Harris County, judicial races, Q&A | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Two uphill battles

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Two new endorsements from the Chron, in races that aren’t likely to be competitive but whose primaries feature a candidate who’s going to give their best shot and a candidate who’s literally nothing but a name on the ballot. First up in CD22 is Marquette Greene-Scott.

Marquette Green-Scott

When the Texas lawmakers redrew the 22nd Congressional District in 2021, they effectively attempted to carve up any hope that Democrats had of winning that seat.

What was once a purplish district with a heavy Asian American population instead was redrawn to loop in rural, whiter, Republican-leaning counties such as Wharton and Matagorda. The intent was clear: after two election cycles in 2018 and 2020 in which Democrats ran competitive races in the 22nd, Republicans wanted to ensure that the GOP incumbent, U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, would be safe for years to come. Their strategy, so far, has proved successful. Nehls trounced his nominal Democratic opponent in 2022 by 27 points.

Based on that lopsided result, conventional wisdom is that the odds are stacked against Marquette Greene-Scott, an attorney and Iowa Colony City Council member running this year to be the district’s Democratic nominee. Yet Greene-Scott, 52, isn’t wired to take anything for granted. Show her Nehls’ margin of victory in the 2022 election, and she’ll point out that the Democrat in that race won 35% while barely even campaigning. Show her the district’s homogenous political representation, and she’ll counter that the district is still majority-minority — roughly 30% Latino, 11% Black and 15% Asian — and relatively well educated — nearly half the district has a bachelor’s degree or higher — demographics that could, in theory, bode well for a competitive race. The challenge, she said, will be ensuring that all of these potential voters are registered, motivated to turn out and open-minded enough to believe a Democrat can win.

[…]

“I’m not naive, I understand what I’m up against,” Greene-Scott told the editorial board. “I’m not taking anything for granted. I’m putting in the leg work, I’m doing everything I need to do to be successful.”

It helps that Greene-Scott has local government experience as a City Council member in Iowa Colony. She doesn’t indulge in activist rhetoric that could turn people off or push unrealistic policies that won’t stand a chance in Washington. She is a self-described fiscal conservative with socially liberal views that are in line with most mainstream Democrats: she wants to enhance subsidies for the Affordable Care Act to make health insurance more widely available, as well as support programs for military veterans and their families.

One of her top priorities is protecting voting rights, namely by codifying the Voting Rights Act’s “preclearance” requirement, which the Supreme Court struck down in 2013. That provision required states, such as Texas, with a history of voter discrimination to submit voting rules changes or proposed district maps to the federal government before they took effect.

And the second is over in SD07 with NAsir Malik.

Nasir Malik

Nasir Malik isn’t afraid of an uphill battle.

He came to this country as a teenager, settling with family in Amarillo. He worked mornings at the Holiday Inn and evenings at a grocery store.

“I was promoted, just like ‘Coming to America,’” said Malik, from busboy to room service, back in the days when Holiday Inn had room service.

His path from there to here, running to represent Democrats in the race for District 7 of the Texas Senate against Republican incumbent Paul Bettencourt, is not straightforward. He went to community college, went back home to Pakistan, returned to Texas and picked up an accounting degree, moved to Dallas to work at the stately Anatole Hotel with its own underground tunnel for presidents and senators, made his way to Houston and even opened a burger joint at one point. Now semi-retired from his custom home building business, Malik, 56, also had a roundabout political journey as well. In 2014, he ran for Justice of the Peace as a Republican. But the causes that motivated him then — getting school truancy cases out of the courts — weren’t so far from the Democratic Party he found a home in shortly after losing that election. Today, he still champions the public schools that he credits for helping raise his successful children. In addition, he prioritizes gun safety, a reliable electric grid and restoring women’s reproductive rights.

It’s been 10 years since Bettencourt first took office after the previous officeholder, Dan Patrick, moved up to lieutenant governor. The district has changed a bit since then but still holds some of the fast-growing areas of northwest Harris County, including parts of Cypress, Klein, Tomball and up into Montgomery County. Not exactly an easy area to flip, but Malik pointed to the growing population of non-white residents in the area, who make up the majority, as a potential strength for Democrats.

Looking beyond the primary, Malik has his eyes on Bettencourt, a committed school voucher proponent.

“The current senator will have a rude awakening,” said Malik, who never campaigns without his slightly oversized Texas lapel pin.

Greene-Scott’s website is here, Malik’s is here. Both are running against terrible incumbents, who deserve to have actual engaged opponents. These are clear choices.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged CD22, Congress, Democratic primary, Election 2024, endorsements, Marquette Greene-Scott, Nasir Malik, SD07, Senate, Texas | 2 Comments

HCAD candidate filing update

Posted on February 7, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Hey, remember how I said I was going to check and see if we had any candidates for those newly to-be-elected positions on the HCAD Board of Trustees? Well, I checked, and as of yesterday afternoon no one had applied for any of the three positions as yet. The filing deadline is 5 PM on Friday, February 16, so there is still time. I also checked to see if the HCDP was working on making sure that interested folks knew about this and was told yes, that is happening. I’ll check again next week and let you know what answer I get at that time. Maybe there’ll be some news coverage of this between now and then. In the meantime, go see that first link if you yourself want to apply.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged constitutional amendments, Election 2024, filing deadline, Harris County, Harris County Appraisal District, HCAD, property taxes | 3 Comments

Interview with Lauren Ashley Simmons

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Lauren Ashley Simmons

We move over to HD146 for the next two days. This is the home of the latest problematic legislator, Rep. Shawn Thierry, who has drawn a pair of challengers after making some bad votes and troubling statements on book bans and LGBTQ+ rights. Lauren Ashley Simmons is a labor organizer and parent activist against the state takeover of HISD; here’s some news coverage about that. Raised in the Third Ward, she unexpectedly became a single mom at the age of nineteen and had to navigate all of the bureaucracy that many folks have to deal with to survive. That experience informs her activism and advocacy today. Here’s the interview:

cakuffner · Lauren Ashley Simmons Interview 011724

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Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2024, HD146, interviews, Lauren Ashley Simmons, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Judicial Q&A: Judge Brittanye Morris

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Judge Brittanye Morris

1. Who are you and in which court do you preside?

I am Judge Brittanye Morris, currently presiding over the 333rd Civil District Court in Harris County, Texas. With nearly a decade of legal experience and a commitment to justice, I am honored to serve our community with fairness, impartiality, and dedication on the bench.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The 333rd Civil District Court in Harris County, Texas, handles a diverse caseload. The majority of cases involve personal injury matters, while others encompass a range of legal issues, including employment disputes, property disputes, trade secret cases, breach of contract matters, and various miscellaneous business-related issues.

3. What have been your main accomplishments during your time on this bench?

During my tenure on this bench, my accomplishments include a substantial reduction in case backlogs, ensuring more efficient and timely legal proceedings. I have implemented a more diverse guardian ad litem appointment system, promoting inclusivity and diverse perspectives in decision-making processes. Additionally, I have maintained the use of virtual hearings post COVID, enhancing community access to the court system and adapting to evolving needs. These achievements underscore my commitment to judicial efficiency, diversity, and accessibility, contributing to a more equitable and responsive legal environment for all.

4. What do you hope to accomplish in your courtroom going forward?

I aim to continue fostering a fair, efficient, and accessible legal environment. Building on past achievements, I seek to implement innovative case management strategies, further reducing backlogs. Implementing more community outreach and legal education efforts will deepen public understanding of the legal system. Through these initiatives, I aspire to fortify public trust in the judiciary, promote justice, and contribute to the overall well-being of our community.

5. Why is this race important?

This race is crucial as it directly impacts the quality and fairness of our local judicial system. The outcome determines who will preside over cases, making decisions that affect individuals’ lives and businesses. It’s an opportunity for voters to shape the judiciary, ensuring that the court reflects their voice, values of justice, integrity, and impartiality. By participating in this election, citizens contribute to the maintenance of a strong and equitable legal system, reinforcing the principles and values that underpin our community’s landscape.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

In the upcoming March elections, I humbly ask for the vote of the Harris County citizens based on a proven commitment to justice and fairness. My track record in effectively handling a diverse range of cases speaks to my dedication to upholding the law. From reducing backlogs to enhancing accessibility, I’ve implemented positive changes within the court which led to expedited hearings and more trials on the merits. My legal expertise, community involvement, and transparent approach embody a vision for a more equitable legal system. I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to continue serving our community and ensuring justice for all.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Brittanye Morris, Democratic primary, Election 2024, Harris County, judicial races, Q&A | Comments Off

Houston to get seven World Cup matches

Posted on February 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Not bad.

Houston will host seven matches in the 2026 World Cup.

In the expanded 48-team tournament, NRG will host a Round of 32 match on June 29 and a Round of 16 match on July 4. The group stage matches will be on June 14, 17, 20, 23 and 26.

“We had been expecting between five and eight, so seven is a good number,” said Chris Canetti, the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority Executive and President of the Houston 2026 World Cup Host Committee. “There was no bad outcome. Whatever number we heard was going to be good for Houston.

“It’s a nice mix with five group games and then two knockout games when the level of intensity goes up.”

Houston can expect to see a variety of teams from across the different groups as FIFA will organize teams more geographically for group play to ease travel burdens on teams and fans.

The final will be played at the MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on July 19.

[…]

The next big date for Houston will come in December of 2025 when game assignments will be made.

After the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, work will begin at NRG to convert the playing surface to grass.

Instead of a temporary process that was used when the Texans played on grass, the plan is to build and install the surface as if it were going to be permanent.

See here and here for some background. I’ll be interested in seeing how that process to transform the field surface goes. They won’t have much margin for error given the timeline. Dallas managed to get nine matches, though they missed out on hosting the final. I can’t wait for this and hope we knock it out of the park, and then get to host some other events soon after.

Posted in Other sports | Tagged Canada, Chris Canetti, Dallas, Dynamo, Dynamo Stadium, FIFA, Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, Houston, Houston Dash, Mexico, Reliant Stadium, soccer, World Cup | Comments Off

Interview with Danny Norris

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Danny Norris

For the next two weeks I will have interviews with various legislative candidates – for HDs 139, 142, and 146, for SD07, and for CD38. This will get us up to the start of early voting, which begins on February 20. There may be a late addition or two in there, you never know, but this is what I have now. Today we talk with Danny Norris, who is one of three challengers to Rep. Harold Dutton in HD142. We all know why Dutton is drawing a field of challengers, so let’s talk about Norris, who stepped down as the Precinct 1 representative on the HCDE Board of Trustees, to which he was elected in 2018, to run for this seat. He is a lawyer and former educator who has been president of the Houston Lawyers Association, former chair of the African American Lawyers Section of the State Bar of Texas, and advisor to the Houston Professionals Chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers. Here’s what we talked about:

cakuffner · Danny Norris Interview011024

PREVIOUSLY:

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Danyahel Norris, Democratic primary, Election 2024, HD142, interviews, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Judicial Q&A: Vivian King

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Vivian King

1. Who are you and what are you running for?

I am Vivian King. I am running for the 486th Criminal District Court that presides over felony cases in Harris County, TX. The 486th District Court was created by the 2023 Legislature and opened October 01, 2023. The Governor appointed a Republican lawyer who started on or about November 27, 2023. I have practiced criminal law for over 31 years. I am Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. I have been both a prosecutor and defense attorney. As a defense attorney for 22 years, I have represented over 1,000 people, served as lead counsel for over 150 trials.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The 486th District Court hears felony cases in Harris County, TX.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

I am running for this particular bench because it is a new criminal court opened in October 2023. The 2024 election is the first time this court will appear on the ballot for Harris County voters to elect the Judge of this court.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

I have worked in criminal law for over 31 years. I started as a prosecutor for 2-1/2 years under District Attorney Johnny Holmes from 1992-1995. Next, in 1995, I did criminal defense work for 22 years. Then, in 2017, I went back to the District Attorney’s office to use my 9-year career as an Internal Auditor and Operations Advisor of a Fortune 500 bank, to run the day-to -day operations of the District Attorney’s office. As First Assistant & Chief of Staff, I supervise Budget & Finance, Human Resources, Innovations & Technology and other operations areas.

5. Why is this race important?

It is important to elect judges who have the experience to preside over courts that have over 1,500 to 2,500 pending felony cases. I have represented over 1,000 people in my legal career, including over 100 Jury Trials and over 50 appeals. In my 31 years of experience, I have seen experienced judges reduce huge backlogs. I have the experience and knowledge to reduce the huge backlog of pending violent crimes cases. The Harris County jail is filled with persons accused of serious violent crimes who are awaiting trial. The County Jails are not designed for that purpose. The wait list is so high that Harris County taxpayers are paying a $25 Million contract to a private prison in Post, Tx, near Lubbock; millions to the Louisiana jail system and most recently, $11Million to Mississippi. All of this money is going to house pending felony cases while inmates await their trial dates. These cases need to be tried before juries in a timely manner to reach a fair resolution for the inmates and the victims of violent crimes.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

As stated above, I have the experience to preside over a court with a huge backlog of serious crimes. In my 31 years as a criminal lawyer, I have represented over 1,000 people; tried over 150 cases; and authored over 50 appeals. I have seen strategies used by former judges to reduce the backlog of criminal cases. I have the respect of my colleagues as an excellent trial attorney. I am well versed in difficult criminal law procedures. If elected, I will use this knowledge to preside over the 486th District Court fairly and equitably as the gatekeeper of both the state and federal constitutions.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2024, Harris County, judicial races, Q&A, Vivian King | Comments Off

The Boca Chica land swap

Posted on February 5, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man.

Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners are considering a land swap with SpaceX that would give Elon Musk’s space exploration company about 43 acres from Boca Chica State Park.

In exchange for the land in Texas’ southernmost strip along the Gulf Coast, SpaceX would transfer 477 acres nearby that could be used for hiking, camping and birding. Boca Chica is a cherished place where people fish, see wildlife and hang out on the beach. The park measures about 1,060 acres in all.

Parks and Wildlife staff recommended the exchange because they view it as a way for the agency to increase public access and protect grasslands and wetlands. In a statement Wednesday, the agency said the trade “could provide mutual benefits.”

“These conversations continue more than a decade of cooperative work with SpaceX to carry out our respective missions as neighbors,” the TPWD statement said.

[…]

While the sheer difference in land size makes the trade seem like a good deal for the state, environmental groups and community members urged caution. The Cameron County Judge opposed the swap. The Tribal Chair of the Esto’k Gna Tribal Nation of Texas said such a trade would compound a history of his community being erased or ignored.

“It doesn’t make any sense at all for them to do what they’re doing in transferring that land,” said Juan Mancias, the tribal chair. “None at all.”

Cyrus Reed, conservation director for the Lone Star Chapter of the Sierra Club, said people need time to be informed and consider whether they are willing to lose a portion of what has been an important, family-friendly resource. The Commission was originally scheduled to vote on the deal Thursday.

“Overall there may be some benefits to it,” Reed said. “The question is, is it benefiting the community that has traditionally gone to the Boca Chica area?”

See here for previous SpaceX/Boca Chica stuff. Let’s just say that anything Elon Musk-associated is going to be looked at very skeptically by me and plenty of other folks. There may be merit to this beyond the obvious of “more land coming in than going out”. People are opposing this for a reason, and it would be best to understand that and see if there are alternate ways to accomplish something similar. The question is whether this is good for the people of Texas in general and of Boca Chica in particular, not whether it’s good for SpaceX. The vote on this is March 28, and I say take all the time you want. Don’t move forward unless the affected people are good with it. Texas Public Radio has more.

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged Boca Chica State Park, Boca Chica Village, Cameron County, Elon Musk, Esto'k Gna Tribal Nation of Texas, Sierra Club, South Texas Environmental Justice Network, SpaceX, Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department | Comments Off

Weekend link dump for February 4

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

“Pop superstar Taylor Swift might have helped register enough voters in a single day last September to swing close races in multiple states, with turnout experts predicting a strong youth vote for the 2024 presidential election.”

“No, office mandates don’t help companies make more money, study finds”.

“The new conservative outrage machine is different because it skips a step. It used to be that first, something had to happen. Sure, instigators might exaggerate about that thing. They might spin it to sound like more than it was. But something happened somewhere, and the race to pin it on a group they didn’t like could commence. In 2024 nothing even has to happen. The current punching bag of diversity in the airline industry shows how the conservative internet-industrial complex has shifted. The apparatus is no longer limited to drumming up causes for real-world situations. It can now merely invent the problems themselves. And this burst of creativity is useful to the conservative movement against all kinds of adversaries, not just Black airline pilots.”

Maybe George Carlin and Taylor Swift can pump the brakes a teeny bit on AI deepfakes.

A love letter to Love on the Spectrum from the parent of an autistic child.

A nice story about the City Cast podcast network; I’ve noted the Houston CitCast podcast on this site a few times. There’s one for Austin in the works, and frankly there’s room for quite a few more in this state.

“Very few people are looking closely at the illegal sand system or calling for changes, however, because sand is a mundane resource. Yet sand mining is the world’s largest extraction industry because sand is a main ingredient in concrete, and the global construction industry has been soaring for decades. Every year the world uses up to 50 billion metric tons of sand, according to a United Nations Environment Program report. The only natural resource more widely consumed is water. A 2022 study by researchers at the University of Amsterdam concluded that we are dredging river sand at rates that far outstrip nature’s ability to replace it, so much so that the world could run out of construction-grade sand by 2050. The U.N. report confirms that sand mining at current rates is unsustainable.”

RIP, Jimy Williams, former MLB player and manager of the Red Sox, Blue Jays, and Astros.

“Age verification laws are the “latest strategy in a long battle” against pornography, experts say. Here’s what they do in states that have enacted them.”

“If we wake up to awful news on November 6, we’ll be asking ourselves one question: Did we do enough?”

“With Prime Video encroaching directly on Freevee’s ad-supported territory, what is the point of Freevee now?”

If Dolly Parton says there can be a Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival/spinoff/reboot/whatever, who am I to argue?

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but I will not allow Elon Musk to implant a chip in my brain. Just not gonna happen.

That said…”I’m perfectly willing to believe that Musk would risk someone else’s life to help him with this nonsense, because he doesn’t see other people as real and deserving of compassion or empathy. But he’s also profoundly lazy and is accustomed to a world that unquestioningly swallows his most outlandish pronouncements, so Occam’s Razor dictates that the most likely explanation here is that he just made it up. The odds that there’s a human being beta-testing Musk’s neural interface with the only brain they will ever have aren’t zero. But I give it the same odds as the Raelians’ claim to have cloned a human being”.

“Say what you will about the Swifties, but when they run wild with a conspiracy theory, they at least try to back up their conjecture with close reading and other attempts at methodology.” That article led me to this one about the Taylor Swift/Argylle conspiracy theory, which most likely means my younger daughter will be going to see that movie.

“Male practice players have been around women’s basketball for at least a half-century, mimicking the opposition’s schemes and personnel. They’re generally in the gym to help, not to win, often getting nothing except cardio for their effort. But unfair fights are one thing. How about a 6-foot-4 Stanford forward with an impossible wingspan and deceptive speed? A teenage prodigy at USC with a bottomless bag of answers? The Iowa guard who might score more points than any player in college ever has?” I remember reading a Sports Illustrated story about Pat Summit doing this at Tennessee in the 90s. I’m glad to see this is still a thing.

Wishing Cecile Richards all the best.

“This latest fever dream of the right is another blast of cuckoo-ness. Yet with Swift as the target, this nutjobbery may well have a positive impact—showing a wide audience how extreme and lunatic the conservative movement can be.”

“As the new year begins, No Labels has a serious problem: no one wants to run on their ticket.”

“During the Trump years, plenty of families were torn apart because sons and daughters spoke out against MAGA moms and dads; because grandchildren estranged themselves from Trump-loving grandmothers and grandfathers; because uncles and cousins and brothers went Q-crazy. There are entire books written about this. There are documentaries. It’s a national tragedy. Why should Ivanka Trump be spared the familial pain felt by so many Americans? Because her wretched father was its author? Really? Boo fucking hoo.”

RIP, Hinton Battle, actor who won three Tony Awards for Sophisticated Ladies, The Tap Dance Kid, and Miss Saigon. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer will remember him as the singing/dancing demon Sweet from “Once More, with Feeling”. Here’s a reminder, in case you need it.

RIP, Chita Rivera, Broadway legend, two-time Tony winner and ten-time nominee, originator of Anita from West Side Story and Velma Kelly from Chicago. What a sad week for the musical theater.

“The business of counting evangelicals — and of deciding who does and doesn’t count — has always been a game involving differing weights and differing measures.”

RIP, Jean Carnahan, former US Senator from Missouri, the first woman to represent Missouri in the Senate.

RIP, Coleen Grissom, longtime and much-beloved English professor and Dean of Students at my alma mater, Trinity University. Go read Andrew Dansby’s lovely tribute to her for a good look at why she was such an institution.

“But how does it feel to be forced to carry an unwanted pregnancy under “ordinary” circumstances? Forced pregnancy has become commonplace, yet there is almost no research documenting the mental health impact of abortion bans. Social scientists, clinicians and advocates—all those whose work has facilitated an evidence-based awareness of and response to the physical harms of abortion bans—must expand the frame to include a rigorous assessment of the psychological harms as well. Building this body of research will inform the ongoing debate over the legitimacy of abortion bans, but just as importantly, it will permit doctors, advocates and policymakers to build a trauma-informed response to the situation on the ground.”

“Indian police cleared a suspected Chinese spy pigeon after eight months’ detention and released it into the wild Tuesday, news agency Press Trust of India reported.”

RIP, Carl Weathers, actor and former NFL player known for Rocky, The Mandalorian, and many other roles.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged linkdump | 2 Comments

January 2024 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

PREVIOUSLY:
State offices

Lina Hidalgo

Rodney Ellis
Adrian Garcia
Tom Ramsey
Leslie Briones

Kim Ogg
Sean Teare
Dan Simons

Ed Gonzalez
Vergil Ratliff
Joe Inocencio
Mike Knox
Joe Danna
Paul Day
Glenn Cowan

Christian Menefee
Umeka Lewis
Jacqueline Lucci Smith

Annette Ramirez
Danielle Bess
Jerry Davis
Desiree Broadnax
Claude Cummings
Michael Wolfe
Steve Radack

Teneshia Hudspeth
Carla Wyatt
Marilyn Burgess


Candidate     Raised       Spent       Loan     On Hand
=======================================================
Hidalgo      184,138     206,978     51,400      70,973

Ellis         92,813     180,802          0   5,241,377
Garcia       523,203     472,312          0   1,051,258
Ramsey       497,875     112,004          0   1,376,882
Briones      341,574     208,905          0   1,375,896

Ogg          282,274      97,634     48,489     455,755
Teare        278,817     237,522          0     550,792
Simons             0      12,910     15,000       2,090

Gonzalez     154,778      72,506          0     143,882
Ratliff        3,515       4,448          0         307
Inocencio        500       2,066        100           

Knox          14,370      24,425     10,000       3,448
Danna         49,387      61,349     35,452       1,922
Day            4,641       3,133      2,243       2,582
Cowan         46,160       7,760          0      41,595

Menefee       47,415      75,524          0     397,800
Lewis
Smith          2,556       1,250          0       1,306

Ramirez       18,081      11,266          0      23,283
Bess          15,175           0          0      15,175
Davis         22,817       5,114      5,000      
Broadnax       5,840       1,700      1,000       4,140
Cummings           0           0          0           0
Wolfe            200       3,168          0           0
Radack             0      49,220          0     715,239

Hudspeth      20,500       4,188          0      16,426
Wyatt            290           0          0       3,698
Burgess        4,904      13,667      5,207       7,211

The July 2023 reports for Harris County are here. Some reports didn’t show up until I looked one last time on Friday, though the system showed they had been posted on time or close to it. These things happen sometimes.

Judge Hidalgo has time to build up her campaign finance account before she’s on the ballot again, but she’s going to need to raise more than she spends to do that. I thought it might have been mostly legal expenses, but while she did drop about $18K on legal fees, the large majority of her expenditures were for various forms of political consultancy, including $4K per month for compliance services. I don’t know what the situation is but I do know math, and this math isn’t going to work for her. I hear whispers of a more formidable primary opponent for 2026, so this is not a situation I’d sleep on.

The other Commissioners did more or less as I’d expect. I fully expect Rodney Ellis to spend money on countywide turnout efforts. I won’t be surprised if Commissioners Garcia and Briones join him.

The story of July was how Sean Teare had greatly outraised Kim Ogg for DA, though that was largely due to a couple of large individual donations for Teare. Both raised similar amounts this period, and with Teare spending more they have similar amounts on hand. I can’t say for sure that Teare didn’t have some big individual contributions this time around because hie report was 183 pages long and I didn’t feel like scrolling all the way through it, but I did see numerous small donations – five dollars, ten dollars, 25 and 50 dollars – in the pages I did look at. That may have been in response to the criticism of his July report, I don’t know.

For Sheriff, it’s incumbent Ed Gonzalez and a lot of not much else. Mike Knox was never a big fundraiser as a Council member, and he’s still not much of a fundraiser. Joe Danna’s fundraising is always weird and includes a lot of in kind donations. Chron endorsee Glenn Cowan raised a few bucks but he’s going to need more than that. For County Attorney, Christian Menefee has a decent amount of cash, Umeka Lewis has not report I could find, and Republican Jacqueline Lucci Smith did little more than pay her filing fee.

Yes, that’s former Commissioner Steve Radack running for Tax Assessor. Some people don’t know how to retire, I guess. He will have far more cash available than any Democrat, but it doesn’t really matter. As I’ve said to a couple of folks, that’s a race that is almost entirely dependent on the overall partisan environment. If that race is competitive enough where his money or name ID might matter, we’re already in deep trouble. As for Michael Wolfe, he’s filed a report but as far as I can tell is not on the ballot even though his expenditure appears to be a filing fee. Some people don’t know how to stay away.

I’ll look at reports for the City of Houston and for Senate/Congress; those come online later than the local and state ones. Let me know if you have any questions.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Adrian Garcia, Annette Ramirez, campaign finance reports, Carla Wyatt, Christian Menefee, Claude Cummings, Commissioners Court, Dan Simons, Danielle Bess, Democratic primary, Desiree Broadnax, District Attorney, District Clerk, Ed Gonzalez, Election 2024, Glenn Cowan, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Harris County Clerk, Harris County Judge, Harris County Sheriff, Harris County Tax Assessor, Harris County Treasurer, Jacqueline Lucci Smith, Jerry Davis, Joe Danna, Joe Inocencio, Kim Ogg, Lesley Briones, Lina Hidalgo, Marilyn Burgess, Michael Wolfe, Mike Knox, Paul Day, primaries, Rodney Ellis, Sean Teare, Steve Radack, Teneshia Hudspeth, Texas, Tom Ramsey, Umeka Lewis-Piccolo, Vergil Ratliff | Comments Off

Do we have any HCAD candidates yet?

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Campos summarizes our forthcoming election calendar.

Most folks here in Harris County are gearing up for the political party primaries on Super Tuesday, March 5 with early voting in person beginning on Tuesday, February 20. Heck, Commentary already sent in my ballot, and it has been received, according to the Harrisvotes.com mail ballot tracker.

If you live in State Senate District 15, like me, you get to vote in the Special Election on Saturday, May 4, with early voting in person beginning on Monday, April 22.

This is from the Public Service Announcement (PSA) Department.

I bet most of you didn’t know that all voters in Harris County get to vote on the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD) board of director election that will also be held on Saturday, May 4. It is a new election that was created by a bill authored by GOP State Sen. Paul Bettencourt.

Yes, that HCAD election, which was sprung on us all. I still haven’t seen any news about it since that Trib story that alerted me to this change in the law. Which is a bit worrisome since the filing period is happening now. Here’s the HCAD announcement of the election, and their notice for anyone who may be interested in running for a position:

Local residents interested in running should direct applications to the office of the Harris County Judge. The office of the Harris County Judge is at 1001 Preston Street, Suite 911, Houston, TX 77002. They are open Monday – Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Applications for a place on the ballot can be emailed to Judge.Hidalgo@HarrisCountyTX.gov or faxed to 713.755.8379. For a place on the ballot, interested candidates must either pay a filing fee of $400, or provide a petition with 500 signatures of registered Harris County voters in lieu of a filing fee. Both must go to the county judge using the above information.

Below is a link to the application and a link to the Texas Secretary of State’s Election Advisory No. 2023-24.

https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/forms/pol-sub/2-49f.pdf
https://www.sos.state.tx.us/elections/laws/advisory2023-24.shtml

The filing period runs through February 17, which is fast approaching. I have no idea as of this writing if anyone has filed for this. I’m going to try to find out. If you are aware of anyone’s candidacy, please leave a comment and let us know.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged constitutional amendments, Election 2024, filing deadline, Harris County, Harris County Appraisal District, HCAD, property taxes | 3 Comments

Uvalde grand jury investigating police response

Posted on February 4, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

I admit to having mixed feelings about this.

A special grand jury first convened [January 19] in Uvalde will investigate law enforcement’s delayed response to Texas’ deadliest school shooting to determine whether criminal charges can be filed against officers, the Uvalde Leader-News first reported.

Twelve people were selected to serve on the jury in Texas’ 38th Judicial District Court. Jurors will meet around twice a month to hear testimony from witnesses of the May 24, 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. The attack killed 19 students and two teachers and injured 17 others.

Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell will also present her case to the jury, which will make a recommendation to her at the end of their investigation. The DA will then decide whether to pursue criminal charges against some of the nearly 400 law enforcement officers who responded to the scene.

[…]

On Thursday, the Justice Department released a long-awaited report detailing law enforcement’s bungled response to the shooting. The report criticized the “lack of urgency” demonstrated by former Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo and Uvalde Police Department Acting Chief Mariano Pargas, who both arrived at the school within minutes of the first round of shots fired.

The report also named Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco, Uvalde County Constables Emmanuel Zamora and Johnny Field, and an unidentified Texas Ranger as officers who did not question Arredondo and Pargas’ response.

“We’ve been calling for accountability, so hearing news of a grand jury convening, especially following the release of the DOJ’s report, feels like a step in the right direction,” said Kimberly Mata-Rubio on Friday evening. Mata-Rubio’s 10-year-old daughter Lexi was killed in the shooting and she’s since been a fierce advocate for gun reform. “I am glad people are finally seeing the truth — our children, those two teachers, were failed.”

Federal officials did not directly answer whether any officers responding to the shooting should face criminal charges. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said he would leave that to the local district attorney because the Justice Department only has jurisdiction over federal crimes.

Kirk Burkhalter, Professor of Law at New York Law School, said he suspects that law enforcement officers could face three possible criminal charges: manslaughter, criminally negligent homicide, and abandoning or endangering a child. Burkhalter believes that Chief Pete Arredondo will be the “primary target” of the grand jury’s investigation.

“You can’t have this report that points the finger so harshly at the Chief of Police and all the multiple failures of law enforcement where deaths occurred, and not impanel a grand jury to further investigate this and see if criminal charges are warranted,” Burkhalter said.

On the one hand, I’m glad to see this step being taken, and would only ask what took so long for it to happen. If there is sufficient evidence to support criminal charges against these or other individuals who responded but failed to act on that day, then by all means arrest them and put them on trial. If nothing else, I hope we finally get some more answers about what happened; even after the release of the Justice Department report, there are still many questions to pursue. And if this helps bring some peace to the affected families, so much the better.

On the other hand, I feel like we’re still only partially addressing the real problems here. The gun issue is of course the biggest, but the nature of the training that law enforcement agencies and officers get on active shooter incidents is still a question. Why after all this time and so many previous shootings were the cops so unprepared and disorganized? Maybe that was a matter of individual failures of leadership, and if so then this process may get to the heart of that. But DPS officers were on site as well, they screwed up in the same way, they’ve been covering their asses since the day of the shooting, and I don’t see Steve McCraw being held accountable. Whatever this grand jury can do, it can only do so much.

And speaking of the DOJ report:

The report’s recommendations include having active shooter plans for every school, regular meetings between local law enforcement and local government officials to conduct security exercises, replacing or upgrading all faulty school doors and locks, mental health screenings for victims and better communication between law enforcement, school officials and the community.

“Had law enforcement agencies followed generally accepted practices in an active shooter situation and gone right after the shooter to stop him, lives would have been saved and people would have survived,” said U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland during a news conference on Thursday.

Gov. Greg Abbott, who praised the police response immediately after the shooting and later said he was misled about how it transpired, released a statement Thursday thanking the Justice Department for its report. He said the state has already adopted some of the measures it recommended and would review others.

[…]

When officers arrived, they retreated after coming under fire and waited for backup. The decision was counter to the active shooter doctrine developed after the 1999 Columbine High School mass shooting in Colorado, which dictates that officers must immediately confront the shooters.

Leadership was also amiss among the plethora of law enforcement officers who responded to the shooting, with no one acting as the “incident commander.” Pete Arredondo, the Uvalde school district’s former police chief, has said he didn’t believe he was in charge, even though the district’s active-shooter plan states he was.

The report authors also expressed concern with an active-shooter training course that Uvalde school district police officers received from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement just months before the massacre, which states that an “active shooter event can easily morph into a hostage crisis and vice versa.” The Justice Department said that an active shooter event very rarely ceases to be a hostage situation and officers should always seek to eliminate the threat as soon as possible.

Texas is already trying to implement many of the Justice Department’s recommendations. Under HB 3, the state created a safety and security department within the Texas Education Agency and gave it the authority to compel school districts to establish and follow robust safety protocols. Those that fail to meet the agency’s standards could be put under the state’s supervision.

Since the 2018 Santa Fe High School shooting, the state has required school districts to submit those plans — which must include active-shooter strategies — for the review of the Texas School Safety Center, a think tank at Texas State University created by lawmakers in 2001.

A three-year audit in 2020 found that out of the 1,022 school districts in the state, just 200 districts had active-shooter policies as part of their safety plans. The audit revealed 626 districts did not have active-shooter policies; 196 had active-shooter policies but were deemed insufficient. Only 67 school districts had viable emergency operations plans overall, the report found.

HB3 also tasks the state with setting up teams to conduct security audits at every school district at least once a year. Districts are also required to have an armed person on campus.

Again putting aside the enormous problem of how fucking easy it is for any asshole to get their hands on weapons of mass murder, I am far from convinced that the state’s response to this tragedy is adequate. The fact that the kids knew what to do but the cops didn’t calls it all into question for me. I fear that we will be asking the same questions the next time this horrible event happens somewhere else.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Comments Off

January 2024 campaign finance reports – State offices

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The start of the new year means campaign finance reports are due for everyone. I’ll work my way through them as I can, in between the interviews and Q&As. At this point in January, the only state race to watch was SD15, and that still had John Whitmire in it, at least nominally. There are a couple more races of interest this time around, so let’s dive in.

Michelle Bonton, SD15
Beto Cardenas, SD15
Molly Cook, SD15
Jarvis Johnson, SD15
Todd Litton, SD15
Karthik Soora, SD15

Chase West, HD132
Stephanie Morales, HD138

Rosalind Caesar, HD139
Jerry Ford, HD139
Mo Jenkins, HD139
Charlene Ward Johnson, HD139
Angeanette Thibodeaux, HD139

Rep. Harold Dutton, HD142
Joyce Chatman, HD142
Clint Horn, HD142
Danny Norris, HD142

Rep. Shawn Thierry, HD146
Lauren Ashley Simmons, HD146
Ashton Woods, HD146


Dist   Candidate     Raised       Spent       Loan     On Hand
==============================================================
SD15      Bonton          0       1,250     10,000      10,000
SD15    Cardenas          0       1,250          0           0
SD15        Cook    130,573     107,628          0      75,665
SD15     Johnson    187,912      33,419     50,000     106,234
SD15      Litton    176,733      59,001          0     117,731
SD15       Soora     93,464     119,966     10,000     113,910

HD132       West      6,525       2,800          0         322
HD138    Morales

HD139     Caesar      9,660       3,893          0       5,766
HD139       Ford          0         750     50,000      49,250
HD139    Jenkins        700       3,777          0         595
HD139    Johnson      6,000       4,249      3,000       1,750
HD139 Thibodeaux      1,525       5,550          0         186

HD142     Dutton      4,750      13,307          0      53,941
HD142    Chatman
HD142       Horn        954      13,983     10,000
HD142     Norris     26,364       9,775          0

HD146    Thierry     53,246      31,019          0      29,998
HD146    Simmons     51,782       9,435          0      42,234
HD146      Woods

Lots of money raised and on hand in SD15, not so much spent so far. Can’t say I’ve seen any mail yet, and I’m not being stalked online by any of the candidates’ ads. I’m sure that will change soon enough. In the 20+ years I’ve lived at my current address, I can count the number of door-knockers I’ve received on my fingers; if this campaign doesn’t change that, I don’t know what would. One visit from the Molly Cook campaign and one from the Karthik Soora campaign when I wasn’t home (my daughter spoke to them) so far, we’ll see how it goes from there.

I’m a little surprised there isn’t more money in the HD139 primary, as it’s the only open House seat available. Maybe everyone’s planning a blockwalk-heavy candidacy. Maybe there will be more action on the 30 day reports. Or maybe the usual donors are just waiting for the runoff.

I don’t know what one can say about Rep. Harold Dutton. I assume he has close to universal name ID, and that probably informs his decisions about fundraising and campaigning. You can’t say he’s out there hoovering up all the money that other candidates are trying to collect, but you also can’t say that he’s in any position to help out with a broader effort to win in the county. He is what he is. Danny Norris has raised a few bucks and has been an elected official, one a lot of these voters will have supported in the past, but one could have said that about Jerry Davis in 2020 as well. It’s going to take persuading some people to not vote for Harold Dutton to win.

There’s more money in the HD146 primary. Of the $53K that Rep. Shawn Thierry raised in the previous six months, $10K came from Doug Deason, $5K from Darwin Deason, and $15K from Democrats for Education Reform. You can decide what that means to you, or if it matters given what she got herself up to last regular session.

I’m a little late in posting these, what with interviews and all. I’ll have more to come soon.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Angeanette Thibodeaux, Ashton Woods, Beto Cardenas, campaign finance reports, Charlene Ward Johnson, Chase West, Danyahel Norris, Democratic primary, Election 2024, Harold Dutton, HD132, HD138, HD139, HD142, HD146, Jarvis Johnson, Jerry Ford, Karthik Soora, Lauren Ashley Simmons, Michelle Bonton, Mo Jenkins, Molly Cook, Rosalind Caesar, SD15, Senate, Shawn Thierry, Stephanie Morales, Texas, The Lege, Todd Litton | 3 Comments

Mayor Whitmire working with the firefighters

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see what we get.

Mayor John Whitmire

In another step toward settling its years-long conflict with the city, the firefighters union met with Mayor John Whitmire’s administration [last] Friday morning to discuss the city’s first proposal for raises and back pay, with both sides expressing optimism about the potential for a resolution in the coming weeks.

The city and its firefighters have been embroiled in a bitter pay dispute since 2017. Whitmire, who has kept close ties to the firefighters during his lengthy political career, has long promised to put an end to their prolonged legal battle if elected mayor. He dropped an appeal in the lawsuit immediately after taking office, and attorneys for the two sides have met regularly since then.

While prior talks were mainly about the broader framework, Friday’s meeting saw the two parties delve into potential pay figures for the first time, according to City Attorney Arturo Michel. Both Michel and union president Marty Lancton told the Chronicle they feel encouraged by the progress so far.

The city is aiming to resolve all aspects of the dispute by the end of February, according to Michel. This involves agreeing on the amount of back pay owed to the firefighters since contract negotiations broke down, as well as establishing a new contract that outlines their compensation for the next three years. It also includes, Michel said, creating a plan for the city to finance these substantial payments.

“We’re committed to doing everything we can to reach that goal,” Michel said. He added that the city and the firefighters hope to reconvene next week to further solidify the pay figures.

[…]

The Greater Houston Partnership recently reported that the back pay owed to firefighters could cost the city between $500 and $600 million, adding strain to an already tight budget. And, as federal COVID-19 relief funds run out, city officials have projected budget shortfalls ranging from $114 million to $264 million during Whitmire’s first term.

Michel said that the city cannot disclose the specific numbers being discussed, but he noted that covering the costs will likely require using a combination of general fund dollars and debt issuance. He added that, depending on the bond type chosen, voter approval may be necessary.

“Eight years is a long time, so the dollar figure is going to be significant,” Michel said. “Most likely there will be some sort of financing debt aspect to it…We’re trying to see if we can coalesce around the dollar figures first, and then the next step is how we fund it.”

See here for the previous entry. Like I said, we’ll see what the price tag is, and then we’ll see what the plan is to pay for it. We did pension obligation bonds in 2017 as a way to pay down an existing debt, so the idea of floating bonds for this makes sense. Whether it will run into opposition, either legislative or electoral, remains to be seen. I’m gonna wait for the numbers and the plan and go from there.

Posted in Local politics | Tagged bonds, budget, collective bargaining agreement, HFD, Houston, HPFFA, John Whitmire, Mayor, pension obligation bonds, Sylvester Turner | 1 Comment

TEA takes over La Joya ISD

Posted on February 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

This one’s a little different.

The Texas Education Agency removed La Joya Independent School District’s democratically-elected school board and appointed a new superintendent after investigating the district’s previous leadership for allegations of fraud and conflicts of interest, the agency said Thursday.

The TEA said it named seven Hidalgo County residents to replace the previous school board and temporarily serve as a “board of managers” for La Joya ISD, a district of about 24,000 students in the Rio Grande Valley.

The agency also appointed Marcey Sorensen as the new superintendent. While the TEA was only required to change the district’s school board, the agency said it decided to place a new superintendent to ensure productive leadership moving forward.

The new board starts immediately. The TEA commissioner decides how long the board is in place.

A TEA investigation found last year that the school board spent $38 million installing LED lights on school campuses, but it turned out the contract to install those lights was part of a criminal conspiracy that involved millions of dollars in bribes and kickbacks.

Several trustees and administrators pleaded guilty last year to federal charges that included theft, bribery, money laundering, extortion and wire fraud.

As the story notes, the same law that allowed for the HISD takeover was the fulcrum for this takeover as well. It’s the second one the TEA has done so far. I can’t say I’m in favor of the TEA doing much of anything these days, but stepping in under these circumstances is a lot easier to understand, and one hopes a lot easier to resolve so they can get back out. We’ll see how it goes.

Posted in School days | Tagged Hidalgo County, HISD, La Joya ISD, Texas, Texas Education Agency, The Lege | Comments Off

Paxton sues five cities over marijuana decriminalization ordinances

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Seemed likely something like this would happen eventually.

A crook any way you look

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing five cities — Austin, San Marcos, Killeen, Elgin and Denton — to block their ordinances decriminalizing low-level marijuana possession.

In 2022, voters in the five cities approved policies that would end arrests and citations for possession of less than four ounces of marijuana. An initiative spearheaded by Ground Game Texas — the progressive group that first launched the proposition in Austin — worked with local organizations in the other four cities and succeeded in pushing for similar policies to appear on the ballots.

Paxton said in a Wednesday press release that the cities violated state laws and the Texas constitution concerning marijuana possession and distribution, claiming it to be unlawful for municipalities to adopt ordinances inconsistent with laws enacted by the Texas Legislature.

The ordinances had high levels of support. Austin received an overwhelming 85% of votes in support. In San Marcos, about 82% of votes were in favor. Elgin followed with almost 75% of votes in support. Denton, home to two universities, had about 71% votes in favor. Killeen had close to 70% in support.

The five cities are home-rule cities — jurisdictions that under the Texas constitution are allowed to establish any law or ordinance unless it’s expressly forbidden by state or federal law. However, Paxton argues the Texas Local Government Code forbids them from adopting policies that would result in not fully enforcing drug-related laws. Paxton is seeking to repeal the city’s ordinances and make them enforce state law.

See here for all my blogging on those referenda. Paxton is pond scum, but there have been concerns about the legality of these ordinances from the beginning, which is why in some cities the City Council voted to repeal the voter-approved ordinance. That doesn’t mean he’ll prevail, but his ridiculous rhetoric aside the lawsuit has merit. I’m actually a little surprised this wasn’t addressed by the Lege last year, though perhaps the Death Star bill would eventually cover it.

Anyway, this should be an interesting court fight, and whatever happens I’m happy for everyone to see Paxton be so forcefully on the side of locking up pot smokers, which is very much out of step with public opinion. I’m in favor of anything that makes him look even worse. The Current, Reform Austin, the Dallas Observer, and Courthouse News have more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, Austin, Bell County, City Council, Decriminalize Denton, Denton, Election 2022, Election 2023, Elgin, Ground Game Texas, Harker Heights, Hays County, Julie Oliver, Ken Paxton, Killeen, lawsuit, marijuana, San Marcos, Texas, The Lege | 2 Comments

Food Not Bombs sues the city again

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes.

Food Not Bombs, a group of volunteers who serve meals outside Houston Public Library’s downtown branch, filed suit Tuesday against the city, alleging that a food-sharing ordinance is unconstitutional. The suit claims that the city’s decision to begin ticketing them for feeding people in need at the location violates their First Amendment rights.

The suit argues that the group’s food-sharing events, which it says began in 2005, are a form of protest, which is protected under the First Amendment. “As their name makes clear, Food Not Bombs is not a charity, but instead a political association expressing a political message that government entities should divest money from war, policing, and weaponry,” the suit says, “and instead redirect that money to meet basic human needs.”

The city did not respond to a request for comment.

Randy Hiroshige, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project who is representing the plaintiffs in the suit, said that going to the courts was the next step following the project’s Jan. 8 petition. The organization had helped collect more than 24,000 signatures voicing support for ending the Houston law limiting sharing free meals. The Texas Civil Rights Project is a legal nonprofit whose lawyers often take on suits against policies they believe are unconstitutional.

He said the petition had been filed in the hopes that a new mayoral administration and city council would choose to stop enforcing the ordinance. Instead, tickets have continued to pile up: Since March, Food Not Bombs volunteers have racked up nearly 90 tickets seeking at least $21,000 in fines. Volunteers are largely asking for jury trials for the tickets, and at a trial, a jury could move to fine volunteers up to $2,000 per incident.

The new lawsuit joins an existing suit filed in March of 2023, which made similar arguments. While that suit also sought for a judge to order the city to stop enforcing the ordinance, it was made on behalf of one member of Food Not Bombs. Hiroshige and Remington Alessi, who is also representing Food Not Bombs, said they wanted to file another suit on behalf of the group as a whole since they are all being impacted.

The Houston law in question is an ordinance against giving away meals unless you have permission from the property where you’re doing it, even if the property is public. It was put in place by City Council in 2012 but largely had gone unenforced for over a decade, municipal records show. The city began ticketing Food Not Bombs in March of 2023.

Around that time, the city began funding meals on the same days that Food Not Bombs serves. The city-funded meals are in a police parking lot near the municipal courthouse, where the city says Food Not Bombs can serve without being ticketed. In response to the 2023 federal suit, the city said ticketing Food Not Bombs was part of “Houston’s governmental obligations to ensure food safety.”

There was also a lawsuit filed in 2019 that I presume went nowhere since it wasn’t mentioned in either this story or the Houston Landing story, which has a copy of the new lawsuit embedded in it. There were also state lawsuits filed in 2017 and 2018 that wound up getting dismissed. I note that one of the plaintiffs in that 2018 suit is still active with Food Not Bombs, based on the coverage of this new lawsuit.

One thing I learned in the Chron story is that Food Not Bombs is a national organization and that its chapters in a couple of other cities have successfully litigated similar issues. That they claim this is an infringement of their free speech and not a matter of regulating charitable activity appears to be the key to that.

A subsequent story in the Houston Landing goes into the history of the ordinance in question.

Former Mayor Annise Parker announced the ordinance in July 2012. In September of that year, Parker provided Food Not Bombs permission to hand out food near the Central Houston Public Library downtown – a location where they have been serving the hungry for nearly two decades.

In an interview with the Landing, Parker said the ordinance was part of different steps the city was taking to improve its response to homelessness at the time.

Feeding people with food insecurities was unorganized, inefficient and at times illegal, she said. Organizations feeding the homeless and food insecure were mostly church-based, and the activities occurred randomly, mostly around the holidays. Food distribution wasn’t consistent or dispersed efficiently throughout the city. It mostly occurred in the downtown area, she said.

The ordinance requires individuals who want to provide food to more than five people at a time to receive the property owner’s consent in order to hold a food-sharing event.

“The illegal part of it was that they were doing it on other people’s property,” Parker said. “And so despite what groups like Food Not Bombs says, which isn’t true, it is absolutely legal to feed any number of homeless people in Houston and anytime you want to as long as you do it on your own property or you have the property owner’s permission.”

The city ordinance created a voluntary Charitable Food Service Provider Program, which includes four steps for organizations to be certified by the city to share food. The Houston Health Department and the Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County lead the program.

Between March 2023 and Jan. 18, 54 organizations have registered with the program, said Renee Beckham, chief sanitarian in charge of administering the Charitable Feeding Program for the Houston Health Department.

The voluntary program requires organizations to obtain registration; go through training; receive a property owner’s consent; and schedule the food events.

“The purpose of the food safety is to educate people who really don’t deal with food safety on a day-to-day basis,” Beckham said. “They don’t work in restaurants, or grocery stores, anything like that. So we need to get that knowledge to them so they don’t wind up making any of the homeless people sick.”

In 2023, Turner began enforcing the charitable food ordinance and designated one location, 61 Riesner St., for food sharing. The city voided the previous permission Parker provided Food Not Bombs. City officials say the group has been illegally feeding the homeless near the Central Plaza – Houston Public Library four days a week.

Parker said she allowed Food Not Bombs to operate at the library because it was not a random charity, but rather a group that had a regular program and operated consistently, she said.

“This was not about trying to stop people from feeding the hungry. It was, let’s have a logical process,” she said. “I gave them permission to do it on the library Plaza but it was granted permission and that permission can be removed at any time.”

The permission was conditional on the fact that they clean up after themselves and handle the food safely, she said.

Read on for more. Food Not Bombs is a very sympathetic actor here, and I don’t see the point in repeatedly ticketing them. I also think, and thought at the time, that what the city was trying to do was quite reasonable. I would greatly prefer to see cooperation and not litigation, but here we are. I’ll keep an eye on this.

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged Annise Parker, Charitable Feeding Program, Coalition for the Homeless, downtown, Food Not Bombs, homelessness, Houston, Houston City Council, Houston Department of Health and Human Services, John Whitmire, lawsuit, Sylvester Turner, Texas Civil Rights Project | Comments Off

I don’t care about Rep. Jacey Jetton’s primary fight

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

There was a time when I’d have cared about this, but that time has passed.

Rep. Jacey Jetton

In many ways, state Rep. Jacey Jetton could be the poster child for the Texas Republican Party.

He is a young, married father of color, the son of a Korean immigrant and a member of the Army National Guard. He is a “Christian first” who leads religious services in his home every other Saturday. In his first two terms in office, Jetton has helped usher in some of the state’s most conservative and controversial measures, including border wall funding, a sweeping elections bill, an abortion ban and a prohibition on gender-affirming care for transgender youth.

But some in the GOP can’t get over one lingering detail: Jetton voted to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton on corruption charges in May.

In the months since, Jetton has been labeled a RINO — a Republican in name only — by some of the party’s farthest-right members, and he faces two primary challengers who say he is not conservative enough and has abandoned voters in his Fort Bend County district. Paxton and U.S. Rep. Troy Nehls, his hometown congressman, have endorsed a primary opponent. Both have called him a “liberal.”

Jetton, of Richmond, is one of several conservative House Republicans facing difficult and likely expensive primaries this year over singular issues — impeachment chief among them. Gov. Greg Abbott also is opposing GOP House members who voted against his priority legislation on a private school voucher plan, regardless of their stances on other issues. Abbott endorsed Jetton, who authored a voucher proposal this year, and is going head-to-head with Paxton in at least 21 primary races.

He’s also at least election denialist adjacent; certainly, he took tangible steps to make administering elections less secure and efficient. I’ll give him credit for his vote to impeach Paxton, which indicates he’s not a complete drone, but there’s nothing else there to point to. He’s Briscoe Cain in a purple district. The way to make the House a better place is to elect a Democrat in HD26. The only thing that matters in his primary is that enough hard feelings are generated by the loser to make that a little bit easier.

There are some Republican primaries that I have no choice but to care about as they involve members who correctly opposed vouchers and the zombies being backed by Greg Abbott and his billionaire overlords. While the results of the HD02 special election offer some reason for optimism, relying on Republican primary voters to do the right thing is a losing proposition. But here we are.

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged Daniel Lee, Election 2024, HD26, impeachment, Jacey Jetton, Jessica Huang, Ken Paxton, Matt Morgan, primaries, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

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