Tag Archives: Congress

Let’s pay some attention to the Gulf Coast Protection District

They may raise some tax revenue to help pay for the Ike Dike, so best to know what’s happening with it. Especially since they didn’t exactly go out of their way to make it easy to do that. Danielle Goshen … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Let’s pay some attention to the Gulf Coast Protection District

Final roundup of interviews and judicial Q&As

Here they all are. As noted, I may return to some races for the runoff. For now, this is what we have. As a reminder, much more information about Democratic primary candidates, including links to the interviews and judicial Q&As, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Speaking of cryptocurrency and electricity usage…

Congress has a few questions. From wind farms in West Texas to an old aluminum refining operation outside Austin, crypto miners are flooding into Texas take advantage of some of the cheapest power in the country and positioning the state … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Speaking of cryptocurrency and electricity usage…

Et tu, H-GAC?

WTAF? Houston is slated to get just 2 percent of the regional council’s $488 million tranche for storm mitigation, angering city leaders who say the city consistently has been shorted when it comes to the federal money. The Houston-Galveston Area … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Almost all of the big ones

The Sunday Chron was full of endorsements, which given the timing and the edition is what you’d expect. Most of them are not particularly remarkable, and I’m not going to spend any time on their recommendations for Beto and Mike … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Almost all of the big ones

January 2022 campaign finance reports: Congress

The filing deadline has passed, the primary lineups are set, and we have a new set of races and candidates to review. As was the case in the past two cycles, I’ll follow the contested primaries as well as the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interviews and judicial Q&As through February 4

Updating from last week. This is to put all of the interviews and judicial Q&As in a single post for your convenience, in case you missed something. This past week was CD38 plus Candis Houston in HD142 and Chase West … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Interviews and judicial Q&As through February 4

Interview with Diana Martinez Alexander

My second interview for the Democratic primary in CD38 is with Diana Martinez Alexander, who is an educational diagnostician in Cy-Fair ISD, working with special education students, linguistically diverse populations, and lower socio-economic communities. She’s also a dedicated activist and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Duncan Klussmann

This week we will have interviews with two of the Democratic candidates in the new CD38, as well as a couple of interviews with legislative candidates, about which I’ll say a bit more tomorrow. Today’s candidate for CD38 is Duncan … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Interview with Duncan Klussmann

Vote No and take the dough

It’s as Republican as insurrection and hydroxychloroquine. Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, last year left little doubt why she was voting against a $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure measure, calling it nothing more than a “socialist plan full of crushing taxes and … Continue reading

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Supreme Court to hear whether state redistricting lawsuit can proceed

Here’s the update I’ve been waiting for. Not what I was hoping for, but it is what it is. The state’s bid to toss a legal challenge arguing last year’s GOP-led redistricting effort violated the Texas Constitution is headed to … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

“Unprecedented” meddling in the Census

They weren’t subtle about it. A newly disclosed memorandum citing “unprecedented” meddling by the Trump administration in the 2020 census and circulated among top Census Bureau officials indicates how strongly they sought to resist efforts by the administration to manipulate … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bypass the GLO

Heck yeah. All five members of Harris County Commissioners Court signed onto a letter Friday asking the local congressional delegation to ensure that future disaster relief bypasses the state government and goes directly to large counties. The letter is the … Continue reading

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

On primarying the quorum breakers

Of interest. Working Families Party, a political party and relative newcomer to Texas politics that backs Democrats aligned with their platform, aims to spend in the ballpark of half a million dollars this cycle, WFP Texas Co-director Pedro Lira told … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on On primarying the quorum breakers

Supreme Court rejects mandamus over Commissioners Court redistricting

The primary will proceed as scheduled, but the issue could be revisited sometime after the 2022 election. The Texas Supreme Court rejected an effort by Republican commissioners and voters to block Harris County’s recent redistricting plan on Friday, suggesting another … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Supreme Court rejects mandamus over Commissioners Court redistricting

It would seem that the San Marcos Police Department has some major problems

Geez. The city of San Marcos admits in new court documents to text exchanges among its police officers about the Joe Biden bus incident in October 2020. But it denies what it calls a “characterization” of the exchanges by the … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It would seem that the San Marcos Police Department has some major problems

What does “race blind” redistricting even mean?

Good question. In states like Texas and North Carolina, Republican lawmakers in charge of redrawing the political maps for the next decade say that the new plans are “race blind.” Their opponents in court say that the claim is implausible and one … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lawsuit over Harris County Commissioners Court redistricting tossed

Missed this over the holidays. A Harris County Judge on Wednesday tossed a lawsuit from Republican commissioners and voters over new county maps that favor Democrats. Judge Dedra Davis ruled in favor of Harris County, finding that Republican commissioners Jack … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Congressional committee has some questions for Live Nation

Interesting. A congressional committee is investigating the promoter of the Astroworld music festival, where 10 people were killed in a crowd surge as rapper Travis Scott performed last month. The House Oversight and Reform Committee sent a letter Wednesday to … Continue reading

Posted in National news | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Congressional committee has some questions for Live Nation

The state of the state redistricting lawsuits

A good update, and a reminder that not all of the action is in federal court. In two cases heard [December 14 and 15], a group of mostly Democratic, Hispanic lawmakers from both chambers challenged the legality of when and … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The “prison gerrymandering” lawsuit

Of the many lawsuits filed so far over Texas redistricting, this is the one I know the least about. Nearly a quarter of a million people were incarcerated in Texas when the Census was taken last year. When lawmakers redrew … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Rep. Martinez-Fischer sues over CD35

One more federal redistricting lawsuit to add to the pile. Texas State Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer filed a lawsuit today challenging boundaries of the recently redrawn U.S. House District 35. In the lawsuit, Fischer claims that the redrawn map violates … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Filing update: More candidates than you can count

This headline and first paragraph are short by a couple of candidates. A dozen potential challengers to Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo were among the scores who filed ahead of Monday’s deadline to run for county offices next year. […] … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Filing update: Not that Rick Perry

I’m going to let this speak for itself. Rick Perry is running for governor — but not that Rick Perry. The Republican Party of Texas updated its list of candidate filings Monday — hours before the deadline for the March … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The filings I’m still looking for

Today is Filing Deadline Day. By the end of today, we’ll know who is and isn’t running for what. While we wait for that, let’s review the filings that have not yet happened, to see what mysteries may remain. Congress: … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Filing update: We have an Ag Commissioner candidate

But before I can get to that and other news, I have to bring you this: A Fort Worth man is running for the State Board of Education as a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian and Green Party member. Filing for a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Justice Department sues Texas over redistricting maps

Add it to the queue. The Department of Justice is suing Texas over its new redistricting maps, alleging that lawmakers intentionally discriminated against Latino and Black voters while redrawing the state’s political districts this year. The lawsuit, filed in federal … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Justice Department sues Texas over redistricting maps

Filing update: Judge Hidalgo makes it official

She has filed for re-election, in case you had thought there was some other possibility. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced her 2022 re-election campaign Friday afternoon as she filed paperwork at the Harris County Democratic Party headquarters. Although progress … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Ike Dike is still a work in progress

I’ll be honest, I thought we were further along than this. Members of Texas’ congressional delegation are gearing up for a “marathon” effort to secure funding for a long-sought barrier to protect the Texas Gulf Coast from catastrophic storm surge. … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A brief filing update

Just a few observations as we head out of the holiday season and into what I expect will be the busier part of the filing period. I’m using the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet, the SOS candidate filing resource, and the candidate … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Cracking Asian-American communities

The Trib explores what the new Congressional maps did to Asian-American communities, mostly but not exclusively in the Houston area. When Texas lawmakers redrew congressional maps following the 2020 census, they split up Asian American populations in both Harris and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Redistricting litigation update

Reform Austin shows that the state’s legal defense strategy against the various redistricting lawsuits is “You can’t sue us!” Because of the clear racial gerrymandering, multiple groups are launching legal challenges under the Voting Rights Act. The state has now … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Precinct analysis: The new Congressional map

Previously: New State House map We will now take a look at how the districts of interest in the new Congressional map have changed over the past decade. Same basic idea, looking at the closer districts from 2020 to see … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Louie Gohmert will run for AG

I got nothing. U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, announced Monday he is running for attorney general, challenging fellow Republican Ken Paxton, in the already crowded primary. “Texas I am officially running to be your next Attorney General and will enforce … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments