Tag Archives: Borris Miles

New accusations of sexual harassment in the Texas Senate

A followup to a story from seven years ago. Sadly but not surprisingly, very little has changed since then. Texas senators were silent on Friday in the face of fresh allegations of sexual harassment revealed in in a Texas Monthly … Continue reading

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Bills filed to stop the TEA takeover of HISD

Feels too late to me, but it can’t hurt to try. State senators have filed the first bill to soften the law that triggers school district takeovers. State Sens. Carol Alvarado, Borris Miles and John Whitmire filed Senate Bill 1662 in response to the threat of … Continue reading

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The Lege does its housekeeping

In the Senate, they drew their lots to see who would have to run again in 2024. It was the luck of the draw for Texas senators on Wednesday as they drew lots to decide which half of them would … Continue reading

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First major vote suppression bill passes

Nothing’s going to stop them. Senate Republicans on Thursday cleared the way for new, sweeping restrictions to voting in Texas that take particular aim at forbidding local efforts meant to widen access. In an overnight vote after more than seven … Continue reading

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We have our Speaker

Congratulations. The Texas House on Tuesday elected state Rep. Dade Phelan as the next House speaker, ushering into office a new leader who will oversee a chamber facing its toughest set of legislative challenges in years against the backdrop of … Continue reading

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More on the Lathan non-hiring

Some sharp criticism from local leaders about the HISD Board’s decision not to hire interim Superintendent Grenita Lathan permanently. About 20 of Houston’s leading Black elected officials, clergy and racial justice advocates called Tuesday for Houston ISD’s school board to … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Carol and Borris

This is another easy call. When Carol Alvarado was elected to represent state Senate District 6 in a special election in 2018, she already had an impressive record under her belt. After serving on Houston City Council and as the … Continue reading

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Does getting to 40% make you likely to win the runoff?

I was talking with some fellow political nerds last week, and one of the topics was the forthcoming runoffs. As is usually the case, this year we have some runoffs between candidates who finished fairly close together in round one, … Continue reading

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2020 primary results: State races

I’m going to direct you to the Texas Tribune results page, which combines both parties’ results and is a couple orders of magnitude less sucky than the revamped SOS election night results pages. Good Lord, whoever designed that “upgrade” from … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Not Borris

The Chron makes its second major endorsement against an incumbent. Texas Senate District 13 stretches through Harris County into the northeastern corner of Fort Bend County. It winds through struggling neighborhoods such as Sunnyside and the world-renowned Texas Medical Center … Continue reading

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The interviews I didn’t do

As was the case with the 2019 Houston elections, there were too many candidates and too many races (and in this case, too little time as well) to do a full slate of interviews. I did what I could, and … Continue reading

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January 2020 campaign finance reports: SBOE and State Senate

Let’s finish off our review of state offices. This post will cover State Board of Education, District 6, and the State Senate. My two-part look at the State House was here and here, Harris County offices were here, and statewide … Continue reading

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Where the primary action is

It’s on the Democratic side in Harris County. This should come as a surprise to no one. The crowded Harris County Democratic primary field reflects a new reality in Houston politics: With the county turning an even darker shade of … Continue reading

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After-deadline filing review: Houston area

There’s a lot to digest following Monday’s filing deadline, and as I’ve said I’m going to take some time and go over it in as much obsessive detail as you’ve probably come to expect from me. As a reminder, the … Continue reading

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The “Has Not Yet Filed” list

Today is the actual, official filing deadline. Anyone who has not filed for a spot in the primary by 6 PM today is not a candidate for a Democratic nomination in 2020. A whole lot of people have already filed, … Continue reading

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Time for the 2019 outrageous and dishonest mailer

There’s at least one every cycle. A handful of black Democratic elected officials are expressing outrage over a campaign mailer that appears to have used photos of the politicians without consent to falsely suggest they endorsed a slate of City … Continue reading

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Filing report update

We’re a week out from the official filing deadline for the 2020 primaries. There’s still a lot of known candidates who haven’t filed yet, but I expect there will be a mad flurry of activity this week, as is usually … Continue reading

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Filing period preview: SBOE, Senate, House

Previously: Congress, and Statewide. As before, I am using the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet as my primary reference. Buckle up, there’s a lot to talk about here. I’m going to limit my discussion of State House races to the greater Houston … Continue reading

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Will the next SOS be any better than David Whitley?

Anything is possible, but don’t count on it. Voting rights advocates are celebrating Whitley’s forced departure, but said they have no illusions that his successor will be any more committed to upholding voting rights for all Texans. “There is certainly … Continue reading

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Senate protects Confederate monuments

I will never understand this. After nearly four hours of testimony and an emotional show of opposition from some legislators of color in the Texas Senate, the upper chamber approved Tuesday a bill that would expand protections for historical monuments. … Continue reading

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UT investigating sexual misconduct case against State Sen. Schwertner

Noted for the record. The University of Texas is investigating an allegation that state Sen. Charles Schwertner sent a sexually explicit image and text message to a graduate student he met at an on-campus event this summer, three senior UT … Continue reading

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Senate has a hearing on its sexual harassment policy

The babiest of baby steps. There has only been one official sexual harassment complaint in the Texas Senate since 2001, the secretary of the Senate said Thursday. The Senate Administration Committee debated possible ways to revise current sexual harassment policy … Continue reading

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So now that names have been named, now what?

Maybe some hearings? I don’t know. Texas leaders called for a review of sexual harassment policies at the state Legislature following a Texas Tribune story detailing how current procedures offered little protection for victims and describing a wide range of harassment at the … Continue reading

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That sexual harassment day of reckoning in Texas politics has begun

The Daily Beast follows up its initial reporting about the secret sexual predators of Texas politics with a story that names names. Two names, in particular. Rather than excerpt at length, allow me to quote the Texas Monthly Daily Post … Continue reading

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The secret sexual predators of Texas politics

Come in, sit down, make yourself comfortable. Maybe a nice cup of hot tea? There now, all settled in? Good. Now steel yourselves and read this. More than a year before the now-infamous “shitty media men” list, women in Texas’s statehouse … Continue reading

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Signings and vetoes

Greg Abbott does his thing. Gov. Greg Abbott has vetoed 50 bills that were passed during the regular legislative session, his office announced Thursday. That’s several more than he vetoed following the last session and the most a governor has … Continue reading

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Senate passes bathroom bill

Take your victory lap, Dan Patrick. The Texas Senate on Tuesday tentatively signed off on the so-called “bathroom bill” on a 21-10 vote with one Democrat — state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr. of Brownsville — voting in favor of the … Continue reading

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More on the Whitmire Astrodome bill

I still don’t care for this. Harris County Judge Ed Emmett voiced concern Tuesday that a bill filed by a veteran state senator jeopardizes the county’s plan to revitalize the Astrodome, adding that county representatives would continue to try to … Continue reading

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Once more on HD146

Christopher Hooks from the Observer was at Saturday’s festivities, and he files his report. And on Saturday, 24 precinct chairs met in a small room full of folding chairs at the Sunnyside Multi-Service Center in south Houston to pick Miles’ … Continue reading

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Thierry wins HD146 nomination

Our long strange trip is finally over. Democratic party precinct chairs chose their replacement Saturday morning for a vacant spot on the party’s November ballot. Attorney Shawn Thierry secured the nomination for House District 146, a seat left empty after … Continue reading

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HD146 nomination process is today

You know the drill. Twenty-seven southwest Houston precinct chairs are set to tap a replacement for Democratic state Rep. Borris Miles on Saturday, the third time in less than two months many of them have convened to fill a hole … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Carter in HD146

The Chron makes their choice for the last of the nominations to be filled by Democratic precinct chairs. The contest to replace state Rep. Borris Miles isn’t exactly a fair fight. Erica Lee Carter, daughter of U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson … Continue reading

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HD146 nomination process to take place on August 6

Mark your calendars. Last Saturday, State Rep. Borris Miles secured the Democratic nomination to replace Senator Rodney Ellis for Senate District 13. As a result, Rep. Miles will have to vacate his seat in House District 146. Precinct chairs will … Continue reading

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Miles wins SD13 nomination

And so we gathered again to pick a nominee to fill an open slot on the ballot, though at least this time the “we” who did the actual picking did not include me. I went to observe, say Hi, gather … Continue reading

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