Tag Archives: Celia Israel

Kirk Watson again elected Mayor of Austin

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Party like it’s 1997, y’all. In a tight race, Austin voters picked a familiar face Tuesday night to guide the capital city over the next two years as the region deals with skyrocketing housing costs and explosive growth. In a … Continue reading →

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Election 2022 miscellania: Marijuana, Austin Mayor, CRT

Posted on November 12, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

Three items of interest for you. First up, several local initiatives to decriminalize marijuana were successful on Tuesday. By the end of Election Day, five Texas cities have voted to decriminalize low-level marijuana possession. After Austin voters overwhelmingly approved the … Continue reading →

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On primarying the quorum breakers

Posted on January 16, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Comings and goings

Posted on October 21, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Lloyd Doggett will run in a new district again. Longtime U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, has decided to run for reelection in Texas’ 37th Congressional District, opting to vie for one of Texas’ two new congressional districts — a … Continue reading →

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Four House members to step down

Posted on September 24, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

In order of announcement… Rep. Scott Sanford. State Rep. Scott Sanford, a Republican from McKinney, announced Sunday he is not running for reelection, citing his family, especially his grandchildren. “As the legislature embarks on its third special session, I’m reminded … Continue reading →

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Still no Dems arrested yet

Posted on August 19, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Finally, a story that points out the same thing I’ve been saying about those arrest warrants. More than a week after Republicans in the Texas House voted to authorize arrests of their quorum-busting Democratic colleagues, no such roundup has come … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court tosses no-arrest order

Posted on August 11, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Things just got more interesting. House Democrats who refuse to show up for the Legislature could soon be detained by law enforcement and brought back to the state Capitol, after the Texas Supreme Court on Tuesday voided a state district … Continue reading →

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You can’t arrest the quorum-busters, at least not yet

Posted on August 10, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Good to know. A state district judge in Travis County issued an order blocking the arrest of House Democrats who have broken quorum by leaving the state, paving the way for those who remain outside of Texas to return home … Continue reading →

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Meet the new special session

Posted on August 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Same as the old special session, at least at first. It appears likely that not enough Democrats will show up for the Texas House to conduct business when a second special legislative session convenes Saturday. Some of the more than … Continue reading →

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There’s so much more money in Texas races

Posted on October 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Item one: It’s the question that many, many people have raised — often as a joke — for years. But the combination of changing demographics, chaos among the state Republican ranks, and the ongoing struggles of President Donald Trump’s campaign … Continue reading →

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We don’t need a vote to expand Medicaid

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a fundamental truth that needs to be addressed in this. On Tuesday, Missouri became the 38th state to expand Medicaid, opening healthcare to over 230,000 Missourians. It joins a lengthy list of GOP-led states in expanding healthcare, including Nebraska, … Continue reading →

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Rep. Eddie Rodriguez announces for SD14

Posted on March 9, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Others are sure to follow. State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, an Austin Democrat, announced Saturday that he is running for Texas Senate District 14. “It is truly an honor to even be running [for] the Senate,” Rodriguez said at B.D. Riley’s … Continue reading →

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The next bathroom bill

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

You can see it coming from here. The Texas House LGBTQ Caucus is counting on Democrats flipping the Republican-held House to keep another possible ‘bathroom bill’ off the table during the 2021 legislative session. Texas Republicans last week rallied around … Continue reading →

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So now what with Bonnen?

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Democrats will wait and see. On Thursday night, as Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s political fate continued to hang in the balance, some of the most influential Democrats were in El Paso for a town hall and were split on … Continue reading →

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Undead “religious liberty” bill passes House

Posted on May 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is why people caution that no bill is truly dead at the Lege until sine die. Over the tearful opposition of the Legislature’s first-ever LGBTQ Caucus and several failed attempts at a procedural block, the Texas House passed a … Continue reading →

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More calls for Joaquin Castro to run for Senate

Posted on March 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s getting louder. Latino Victory Fund, a national advocacy group that began in San Antonio, is putting more pressure on U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro to leap into the Senate race against Texas GOP Sen. John Cornyn. On Friday, Latino Victory … Continue reading →

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Texas is not going to expand Medicaid

Posted on February 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t get me wrong, Texas should have expanded Medicaid at its first opportunity. It would do so much to improve health care in the state, including and especially mental health care, which would have significant spillover effects on criminal justice. … Continue reading →

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Trying again with online voter registration

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Fingers crossed. Texas voter registration might be heading to the internet if any of several bills filed for the upcoming legislative session finds its way to the governor’s desk. Five bills, all filed by Democratic legislators, would require the state … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts: The Lege

Posted on November 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Live by the gerrymander, die by the gerrymander. At the end of the 2011 legislative session, state Rep. Rafael Anchia, a Dallas Democrat, sat down to dinner with a Republican colleague from the Texas House. Anchia was exhausted and incensed. … Continue reading →

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We really need to replace our crappy old voting machines

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is embarrassing. Local election administrators in Texas are eager to replace voting machines purchased more than a decade ago in time for the 2020 presidential election. Increasingly susceptible to malfunctions, upkeep for the aging machines can exceed $300,000 annually … Continue reading →

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Revisiting online voter registration

Posted on May 15, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Camel’s nose in the tent alert. Texas could be forced to create at least one narrow avenue for online voter registration after a federal judge ruled that the state is violating the National Voter Registration Act, a decades-old federal law … Continue reading →

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Record number of LGBT candidates running this year

Posted on January 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

OutSmart does the math. A record 40 openly LGBTQ people will run for public office in Texas in 2018, according to an extensive review by OutSmart. That’s roughly twice as many as in any previous election cycle in the state’s … Continue reading →

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There’s more than SB6 to watch out for

Posted on February 24, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Keep an eye out for other anti-LGBT bills, because any of them might pass even if SB6 goes down. With the media seemingly preoccupied by Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick’s bathroom bill, three Republican state senators have quietly introduced a sweeping … Continue reading →

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More on the cost of a bathroom bill

Posted on December 7, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever one thinks of the Texas Association of Business, you have to hand it to them for their lobbying focus on the great potty issue. With the legislative session just weeks ahead, the Texas business community is digging in its … Continue reading →

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Ready to engage in the next fight

Posted on July 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

No rest for the righteous. On Monday, national and state gay rights leaders and the plaintiffs who sued for marriage equality convened in front of the Texas Capitol to make a different kind of vow: The fight for lesbian, gay, … Continue reading →

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Pointless “pastor protection” bill passes House

Posted on May 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. The House tentatively approved Thursday a bill saying that Texas pastors, churches and religious institutions can’t be sued by private parties or penalized by government for spurning gay weddings. Many clergy, especially Southern Baptist ministers opposed to gay marriage, … Continue reading →

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Point/counterpoint on online voter registration

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Point. Texans can use www.Texas.gov for nearly 1,000 services, such as applying for concealed handgun licenses and driver records, and renewing driver licenses, vehicle registrations and many state-required professional licenses. It is time to allow Texans to use this proven, … Continue reading →

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Online voter registration bill appears to be dead

Posted on May 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Alas. A group of Harris County officials have succeeded in scuttling a bipartisan bill that would have made Texas the 27th state to let citizens register to vote online. The proposal was co-sponsored by a majority of the House, but … Continue reading →

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Not everyone likes the idea of online voter registration

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And most of them are from Harris County. A House panel got a taste late Monday of the deep skepticism toward bringing online voter registration to Texas, skepticism coming from at least one population-rich part of the state. It was … Continue reading →

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Let the budgetary games begin

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The House takes up the budget today, with over 300 amendments and riders queued up for votes. A couple of things to watch for as the debate goes on: Killing vouchers. Lawmakers in the Texas House will have a chance … Continue reading →

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Not a good session for equality

Posted on March 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I know, duh, right? Texas lawmakers have filed at least 20 anti-LGBT proposals this year—likely the most in the history of any state. It’s the type of onslaught that was widely expected among LGBT advocates, due to backlash over the … Continue reading →

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Bill filing deadline has passed

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Believe it or not, we are almost halfway through the legislative session, and we have now passed the point where new bills can be filed. Racing to beat a deadline for filing bills, state lawmakers on Friday submitted hundreds of … Continue reading →

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More on the initial bill filings

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib, a sampling: As of Monday afternoon, a bill repealing the Texas Dream Act, which allows undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state college tuition rates, had yet to emerge. Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Patrick promised while campaigning that he would work … Continue reading →

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Celia Israel wins HD50 special election runoff

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats, Rep.-elect Celia Israel. In the special runoff election for District 50 in the Texas House, Democrat Celia Israel took the lead after early voting. Israel, a Realtor, earned 58.8 percent of the early vote, and Republican Mike VanDeWalle, a … Continue reading →

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