Tag Archives: Jeff Wentworth

The National Democratic Redistricting Committee in Texas

Posted on February 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s say I’m hope but verify on this one. Former President Barack Obama and members of his administration are ready to take another shot at chipping away at Republican domination in Texas. A new group headed by former Attorney General … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Pennington

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses CM Oliver Pennington for a third term. For the past four years, District G has been ably represented by attorney Oliver Pennington. We recommend a vote for Pennington to continue his service at city hall. Pennington, a … Continue reading →

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Chan challenges Campbell in SD25

Posted on October 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

An awful candidate against an awful incumbent. Two months after stirring national controversy by condemning homosexuality, Councilwoman Elisa Chan has decided to leave the council to run for the Texas Senate in 2014, challenging District 25 state Sen. Donna Campbell … Continue reading →

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The redistricting commission idea rides again

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Jeff Wentworth is no longer in the Senate, but his signature idea for a bipartisan redistricting commission still lives, now in an expanded form. State Rep. Rafael Anchia (D-Dallas) filed a proposed constitutional amendment Wednesday that would move responsibility for … Continue reading →

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Interview with John Courage

Posted on September 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re following the State Senate elections, there’s probably only one you’re paying attention to now that the primaries are over, and that’s Sen. Wendy Davis’ re-election battle in SD10. As important as that race is for many reasons, I … Continue reading →

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2012 Republican primary runoffs

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

All the results are here. In the end, Ted Cruz won a pretty solid victory. I’ll note that in the last two publicly released polls, PPP had Cruz up by 10, whereas Baselice & Associates claimed Dewhurst was up by … Continue reading →

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Election night returns

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For your convenience: Statewide Democratic results Looks good for Paul Sadler. Going to be a long night in CDs 23 and 33. Statewide Republican results Ted Cruz has a modest early lead. Wackjob John Devine is leading Supreme Court Justice … Continue reading →

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Runoff Day

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, the 2012 primary season is about to be over in Texas, other than perhaps the HCDE race. To say the least, it’s been a long, strange trip, one that I hope goes down in the books as … Continue reading →

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GOP results, statewide

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Full, though not necessarily the most up to date, results, are here. The Trib and the Observer have good roundups as well. – Mitt. Yawn. He was at just under 70% statewide, with Ron Paul getting 11% and Rick Santorum … Continue reading →

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Wentworth and Jones sue each other

Posted on May 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ladies and gentlemen, we have a contender for nastiest primary race of the cycle. On Thursday, incumbent state Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, sued challenger Elizabeth Ames Jones, a former railroad commissioner, alleging libel and slander. Emergency room doctor Donna … Continue reading →

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Filings and un-filings

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow is the re-filing deadline, the last day that candidates have to jump into a district that now looks good to them, or to withdraw from one that no longer does. There is still a possibility of further map changes, … Continue reading →

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Ames Jones resigns from the Railroad Commission

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We have our answer about how confident she was in her defense of that lawsuit. Elizabeth Ames Jones resigned from the Texas Railroad Commission on Monday to devote herself full time to running for state Senate District 25, she said … Continue reading →

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On primary challenges

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I bookmarked this Statesman story about State Sen. Jeff Wentworth and the primary challenge he faces back when it ran, not because I was terribly interested in that particular race (though some elements of it are quite entertaining) but mostly … Continue reading →

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That’s hitting them where they live

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Clever. Railroad Commission Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones vacated her office when she moved from Austin to run for the state Senate, and she should not be continuing to collect her monthly salary, a lawsuit filed [last week] alleges. In the … Continue reading →

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Another day in the sun for Wentworth

Posted on January 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The longer that the redistricting litigation drags on, the more opportunities there will be for stories to be written about State Sen. Jeff Wentworth and his bipartisan redistricting commission proposal. State Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio, has been a longtime … Continue reading →

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Wentworth touts his redistricting commission

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth takes to the op-ed pages to tout again his bipartisan redistricting committee bill, the merits of which I daresay look a little clearer now given recent events. Last June, during the special legislative session, a bill … Continue reading →

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Berlanga and Craig to retire from SBOE, Ames Jones changes Senate races

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This could be bad news. Longtime State Board of Education members Bob Craig, R-Lubbock, and Mary Helen Berlanga, D-Corpus Christi, said they will not run for re-election in 2012. First elected in 1982, Berlanga said 30 years on the board … Continue reading →

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Senate changes

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not worried about the State Senate becoming more conservative, I’m worried about it becoming more stupid. “A seat in the Texas Senate does not come open very often, and all of a sudden now there are four,” said Sen. … Continue reading →

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Senate approves Wentworth redistricting commission bill

Posted on June 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll never get past the House, but bully for Wentworth anyway. The Texas Senate [Wednesday] approved Senate Bill 22, which would create a citizens’ commission to redraw congressional districts. Congressional redistricting is a highly political task now handled by the … Continue reading →

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Is now the time for the Wentworth redistricting bill?

Posted on June 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Postcards says “Maybe”, but I remain skeptical. In both 2005 and 2007, the state Senate approved a bill to establish a Texas Congressional Redistricting Commission, in part to remove the contentious and partisan process from the plate of the state … Continue reading →

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Seliger-Solomons 2.0

Posted on June 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Go to http://gis1.tlc.state.tx.us and have a gander at Plan C130 to see the version of the Seliger-Solomons Congressional plan that was passed last night by the Senate redistricting committee. The biggest changes are in and around Harris County, mostly due … Continue reading →

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Legislation to allow slot machines filed

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Fresh from the inbox: BI-PARTISAN LEGISLATION FILED TO ALLOW STATEWIDE VOTE ON SLOTS AT TEXAS TRACKS, INDIAN RESERVATIONS AUSTIN, Texas — Texas State Senator Juan “Chuy” Hinojosa (D-McAllen) and Texas State Representative Beverly Woolley (R-Houston) filed legislation today to allow … Continue reading →

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The opening bars of the redistricting overture

Posted on February 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that we have Census data, you know what comes next. Here’s an Express News story that discusses how redistricting will be different this time around. Democrats still are smarting from the redistricting plan engineered in 2003 by then-U.S. House … Continue reading →

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Sonogram bill coming up for a vote

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Dan Patrick’s “I know what’s best for you ladies” sonogram bill SB16 is on the schedule for today. I had previously expressed pessimism that there was anything to be done to prevent its passage based on the expected support … Continue reading →

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Expanded gambling: Still doomed

Posted on December 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Dallas Morning News does a little checking, and the math isn’t good for gambling fans. The Dallas Morning News, canvassing all lawmakers, found that expanded gambling lacks the votes, mostly because of objections to social ills and new tax … Continue reading →

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Wentworth will try again with redistricting bill

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Every two years, State Sen. Jeff Wentworth introduces a bill that would take redistricting out of the hands of the Legislature. Under Wentworth’s plan, a commission responsible for drawing new maps would be made up of two appointees selected by … Continue reading →

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TxDOT’s shell game

Posted on May 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Sens. Jeff Wentworth and Wendy Davis, and State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon show in this op-ed how TxDOT is trying to move money that the Lege specifically designated for rail to roads. Transportation advocates won a hard-fought victory during … Continue reading →

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Looking ahead to City Council redistricting

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Prof. Murray and Greg take a look at the upcoming redistricting of Houston City Council, with the latter offering a possible map of the to-be-11 districts. I have two things to add to their efforts. One is to wonder just … Continue reading →

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The whole “two thirds” thing is more flexible than you might think

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Jeff Wentworth is mad as heck about some Senate rules shenanigans, according to the Statesman’s Jason Embry. Wentworth, R-San Antonio, thinks that Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst abused his authority in the recently completed legislative session, and he wants … Continue reading →

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RIP, statewide smoking ban

Posted on May 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I thought it still had a chance after it finally passed out of committee in the Senate, but the statewide smoking ban is officially dead. [State Sen. Rodney] Ellis held a press conference to announce the death of the statewide … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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It only hurts when it happens to you

Posted on April 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This story is about the likely death of the Wentworth nonpartisan redistricting committee bill, which wasn’t unexpected, but the real story is about how it went down. A move to put redistricting into the hands of a bi-partisan public commission … Continue reading →

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Danno says his vote on redistricting commission was a mistake

Posted on April 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s SB315, which passed on second reading last week in the Senate, may not make it to third reading because Wentworth no longer has enough votes to suspend the rules and bring it back to the floor. The … Continue reading →

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House passes veto override resolution

Posted on April 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m a little surprised that this got taken up so (relatively) quickly, but not at all surprised that it passed. The House today passed a measure that would allow Texas voters to decide whether to allow the Legislature to override … Continue reading →

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Redistricting commission advances

Posted on March 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know about Sen. Jeff Wentworth’s biennial efforts to create a nonpartisan redistricting commission for Texas. On Monday, those efforts advanced forward a step. By a vote of 21-10, senators approved Senate Bill 315 that would create the nine-member commission … Continue reading →

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