Tag Archives: Mike Villarreal

Overview of two Bexar County legislative primaries

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The turnover of Bexar County’s Democratic legislative caucus continues apace. With the departures in 2015 of Mike Villarreal and Jose Menendez (succeeded by Diego Bernal and Ina Minjarez, respectively) and the departures this year by Joe Farias, Trey Martinez-Fischer, and … Continue reading →

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Rep. McClendon to step down

Posted on September 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

She’ll be missed. State Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, a San Antonio Democrat and 19-year veteran of the Texas House who tenaciously championed social justice reform, said Wednesday that she is not running for re-election. McClendon was elected in 1996 to … Continue reading →

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Moving on to the runoff for the SA Mayor’s race

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This Express News story on the beginning of the Mayoral runoff in San Antonio between Leticia Van de Putte and Ivy Taylor gets to the question of what if anything the two runnersup and their supporters will do. But all … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte and Taylor in SA Mayor runoff

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is set to face San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor in a runoff for the city’s top job. With 95 percent of all precincts reporting late Saturday, Van de Putte led … Continue reading →

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Homestretch for the SA Mayor’s race

Posted on May 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jeanne Russell, wife of San Antonio Mayoral candidate Mike Villarreal, makes the case for her husband in the Rivard Report. Many people who have known Mike and I professionally associate us most often with our work toward building a stronger, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Express News goes for LVdP for Mayor

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting has begun in San Antonio, and the Express News has made its choice for Mayor. Will San Antonio be blessed enough to elect three exceptionally strong mayors in a row? That’s a tall order. But if any of … Continue reading →

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How many candidates are too many?

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Rivard Report brings up a point I hadn’t considered before. Candidates or their representatives arrived at City Council chambers Monday morning to draw lots to determine the order of name placement on the ballot. As candidates waited in the … Continue reading →

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More thoughts on the special election results

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There has been very little news about the four legislative special elections that were decided last week, other than the brief hubbub over what the result in SD26 meant. Among other things, I’ve been looking for any kind of reporting … Continue reading →

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San Antonio may try again on vehicles for hire

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Key players at City Hall are crafting an eleventh-hour amended ordinance to stop Uber from leaving San Antonio, 10 days after the rideshare company announced plans to end service here if one of the nation’s most restrictive ordinances … Continue reading →

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Ivy Taylor enters SA Mayor’s race

Posted on February 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s on. Mayor Ivy Taylor declared her candidacy for mayor Monday in an exclusive interview with the San Antonio Express-News. Taylor, who was appointed mayor last summer by her council colleagues, said that she made the decision after significant thought … Continue reading →

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Uber to leave San Antonio

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not unexpected. Uber management sent a letter to Mayor Ivy Taylor and City Council Wednesday, warning that the rideshare service will leave San Antonio on March 1 unless the recently-passed existing is modified or repealed. Uber representatives say the new … Continue reading →

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January campaign finance reports – San Antonio

Posted on January 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, while we wait for the Mayoral field to shape up here in Houston, there’s already a hot open-seat race going on in San Antonio, featuring now-former State Rep. Mike Villarreal, State Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (who … Continue reading →

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Tommy Adkisson joins SA Mayoral race

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were three major candidates. Bexar County Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Adkisson became the latest candidate to enter the 2015 San Antonio mayor’s race Sunday as he announced his bid to lead the Alamo City. […] His announcement … Continue reading →

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Interview with Diego Bernal

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

For the second biennium in a row, there are legislative special elections going on during what many of us think of as the Christmas break. That’s not so great for the people involved in those campaigns, since it’s hardly a … Continue reading →

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Overview of the Bexar County special legislative elections

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From The Rivard Report: Texas House District 123 Former District 1 City Councilmember Diego Bernal resigned his city seat in mid-November to launch his campaign for Villarreal’s former seat. His VoteDiego website offers voters his positions on a number of … Continue reading →

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Legislative special elections set

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Gear up quickly, here they come. Gov. Rick Perry on Monday afternoon set three special elections for Jan. 6, including the race to replace state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio. Van de Putte, who lost her bid for … Continue reading →

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San Antonio special legislative elections appear to be set

Posted on December 14, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Rumor has it. State Rep. Mike Villarreal said Friday that Gov. Rick Perry has set Jan. 6 as the date for a special election to fill his position in the state House and a Senate seat being vacated by Leticia … Continue reading →

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Dallas City Council approves vehicles for hire revisions

Posted on December 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It was smooth sailing, relatively speaking. Starting in late April, ride-share companies like Uber and Lyft will be able to operate legally in the city of Dallas. The City Council on Wednesday voted 13-2 to overhaul the city’s ordinance for … Continue reading →

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Will the TNCs leave San Antonio?

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The upcoming Council vote in San Antonio over vehicles for hire could have some repercussions. City Council will meet Thursday to vote on proposed rules that would allow rideshare companies like Lyft and Uber to operate legally in San Antonio. … Continue reading →

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Bexar legislative shuffle update

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The two candidates that we thought were running for HD123 have officially announced that they are running for HD123. Two Democrats announced this weekend that they’re running for Texas House District 123, the San Antonio seat that state Rep. Mike … Continue reading →

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And the dominoes do begin to fall

Posted on November 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Game on. A calf scramble for legislative seats set off by two lawmakers’ decisions to run for San Antonio mayor could produce a rare shakeup in the Bexar County delegation that reports for duty in Austin on Jan. 13. As … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte to run for Mayor of San Antonio

Posted on November 20, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. Ending weeks of speculation, state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte said Wednesday she is running for mayor of San Antonio. Just two weeks after a crushing defeat in the lieutenant governor ‘s race, Van de Putte — who is … Continue reading →

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Diego Bernal to run for HD123

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Diego Bernal, a civil rights attorney elected to the District 1 City Council seat in 2011, will leave the office on Tuesday to run in a yet-to-be-called special election for the Texas House of Representatives. “I’m stepping down,” Bernal … Continue reading →

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Hegar officially resigns his Senate seat

Posted on November 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

As expected. State Sen. Glenn Hegar, the Katy Republican who will become state comptroller in January, notified Gov. Rick Perry on Friday that he will resign his Senate Seat as of Dec. 5, paving the way for the governor to … Continue reading →

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Replacing Hegar

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Election season isn’t over yet. At least three Republican candidates – who hit the campaign trail for the then-hypothetical opening months ago – will duke it out to represent a rural 21-county Senate district that stretches from Fort Bend County … Continue reading →

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If there are dominoes to fall…

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

…these two would like to be among them. Election season may not be over just yet in San Antonio, where a game of legislative musical chairs could begin if state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte launches a bid for mayor. … Continue reading →

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Villarreal to launch his mayoral candidacy

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’re going to be talking a lot about Houston’s mayoral race next year, but six months before we elect a new Mayor San Antonio will elect one as well. The current frontrunner – and only declared candidate so far – … Continue reading →

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LVdP will not be a candidate for Mayor of San Antonio in 2015

Posted on August 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I never really thought there was anything to this, but in case you needed an official denial, here you go. Democrat Leticia Van de Putte wants to put rumors to rest: she has absolutely no intention of running for mayor … Continue reading →

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The interim and non-interim Mayoral hopefuls of San Antonio

Posted on July 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Robert Rivard previews the sausage-making process in San Antonio. It takes six votes to win, a majority that will be harder to achieve if some of the announced candidates exercise their right to abstain. If all five abstain from voting … Continue reading →

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Castro confirmed for HUD

Posted on July 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Secretary Castro! The U.S. Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved the nomination of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro as secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The nomination was approved 71-26 on a roll call vote. Sen. … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker discusses her possible political future again

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

After making a rousing speech at the TDP convention, Mayor Annise Parker talked about some possible paths she could take for a future statewide campaign. Parker said she would be interested in running for any number of statewide positions when … Continue reading →

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Teacher health insurance costs

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing on the list of things the Legislature needs to deal with but won’t. Health care insurance costs for hundreds of thousands of Texas teachers and other public school employees are scheduled to go up again this fall, prompting … Continue reading →

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The farm team

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Roll Call takes a look at the Texas Democrats of the future. Democrats rarely fielded competitive Senate candidates over the past two decades — the party’s three best performers in that time span received 44 percent, 43 percent and 43 … Continue reading →

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Villarreal not running for Comptroller

Posted on September 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

One name off the board. State Rep. Mike Villarreal said Wednesday he has decided against a statewide run for comptroller and will instead campaign for re-election in San Antonio’s District 123. Villarreal said he has been encouraged by Democrat activists … Continue reading →

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