Tag Archives: Tracy King

Some finance and fundraising bits

Posted on October 11, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Colin Allred keeps raking it in. U.S. Rep. Colin Allred raised $30.3 million for his Senate campaign in the third quarter of the year, outpacing U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz’s haul over the same three-month period, according to figures announced by … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

More on Paxton’s “election fraud” raids

Posted on August 27, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just wild stuff. A Democratic candidate for the Texas House on Monday dismissed as “nonsense” a state investigation into a vote harvesting scheme that led authorities to confiscate her phone and search the homes of a legislative aide and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Paxton’s “election fraud” raids

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

All sorts of warning bells here. The League of United Latin American Citizens plans to request a federal investigation into raids Attorney General Ken Paxton conducted this week as part of what he called an “ongoing election integrity investigation.” Gabriel … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Uvalde DA to present mass shooting case to grand jury

Posted on September 3, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I know, what took so long? The Uvalde County prosecutor said she’ll present a case stemming from the Robb Elementary School massacre to a grand jury by the end of this year. The Texas Department of Public Safety has … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Uvalde DA to present mass shooting case to grand jury

House passes bill to ban gender affirming care for minors

Posted on May 14, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Friday was a bad day. Texas has taken a major step toward banning transgender minors from getting puberty blockers and hormone therapy — care that medical groups say is vital to their mental health — after the state House gave Senate Bill 14 initial approval Friday. Trans Texans and LGBTQ advocates consider … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

You didn’t get your hopes up about that “raise the age” bill, did you?

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Psych. The unexpected elation felt this week by gun control advocates and families of Uvalde shooting victims dissolved to despair Tuesday, when a bill that would raise the age to legally purchase semi-automatic rifles lost its newfound momentum and was … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Reactions to Allen

Posted on May 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

There’s nothing I can say about the weekend massacre in Allen that hasn’t been said many times by many people. My heart is broken for the victims and their families, and my rage is ever-stoked by the sheer indifference exhibited … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Precinct analysis: State House 2022

Posted on March 20, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We have data. Texas Democrats and Republicans are beginning to gear up for a presidential election cycle in which opportunities to flip seats for Congress and the Legislature appear limited. It’s a natural outcome after Republicans redrew legislative and congressional … Continue reading →

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

Three stories on Uvalde and gun control

Posted on February 19, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

First, a story about locks and why an obsession with locking school doors is not really going to improve safety. In the aftermath of school shootings like the one in Uvalde, what can get overlooked is basic: Schools need doors … Continue reading →

Posted in School days, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Three stories on Uvalde and gun control

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 →

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

Filing update: More candidates than you can count

Posted on December 15, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

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

Day 2 quorum busting omnibus post

Posted on July 14, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna round up a few stories here. Don’t know how often I’ll be this energetic, or how often there will be this many stories that I see that are worth commenting on, but it is Day Two. We’re just getting … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

We have our Speaker

Posted on January 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Hemp lawsuit

Posted on August 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. New rules prohibiting the retail sale and distribution of “smokable” hemp products are unconstitutional, companies argue in a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Travis County. When Texas legalized hemp last year, the legislation explicitly outlawed manufacturing … Continue reading →

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

It’s even harder to prosecute pot cases now

Posted on March 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Such a shame. What if lawmakers writing one of the most consequential laws to come out of last year’s legislative session, legalizing hemp in Texas, forgot to include a small, but crucial detail that could get your marijuana possession charges … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on It’s even harder to prosecute pot cases now

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 →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The fallout from the chubfest

Posted on May 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Cleaning up some loose ends…The campus carry bill that was the subject of much chubbing passed on final reading. The battle over “campus carry” is headed back to the Texas Senate after House lawmakers gave final approval Wednesday to legislation … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Budget passes House as most amendments get pulled

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It was a long day in the House on Tuesday and Wednesday but not a terribly bloody one as many of the budget amendments and riders that had been queued up got withdrawn. A brief recap of the action: Border … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget ballyhoo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Republicans will push pro-discrimination bills

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Two days after the Plano City Council approved an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against LGBT people, a Texas legislator filed a proposed constitutional amendment that would limit the ability of cities to enforce … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Some are elected to do things, others are elected to not do things

Posted on June 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Meet the opposite ends of the spectrum in the Legislature. They were the freshest of the freshmen — the two youngest members of the largest freshman class of the Texas House in 40 years. And even before they took office, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Getting on the same page on marriage equality

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Harold Cook asks a darned good question. As SCOTUS hears arguments on marriage equality this week, it reminds me of when the Texas Legislature voted for the state constitutional amendment prohibiting gay marriage in Texas eight years ago. Texas voters … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

White Ds and non-white Rs

Posted on January 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A few points to make about this. White Democrats are an increasingly vanishing species in the Texas Legislature, where there will be only 10 when the new legislative session starts in early January. The face of the Legislature has undergone … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Updated 30 Day finance reports for other state races

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

After I posted my overview of 30 Day campaign finance reports for other state races, I got an email from Cliff Walker, the Executive Director of the Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee, with a more accurate list of races and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Updated 30 Day finance reports for other state races

High school registrars

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the Republicans like voter ID. We shouldn’t be too surprised that they don’t much like voter registration. [The House] barely passed a bill Monday night that would allow high school principals to appoint four deputy registrars to … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment