What am I looking forward to in 2008? Taking back the Texas State House!
I'm ready to have a legislature that cares about kitchen table issues - those things that make me wonder if it's possible for families to have any forward progress in their financial situation - the cost of electricity, insurance, higher education and health care, to name some of the biggies.
The Republican leadership's focus on TAX CUTS! TAX CUTS! TAX CUTS! are just starving the baby. Texans are being starved slowly of all of our infrastructure and ability to get ahead sort of like a frog in a boiling pot of water doesn't realize he's cooked until it is too late. Not to mention we are being literally choked by the quality of air in the state. The purposeful neglect of our environment and park system is appalling.
All this can change when we elect talented, reasonable, fiscally responsible law makers who care about Texas - our beautiful state and diverse families.
It wouldn't be an end of year post without an End of Quarter mention. Yeah, today is the last day to contribute to campaigns and have it show up on the end of year financial report. I took a look around ActBlue today to see who is leading the online fundraising there. Here are the top ActBlue Texas House candidates by total fundraising:
1. HD-46 Challenger Brian Thompson: 88 donations, $10,095
2. HD-129 Challenger Sherrie Matula: 24 donations, $3010
3. HD-36 Challenger Sandra Rodriguez: 11 donations, $2200
4. HD-138 Challenger Virginia McDavid: 21 donations, $1885
5. HD-97 INCUMBENT Dan Barrett: 44 donations, $1684
Thompson and Rodriguez are challenging Craddick Ds (wave goodbye to Dukes and Flores). Barrett recently won a special election against an opponent who made a campaign issue of his pledge to vote for Craddick. Matula and McDavid are both challenging incumbent Republicans. Matula's opponent, 5-term Republican incumbernt John Davis, has drawn a primary challenger, mostly due to Republican disgust over his ethics problems.
It's not too late to help one of these worthy House candidates - or others equally worthy - by tossing some New Year's Eve change their way. ActBlue link for the whole list: here.
This our time. Time to Turn Texas Blue.
The last of the countywide pieces falls into place as Adrian Garcia announces his candidacy for Harris County Sheriff. Here's the email:
Dear Friends,Today I announce my candidacy for Harris County Sheriff. Our County deserves the best public safety in Texas, and I am asking you to join me in making our communities safer and our families more secure.
As a Houston police officer, I busted drug dealers and fought against gangs because I wanted to protect and serve our City's neighborhoods. I joined the Houston City Council because I wanted to continue to make a difference.
Now, I want to serve as your Sheriff because we need new leadership.
As I look at the landscape of public safety, the lack of leadership in the Harris County Sheriff's Department stands out as a weak link. With the third largest Sheriff's office in the country, we should be leading the way on fighting crime.
Harris County's hardworking deputies deserve a Sheriff who can lead them into a new era of preparedness and public safety. You shouldn't have to wait for an election year before for you hear from your sheriff. I've been on the front lines of public safety since I became a cop and that's where I'll always be.
Thank you,
Adrian Garcia
Candidate for Harris County Sheriff
www.AdrianGarcia.com
We most certainly do need new leadership, in Harris County and elsewhere. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do to help bring it about. There's an introductory video on his main page, for those of you who aren't familiar with him yet. It's not sharable just yet or I'd embed it here - I figure that'll change as the campaign formally gears up. In any event, today is a good day.
UPDATE: Here's the video:
Thanks, Greg!
Other news:
- Many more judicial candidates have filed. I'm counting 31 contenders, with four contested primaries so far, and more still to come on both counts.
- Kristi Thibaut is back for another run at HD133. A gentleman named Kevin Murphy has announced his candidacy for the open HD29 in Pearland and surrounding areas. Rep. Harold Dutton, the last incumbent to file, has done so. Rep. Ellen Cohen appears to have an opponent, someone named Carlos Obando. And like a bad burrito, former State Rep. Al "Sexy Cheerleading" Edwards is back to give us all heartburn in HD146. Fire up those Daily Show clips, kids.
- On a not-quite-yet-still-somehow related note, Susan Delgado will face Gilbert Pena in the primary for SD06 to lose to State Sen. Mario Gallegos. Nobody will notice.
- The Democrats have three contenders for Sheriff - Garcia, Guy Robert Clark, and a fellow named Charles Massey El, about whom I know nothing. Diane Trautman will face 2004 candidate John T. Webb for the nomination for Tax Assessor.
- Constable Jack Abercia has a second opponent in Precinct 1, an Art Aguilar.
- The awesomely-named Sam Houston has made his filing for the Texas Supreme Court official.
- Finally, as reported by Vince, Judge Susan Criss has asked the TDP for a review of primary opponent Judge Linda Yanez's petition signatures for the Supreme Court race. Vince has the details, but it boils down to a claim that Yanez did not get 50 valid signatures in each of the 14 judicial districts, as required by law. We'll see what the party does.
Chuck Rosenthal tells the local GOP where they can stick it.
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal bluntly rejected the local Republican Party leadership's request Sunday night that he abandon his 2008 re-election campaign because of the scandal over personal e-mails he sent to his executive secretary on government computers."What part of 'no' don't you understand?" Rosenthal asked party chairman Jared Woodfill, according to County Judge Ed Emmett, who attended the emergency meeting.
After the four-hour, closed-door meeting that included questioning of Rosenthal, 15 members of the party's Advisory Committee voted unanimously to urge him to withdraw from the March 4 Republican primary for district attorney.
"The consensus was this is a position of high trust, and when this position is questioned, when this position is breached, we feel like it's important that we make a change," Woodfill said.
But Rosenthal, exiting the Greenway Plaza meeting about a half-hour before the it ended, said, "I'm going to run for district attorney and I am going to win."
He said he did not know if he will have an opponent in the Republican primary.
"I certainly hope not. I don't think they've got anybody with the qualifications to run against me," Rosenthal added.
But Woodfill said he is certain that one or more challengers will register before Wednesday's deadline. He said the party has been in touch with about 10 potential candidates, none of whom he'd name.
[...]
Emmett, the chief county government official, could be seen discussing the situation with Rosenthal in a side room while the party leaders continued their meeting. Rosenthal frequently raised his arms and gestured during his discussions with the county judge and the party chairman.
Emmett said the GOP activists made the right decision in calling for Rosenthal to step down.
"At this point he is damaged goods, and the party is reflecting that," Emmett said.
Woodfill, the party chairman, called the e-mails horrible and said Rosenthal had made a serious error in judgment.
Whatever else happens, I just hope the Bradford campaign is taking notes, because there's quite a wealth of quotes here that ought to show up in campaign mailers at some point. "We feel like it's important that we make a change"; "At this point he is damaged goods"; "[A] serious error in judgment"; if they do succeed in replacing Rosenthal, there's always "I don't think they've got anybody with the qualifications to run". I'm pretty sure there will be plenty more where these came from.
While I certainly understand the allure of finding another candidate, I wonder what Jared Woodfill's Gang of 15 is hoping to accomplish by this approach. There isn't any time to do a draft (somewhere I heard that former County GOP Chair Garry Polland had said something about being approached, but he turned it down; take that for what it's worth), so the best you can do is find someone who you think would be acceptable to the masses and put the squeeze on, with promises of money and volunteer support. If the best they can do after last night is come up with a few names to bat around, I have to wonder if this is little more than a bluff.
For argument's sake, let's say it's not, and they've got a live possibility. They'll have to run a negative campaign, one that flogs all these embarrassing revelations over and over again, in order to win, which is far from guaranteed. And they're sure to have a damaged nominee with some burnt bridges behind him or her when all is said and done. At least they'll be running against a Democrat that has his own negatives, so maybe the attrition won't be so bad for them. But no matter how you slice it, the picture is pretty bleak.
Which means it's quite lovely from my perspective, since I think it's critical to bring about a change in direction at the DA's office. We'll see if an actual primary challenger emerges for Chuck R. More from Greg, PDiddie, and ReeC Murphey.
The Chron editorialized about the Mayor's billboard reduction proposal that has been put off until some kinks an be ironed out. I'm still not quite sure what they said, however.
The mayor said he shares the same goal as opponents of his proposal: reducing the number of billboards in Houston. He said he wants to use this common ground to craft a consensus.During the ensuing negotiations, White should answer the charge that most of the 881 billboards would come down anyway by 2013, without having to allow hundreds of new billboards in locations now free of the large signs, or along federal highways where they would be protected in perpetuity.
Beautification groups should explain why, if the small billboards are no longer profitable, they still blight low-income neighborhoods.
Unsightly billboards detract from Houston's quality of life and contributed to the failure of its bid to host the 2012 Olympics. The city should pursue the strategy that will reduce the most billboards in the next few years without presenting hundreds of billboards a new lease on life and their owners' permission to blight locations now billboard-free.
Identifying that strategy will be the task of White's administration and billboard opponents.
I think they're saying "We want fewer billboards faster, and we want you guys to figure out how to do it." Well, I guess you can't argue with that.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Paula Harris.)
New Year, New Adventure, New Learning opportunities - they all are cause for excitement and energy and the expectation of opportunity. This is the time of year I spend time canvassing my brain for the appropriate theme for the new year. One idea I have as I move forward into 2008 is the theme "BACK to the BASICS". In these times of complicated problems and complex solutions, I just want to make sure that I examine and deduce everything in its most simplified manner. This will be a year of discovery and my learning curve is probably equivalent to that of an entering college freshmen. With that said, I will focus on uncovering the root cause and underlying issues as we look to identify and solve issues. This method will work in my personal, public service, spiritual and professional life. To further explore this theme, I engaged experts in simplification, a group of 7 year olds. I asked them as Charles Kuffner asked me "What are you looking forward to next year?". The answers were simple, concise and all similar. They are looking forward to
1. Their birthdays.
2. Holidays (Christmas and Halloween ranking highest)
3. Doing well in school.
4. Summertime.
It's that simple. I am going to take a page from their book because what I see and hear from them, in the simplest form, is
Another year of life
Valuable time with family, friends and God
Setting and achieving goals
Rest and time for self
With that said, I know that there will always be complex issues that need to be addressed, but as I approach the freshness and innocence of a new year that will be a completely new experience for me and my village I am headed "Back to the Basics" for 2008.
As the newest HISD Trustee that represents District 4 there is so much to look forward to. There are new relationships, new adventures, new goals and new achievements. We have a higher community focus on education that has not been experienced as of late. What makes this so exciting is the potential to have input, recommendations, solutions and volunteerism from a population that has not been engaged in our schools for this latest generation of inner city children. Our community leaders have indicated that they are ready and more than willing to take the challenge, roll up their sleeves and do the hard work that it is going to take to turn our schools and achievement levels around. The thrilling part of this equation is knowing that the extra commitment to our children will equate to higher student achievement. Gaining commitment from pastors, civic leaders, business leaders, parents and other stakeholders to engage on each campus through the campus "Shared Decision Making Committee" (SDMC) will be a monumental start. The SDMC is an educator and community group that sets school budget, policy, procedure and strategies for success. A strong SDMC can provide the support that our school leadership needs to begin the systematic positive change needed in our schools.
When I say "Back to the Basics", I am also defining the pilgrimage back to our strong community driven solutions, championed by the people and organizations that can put an enormous amount of sweat equity into our children. Historically, the reason we as a community have invested in our children was not because they were birth children or relatives. We have traditionally invested using the village mentality, that all of them are ours and their success is our success and their failure is our community failure. Our schools need help and I am turning to the very people who made sure that I was successful in school. My success in 1970's HISD classroom was not guaranteed by the governmental establishments, it was the community that made sure that the establishment provided the basics and the community made sure the tools were in place to take us to the next level. With that said, as the new school board member I will be depending on our community to be involved in our schools and to keep this high level of excitement, interest and alignment with our schools. My commitment is to work diligently to ensure that the programs, policies, strategies, resources and decisions made at the board level, positively affect student achievement in our community.
Let's look forward to 2008 as a year to declare "if it's to be, it's up to me". We have to heat things up, demand accountability from everyone who has access and decision making powers over our children and in turn our future. I not only welcome community involvement, our children need it and will depend on it.
Looking forward to 2008, the potential for positive change is great. If we take a page from the playbooks of our 7 year old advisors and remember to be excited about another year of life and the potential it brings, spend time with friends and family while you work for your community, set your goals and expectations high then work hard for success, and lastly never forget that in order to help others, you must take good care of yourself.
I have to say a special thank you to my esteemed panelist of advisors who are wise beyond their 7 years and I wish each and every one of you the best that the new fresh year has to offer.
Paula Harris is the newly-elected Trustee for HISD District 4.
Outgoing City Council member Carol Alvarado joins Chris Bell in advocating an end to term limits in Houston.
Think about it. The city is responsible for providing protection for the millions that work, live in and visit our city every day. We make sure that they can get around our city with relative ease on our roads and streets. We pick up their garbage. We make their parks attractive destinations for families and visitors. We provide Houstonians with an infrastructure that allows them to take full advantage of our entertainment venues like the finest restaurants, theaters, cinemas and sports venues. We have constructed great airports that make it easy for folks to get in and out of our city with minimal hassles.Yet, something is a bit out of kilter when the leadership of the most important government entity in the region is being hamstrung by term limits -- six years for members of city council and six years for mayor.
For me, the term limits debate is personal. Not because I'll be leaving my city council position in a few days or because term limits prohibited me from seeking re-election; rather, it's about a public works project in my neighborhood that took me a decade and a half to complete.
There are several ways one can quibble with the logic Alvarado uses in her example. The project did get done anyway, so term limits were not insurmountable. The time span of the project (16 years) might well have exceeded any one Member's time in office anyway, thus leading to the same learning curve issues Alvarado described. The real problem may be with city processes that make such a project take so long to do. I don't doubt that having longer tenures on Council would have helped, but clearly it wasn't impossible.
Be that as it may, it's good to see more voices being raised against term limits. However, until an active Council member or candidate speaks up, I don't expect anything more to happen.
The silly season gets a little sillier.
Rhett Smith, a security guard who last year ran as a Republican for governor, filed Friday to seek the 2008 Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate seat held by John Cornyn, R-Texas.Assuming his paperwork holds up, he'll join a Democratic field including state Rep. Rick Noriega of Houston, educator Ray McMurrey of Corpus Christi and perennial aspirant Gene Kelly of Universal City.
Yet Smith has another longshot prospect in sight; he's suing the state of New Hampshire in hopes of landing on that state's presidential primary ballot. Voting there takes place Jan. 8.
"I'd rather be president," Smith said.
[...]
Smith, 57, was the 2004 Democratic U.S. House nominee challenging Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio. He subsequently ran in the non-partisan race for mayor of San Antonio.
While running for governor last year, Smith told an American-Statesman reporter: "I am comfortable with the Republican Party." Asked Friday about his switch back to the Democratic side of the ballot, Smith said party officials "might not like it, but I can run in whichever party I want."
Hard to imagine someone outdoing Gene Kelly for Least Serious Candidate on the Senate ballot, but Rhett's the man for the job. They don't come much more marginal than him.
The leadership of the Harris County Republican Party is meeting in a private, emergency session tonight to discuss the political fallout over personal e-mails sent by Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal to his executive secretary."We will discuss how to proceed as a party," county GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill said.
The meeting included Republican Party parliamentarian Mike Riddle and his wife, state Rep. Debbie Riddle, R-Tomball.
Wednesday is the deadline for candidates to sign up to run in the March 4 Republican primary, and Woodfill acknowledged that one path for the party could be to encourage others to challenge Rosenthal in that contest.
Former Houston Police Chief Clarence Bradford is seeking the Democratic nomination to run for district attorney in November 2008.
Some members of the county GOP advisory committee hoped to discuss tonight whether to encourage Rosenthal to resign or declare that he will not seek re-election after his current term expires at the end of 2008.
Rosenthal's political consultant, Allen Blakemore, said he has talked frequently in the past few days with party leaders about his opinion that no other highly qualified candidate is positioned to run.
The county GOP chairman talked about the e-mails before the meeting.
"It's not good. They are horrible," Woodfill said. "The district attorney has made a mistake."
I note here that we are now getting some input on this from the local Republican blogs, which I am glad to see. I agree with Los Dos Professors that the GOP is stuck with Rosenthal, but I disagree with Kevin in seeing it as a matter of Jared Woodfill's (lack of) leadership skills. I see it as simply the that serious candidates to challenge any incumbent, especially in a primary, don't arise from closed-door meetings. They arise from an existing well of support for a particular person, since that person has the daunting task of taking out someone who already has a lot of support and financial resources at hand. That candidate generally spends a lot of time talking to as many people as possible to see if they can secure the things they'll need (money, volunteers, votes, etc) to win before he or she formally announces a run for the office. What are the odds Woodfill and Friends can identify such a person by isolating themselves in a room and talking to each other? Not so good, in my opinion. It could happen, but I wouldn't bet on it.
There's an aspect of this saga that I haven't seen discussed anywhere, and that's the allegations in the lawsuit that led to the inadvertent release of the emails that Rosenthal looked the other way at potential malfeasance by Sheriff Tommy Thomas. The matter of Rosenthal's sexual peccadilloes is headline-grabbing, and certainly fair game for attacks on Rosenthal given his sanctimonious nature, but at the end of the day it's not much more than tittilation, which can be fairly easily shrugged off as Kevin did in his post. More serious is the usage of the county-owned vehicle by his admin assistant/paramour, which by any reasonable reading is unwarranted and shows poor judgment and managerial skills on Rosenthal's part, two fairly key attributes for the person in charge of the DA's office. But the allegation of letting a political ally off the hook for bad behavior, if proven, blows them both away. This is still being litigated, so it's nothing more than accusations by people with a strong motive to make Rosenthal look bad at this point. But it's worth keeping an eye on, because if those charges have merit then they're what I'd consider to be a real resignation-worthy offense. The other stuff may make Rosenthal less re-electable (and deservedly so), but this would be a huge scandal.
For now, we'll see what Woodfill and the Woodfillettes come up with. In the meantime, click on for a statement from Council Member Peter Brown, who wins the prize for "first elected official to call for Rosenthal to resign".
UPDATE: Now it really gets interesting:
Harris County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal is refusing the Republican Party leadership's request Sunday night to remove his name from the 2008 ballot.After a four-hour emergency meeting, the 15-member GOP advisory committee voted unanimously to ask Rosenthal to step aside in the wake of the controversy that's followed the mistaken release of his personal e-mails, including dozens sent to his executive secretary.
Despite their request, Rosenthal was adamant about pursuing re-election.
"I'm going to run for district attorney and I'm going to win," he said, leaving the headquarters as party leaders continued to talk behind closed doors.
Rosenthal said he attended the meeting to answer questions from party leaders. He spent part of evening in a room adjacent to the meeting, talking privately with GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill and then with Harris County Judge Ed Emmett.
Did they have an alternative in mind, or were they winging that part of it? I can't wait to see what comes next.
Statement concerning conduct in the Harris County District Attorney's OfficeThe strength of character to sincerely apologize is laudable, but we need a DA who is unquestionably a role model, who never has to apologize for conduct in public office. This is about basic American principles, integrity and character. It bespeaks a lack of personal discipline and good judgement, fatal character flaws in a District Attorney. This pattern of behavior can carry over into a miscarriage of justice.
From now on, Rosenthal's authority as a public official is suspect. Should the voters forgive him?......perhaps so as a human being, but not as our DA, not at the ballot box. A thorough, impartial investigation of conduct in the DA's office is in order. As a citizen, taxpayer and citywide elected official, in my view, the best course under these circumstances is for Rosenthal to resign.
Houston City Council Member Peter Brown, At-large Position 1.
Ric Williamson, the chair of the Texas Department of Transportation and a huge booster of toll roads, has passed away.
Ric Williamson, the Texas Transportation Commission chairman and a take-no-prisoners advocate for his long-time friend Rick Perry's toll road policy, has died.Williamson, 55, who had been on the commission since 2001 and its chairman since January 2004, died of a heart attack, said state Rep. Mike Krusee, chairman of the House Transportation Committee. It was not clear today if Williamson died late Saturday night or early Sunday.
Williamson, a Weatherford resident, had served in the Texas House for 14 years, leaving in 1999. He and Perry, who served in the House during a good deal of Williamson's time there, roomed together in an Austin apartment during several sessions.
"Anita and I are heartbroken at this sudden loss of a confidant, trusted advisor and close personal friend of ours for more than 20 years," Perry said in a statement released by his office. "Ric's passion to serve his beloved State of Texas was unmatched and his determination to help our state meets its future challenges was unparalleled. He will be missed beyond words. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Williamson family during this very difficult time."
Williamson dominated discussion of Texas transportation policy for most of this decade, holding forth at commission meetings in a curiously ornate but still straight-forward style that sometimes infuriated opponents of the toll road policy. Williamson, in particular, was four-square behind granting private companies long-term leases to finance, build and operate publicly owned toll roads, an approach that he said would raise billions for other roads but that others feared gave away too much control of public assets.
Texas Monthly in a June article had called him "the most hated person in Texas, public enemy number one to a million or more people." In that same article, Williamson told writer Paul Burka, "I've had two heart attacks, and I'm trying to avoid the third one, which the doctors tell me will be fatal."
My sincere condolences to the Williamson family. Burka has more.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Maria Gonzalez.)
As the vice president and chair of the PAC of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, I am looking forward to 2008 with great anticipation. We will have a great opportunity to further establish our support for progressive and GLBT friendly candidates. Building upon our extraordinary success in 2007, which included being victorious in 16 of our 17 endorsed races, including the first group to endorse the HISD bond issue, the Caucus will continue to be one of the most active political groups in the city.
The Caucus will have a slate of endorsed candidates ready for the March primary. With a record number of individuals seeking our endorsements in their races, including the judicial primary races, the Caucus will be very busy in January interviewing candidates. Our general meeting in February should be very lively as we will discuss and vote upon our endorsements for the Primary. Once we endorse, we will make sure that our endorsed candidates names become available to our vast support base represented in our database of over 30,000 registered voters in Harris County.
Once the primaries are done, we will focus on our next efforts, to endorse in the November elections. We will begin screening in late June and most of July. The interviews with candidates provide some of the most direct means of assessing individual support for our GLBT community. We ask very direct questions about our issues like support for non-discrimination, but as a broad political group we will also being asking about quality of life and support for education. At our August meeting, the Caucus will vote on its endorsements. This will be followed by efforts to inform our supporters who we recommend for office this November.
We once again hope to reproduce our extraordinary success of 2007 when we nearly had 100% of our endorsed candidates and issues win. You don't have to be GLBT to join the Caucus, just supportive of our community. The Caucus meets the first Wednesday of every month at the Havens Center, 1827 W. Alabama. We hope to see everyone there soon
Maria Gonzalez teaches American Literature at the University of Houston. She is the Vice President and chair of the PAC of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus.
Under pressure from County Judge Ed Emmett, Mike Surface has resigned as chairman of the Harris County Sports & Convention Corp.Surface cited "personal and professional interests" as the reason why he was stepping down after serving nine years as chairman.
He has been a supporter of the Astrodome Redevelopment Corp.'s proposal to turn the Dome into a convention hotel -- a plan Emmett has questioned.
Emmett said he felt that it would be best to get new leadership on the sports corporation's board before Commissioners Court's next discussion of the Dome proposal in January.
So is this is sign that the Astrodome Redevelopment plan is toast? Emmett has been a skeptic of that, but he has also made frequent note of public support for saving the Dome in some form. If the Dome hotel/convention center isn't the way to do that, then what is?
GO GIANTS!!!!!!!
UPDATE: Dammit.
All I want out of this NFL season is for there not to be a Pats-Cowboys Super Bowl. Is that so much to ask?
Here's the Chron story about Chuck Rosenthal's apology statement. I'll focus on what's new here, some of which I had seen previously in the NYT and on Miya's blog.
Jared Woodfill, Harris County Republican Party Chairman, said he is meeting with party leaders to discuss Rosenthal's political future. But he declined to say whether the party would draft a primary election opponent for Rosenthal, who is running for re-election, call on him to resign, or support him despite the concern about his conduct."He's done a good job as district attorney, but this is a serious mistake that we are dealing with right now," he said. "We're taking it very seriously."
Rosenthal didn't return calls and e-mails Friday.
The political problem, if any, posed by the e-mails was still unclear.
That's a curious sentence. The political problem is that the emails, and the information about the county car being used by Rosenthal's ex-girlfriend administrative assistant, make Rosenthal look like a fool who gives preferential treatment to certain people, and that's on top of the allegations made in the lawsuit that he turned a blind eye to malfeasance by Sheriff Tommy Thomas. This may or may not translate into an electoral problem - as we all know, November is a long way off - but the nature of it as a political problem is, I think, pretty clear. It's the scope of that problem that no one can be sure about.
The personal e-mails, along with attorney-client privilege e-mails, were originally sealed from public view in a motion by Rosenthal to withhold them as privileged communication. Last week, they were unsealed by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt.In an emergency hearing Thursday, Hoyt said he intended only to unseal the motion, not the e-mails, which were attached as exhibits. He then resealed the exhibits, withdrawing them from public view on the U.S District Clerk's Web site -- but not before several media outlets downloaded the information.
Earlier in the week, Rosenthal said the release of the e-mails is political and pointed out that Kelley was a law partner of former HPD Chief C.O. Bradford. Bradford is Rosenthal's Democratic opponent in his bid next year for re-election. Kelley, who ran unsuccessfully against Rosenthal in 2000, has said he and Bradford are still friends.
Bradford denied that he had anything to do with the disclosure.
That at least answers the question about why bother resealing them. It also firmly rebuts the charge that this was politically motivated, unless you think Judge Hoyt had something to do with it. This was basically an accident, one that obviously causes some real hardship for Rosenthal. Because of the unintentional nature of the emails' release, I can feel a small bit of sympathy towards him. But not much - it's still the case that he himself wrote those emails, using his county-owned email account. It's still his actions that are the cause of his embarrassment.
In my last entry, I noted that I had not found any commentary on this, even a link to a story, by any of the Republican blogs in town. That got Kevin Whited all upset in my comments:
Are you REALLY wanting to establish the standard that someone who votes a certain way is obligated to blog about about everyone who affiliated with a party they have voted for at some point?
That's an interesting conclusion to draw from my simple statement of fact (one that I note is still true today), but no, I'm not looking to establish any Department of Blogging Obligations. This is a huge story (front page, above the fold, two days out of the last three) that may have a big impact on one of the main local elections next year. If you really can't think of any reasons why I might be interested in the opinions of my political counterparts on this, let me suggest a few possibilities:
- I'm genuinely curious as to what Republican voters think of this. Do you feel indifferent? Betrayed? Angry? If so, at whom? Do others feel the same as you? Personal reactions to current events is one of the big reasons why people read blogs, after all. It's obvious (and well-blogged) how we Democrats feel about this. I'd like to know what the Republicans are thinking.
- Do you want to see someone challenge Rosenthal in the GOP primary, or do you stand with him? If you want to see him replaced, whom do you support? Do you have a candidate in mind, or do you trust Jared Woodfill and the local GOP leadership to come up with someone?
- Do you think this was a political hit job? If so, whom do you blame?
- Do you have anything to add to this story? My blogging compatriots and I frequently hear insider information from, well, insiders. Some of what we hear we can even write about. I presume the local Republican blogs are on the receiving end of this sort of thing as well, though I could certainly be wrong about that. Have you heard anything that hasn't made it into a mainstream news account yet?
I would have thought this would be self-evident to anyone interested in Houston politics, but whatever. If none of Kevin or his colleagues care to talk about this, then I'll have to guess as to what they might think. Given a choice, I'd rather hear it from them. But that's the way it goes, I guess. On a lighter note, John Coby has more.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Stephanie Stradley.)
The year 2007 will mark the first year that the Houston Texans were more entertaining to watch than not. The previous years, for me, were more about being fascinated in the do's and don'ts of putting together a professional football team from scratch. It's not something I've witnessed up close with any other team. A lot of people found that to be a hard brand of football to watch, but I see it a bit like watching your kids grow. You see them fail and succeed, though it is hard to watch the failures.
Houstonians tend to fall into two categories in the post-Oilers era: 1. Those who are waiting for the Texans to be worth watching; and 2. Those who despised being teamless in Houston, and appreciate the Texans in the never-take-NFL-football-for-granted way. I clearly ended up in the second category. Like in politics, it's much more fun when you have someone or something you can support, instead of just rooting against someone or something awful.
So, what do I see for the Texans in 2008? Well, fortunately, this year I haven't had to already study in depth the top 10 draft prospects in the upcoming draft. The Texans clearly still have many needs, but it's encouraging to see how hard they are playing despite leading the league in players on injured reserve. (Getting killed by Indy in Indy is something that happens to a lot of teams, including some much better and healthier than the Texans). I think their hard play is due to the type of player the Texans have been drafting, and how much they respect and want to play for Gary Kubiak.
I've always been optimistic about the Texans as they have a top notch facility in a football loving town where professional athletes like to live. If you talk to any of the coaching staff, the one thing they will always mention is that owner Bob McNair is a great owner who gives them all the financial resources they need. I think with that combo, eventually the Texans will be seeing more success on the field.
In the meantime, the smartest thing the Texans have done is not just allowed tailgating (it was prohibited during the Oiler years), but they have encouraged it. This has created a fan community where little existed, and helped you endure some pretty ugly football at times. I think the New Orleans Saints fans' motto is "Win or lose, we still booze." I'm not sure that alcohol as a therapy for losing is a good idea, but I will say that some of the best barbeque I've eaten in my life has been at Texans tailgate parties.
If you would like to tailgate in the upcoming year but don't know who to tailgate with, I suggest visiting the TexansTalk website and posting something in the tailgate section of their message board. Lots of personable, helpful people over there who love to welcome other Texans fans to tailgate culture.
Hope your holiday season has been terrific and your upcoming new year better. If you want a delicious extra present, please click this link.
Stephanie Stradley writes about the Texans and other sports topics for AOL Sports' FanHouse and is a frequent sports talk radio guest. Last year, she was named the 2006 Ultimate Texan Fan.
Elise Hu has part eight of her series on Governor Perry's email retention policies, which has come down to a contest between Perry and his minions against open-records advocate and all-around pit bull John Washburn - see here for my previous entry. In this episode, AG Greg Abbott has issued an opinion dismissing Washburn's claim (PDF) that Perry's office was attempting to nickel-and-dime him to death. Washburn has now fired back that this is simply an effort to use ignorance and claims of technical incompetence to stifle him. He then adds his own offer to compensate for the latter, complete with full source code. It's a glorious example of righteous geeky indignation. Check it out.
I've mentioned this before, so it gives me great pleasure to note the official filing by Richard Morrison for Fort Bend Commissioner's Court in Precinct 1. Here's his press release:
Residents of Precinct 1 have lost confidence in Tom Stavinoha. His choice to approve a toll way as an extension of the Grand Parkway, his support of I-69 through the middle of Fort Bend County, his conscious decision to ignore flooding and drainage problems in the precinct, and his approval of the location of a 20 story pile of Houston's garbage in Precinct 1 demonstrates how little he cares about the current families of Precinct 1. Residents of Precinct 1 are tired of leaders who will not stand up to the big moneyed interests and who engage in "pay to play politics" which leaves current residents without effective representation. Stavinoha has lost his focus on the families that live in Precinct 1 and their critical issues of quality of life and an honest ethical government. That is why today I filed to run for Fort Bend County Commissioner of Precinct 1.The families of Precinct 1 are demanding a leader; someone with a backbone, willing to fight outside interests that want to pillage our county resources to the detriment of our current residents. I am a seventh generation Texan, whose parents and grandparents taught me to stand up for what you believe in, work hard and play by the rules. I will apply those lessons to the office of Commissioner. I will S.T.O.P the Grand Parkway Toll Road. I will keep I-69 and the Trans Texas Corridor as far away from Fort Bend County as possible. I will fix the flooding and drainage problems that exist in the precinct. I will fight against the location or expansion of any landfills in the county. And I will make sure that Fort Bend County acquires no more debt goes back to operating on a pay-as-you-go basis. I want to reform the Commissioner's office, making it a place where leadership, responsibility and ethics prevail. I will mount a strong, issues based campaign to win this most important post in the 2008 General Election.
I will campaign as a voice to the families of Precinct 1. I am pro-business and pro-growth, but these issues should not diminish the quality of life of the families that already live in the precinct. I have chosen to raise my family in Precinct 1. My family and I have lived in Fort Bend County for 12 years. We are residents of Greatwood. My law office is in Precinct 1. My church is in Precinct 1. My children attend school in Precinct 1. My wife shops for groceries in Precinct 1. The County Commissioner needs to know how to prioritize the growth of Precinct 1 with the needs of its current residents.
Fort Bend County has a budget of more than $214 million per year, much of it is spent without explanation. No-bid contracts for expensive professional services are awarded primarily to big donors. Hundred million dollar bond issues are passed for roads to nowhere. When elected I will fight to pass ethics reform, so that Commissioner's Court will not be able to accept donations from entities that have or will have no-bid contracts with the county.
I will restore the words "fair, honest and hardworking" to the office of the Commissioner. The Commissioner's office will not operate in secrecy. I will make decisions based on facts, not campaign contributions. When elected I will do everything in my power to open up government to the voters. Budgets, appointments, contracts, and campaign contributions will be made available on the web for anyone who wants to see them. Every decision I make will benefit the current families of Precinct 1.
In filing for my candidacy for County Commissioner, I am sending a strong message that it is time to run Precinct 1 on behalf of the current families that live there. I will fight for higher ethical standards, provide stronger oversight to manage future growth, and make quality of life for the current residents a top priority.
I hope to have the support of all the families in Precinct 1. I need your time talent and treasure to get to take back seat on Commissioner's Court.
David Mincberg has echoed some similar themes about ethics and no-bid contracts here in Harris County. It'll be interesting to see how that plays in the election. Morrison supposedly has several primary opponents, so if you're in his precinct, be sure to vote for him in March. Hal has more, including the equally welcome news that Albert Hollan will be running for the newly-created 434th District Court.
Elsewhere, BOR reports that a veteran family advocate and community lawyer named Sandra Phuong VuLe has filed to run for HD112 up in Dallas, which was left open by Rep. Fred Hill's retirement. Hill was an anti-Craddick voice last session, so that's a vital race to watch. It's fairly red (Moody = 41.8% in 2006) but not completely unreasonable. And as we know from HD97, nothing should be considered truly out of reach as long as Tom Craddick is a factor.
We're starting to see a lot more action in the local judicial races. As of this morning, twenty-four candidates, representing 21 judicial seats, have filed. Eleven of them have done so since Christmas. There are still nine seats (by my count) for which no one has yet filed, but I have no doubt that all slots will be filled by then. It's just a question of how many contested primaries we'll have - I'm expecting at least five.
One place we're seeing a bunch of contested primaries is in the Constable and Justice of the Peace races, with several of the challengers being repeat customers. JP Jo Ann Delgado in Precinct 2 Place 1 faces Sandra Delgado again, while JP Hilary Green in Precinct 7 Place 1 will be opposed by 2004 hopeful Giovanna Carroll-LaFleur (formerly Phillips). Precinct 1 Constable Jack Abercia will square off against Jack Boatner again. Precinct 3's Ken Jones now has two challengers, while Precinct 7's May Walker now has three.
All incumbent State Reps have filed except for HD142's Harold Dutton. No challengers yet in HDs 128, 130, 132, 136, and 150; all but 150 were unopposed in 2006. Still no contender for Congress in CD02.
Finally, South Texas Chisme brings us a great headline: GOP struggling to find candidates in Webb County. If nothing else, that's good news for State Reps. Richard Raymond and Ryan Guillen.
I think the better question is why this?
After trotting out and discarding a series of slogans over the years, Houston's official marketing agency is taking a new approach as it prepares to launch a $3 million campaign to enhance the city's national image.Instead of a snappy catchphrase, advertisements soon to appear in national publications will feature earnest testimonials from well-known current or former Houstonians such as singer Beyonce Knowles, soccer star Brian Ching, heart surgeon Denton Cooley and former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara.
Starting in February, the campaign will feature ads in the Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Continental Airlines' inflight magazine, Texas Monthly magazine and other publications, said Lindsey Brown, marketing director for the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. Broadcast ads also are in the works, she said.
The celebrities featured in the "My Houston" ad campaign, however, aren't being asked to recite slogans. The bureau has stopped using its most recent slogan, "Space City: A Space of Infinite Possibilities," Brown said.
"We feel that Houston is the word that's important right now -- Houston is the word that needs to be at the top of the mind rather than a slogan," Brown said.
Whatever. I don't see why anyone thinks this will do better than any of Elyse Lanier's infamous efforts, or why anyone thinks it will be more effective than "Houston: It's Worth It". But I suppose the GHCVB has to do something to justify itself. As for me, you can put me down as being with Cory on this one.
The following is a press release from Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal, which landed in my inbox a little while ago:
Statement by Chuck Rosenthal
Recently some Harris County District Attorney inner office emails have been released in the media.I understand that I have said some things that have caused pain and difficulty for my family, my coworkers and friends. I deeply regret having said those things. Moreover, I am sorry for the problems I have caused anyone.
I also understand that sometimes things happen for a purpose. This event has served as a wake-up call to me to get my house in order both literally and figuratively.
Charles A. "Chuck" RosenthalHarris County District Attorney
Well okay then. Not sure what this accomplishes for him, but there it is. By the way and for what it's worth, a quick sample of the Republican blogs in town reveals that not a one has mentioned this story as yet. Some of them are of course taking a break for the holidays, but not all of them. Make of that what you will.
UPDATE: WilcoWise has two posts about our amorous DA. I had only looked at local blogs, so I didn't spot them.
The new billboard ordinance, which was put off till next year after pushback from beautification groups, has been delayed again so that the disagreements can be worked out.
It had been scheduled to come up for council vote Jan. 9."We can tweak the tools that are used," White said. "We both share the same goal of billboard removal."
White met Thursday with representatives of Scenic Houston and a legal expert on billboard regulation, Bill Brinton. Scenic Houston had paid for Brinton to fly from Florida to meet with White.
Despite the holiday slowdown, Scenic Houston representatives have also met with 10 of 14 council members.
The billboard proposal grew out of an attempt by the city to settle legal disputes with Clear Channel Outdoor, one of the main billboard owners in Houston. The agreement would speed up the dismantling of smaller billboards, while allowing the company to move some medium-sized boards to new spots. The city's 23 scenic districts, and local residential streets, would be off limits.
Mayor Bill White and Councilwoman Pam Holm had touted the immediate gains: 881 billboards taken down in 2008, versus 687 scheduled to come down by 2013.
But critics said the administration had offered the industry a major loophole: a "relocation provision" that would allow Clear Channel to move 466 medium-sized billboards to new locations.
"On the surface, it's pretty good public relations," said Councilman Peter Brown. "Put up 466, but take down 800-odd billboards. But most of those 800 some are coming down anyway, by attrition, or they're blocked by trees or new construction. They're just not marketable anymore."
Brinton, the Florida expert, said the relocation provision "violates a core principle of billboard reduction ... freeze everything in place. Don't let it move, don't let it be rebuilt."
Brinton said Houston's original policy was working over time. Through attrition, billboards were coming down because of lease expirations, new development, weather damage and market downturns.
I've said before that in theory at least, the tradeoff of faster reductions for fewer ones was an acceptable price to pay. Obviously, not everyone sees it that way. I'm certainly not claiming any expertise in this matter. If the folks who do know better say that price can be reduced, I say more power to them. We'll see what happens.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Matt Stiles.)
Next year will bring us a tale about a big port city, a place with aging infrastructure, schools facing challenges and a police department crunching crime statistics.
I should probably mention that there's a politically ambitious mayor in this story, too.
You think I'm speaking of Houston, right?
Well, not exactly.
In 2008, with all its promise of historic political contests in Texas and across the nation, the thing I'm most looking forward to is a great American television show.
I'm talking about The Wire, HBO's gritty urban drama set in Baltimore. Most people think the show is about organized crime, specifically the drug trade. It is, and isn't.
Entering its fifth and final season next month, The Wire really is about public institutions, the places critical to our society -- police departments, local political entities, public schools.
In The Wire, an impressively realistic and honest series that has never received the attention it deserves, these institutions get a critical look. And what we see isn't pretty: police officers paralyzed by bureaucratic brass, politicians making short-sighted decisions -- and schools (and the families that send their kids to them) often failing. It seems every institution also lacks the ambition to solve its problems.
This season, the show is tackling what some see as another troubled institution: the newspaper business. The show's creator, David Simon, is a former Baltimore Sun reporter who has complained that "the media, which is supposed to be the assertive watchdog of the political and social culture, the last hope of reform -- they're not here anymore."
As heartbreaking as it is entertaining, The Wire would be depressing without the characters, especially wily Officer James "Jimmy" McNulty (Dominic West). He, like others in the show, is flawed. He drinks, carouses and disregards the chain of command. But sometimes Jimmy and the others break through the roadblocks placed by the system. Those moments are magic.
Their triumphs, like ours, are often subtle, fleeting or incomplete. The show isn't tidy. The Wire is as real as television gets, and it masterfully explores the complexities of the cities we live in (and write about).
That's why I'm looking forward to 2008.
Matt Stiles is a reporter and blogger for the Houston Chronicle.
So one of the Christmas presents I got this year was a $15 gift card for the iTunes store. Now in the old days, back when I was walking uphill in the snow to school every day, fifteen smackers bought me a CD. Needless to say, that's so 20th century. I want to be a modern music consumer and just buy me a few individual songs, like the cool kids do. Problem is, I don't have a very good feel for what tunes are out there that I simply need to have. And so I turn to you, my readers and your collective intelligence. If you had $15 to spend on iTunes, what song or songs would be on your must-have list? Please leave your suggestions, along with any relevant info about why I should have these songs and why I'm a cretin for not already having them, in the comments. Thanks very much.
The holiday lull in candidate filings is officially over - things were very busy today. Here's a roundup of who's running for what:
- I was very pleasantly surprised to see that Jim Henley (who's gonna need a new domain name) has filed to run for the Harris County Department of Education in Place 7. Not only does that clear the path for Mike Skelly to get the nomination for CD07, it also gives us an opportunity to elect an actual educator to the HCDE, which is currently populated by the likes of Roy Morales and Michael "Ronald Reagan Roolz!" Wolfe (sadly, neither is on the ballot this time around). Henley is joined on the ballot by the also-well-qualified Debbie Kerner, who's running for Place 5. Interestingly, both Republican incumbents have primary opponents, each of whom is a member of the Republican Leadership Council, and one of whom is Michael Riddle, husband of Debbie "Pit of Hell" Riddle. I wonder what's up with that.
- In my previous filing update, I mentioned that Harris County Sheriff Tommy Thomas had a primary opponent, and I mused about the motivation behind that. A little research tells me that Thomas' opponent has run against him at least twice before, in 2004 and 2000, so I daresay it's just a perennial candidate thing.
- David Mincberg has a primary opponent for County Judge, a fellow named Ahmad Hassan, who appears to have been Sheila Jackson Lee's Republican opponent for CD18 last year. Hal had the opportunity to hear him speak, and came away duly unimpressed. As I said about the Senate primary, if it gets Mincberg to start identifying and targeting voters earlier on, then it's all to the good. He's certainly in no danger of losing.
- Numerous Congressional filings: The Democrats now have two candidates for CD03 (Tom Daley and Ron Minkow), a candidate for CD12 (Tracey Smith), a candidate for CD19 (Dwight Fullingin), and a candidate for CD13 (Roger Waun, who ran last year). On the Republican side, Ron Paul and one of his primary opponents (Chris Peden) are in, while Mike McCaul picked up a challenger in CD10 (Charles James). I'm hoping that some Democrat files in CD14 on the odd chance that Paul survives his primary, then drops out to pursue an indy/LP Presidential campaign. I'm not sure if the Tom DeLay situation would apply here, but wouldn't it be freaky if the GOP had to run two write-in campaigns for Congress in a row? Also, as yet no one has filed to run against Chet Edwards in CD17. Wouldn't it be a hoot for Edwards to get a free pass?
- Victor Morales has made official his candidacy in Texas House District 4. John McClelland is set to file for HD64 in Denton County. Chad Khan is back for a second run here in HD126. Still no GOP opponents for Ellen Cohen or Scott Hochberg, or any other Harris County Dem besides Hubert Vo. Meanwhile, Republican John Davis has a primary opponent in HD129, a Jon Keeney. I've heard some rumblings that the party is unhappy with Davis, but I don't know any more about it than that. No Republicans have yet filed (according to this, anyway) for any of the HDs between 31 and 43, all of which are in South Texas and which include the likes of first-termers Juan Garcia, Solomon Ortiz Jr, and Eddie Lucio III. I can't believe that will still be true on January 3, but hey, one can hope.
- State Sen. Mario Gallegos will have a familiar Republican opponent, Susan Delgado. If that name doesn't ring a bell, read here, here, and here (scroll down). She's no threat to his re-election, but her presence will up the titillation factor next year, as if Chuck "Sexy Ears" Rosenthal needed the competition.
- We have a Democrat running for State Board of Education, District 7, one Laura Ewing, who appears to be a member of the Friendswood City Council. Anybody know anything about her? Now we need someone to step up for Districts 6 and 8, and if we get them I think the ballot will be full (modulo whatever's left for the Supreme and Criminal Appeals courts). That would be excellent.
- Speaking of judges, there are still a lot of candidates who have not yet filed (I'd guess they're still getting their petition signatures in order), and as there has been some recent shuffling on the Democratic side, I'm not sure who's still to file. I'm going to see what I can find out about that today.
Less than a week to go. Hang on!
This is one of the more disturbing political stories I've seen lately, both for its lack of concrete information and its far-reaching implications.
Texas' ailing racing industry is planning an expensive gamble for survival -- a $3 million campaign and lobbying effort to bring slot machines to the state's horse and dog tracks.Texans for Economic Development, the umbrella group for track owners, breeders and other segments of the racing industry, has budgeted $1 million to contribute to campaigns in the 2008 legislative elections and $2 million for a lobbying effort to convince lawmakers that the tracks need slot machines to survive, the Austin American-Statesman reported Wednesday.
It's a tough sell. State lawmakers have brought up the possibility of slots at tracks in the past, but all efforts have failed under opposition to expanding gambling in Texas. Proponents want Texas voters to decide.
Group President Tommy Azopardi said the $1 million will be targeted on about a dozen races in the state House of Representatives.
"It's not about Democrats and Republicans, it's not about the speaker's race," Azopardi said. "It's not about anything other than, 'Are you for VLTs (slot machines) or not?'"
That's a hell of a lot of money to put into State Rep races, and it raises the very big question of what races are they intending to put it in? And are we talking primaries, general elections, or both? Are they targeting people for defeat, or aiming at open seats? Or are they just going to hand out cash to those they perceive as softly opposed to their position, in hopes of getting them on their side?
I agree it's not about Democrats or Republicans, as there are supporters and opponents of slot machines on both sides of the aisle. As for the Speaker's race, certain key Craddick lieutenants, such as Kino Flores, are both supporters of expanded gambling and involved in hot races. I don't care what Azopardi says, if they are supporting Flores (I'm just hypothesizing here), they are supporting Craddick. Perhaps they will balance their support fairly evenly among the Craddickites and the anti-Craddickites, but the bottom line is that almost any contested race this year is to some extent is about the Speaker's race. It can't be avoided.
It's a shame that there's no indication of what the pro-gambling forces intend to do with their million bucks. We ought to know more when the next round of campaign finance reports come out, but still. This is a big deal, and it deserves a lot more scrutiny.
For those of you who enjoy a good politics-and-sex story (and you know who you are), it would seem that Santa was very good to you, if a tad bit late.
A federal judge this morning resealed dozens of e-mails from the Harris County District Attorney's Office that reveal personal communications, including a close personal relationship between District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal and his secretary.In an emergency hearing, U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt said he had meant only to make public Rosenthal's request that the e-mails to be kept confidential -- not disclose the actual e-mails, which were attachments to the document.
David Tang, an attorney for the plaintiffs on the underlying lawsuit, disagreed with the judge's ruling.
"The public should have access to see what's being done by their public officials," Tang said.
Rosenthal's attorney, Ronald Lewis, declined to comment after the hearing.
The e-mails, sent from Rosenthal's county e-mail address, highlight some of the inner workings of the DA's office, exposing details about past lawsuits and criminal cases.
And they include personal, affectionate notes to Kerry Stevens, Rosenthal's executive secretary with whom he said he had an affair in the 1980s.
"The very next time I see you, I want to kiss you behind your right ear," Rosenthal writes to Stevens in a note dated Aug. 10, 2007.
The e-mails are exhibits in a civil rights lawsuit against the Harris County Sheriff's Office, alleging misconduct by sheriff's deputies in 2001. Rosenthal was deposed in the case, which alleges sheriff's deputies violated the civil rights of two brothers who filmed police executing a search warrant on a neighbor's house.
[...]
During discovery for the case, [plaintiff's attorney Lloyd] Kelley asked for all of the e-mails sent or received by Rosenthal, his first assistant Bert Graham and his general counsel, Scott Durfee from July to Oct. 15.
In court documents protesting the release of the e-mails, attorneys for Rosenthal argue they "relate to private expressions of affection between Rosenthal and Stevens."
While the 51 e-mails between the two contain the phrase "I love you" more than a dozen times, and Rosenthal asks Stevens to let him hold her, the messages are not explicit.
Rosenthal said Wednesday he is not having an affair with Stevens, but that he had an affair with her in the 1980s when he was married to his first wife. He said the affair did not end that marriage, but he did later divorce.
Rosenthal later remarried and said he told his current wife about the affair before hiring Stevens as his executive assistant when he took office in 2000.
[...]
Kelley took issue with Stevens' salary and the fact that she drives a county pool car, which is an extra car that belongs to the department pool. County records show that she makes $75,000 a year.
Rosenthal justified the expense by saying Stevens occupies a high position of trust in his administration.
He also said Stevens took responsibility for the car -- a suggestion from one of his administrators -- so it would receive regular maintenance.
Kelley also took Rosenthal to task for preferential treatment for Stevens.
Included in the e-mails is an exchange in which Stevens asks for a day off.
Rosenthal responds, "You do not have to ask. Just tell me what you plan to do. You have to know by now that I'm not going to tell you 'no' about anything you want."
"It is still proper for me to ask," she wrote back. "There may be a day that something could be going on that you would want me here."
Rosenthal writes, "I always want to see you. You own my heart whether you want or not."
Answering Kelley's charge of preferential treatment, Rosenthal said he didn't think he has ever denied an employee's earned time off.
Three things:
1. There's no way that Rosenthal's actions can be made to look good. His justifications for his actions towards Stevens may be plausible, but there's no getting past the impression of special treatment for his girlfriend. This is precisely why the whole bosses-dating-underlings thing is so dicey, and why so many workplaces have strictly-enforced rules about such matters.
2. This may well be a "political hit", as Rosenthal claims (Kelley finished last in a field of five for the GOP nomination for DA along with Rosenthal in 2000), but so what if it is? Rosenthal's judgment is still at issue here, and that's certainly a valid thing for voters to consider. The bottom line is that he could have chosen not to hire his girlfriend, or to not do things that would make people think hiring his girlfriend was a bad idea. Or, you know, to use personal email accounts for this kind of mushy stuff. It ain't Lloyd Kelley's fault Chuck Rosenthal is in this particular pickle.
3. It's not clear to me what the point of resealing the emails is. They're out there now, and nobody's going to forget what they said - we're sure to be reminded of them many times this year. As such, this seems to me this is a clear case of locking the barn after the horse has been stolen. Maybe - and this is just fact-free speculation on my part, so take with an appropriate amount of salt - there's stuff in there that the newsies and other nosey types haven't gotten to yet that he really wants to keep quiet. Or maybe he's just hoping this will play itself out as a story way before November, when other things will be on voters' minds. Who knows? I still don't see the point, but whatever.
That's all I've got for now, but you can bet that kissable spot behind your right ear that this isn't the last you'll hear of this. Grits and Cory have more.
UPDATE: Mark Bennett asks an important question.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Rep. Ellen Cohen.)
As I write this article, 2007 is coming to an end, and it would appear that the biggest event of 2008 will be the presidential election. That said, much can happen in 10 months, thrusting unknowns to the forefront and dramatically changing the landscape of predictions. Still, with whatever is in store for us, electing a President who will restore our country's position of respect, compassion and integrity throughout the world is paramount. Someone who will bring us as a nation together while continuing to respect diversity in all aspects of our lives.
Clearly, the next President needs, on a national level, to focus on many of the same concerns we in the state legislature are facing: health care, including the children's health insurance program, stem cell research, and mental health services. While recent research shows some very promising new forms of stem cell research, we can not and must not abandon the promise of what is being learned through adult and embryonic stem cell research. Regenerative medicine is vital to saving lives. Republicans and Democrats have voted in a very bipartisan manner to lift the bans set down by the present Administration that limits or stops research done on embryonic or early stem cells. All of this was brought home to me from both a very personal side regarding my late husband's spinal cord cancer and a visit I received from twin 6 year old girls living in West University who shared with me how this research could help with their juvenile diabetes.
The next President needs to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program and, we in Texas need to do the same. Of the 9 million uninsured children in the United States, over 1.5 million live in Texas. CHIP is the program designed to help the children of working families. As President Clinton often said, these families are the ones who "are working hard and playing by the rules". They are doing everything, but simply don't make enough money to pay for health insurance coverage for their children without some assistance.
The next President, and we in Texas, need to focus on education. As a nation we are falling woefully behind in the areas of math and science. As a state, if we expect to have employees who can reason, who can analyze figures, who can articulate intelligently varying points of view, then we have an obligation to educate our children. We simply must invest in our young people if we expect them to succeed in Texas, across the Nation and throughout the world.
Finally, the next President must continue to preserve the value of "separation of church and state". I spent a decade of my life working for the American Jewish Committee and have great admiration for people of faith. I also accept and affirm the right of people to question the existence of a deity. We must look at issues in accordance with our Constitution, not a specific religious ideology. From textbook rejections and staff dismissals from NASA to the Texas Education Agency, we must realize and respect our religious believes as separate and apart from the lessons learned by scientific experiments and calculations. Our science and faith are NOT in conflict, only the agenda of our leaders.
This coming year presents us with a chance to compare where we are as a nation and a state and where new and innovative leadership can take us. We have a chance to restore our prestige as a nation and our leadership as a state. We must take advantage of this time in history to elect a President whose visionary leadership will secure the future, starting with the next generation.
Ellen Cohen is the State Representative for the 134th District in Harris County.
Boy, the things I miss by not going out at night more often. At least there are people I know to document them for me so I can ooh and aah over them later.
Thought I'd take a minute and see how filings were going for the Republicans in Texas. I'm using this document as my main guide to who's filed for what. Vince has done some of the heavy lifting here, and I'll quote from his analysis of a couple of contested primaries for Congress:
U.S. Congress, District 3, GOP PrimaryThe dissatisfaction with Rep. Johnson in Plano has evidently been significant enough to draw him not one but two opponents. The first, Wayne Avellanet, we told you about earlier. Now, another candidate has entered the race, Harry Pierce, a retired airline pilot. No information has emerged about Pierce yet, but we'll keep you posted. So far, Avellanet is the biggest threat to Johnson.
U.S. Congress, District 4, GOP Primary
For the third election cycle in a row (if I recall correctly-2004, 2006, and now 2008), the people who are tired of waiting for Congressman Ralph Hall (R-Rockwall) to retire continues to grow. Kathy Seei, the former mayor of Frisco and most recent filing, is probably Hall's biggest threat at this point. Kevin George (R-Celina) is campaigning as a "Constitutional Republican" and spouts tons of ultra-right-wing rhetoric on his website. Gene Christinsen (R-Celina) is the owner of a racing team (among other things) and has the dubious distinction of being endorsed by Chuck Norris (who has also endorsed the Total Gym). This will no doubt be an interesting primary. Can't wait to see if Ralph Hall pulls out his decade-old endorsement from Charlton Heston in this race.
U.S. Congress, District 22, GOP Primary
To date, four Republicans have filed in the hopes of having an opportunity to spend half a million bucks in the primary and two million bucks plus in the general election for the right to come in a point or two behind Democrat Nick Lampson of Stafford next November. Perhaps the most interesting tidbit in this race is that State Rep. Robert Talton (R-Pasadena), the establishment front-runner, has yet to file. Of course, Shelley Sekula Gibbs, last year's famous Temporary Congresswoman, has filed as has ad exec John Manlove. Pete Olson, a former staffer for U.S. Senator Phil Gramm is also in the race as is former state district judge Jim Squier.
Gary has more on the status of CD22; Muse tells you how you can meet some of those people. Couple things to add here - Reps. Johnson, at 77, and Hall, at 84, are two of the oldest members of Congress, which may account in part for their opposition. So far nobody has filed for CD14, though in the end I expect Ron Paul to have opposition there - two people have declared their intent to run against him. I've already said what I think will happen if Paul loses in the primary. I don't know how likely that is, however.
One other place where I expect a contested Congressional race for the GOP is CD23. Bexar County Commissioner Lyle Larson is reportedly in the running against self-aggrandizer Quico Canseco. The winner gets a shot at Rep. Ciro Rodriguez. And as yet, neither of the two wannabes for CD18 has filed. I'll be looking for that one. And I see on the local party site that Eric Storey is back for another spanking against Rep. Gene Green in CD29.
Nothing too exciting at the State House level that Vince or I haven't mentioned already. Two local races of interest: Former HPD Chief, now Justice on the First Court of Appeals, Place 3, Sam Nuchia, has a primary opponent in attorney Ed Hubbard. No idea what that's about. Also, Sheriff Tommy Thomas has drawn a foe in Paul Day; again, no idea what that's about. Thomas will have a stiffer test in November, that's all I can say right now.
Swinging back to the Democrats, the contested primary for Justice of the Peace in Precinct 1, Place 1, is now official as incumbent Dale Gorczynski joins his former Chief Clerk, Harold Landreneau, on the ballot. I'm not sure if Landreneau lives in my neighborhood or just has a lot of friends here, but I've seen several signs for him around the place. That one will be interesting.
Last but not least, some good news in Fort Worth where Eight for 08 target Bill Zedler has drawn an opponent in Chris Turner, a long-time aide and District Director to Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards. That one has just climbed up the Races To Watch charts for me.
Interesting op-ed from the weekend by Barbara Radnofsky.
Now, in many urban high schools and particularly in Houston, policy debate is gone. Private and suburban public high schools are still actively involved in debate, but predominantly low-income minority students lack the opportunity.Houston needs an Urban Debate League to bring competitive debate back to the inner city, and to involve minority and low income students. By public-private participation, we can also aid both sides in the HISD bond controversy and litigation.
Urban Debate League (UDL) structures partnerships between the urban public school district and a private partner, a local not-for-profit organization (the UDL Advisory Board) composed of civic-minded leaders in business, law, academia, government and the nonprofit community.
Atlanta, Miami, Chicago, Kansas City and Baltimore all have successful Urban Debate Leagues. Now, Dallas has stepped forward.
The programs succeed. Here's the evidence from the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues: UDLs increase literacy scores by 25 percent, improve grade-point averages by 8 percent to 10 percent, achieve high school graduation rates of nearly 100 percent and produce college matriculation rates of 71 percent to 91 percent.
We are University of Houston debater alumni seeking resurrection of urban policy debate programs in Houston.
We've pledged our service in Houston's UDL Advisory Board if the NAUDL will sanction a League. We call on Houstonians to contact NAUDL (312-427-0175, info@UrbanDebate.org and www.naudl.org) to join us.
Also noted here; the idea got some good feedback in today's letters to the editor. This is more call-to-arms than ten-point-plan, so it's not clear how this would be done, but that's not important right now. For right now, this strikes me as a fine idea, one on which I hope there will be some follow through. I hope something will come of it.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Noel Freeman.)
I always look forward to a new year, and 2008 is much the same ... lose some weight, set new goals for my work with the City and community and build up my own business. What's different is that I'm presenting a challenge to Mayor White and several new members of City Council who have the opportunity to learn about some issues that are very important to me and have taken up a large portion of my time and effort over the past year.
Probably the biggest issue I have concentrated on has been flooding and drainage. We all know how important this issue is to Houstonians, and it is vitally important that we resolve to do more to make a difference in the coming year. After Allison, we learned a huge lesson - that we were $2.5-3 billion (yes, that's billion) behind on drainage infrastructure improvements. Mayor White has done a good job of increasing the budget for improvements, but sadly we are still budgeting less than $50 million per year (FY2008 was right around $45 million).
If you combine that with the $32-34 million we spend on maintenance and repairs, Houston still falls behind cities like Philadelphia, where the annual budget for similar programs and improvements is nearly $100 million. Nevermind that Philadelphia is physically about ¼ the size of Houston or that it has a half million fewer residents. At this rate, it will take 50 to 60 years just to bring our infrastructure up to today's standards.
With this in mind, it is my hope that Mayor White and our new Council members will take the lead and accept a challenge - to set the budget for drainage infrastructure maintenance and improvements at no less than $100 million for FY2009 and to set a five year plan to increase that number to $150 million by FY2013. I think this number is realistic and attainable.
Further, the City needs to look at real solutions to address developments that place a large added burden on our drainage infrastructure, such as big-box stores with multi-acre parking lots and residential developments that provide very little pervious surface to absorb water. Development can still continue, but there are better ways that can make a real difference.
2007 also saw a related issue hit mainstream and highlight the real rock-and-a-hard-place situations we in the City often find ourselves in. That issue was development in the floodway. You may have seen some stories on the news or in the Chronicle about some floodplain maps that changed. It may not have hit close to home for most of you, but it sure did for several thousand people who now find their properties in the floodway. I was glad to see the City remove some provisions from the floodplain ordinance that offered variances because it showed that we were finally getting serious about the floodway and moving to limit future flood losses.
Unfortunately, there were some unforeseen side effects of that change that have had potentially adverse effects on residents. I would like to see Mayor White and Council move to establish a buyout program specifically for properties in the floodway and dedicate at least 5-10% of the drainage infrastructure budget mentioned above to do it.
The way I see it, 2008 is a great opportunity to make a real difference. I've got six months to educate Council members about these issues, and if they accept the challenge and do to the FY2009 budget what I've proposed, six more months to see how much better and safer it makes our communities. Here's to 2008.
Noel Freeman works for the City of Houston's Department of Public Works and Engineering and is a member of the Texas Floodplain Management Association. He was a previous candidate for City Council and is pursuing a Master's degree in Public Administration from Norwich University.
Well, here's an unlovely Christmas present.
The Greenway Theatre, which has screened films in the basement of Greenway Plaza for 35 years, will close at the end of this year.Employees say Landmark Theatres lost its lease at 5 East Greenway Plaza. Landmark, a chain that specializes in independent and foreign films, has operated the Greenway since 1994.
A board designated for patrons' reviews of offered films has turned into a makeshift memorial as people protested the closing.
Written lamentations of "We will miss you" and "NO" in bold, penciled script were posted, along with a message from a self-described 30-year patron who simply offered: "We are sorry."
[...]
Landmark informed theater employees Saturday, two days before Christmas, that they'd be laid off. A sign taped to the ticket booth announces the closing and refers all questions to Landmark's corporate office.
It also reads: "Hope you remember us fondly."
I suppose the surprising thing is that they kept the lease for this long in that part of town. Still a damn shame, though.
For those of you keeping score at home, this leaves one Landmark Theater property in Houston - the endangered/doomed River Oaks Theater. When/if that shuffles off this mortal coil, your options for seeing nonstandard fare will be (mostly) reduced to the Angelika downtown and the Alamo Drafthouse out in East San Antonio. Not the most pleasant prospect I've ever considered.
When the Greenway opened in 1972, it was hailed as an important part of developer Kenneth Schnitzer's Greenway Plaza. The development's mix of uses --office space and retail with entertainment such as the theater and a basketball arena -- was considered visionary.
Those were the days, huh? Rest in peace, Greenway Theatre.
The biggest "news", if you can call it that, since my last update on who's filed for what, is that perennial do-nothing Gene Kelly has made his biennial donation to the Texas Democratic Party primary fund, and will once again clutter up the ballot for US Senate. If you thought you'd heard the sound of several thousand eyes rolling over the weekend, that would be why. He was greeted by a bizarre press release from Ray McMurrey, welcoming him to the race, which in retrospect seems fitting enough as neither candidacy is about anything other than being on the ballot. The practical upshot of all this is that it will ensure that the Rick Noriega campaign stays active and fully engaged throughout the primary season, since the specter of a runoff against either opponent, especially the inert-but-recognizable Kelly, would be ill advised.
I will say this: While I have nothing but contempt for Kelly and his pathetic obsession with "running" for office, I do disagree with those who have been complaining that his presence has made various Democratic candidates "waste" campaign resources that could have been used against their eventual Republican opponents. The one thing Rick Noriega needs now more than anything is name ID, and there's really no better way to get that than to have a contested primary. Money spent identifying and targeting Democratic voters is to me an investment, not a waste. The only waste here would be of the opportunity if Noriega supporters fail to recognize this for what it is. The good news is that I'm confident his campaign will not make that mistake.
Elsewhere, BOR diarist Benawu rounds up the current status of Democratic Congressional filings. I've said it before, but for whatever the reason there's just not as broad an interest in running for Congress this time around, though I'm fairly sure several of those empty slots will be filled by someone when all is said and done. While that's disappointing and a bit puzzling, the good news is that we ought to have a couple of very interesting races here in Houston, what with CD10 making the national radar already, CD07 drawing an exciting contender, and of course Rep. Nick Lampson's defense of CD22. The field may not be broad, but it has some depth, and will provide some real opportunities.
Finally, it's not really a filing per se, but this news from last week is fascinating.
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, the Texas Republican running for president who's had surprising fundraising success, got a stick (or maybe a dust speck) in the eye Thursday as the Libertarian Party of Texas said Eugene J. Flynn, an immigration attorney, wants to challenge Paul for re-election to the U.S. House next year.Paul intends to run simultaneously for re-election and for the GOP presidential nomination, as permitted by Texas law. Paul was the 1988 Libertarian Party nominee for president and generally hews to a libertarian platform.
According to the Libertarian Party of Texas, Flynn tried to run against Paul as a Libertarian in 2006, but party members chose not to nominate a candidate against the Lake Jackson Republican at their spring convention.
Wes Benedict, executive director of the Texas party, said in an e-mail that he expects to be blasted "over this," meaning Flynn's challenge.
Yes, I imagine he would, given Paul's hero status among the Libs. What interests me is not the hissyfit potential as much as the issue on which Flynn intends to challenge Paul:
Benedict quoted Flynn as saying: "I agree with Ron Paul about 80 percent of the time. The problem is the other 20 percent is the most important to me, that is, immigration. ... Ron Paul offers no way to allow those illegally in the U.S. to get right with the law. Instead he wants to spend more and more money to create bigger bureaucracies to secure our borders to protect us from needed workers."Contacted by e-mail Thursday, Flynn said; "We need a guest worker program NOW! One way to help get it is to defeat the (immigration) restrictionists such as Ron Paul." He noted that as the party's nominee for chief justice of the Texas Supreme Court in 2002, he drew 80,185 votes, just under 2 percent, statewide.
More power to you, sir. It's not clear that the Democrats will field a candidate for CD14 this time around, so someone needs to be a voice of reason on this issue. May this be one of those vanishingly rare times when an LP candidate gains some traction.
As for Paul, here's my fifty-cent prediction for the week: Regardless of what he may or may not be saying now that he's made the national talking-heads circuit, I say if he fails to survive his own primary challenge for CD14, Ron Paul will be on the ballot for President this fall. He'll never have this kind of platform again, and I can't see the logic in folding up the tent eight months before the election if he gets ousted from his Congressional district. If he's still the nominee for Congress, then he won't pursue his Presidential ambitions past the point of the GOP nomination, but if not, what has he to lose by keeping his circus in business? Whether under the banner of the Libertarian Party or as an independent (surely his national network can help him meet whatever ballot access obligations he'll face), if Paul isn't running for Congress after March (or May, if there's a runoff), he's running for President in November. You heard it here first - or not, if I'm wrong.
UPDATE: Eye on Williamson mentions a challenger to State Rep. Dan Gattis in HD20, meaning that each State House seat in Williamson County will have a Democrat on the ballot. HD20 is considerably more Republican than HD52 (Bill Moody got 39.1% in HD20, 47.8% in HD52), but it ought to help provide for a better metric of how far along the bluing of WillCo has come.
Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
It's the best time of the year
I don't know if there'll be snow
but have a cup of cheer
Have a holly, jolly Christmas;
And when you walk down the street
Say Hello to friends you know
and everyone you meetOh, ho, the mistletoe
hung where you can see;
Somebody waits for you;
Kiss her once for me
Have a holly jolly Christmas
and in case you didn't hear
Oh by golly
have a holly, jolly Christmas this year
From my family to yours, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I'll see you tomorrow.
Oops. Romney not only did not get the Concord Monitor of New Hampshire endorsement, they told their readers NOT to vote for him and why. Smack those flip-flops together, he's not "trustworthy".
Several newspapers made endorsements Sunday.Democrat Barack Obama:
• The Nashua Telegraph in New Hampshire endorsed Obama as the best choice for Democratic voters, citing his "inspired leadership."
• The Dallas Morning News noted Obama's "consistently solid judgment" and "poise under pressure."
Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton:
• Iowa's Burlington Hawk Eye endorsed Clinton as the most impressive of the Democratic candidates.
• The Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa, also chose Clinton on the basis of her experience.Republican John McCain:
• The Quad City Times chose McCain, calling him "a leader whose life experiences" have tested his mettle for the nation's top job."
Republican Mike Huckabee:
• The Dallas Morning News called Huckabeee "the change agent the nation most needs."
Republican Mitt Romney:
• The Sioux City Journal of Iowa endorsed Romney as combining "an outsider's new face with a proven track record of success."
• The Concord Monitor of New Hampshire broke with political tradition, telling readers why they should not vote for Romney. It said he looks and acts like a presidential contender but "surely must be stopped" because he lacks the core philosophical beliefs to be a trustworthy president.
Every year at about this time, I link to Mark Evanier's wonderful story about Mel Torme and a group of charmingly clueless Christmas carolers. And every year when I reread it, it gives me goosebumps. This year was no exception. Go, read, and enjoy. And please join me in wishing Mel Torme a Merry Christmas, wherever he may be.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Stace Medellin.)
For Democrats, 2008 will be the longest year ever. We expect to win in November; however, many of us cannot wait to watch Bush hop on Air Force One for his final trip to Maine, Texas or wherever he decides to call home. There will be a Democrat in the White House, and I look forward to that change. More than anything, 2009 will determine if our Democratic victories in 2008 will amount to everything we want them to be.
As we get ready for our Harris County Democratic primaries, I look forward to an increase in Democratic activism and excitement. Much like Party stalwarts boast about the best list of presidential hopefuls ever, local Dems are very proud of the judicial line-up, as well as the countywide candidates, that we will be supporting. With new and almost-new folks in the running for Texas House seats in various corners of the County, there is no doubt that there is this sense of Democratic energy wafting about. How we take advantage of this great opportunity to turn Harris County blue will depend on how effective we are at turning out our various constituencies in November. Although I expect victory, I also expect our "safe" Texas House members to pull out all the stops, get their troops on the ground in their respective areas, and effect increased turnouts in those areas where turnout is nothing to boast about. Although I expect victory, I look forward to winning big and not barely.
At the personal level, it seems my life will be shaken up early in 2008. Although I'm sometimes known for DosCentavos, my dearest of Democratic friends and activists also know me because of my tight-knit family. Well, during first quarter of 2008, my middle sister and local attorney/professor Toni Medellin, her husband Ben Briseño, and my mom, Flora Medellin, will be moving to the Metroplex--location still to be decided. So, a big chunk of "The Cartel" is going to be gone, and I'm dreading it! During the last decade of living in the same area, we've grown quite close and we've enjoyed working together on most things progressive and political. Still, our friends will get to enjoy the fact that my other sis, Sylvia, and I will still be around and active (as if that's any consolation for losing Toni, right?). In fact, both of us will end up somewhere inside the loop (or at least inside the Belt) early in 2008.
What is to come for myself in 2008? Well, continued blogging, of course. I also expect to expand my business once I get settled inside Houston. I hope to write another page of my great Mexican-American novel. And more than anything I look forward to expanding the DosCentavos family--guest writers, more readers, and more DC-based projects.
Happy Holidays from DosCentavos and the Medellin Family!
Stace Medellin is a political consultant, activist, and the founder of Dos Centavos.
It wouldn't be Christmas without an accounting of Christmas songs you hate, would it? I'll open the bidding with any version of "The Little Drummer Boy", whose ad nauseum refrain drives me crazy every time. I'm also ready to plug my ears with whatever's handy whenever "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" comes up on the radio, which appears to be every five minutes. What Christmas song or songs could you go another year (or lifetime) without ever hearing again? Leave a comment and let me know.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Matt Glazer.)
Carl Sandburg once said, "I'm an idealist. I don't know where I'm going, but I'm on my way." Looking into 2008, we know where we're going. We know the way there. The path to making Texas a better place for our parents' generation and our children's generations both intersect on November 4, 2008, and I am idealistic.
The road to change started before me. It started when bold leaders like Martin Frost and our Representatives in Congress took on Tom DeLay and the Republican Party in Washington. Representatives Garnet Coleman, Pete Gallego, Jim Dunnam and many others led the House against Tom Craddick in both Texas and Oklahoma. Senators from across the state took their fight to David Dewhurst. The battle cries of "Remember Ardmore" inspired me to fight the good fight.
Here we are in 2007 on the edge of taking back the Texas House. State Senate candidates in Dallas and Galveston are looking to pick up victories in districts drawn to be Republican strongholds. Not since Ann Richards have Democrats been so optimistic about their statewide candidate, and now we have the chance to vote for Lt. Col. Rick Noriega.
While 2007 ushered in an era of hope, this year will bring change... real and meaningful change.
As we look over the horizon, I am excited by the things we have accomplished and the things we will accomplish. The online community is more organized than in any other election cycle. With more readers today than ever before and new tools like TexBlog PAC, the online community is going offline. If possible, we are ready to inspire others. El Paso, Dallas and Austin are blue and operative and activists are hungry to do the same in Houston and San Antonio. 2008 is a change election, and I look forward being a part of the Democratic revolution. I look forward to 2008.
Matt Glazer is the editor-in-chief of the and the chair of the board for the TexBlog PAC.
From the Texas League of Conservation Voters:
The Texas League of Conservation Voters (TLCV) announced today the release of www.toxicmike.com, a website designed to highlight State Senator Mike Jackson's disgraceful record on clean air and other environmental issues, his ignoble distinction of filing the worst environmental bill of the 20007 legislative session, and his overwhelming financial support from big polluters and other special interest lobby groups in Austin.
"Sen. Jackson repeatedly puts the special interests of big polluters over the health and safety of his constituents," said TLCV's Executive Director, Colin Leyden. "This website will give voters in his district the information they need to make an informed decision at the polls in November of 2008."Backed by the polluter lobby, Jackson filed SB 1317 earlier this year to stop Houston's efforts to clean up toxic air pollution. Jackson's lobby-backed bill prohibited a municipality from regulating air pollution through ordinance.
"Voters are sick - literally - and tired of politicians accepting big checks from industry lobbyists and then turning around and doing their bidding," said Leyden. "Voters in Senate Dist. 11 are ready to send career politicians like Jackson a message at the polls: You've failed to fight for our interests, and now it's time to leave."
During floor and committee debate, it often appeared as if Sen. Jackson either did not understand his own bill or was being purposely misleading, Leyden said. Despite being told otherwise, he repeatedly argued to fellow Senators that Texas should let the EPA do its job of regulating toxic pollution. He also seemed to think that the issue was part of ongoing efforts to reduce area smog. Unlike NOx and other major ozone contributors, the EPA does not regulate toxic air pollution.
"It's difficult to know which is worse - willful ignorance or deceit," said Leyden.Sen. Jackson was named one of TLCV's "Worst" senators in their 2007 Legislative Scorecard.
The Texas League of Conservation Voters and the affiliated TLCVPAC is dedicated to electing legislators who conserve Texas air, water, parks, public lands and public waters, and defeating those who don't.
Two words: Joe Jaworski. 'Nuff said.
Hilarious. Texas Monthly's Evan Smith reports that House Speaker Tom Craddick will get a Democratic challenger next year. The Midland newspaper erroneously reports that Smith had "encouraged" said challenger, former Midland city council member Bill Dingus, to make that run. This causes the Republican Party of Texas to go ballistic. The paper has now issued a retraction, saying their reporter made an honest mistake in how he interpreted what was said to him (see here for more).
So. What do you think are the odds that Tina Benkiser and her cohorts will accept this explanation and drop the matter? What do you think are the odds that one or more conservative bloggers will reference the initial story as proof that "the media" is out to get Republicans in general and Tom Craddick in particular, without acknowledging the retraction? It's certainly possible that this is a one-day story, but let's keep an eye on it anyway. The unintentional comedy factor is high.
Joe Jaworski made his filing for SD11 today. From the press release:
"Voters want positive change, not more of the same," Jaworski said. "They know we can do better if we have more leadership and less partisanship. I'm ready to meet that challenge."Jaworski filed his campaign paperwork in Austin as a candidate in the SD-11 Democratic primary scheduled for March 4, 2008.
"The stakes are too high in Texas to allow our public policies to continue to be hijacked by narrow special interests," Jaworski said. "Let's not settle for the thought that things could be worse. Let's demand that things be better."
Polling shows that Jaworski's opponent, a 20-year Austin political veteran, is in a vulnerable position with a year to go before the general election. The survey of 400 likely voters, conducted by Hamilton Campaigns on October 27-29, found that fewer than one-third of voters in SD 11 approve of the incumbent's job performance and that the race is statistically tied -- 48 percent to 44 percent -- with Jaworski polling a full 20 percent higher among independent voters.
A former three-term member of the Galveston City Council, Jaworski earned a reputation for insisting on strict financial accountability to hold the line on new taxes while safeguarding vital services. First elected in 2000, he was re-elected in 2002 and then again in 2004 as Mayor Pro-Tem. He stepped down in May 2006 under the city's term limits law.
In 2005, Jaworski helped lead the team that faced Hurricane Rita and won praise for his role in that region's emergency preparation and response to the devastating storm.
Jaworski has a primary opponent (about whom I know nothing), so a strong win in March would be a nice start towards finishing the job in November. There's an amazing number of contested Democratic primaries for Republican-held seats this year. We'll see what effect that has on turnout. If you're in SD11, make sure you get out and vote for Jaworski, beginning in March.
Previously, I had mentioned that there was a candidate looking at the remaining Supreme Court seat. Now BOR reports that Dallas District Judge Jim Jordan is in.
Jordan, a veteran civil defense attorney and past member of the Texas Association of Defense Counsel, noted a serious backlog in cases at the state's highest court. "They are failing to do their work as the backlog in cases has reached record levels."Jordan, who currently presides over the 160th District Court in Dallas, is Board Certified in Civil Trial Law - a certification earned by less than 2% of Texas Lawyers.
"When the system is broken, the responsibility must fall on the leader," Jordan noted, explaining his decision to seek the Chief Justice position. "I am running for Chief Justice because this Court has lost its way. Instead of upholding the law, it is advancing an ideology," Jordan added, referring to a recent study released by a University of Texas law professor that criticized the court for routinely exceeding its Constitutional authority, ignoring the role of juries, and using the bench to make policy instead of deciding questions of law.
Jordan, who first presided over the 44th District Court in Dallas, was a partner with the firm Shannon, Gracey, Ratliff & Miller before returning to the bench. In 2006, he won election to the 160th District Court. In amending his filings with the Texas Ethics Commission, Jordan also reaffirmed his intention to voluntarily comply with the Judicial Campaign Fairness Act.
We are now potentially one candidate away from having a full statewide slate. That's excellent news. We'll see how it turns out.
Last but not least, Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison has resigned that position and made his filing to challenge State Rep. Phil "Tax Swap" King in HD61. I wish him the best of luck in that pursuit.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Ed Davis.)
In the interest of full disclosure, I want to say right off the bat that writing for OfftheKuff puts me in a somewhat awkward position. The company I work for, FrogDog Communications, provides strategic communication consulting to a variety of companies and organizations. My most high-profile project this year was helping The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation during its lease dispute with the City. My job is to convince reporters and editors to do positive stories about our clients. Therein lies my conundrum. I get paid for working behind the scenes to help clients communicate their messages, so I'm a bit self-conscious about publicly expressing my own opinions.
What am I looking forward to in 2008? That's definitely not an easy question to answer. Do I write about how excited I am to help our clients achieve their goals? Do I reveal some of the cool things FrogDog Communications will be doing next year to increase its brand awareness? Do I wax poetic about what I hope to achieve personally? Or, do I offer some political observations--which obviously would fit right in with this blog?
As FrogDog Communications is not a political organization, I will tackle the first three options. I hope you find at least part of it useful and insightful.
Going into 2008, the dollar is weak, a mortgage crisis is pulling down markets, and the economic outlook is--at best--uncertain. So what level of resources should businesses and nonprofits put behind their marketing efforts next year? At FrogDog Communications, we are advising clients that now is great time to strategically invest in their brands through well thought out, targeted marketing campaigns.
Most organizations look to cut costs and batten down the hatches during times like this. Marketing budgets are often the first things to go. In fact, we have clients right now struggling with whether to maintain, reduce, or increase their marketing activities. However, history shows that organizations with the foresight and courage to ramp up their marketing communications during slow economic times come out way ahead of their competition when the economy once again gathers steam.
As noted by the brand valuation and research firm, Interbrand, during the 1988-1992 economic slowdown (recession is a dirty word even if you aren't an economist or politician), Nike increased its marketing by more than 300 percent. Remember the Just Do It! campaign? As a result, Nike multiplied its profits times nine during this period. But the bigger point is that Nike stole market share by the handful from other shoe and sports apparel companies, and it set itself up for global brand dominance.
This increase-marketing-investment-in-a-down-economy mindset is supported by the Profit Impact of Market Strategy (PIMS) study of 1998, which found that companies that increased their marketing budgets during the recession of 1988-92 realized ROI of 4.3 percent. While that may not sound like much, it is tremendous when you compare it with the returns companies achieved when they maintained their budgets or even decreased them (0.6 percent and -0.8 percent respectively).
So, at FrogDog Communications we are advising clients to focus on strategic marketing. We are optimistic that organizations heeding this advice will be better positioned next year and in the future, and we look forward to our clients' success in 2008 and beyond.
In fact, we are taking our own counsel and will ramp up our own marketing efforts. While I can't reveal too much because my boss reads this blog as much as I do, I look forward to seeing our brand everywhere people find themselves in 2008.
And on a personal note, I am looking forward to several things in 2008: getting healthier, trying to find wisdom, and celebrating my two-year anniversary with FrogDog Communications. But most of all, I look forward to commemorating the 16th anniversary of meeting the person who changed my life--my wife.
From everyone at FrogDog Communications, we hope that your 2008 is bigger, better, and more prosperous than 2007.
Ed Davis is an account manager with FrogDog Communications. One of his accounts is The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation.
Some quick hits on the candidate filing front:
- In State House news, the Democrats now have candidates for HDs 127 and 135. Joe Montemayor will run against Joe Crabb in the Kingwood-area district, while Trey Fleming, whom we'd first heard about last month, will take on Gary Elkins. Montemayor has met with Diane Trautman's supporters from that district and has gotten good marks from them. Having a strong candidate there will help the countywide effort as well as giving the widely disliked and perennially underperforming Crabb a run for his money. Stace has more on that. Meanwhile, on the GOP side, in a rare battle that doesn't involve Tom Craddick, Dan Patrick's boy Allen Fletcher has made his challenge against Corbin Van Arsdale official. That ought to be fun to watch.
- Dale Henry, the 2006 candidate for Railroad Commissioner, is back in the saddle for that office. I have some mixed feelings about this - Henry's invisible campaign last year (dude didn't even have a website) doesn't exactly inspire confidence - but a lot of people I respect think highly of him, and at the very least it appears he'll be running something more like a modern operation this time around. I'm willing to be persuaded. More on that is here.
- We may have a candidate for the remaining Supreme Court seat, and at least one non-JR Molina option for the Court of Criminal Appeals. Jim Jordan is the name for the former, and Susan Strawn is the latter. Both are trying to gather the signatures they need to qualify for the ballot. Anyone who wants to help with this, drop me a note and I'll pass along the info you'll need to assist.
- Lastly, John Truitt, the independent candidate in CD07, sent out an email saying his Declaration of Intent to run as an Independent Candidate for US Representative 7th District was approved by the Texas Secretary of State's office earlier this week. He'll still have to get his petition signatures turned in and validated before he's official, which takes place after the primaries. He needs 500 valid sigs, which shouldn't be too hard for anyone not named Steve Stockman.
We'll see how active things are today, the last weekday before the holiday. Stay tuned.
I spent all day volunteering at the Noriega campaign, and I heard this talked about, so I was excited to read it when I got home. Rick Noriega is the latest candidate added to ActBlue's Blue Majority page. From Daily Kos:
But aside from that, Noriega is the face of a our modern Democratic Party -- pluralistic and multicultural, committed to national service, and competent. There's a reason that Republican Texas chose Noriega (a Democrat) to run the Katrina relief effort at the Houston Convention Center.These are the races that define us as a movement. We can shy away from tough challenges, or we can meet them head on and build for a future in which the Democratic Party doesn't just govern, but that it reflects the values all Americans hold dear -- values forgotten by not just Republicans in DC, but the Democrats currently in charge of Congress. In 2006, we took out the frontrunner to the GOP presidential nomination (George Allen) as well as delivered a Democratic Senator from blood Red Montana. We kicked out the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee out of the Democratic Party.
There's no doubt that Texas is our biggest challenge yet, but we don't gain anything by sitting back and looking for the easy calls. We didn't get this far by being timid, and we won't advance by retreating into caution and tenuousness. And the Texas progressive community is working their ass for Noriega. Let's give them moral and material support, no matter where we might live.
Awesome, awesome, awesome. I'm even more excited about this race than I was before. Bye, Cornyn.
No, it's not the head of the Texas Ethics Commission, it's Clear Lake activist John Cobarruvias who has been the TEC watchdog for about a year and a half. Out of curiosity, he looked in the campaign spending habits of one officeholder. What he found was so astonishing, it caused him to look into the spending side of campaign finance reports of many other Texas legislators and state-wide officials.
Here's the deal. The Legislature passed laws, which the TEC is supposed to enforce, that are very clear - all expenditures made by the candidate or office holder are to be transparent. Credit card expenses have to be detailed as to vendor, description and date of purchase. Reimbursements to self or staff have to be spelled out. It's not enough to put on the report, "Dan Patrick, $5000, reimbursement." He would have to detail what he spent that $5000 on. Not to mention, you are not supposed to use your campaign cash for personal use.
KHOU did a story at 10 pm last night on Cobarruvias' efforts and the complete ineffectiveness and worthlessness of the Texas Ethics Commission. The story and video and up on their website.
The gist of the story is that if Cobarruvias had not taken it upon himself to look into the Ethics Commission - uncovering the several million dollars in violations over a two year period - and getting a team of activists to file complaints on the violators - all of the illegal activity would still be going on - the credit card expenditure problems, reimbursements to self and staff, and personal use of campaign cash.
You are wondering, isn't it the Ethics Commission job to audit campaign finance reports, assess fines on violators and enforce the laws? Well, they act like they can't audit reports. They'll tell you it is up to someone to file a complaint before they can look into an alleged violation. But, that is just not true. This from the Government Code dealing with the TEC:
§ 571.069. Review of Statements and Reports; Audits(a) The commission shall review for facial compliance randomly selected statements and reports filed with the commission and may review any available documents. The commission shall return for resubmission with corrections or additional documentation a statement or report that does not, in the opinion of the commission, comply with the law requiring the statement or report.
One moment of hilarity from the KHOU story. Lee McGuire, the KHOU reporter, learned from the Ethics Commission that they had levied $700,000 in fines last year. Digging deeper, he discovered that all but $22,000 of that were fines assessed for candidates filing their reports late. Good on them, but the expectation is that officeholders and candidates are accountable for following ALL the ethics laws, not just filing on time.
The good news is that a lot of this mess has been cleared up. A review of the January 07 and July 07 campaign finance reports show that the word has gotten out that unless the laws are followed, you will have a complaint filed against you.
Someone explain to me why a state commission with a $2 million annual budget, has to count on a guy from Clear Lake to do their auditing work for them - for free?
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by David Baldwin.)
What a difference a year makes!
This time last year, The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation was keeping a low-profile, and its clients, staff, and supporters were worried about the future. Then our biggest challenge became our biggest opportunity.
The agreement we negotiated this year with the City of Houston to buy the land underlying The Center's main campus completely changed our perspective on the future--and Houston's perspective on The Center. We can now make plans to enhance our facilities and programs, and the tremendous exposure and support we received during our land negotiations laid the foundation for future growth.
We are already seeing results. Donations are up, and enrollment in The Center's vocational and day activity programs has grown substantially. And some of our long-time partners have shown renewed interest in The Center. Eva Aguirre, The Center's executive director, is working with social service organizations on ways to collaborate on staff training and to improve transportation services for Houston's mentally and developmentally disabled citizens.
The events of 2007 set the stage for some fundamental changes we will initiate in 2008. As our new Foundation executive director Debra Collins recently observed, The Center has always adapted. Its founders had a vision for the services our clients would need, and The Center remains at the forefront of emerging trends.
With our land issue resolved, the Center's board formed the 21st Century Committee to plot the best course for improving the lives of the people we serve. Of course, our top financial priority will be paying off the note on our land. But the committee also identified two areas of growing community need and demand: day programs and services for an aging client population.
When The Center was founded in the 1950s, life expectancy for our clients was about 35 to 40 years. Thanks to factors like improved health care, that life expectancy has almost doubled, while innovative programs like those offered at the Center have greatly improved quality of life and productivity for those we serve. Stop and think about that for a minute: The Center is now serving a population that essentially didn't exist when it was founded. Many of the people who live in our Cullen Residence Hall moved in when it opened in 1974 and they were in their 20s and 30s. Their home now needs to be enhanced to serve their changing needs.
As life expectancy grows, some of our clients spend more years at home with family and others seek independent living options in the community. To serve the latter, the group home program we launched late this summer will expand in 2008 and beyond.
No matter where our clients choose to live, they need opportunities to grow, work, and become involved in the community. This is one reason we are seeing increased demand for our day programs, such as our Momentum Industries vocational program.
With these priorities in mind, Eva and her staff took the 21st Century Committee's preliminary findings and are developing budgets and action plans. Our final development plan should be finished early in 2008 and will serve as a blueprint for years to come.
Those of us who manage and direct The Center's programs are excited about the possibilities. So are our clients, especially the ones who live on our main campus. They know their home is safe, and they know it's because Houstonians from all walks of life showed their support in 2007. In fact, 12,500 of you signed our on-line petition back in April, and many of you have reached out in other ways to show support.
From everyone at The Center, I offer sincerest thanks for that support. This organization might not have had a future without it.
David Baldwin is the President of the board of directors for the Foundation for the Retarded, which is the fundraising arm of The Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation.
The following was sent to me by Andy Neill:
The civic group "Volunteers Organized to Exercise Responsibility" (V.O.T.E.R.) will be holding their annual Holiday Party and Fundraiser on Friday December 28th from 8:00 - 10:30 pm at Cadillac Bar - located at 1802 Shepherd just South of I-10. Donations of $20.00 are encouraged, or Sponsorship Levels of Gold- $100; Silver - $75; or Bronze - $50 are offered for the year.
V.O.T.E.R is a non-partisan discussion group that meets to converse about political issues and policies on a regular basis. They host candidate forums as well as voter education and empowerment sessions. V.O.T.E.R. was formed in 1989 by Jeff Marshall, and they are celebrating their 18th year under his leadership. Although their meeting place is in the Heights area, the membership is comprised of numerous politically active citizens from around the Houston Metropolitan area. If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Jeff Marshall at (713) 862-3323, or email him at admin@voter1989.org. RSVPs are required by close of business Thursday Dec. 27th.
Thanks, Andy!
Paul Burka admits that his earlier call about the HD97 runoff was wrong, and gives his reasons for why State Rep. Dan Barrett pulled off the win.
Shelton ran a bad race. He waffled about the robo-calls. He had bad campaign materials. One Republican voter told me about getting a flyer from Shelton that talked about his being an Eagle Scout and all three of his sons being Eagle Scouts -- and then viciously attacked Barrett, a trial lawyer, undermining the character issue Shelton was trying to promote. Then there was his open endorsement of Tom Craddick. Why do it? Which voters were going to think to themselves, "I have to go vote for Shelton so that Tom Craddick can be speaker"? I wonder whether Craddick wanted Shelton to go public so that, expecting Shelton to win, he could make the race a referendum on himself. Be careful what you wish for.Since Tom Craddick became speaker, the Republicans have lost a net nine seats. The Republican majority has shrunk from 26 to 8. Craddick has argued in appearances before Republican groups that if he loses the speakership, the Democrats win, but the evidence suggests that the opposite is true: Because of him, Republicans are losing their majority. You have to think that at some point Republican candidates in contested races against Democrats, or even in Republican primaries, are going to ask themselves whether Craddick is a benefit or a burden. And, for that matter, you would think that at some point Republican honchos, from Rick Perry down to the money guys and the consultants and the lobbyists, would start to worry that he could cost them their majority. If this isn't part of the Republican conversation, it had better be.
You do have to wonder at what point the Republican money people throw Craddick under the bus. I think it's too late and they have too much invested in him to turn their ship around. They win or die with Craddick next November. What happens after that, especially if the GOP House majority becomes a thing of the past, I have no idea. But I'm sure I'll enjoy watching.
A better question from my perspective is at what point will the Democratic money people realize that, as a Burka commenter put it, a 60% Republican district doesn't mean much of anything any more? How many seats could we win if we really tried to expand the map? We've got the issues, we've got the energy, we've got proof that we can win places we're not supposed to win - what else do we need? It seems to me that the right lesson to draw from this race is that we have no excuse for not pouring as many resources as we can into any State Rep race that's remotely viable. In particular, the past electoral history of any given district should not be seen as an insurmountable barrier. Any place we have a good candidate running against a Craddick stooge, we should think of it as winnable. Anything less is leaving money on the table.
By the way, be sure to read through the comments for some awesome excusemaking by Republicans for why they lost this one. My favorite is the one who claimed that the runoff's proximity to Christmas was a barrier for them, as if it hadn't been Governor Perry's decision when to set the date.
Meanwhile, the Star-Telegram's Bud Kennedy also weighs in:
Barrett won because Texas Democrats sent help.But he also won because his opponent became the Amazing Vanishing Republican, and because suburban Republican voters pulled their own vanishing act on election day.
Fort Worth pediatrician Mark Shelton had leveraged volunteer help and Texas doctors' money into a first-round victory over five other Republicans, making him the favorite in the runoff.
But then, the friendly Shelton began avoiding reporters' questions, refusing interviews and responding only by e-mail.
By the final week, he seemed trapped in a campaign that was not his own.
His Austin campaign consultants, Craddick allies, sent reams of hostile mailers about illegal immigration, as if that were the sole issue.
On election day, suburban Republicans stayed home, voting by the handfuls instead of by the hundreds in Benbrook and at huge boxes such as the one at North Crowley High School.
North Crowley parents were among the big winners. Their growing district would be among those hurt most by a private-school voucher plan that Shelton supported.
The biggest loser was Craddick.
Two Republican candidates had already opposed him, and he wound up losing yet another vote in his campaign to keep his 18-year rule as the party's House leader.
"It seemed to me that Shelton was never speaking for himself," Barrett said. "Everything had to go through e-mail or through his handlers. It was as if everything came from Craddick."
Not exactly. But if Shelton had been elected, he would have been pressured to vote Craddick's way in Austin, no matter what was best for Fort Worth or Benbrook.
I'll say it again: Any place we have a good candidate up against a Craddick toady, we should view it as a pickup opportunity. It's as simple as that.
More campaign filings...First, soon-to-be-former Council Member Carol Alvarado will maker her filing for HD145 official tomorrow morning at 10:15 at HCDP headquarters. I'd excerpt the release, but that's pretty much all it says.
Next up is Judge Susan Criss, who made her filing for the State Supreme Court official Monday.
Criss, a veteran district court judge and a former prosecutor, issued the following remarks following her filing:"Republican control of our state's highest civil court has put the average Texan's constitional right to a trial by jury at risk. When an injured Texan is awarded damages by a trial at his/her local courthouse - and that decision is appealed - this Republican-dominated court reverses the jury's decision about 90% of the time. This Republican-dominated court has consistently favored wealthy corporations and insurance companies, and has made life for everyday working Texans more dangerous.
"Texans deserve better. The primary purpose of my campaign is to fight to protect the constitutional rights of all of our citizens. The most important work the Texas Supreme Court does is review cases and determine whether trials were conducted fairly and according to the law. I bring a new perspective based on actual courtroom experience earned from presiding over hundreds of cases as a trial court judge and from handling thousands of cases as a trial court attorney. I have worked in the courtroom trying cases with juries for over twenty years. I have been there in the trenches and know firsthand how the jury system works."
"Since announcing for this position in April, 2007, I have traveled across Texas, visiting over 90 Texas counties and gathering over 1600 signatures for my candidacy. The response has been overwhelming. The people want change. 2008 can be a banner year for Democrats. Our party deserves its strongest electable candidates. We need Democrats with the courage and determination to do what is right for Texas and Texans."
Criss is running for Place 8, held by Perry appointee Phil Johnson. She will face Judge Linda Yanez in the primary.
And finally, up in Austin, Brian Thompson filed against Craddick D Dawnna Dukes. The < ahref="http://www.statesman.com/search/content/region/legislature/stories/12/19/1219txhouse46.html">Statesman reports:
In front of a boisterous crowd at an East Austin restaurant, Austin lawyer Brian Thompson kicked off his challenge Tuesday night to longtime state Rep. Dawnna Dukes.Thompson targeted his fellow Democrat as out of step with the heavily Democratic district and too clubby with the state's Republican leadership, particularly Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick, a Midland Republican whom Dukes helped elect as that chamber's leader.
Thompson, 27, moved from Alabama to Austin in 2002 to attend law school and last year bought his first house, in East Austin. Yet he claimed that he has more in common with East Austin than Dukes, who grew up in the neighborhood but now lives in Pflugerville.
"This is my home, and the values of East Austin are my values," he said.
Craddick has become a lightning rod as he has fought off two challenges to his leadership post from both Republicans and Democrats who complained of his strong-arm leadership style. Dukes was one of 15 Democrats who helped Craddick win re-election in January, and she stuck by him in May, when many of Craddick's own lieutenants tried to oust him.
In an interview Tuesday, Dukes declined to criticize or defend Craddick.
"Craddick is not running for office here," Dukes said. "I have a strong Democratic record, and I've delivered for the district."
She also declined to say whom she would support for House speaker in 2009, when Craddick is expected to face both Democratic and Republican challengers. She said she would support the leader who would be best for her constituents.
Thompson's announcement email referenced Dan Barrett's win in Fort Worth as evidence that being with Tom Craddick is a political loser. One wonders if Dukes and her campaign consultant are a bit more concerned about that now. Not that there's anything she can do about it, since renouncing Craddick is apparently not in the cards and might not be believed anyway. We'll see.
UPDATE: How'd I miss this? Craddick himself will have an opponent in November.
I have it on authority that Bill Dingus, a seven-year member of the Midland City Council who happens to be the brother of longtime TEXAS MONTHLY writer Anne Dingus (not my source), will file tomorrow to run against Tom Craddick.Council members in Midland don't declare a party when they run, and my source tells me that Dingus has always been an independent, in public and private, but after considering running against Craddick as a Republican -- not a bad move in a heavily Republican district -- he's decided to file as a Democrat. Dingus has said before something to the effect that "the two-party system has lots of flaws, but it sure beats the one-party system." And, indeed, part of his motivation, I'm told, is to bring the Democratic party in Midland back into existence.
I'll make a donation to Mr. Dingus as soon as he's got an ActBlue page up. Meanwhile, BOR has more on Brian Thompson, and a video from Michael Skelly. Check 'em out.
It's a story about a Texan Democrat and a Houston socialite (if that doesn't reel you in, I don't know what will) from 20 or so years ago, so I'm definitely jonesing to see this movie. I just finished up a class on post-1865 Texas history, and I'm even more aware now of how powerful Texans have been and still are in the federal government. Here's the trailer, for those who haven't seen it:
The line "What does this rank relative to other covert wars? There's never been anything like it," just thrills me. I wonder what more contemporary Texas politician we could compare to Charlie Wilson? The hot tub scene in the trailer makes me think Tom Delay, but I don't know how the rest of the story would apply.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Rebecca White and Meggin Baxter.)
What are we looking forward to in 2008? That's an easy one -- the election of a lifetime, of course! We've had seven years under an administration that's openly hostile to women and families and, quite frankly, we believe that's more than a lifetime's worth. It seems like voters are starting to wake up and see what can happen when you don't value women and families. But just in case you've missed them - here are just some of the highlights (or lowlights depending on your perspective) from our nation's capital over the past year: birth control prices for college students sky rocketing nationwide; veto of the State Children's Health Insurance Program that would have insured 4-6 million currently uninsured children; nomination of Susan Orr, an anti-birth control activist, to lead family-planning programs at the Department of Health and Human Services; and the administration continuing to waste taxpayers' money funding for "abstinence-only-unless-married" sex education programs (so far over $1 billion nationwide and over $17 million in the Lone Star State). These highly expensive, but totally ineffective, programs are costing us more than taxpayer money - they're costing us the health and safety of the nation's youth, denying them accurate information on how to protect themselves against pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. These programs are so bad even the President's daughter, Jenna, is on record publicly opposing them.
But, we're not discouraged. We've just seen some exciting polling results that confirm what we've been saying for a long time - a strong majority of voters are sick and tired of cynical politicians posturing on and arguing about divisive social issues. They're sick of these ideologues who pontificate, but do nothing to address real problems. For example, polling shows that voters don't see the problem as abortion - they see the problem as too many unintended pregnancies that result in too many unwanted, uncared for children. Voters understand that the best way to deal with unintended pregnancies is to prevent them in the first place by providing common-sense, preventive measures like comprehensive sex education and increased access to family planning services, not by placing additional restrictions on abortion. Basically, polls show that voters are more interested in putting prevention first and political rhetoric last.
In 2008, we'll have the chance to take that message to our clients, to our supporters, and to the voting booth and that's just what we plan to do. We're looking forward to registering 5,000 new voters in our health centers and on college campuses across southeast Texas. We're looking forward to making sure our voters turn out like never before to elect pragmatic politicians who understand the value of prevention and coming together to solve real problems that affect real people. Election 2008 is truly the election of a lifetime and we plan to show up and make a difference! Happy New Year! Happy Better Year! Happy 2008!
Rebecca White is the Political Director for Planned Parenthood of Houston & Southeast Texas Action Fund. Meggin Baxter is the Public Affairs Field Manager for Planned Parenthood of Houston & Southeast Texas.)
Looks like that proposed new billboard ordinance is a bit more controversial than it first appeared.
The battle of the billboards, slated to erupt Wednesday at City Council, probably will be pushed off until early next year.A growing outcry from beautification groups led to a parley on Friday between billboard opponents and Mayor Bill White. The administration will ask for the delay until Jan. 9, according to agenda director Marty Stein.
The city wanted a quick legal settlement with Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. that would speed up the dismantling of smaller billboards, while allowing the company to move some larger ones to new spots. The city's 23 scenic districts would be off limits.
Critics pounced on the deal, saying the "relocation provision" for qualifying larger billboards is an unfair giveaway to the billboard industry, and a step backward. As part of the agreement, Clear Channel could "relocate" the permit for a billboard, but build a new billboard from scratch on the new site. New billboard construction has been forbidden in Houston since 1980.
[...]
Under the deal, the company would voluntarily remove 881 billboards, a two-thirds reduction in the category of small- and medium-size billboards. Some of those billboards were not slated to come down until 2013, and others might never have come down, since they are located on federal highways and are beyond the city's legal reach.
"We want more signs down, and quicker," City Attorney Arturo Michel said.
Critics don't see it that way.
"A relocation of an existing billboard is a new billboard for the residents that have to look at it. That's a serious concern for me," Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck said.
"A relocation means they can take an old billboard down in a marginal location or a strange location, and relocate it anywhere, at will, except scenic districts," said shopping center developer Ed Wulfe, a member of beautification group Scenic Houston.
Wulfe said he was concerned about wooden billboards being rebuilt in new spots as steel structures with longer life expectancies.
And according to an email that I got yesterday, you can add City Controller Annise Parker to the ordinance's opponents:
City Controller Annise Parker urges City Council to prohibit relocated billboards in any new billboard agreement."While the agreement was drafted with the best of intentions, Houston citizens overwhelmingly desire and deserve far fewer billboards," she said. "We can't allow more than 400 small and medium-sized billboards to be relocated -- possibly twice -- and remain up for the next 20 years. "
City Council is considering an agreement hammered out between Clear Channel Outdoor, one of the largest outdoor advertising firms, and city representatives which reduces the total number of billboards but allows 466 small and medium-sized billboards to be relocated.
The new agreement would amend the current billboard ordinance passed in 1980 that requires all billboards not protected by federal law to come down by 2013.
That ordinance has reduced the city's 11,000+ billboard faces to about 4,500. Various ordinance provisions have been in litigation since it passed nearly 30 years ago. The city's recent legal victory prompted a new look at the ordinance. Whatever City Council passes, billboards along federal highways and other federal corridors, such as Main and Westheimer, are protected by federal law. The state has also said it would not challenge billboards along state roads.
As I wrote before, it comes down to whether or not you think the faster deadline for removals outweighs the fact that fewer billboards will ultimately come down. I lean towards a Yes on that, pending whatever the details are in the deal, but it's a close call. It's fine by me that this has gotten some pushback from high profile folks, as I think the issue could stand a little high-profile debate. We'll see what happens.
In an indictment of Craddick's leadership, House District 97 was won today by Democrat Dan Barrett, in the special election to fill an unexpired term that opened up when Republican Anna Mowery resigned in August.
Barrett 52.2%, 5365 votes
Shelton 47.8%, 4913 votes
Barrett won the early vote 55-45%.
Barrett was clear all along that he was running against the corrupt Republican leadership in the House - Craddick and his lieutenants.
Fort Worth voters clearly think it's time for a change. Where will the next five come from?
If Fort Worth voters have this much good sense, John Cornyn might want to look over his shoulder.
Congrats to Dan Barrett and everyone on the ground who made this happen!
UPDATE: Here's the Star-Telegram story. One other portent from this race:
Shelton rarely spoke about health care as he campaigned, but relentlessly focused on illegal immigration. Shelton repeatedly said that was the issue Republican voters in the district were most interested in.
Sweet. Y'all keep running on that, Republicans. We'll keep winning.
UPDATE: For the ultimate schdenfreudistic experience, read this DMN overview of the race from Sunday.
The west Tarrant County district has become a proving ground for House Speaker Tom Craddick. It hosts the first election since the divisive legislative session ended in May and, therefore, has become a bellwether for what's to come next year.The race pitting Democrat Dan Barrett against Republican Mark Shelton has been replete with subversive political tricks, lots of cash and surprising outcomes.
The fact that Mr. Craddick was a specter in the race - appearing at fundraisers, asking candidates to sign pledge cards and keeping a close eye on the election through operatives in Fort Worth - speaks volumes about what the Midland Republican has at stake in the runoff.
[...]
The special election was rife with intrigue early on, culminating with an Election Day attack on GOP candidate Bob Leonard in the Nov. 6 balloting to whittle seven candidates down to two.
Local operatives were advising the speaker and other observers that Mr. Leonard, who refused to commit to Mr. Craddick, was the presumed front-runner and that the perceived "Craddick guy," Craig Goldman, was falling behind.
That morning, mysterious "robo-calls" went out to voters telling them to vote against Mr. Leonard. Suddenly, the guy who was on no one's radar - Mr. Shelton - stunned pundits and operatives and grabbed a runoff spot.
Now the heir apparent in the longtime GOP district, Mr. Shelton formalized his support of Mr. Craddick by signing a pledge card and became the new darling of the Republican leadership - after battling virtually alone to get to the runoff, with no organized fundraisers and no major endorsements outside the medical community.
The party is hosting phone banks, and money-raising has picked up, his coffers landing big contributions from the likes of homebuilder Bob Perry in Houston and AT&T, longtime allies of the speaker.
Mr. Craddick himself recently appeared at a Shelton fundraiser in Austin.
"Now it's no longer just me," Mr. Shelton said. "The Republicans in the Texas House and Senate, they're all behind me. We have help and support behind me that I never had before."
Observers say the speaker's involvement in the race proves that he's not taking any chances- and that a mere win won't be good enough. He needs a commanding victory by his candidate to reinforce confidence in his power.
If this were any sweeter, I'd need to take an insulin shot.
I've mentioned before that I've been waiting on an announcement in CD07. Today is the day for that announcement.
Wind-energy executive Michael Skelly today unveiled his Democratic candidacy against U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, and indicated he will pour a significant chunk of his money into the race for the conservative 7th District.Skelly, of West University Place, is chief development officer for Horizon Wind, which investor Michael Zilkha of Houston and his father, Selim, bought about seven years ago for $6 million. This year a Portuguese utility company bought the firm for about $2.2 billion.
Skelly, brought to the United States as a child after being born to Irish parents in England, would not discuss how much money he will put into his campaign. Candidates can spend an unlimited amount on their own behalf, and in past Houston-area campaigns some of have laid out more than $3 million to get elected.
Funding aside, Skelly, 46, said the district deserves to be represented by a newcomer with business experience in the crucial realm of energy instead of what he called a career politician interested in fighting partisan battles.
Culberson, he said, has "never met a problem he couldn't make worse." Skelly said the congressman has failed to work with local government officials to help solve mass transit problems, for example.
Skelly will make for an interesting candidate in this district. He's a businessman with a background in energy, and should be able to run as a technocrat, which I think will be appealing to the mostly well-educated constituency in CD07. Being well-funded won't hurt, either, though of course one could have said the same thing about Peter Wareing in 2000. I don't think it'll be too hard to be a better candidate than Wareing was, however.
At this time, I don't know what Jim Henley's status is. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Henley and what he accomplished in 2006. He ran an efficient, issues-oriented grassroots campaign last year, and was a top Democratic performer in CD07. What I'm looking for this year is for someone to build on what Henley accomplished. That could be Henley, that could be Skelly, and that could be someone else, but that's what I'm looking for. We'll see how it plays out.
I've got Skelly's press release beneath the fold. Expect to hear a lot more about him in the coming weeks.
Today I announce my candidacy for United States Congress. The 7th District is one of the best educated and hardest working in America and it's time the citizens of this District had a representative who reflects that. I will bring new energy to Washington to work to turn things around and get this country back on track. I need your support to do that.I came from Ireland with my family when I was a child. We had only $200 to our name and few possessions, but that didn't matter because my family believed that if you worked hard, played by the rules and got a good education, you could succeed. So that's what I did - I studied hard, went to college and got a business degree from Harvard.
I built a wind energy company from the ground up, turning a two-man operation into a multi-billion dollar business. I've been blessed with opportunities to succeed and I made the most of them. Now I'm running for Congress to make sure everyone can get those opportunities. I will use the lessons I learned in business to work with both parties to solve the challenges facing our country.
When it comes to the change we need in our nation, the current war in Iraq tops the list. While the war was being poorly managed, John Culberson was signing off on a blank check with no accountability. That's no way to run a foreign policy, a business, or a family budget. It is time to bring things to a close in Iraq and start looking at ways to bring our troops home.
We have a choice to make this November. We can once again send to Washington a career politician who's never met a problem he couldn't make worse. Or we can send an entrepreneur with a record of getting things done and solving problems.
You will hear a lot about my candidacy in the coming weeks, but I wanted you to hear it from me first. Please take a moment to visit my Web site - www.SkellyforCongress.com - and sign up to join my campaign.
Thank you,
Michael Skelly
Candidate for Texas' Seventh Congressional District
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Christof Spieler.)
In the world of transportation, 2008 will be familiar to anyone who experienced 2007. There will be light rail controversies, real or imagined. The Katy Freeway will still be under construction. The Heights and the Near North Side will continue to fight TxDOT on I-45. METRO will roll out the Q Card - again. And lots of people will think that they know a better way to operate Downtown traffic lights.
But the most important moment in Houston transportation in 2008 will likely be at the ballot box. And of all the races that matter - the President, the Senate and the House, the state legislature - perhaps the most important for our location transportation picture will be the county judge.
The county doesn't get a lot of attention around here. But it's a huge player. For every $3 a Houston resident sends to the city, they send $2 to the county (2006 tax rates: 0.645 city, 0.40239 county). That money buys a lot. The county's yearly transportation budget - the Toll Road Authority, public infrastructure, and commissioners' road spending - is somewhere around $800 million. The city's budget is only $70 million; METRO's current round of light rail expansion averages out to $150 million a year; even TxDOT, at around $800 million a year in the Houston region, doesn't spend more than the county.
Yet the county doesn't get nearly the public attention that the city, METRO, or the state do. Why?
The first reason is that the county's elected officials essentially hold their jobs for life. Each of the four county commissioners (who, along with the County Judge, form the county's governing body) represents over 950,000 people. That's more people than live in Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota, Alaska, Delaware, or Montana, so 12 U.S. senators - along with every member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and the Texas Legislature - represent fewer people than a Harris County commissioner. That means it's very hard to vote a commissioner out of office: unlike a Houston district council member, a commissioner can afford to alienate a civic club or two.
The second reason is that the county commissioners run their own personal fiefdoms. 20% of the county's budget goes directly to the commissioners, for them to spend more or less as they please. Each commissioner has their own road department and their own parks department. Even beyond that part of the budget, the commissioners tend to determine what happens in their districts. Thus, there are no public debates for the media to cover.
The third - and perhaps the most important - reason is that the people who lose most under the county's regime are those who pay the least attention. Over half the county's population is within the city of Houston, and since the county is funded by property taxes, the share of the county's tax revenues that come from city residents is greater than that. Yet the city doesn't get half the county's spending. Some county functions - like the courts and the jail - do in fact benefit everyone in the county. But others don't. The Harris County sheriff's department conducts neighborhood patrols, funded by those taxes. But they patrol only outside city limits. Harris County spends $26 million a year on libraries - but none of those are in the city. City residents pay city taxes to fund police, libraries, and parks while their county taxes are going to fund police, library, and parks for others who do not pay city taxes. But when Houston residents complain about high taxes and inadequate services, they tend to complain to the city, not the county.
Back to transportation: the county's transportation funding, like its parks and its libraries, is spent mostly outside of city limits. It also goes in support of specific agendas. Commissioner Steve Radack, for example, believes that the main purpose of road funding is to promote suburban development:
Without an infusion of bond money, Radack said he may delay building or widening major thoroughfares that would provide access to pasture land where subdivisions could be built, creating more taxpayers to pay for county services, Radack said."The more people you have in Harris County paying taxes lessens the burden on those already here," he said.
To put it another way, in Precinct Three, road money is going not to help the taxpayers who live there already get around, but rather to benefit those who haven't moved here yet. The county could be spending significant money on transit, sidewalks, livable centers, or dealing with congestion on urban arterials like Westheimer, but it's not, and those priorities are helping determine how Houston grows. Anytime we spend transportation money, we are engaging in urban planning. The county, as one of the biggest transportation agencies in the area, does a lot of planning. And thus who we elect to county government does a lot to shape our city and our region.
In 2008, two county commissioners - Radack and El Franco Lee - will be up for re-election. It's not clear whether either will be seriously challenged: there is a perennial candidate who has filed in Precinct 3, but that's it so far, and the filing deadline is two weeks away. We will also see the most contested county judge race in a long time. Ed Emmett, who was appointed as the county's chief executive when Robert Eckels quit almost immediately after being re-elected, will face Charles Bacarisse in the Republican primary. The two represent the two wings of the party: Emmett is low key, pro-growth, and pro-business. Bacarisse, by contrast, is ideological and confrontational: he's campaigning on ending illegal immigration, fighting METRO, and cutting government. Whoever comes out of that primary will face David Mincberg, who hopes to take advantage of changing demographics to retake the county for the Democrats, which might (or might not) mean better cooperation between the city and the county.
Whoever wins these county races will have an extraordinary budget - and thus an extraordinary amount of power - to shape how Houston grows. The fact that the county does not get the attention that the city, METRO, or even TxDOT do simply means that power can be exercised quietly, and that the policies that guide its spending go undebated. That will change only when the taxpayers and voters start asking more questions and demanding better. Will 2008 be the year that happens?
Christof Spieler is an engineer with Matrix Structural, and is on the board of the Citizens Transportation Coalition. He blogs about (mostly) transportation issues at Intermodality.)
December 18th is election day in Tarrant County in the runoff election to select a new member to the Texas Legislature. Democrat Dan Barrett got 31.5% of the vote in the recent special election against five Republicans. He faces Republican Mark Shelton in the runoff.
This special election became necessary when Anna Mowery, a Republican, retired in August from the Legislature after serving 19 years.
The Fort Worth Star -Telegram endorsed Barrett, saying:
Democrat Dan Barrett has a ready answer for people who contend that the controversies involving Speaker Tom Craddick's heavy hand in the Texas House don't matter to the voters in District 97."Maybe only the most inside of political wonks know his name," said Barrett, who is facing Republican Mark Shelton in the Dec. 18 runoff, "but they are upset by a style of leadership that allows Craddick and the people he works with to exercise absolute control by fair means or foul."
Craddick's "politics of fear and intimidation" came to a startling climax in the last session, Barrett said, when the speaker declared himself the ultimate authority in the House, but this has been an issue ever since the Midland representative took the speaker's chair.
"That is so contrary to the very principle of democracy," Barrett said. Even if people aren't well-informed about the particulars of government, they still care what happens in Austin. "They want to make sure that things are going OK so they don't have to watch every single move. That's why they elect representatives."
Barrett is counting that the concerns for fair government will propel him to victory Dec. 18, given that his opponent, a pediatrician at Cook Children's Medical Center, is a Craddick backer.
Barrett pulled in 31.5 percent, or 5,575 votes, in the Nov. 6 special election. Shelton -- one of five Republicans in the race -- came in second with 22.8 percent, or 4,047 votes.
Early voting for the Dec. 18 runoff election begins Monday.
Barrett is "absolutely against" school vouchers, supports a local-option sales tax for rail transit projects, believes that state lawmakers' votes should be on the record "from start to finish," and will work for comprehensive measures to bring North Texas into compliance with Environmental Protection Agency clean-air standards.
To paraphrase Barrett from a League of Women Voters forum, District 97 voters who think things are hunky-dory in Austin should vote for Shelton.
Unfortunately, the last legislative session was far from hunky or dory. Although Barrett is a realist in admitting that he alone, as a freshman legislator, can't change the status quo, he just might make a difference as part of a growing body of lawmakers who represent a growing number of Texans who are dissatisfied with House leadership.
The Star-Telegram recommends Dan Barrett in the Dec. 18 runoff for Texas House District 97.
3352 votes were cast during early voting for the runoff election.
Follow Tuesday's election night results at the Tarrant County Elections site.
The best thing about this problem is that there's a pretty clear solution, so dealing with it is hopefully just a matter of implementation:
Because of rising demand for ethanol, American farmers are growing more corn than at any time since the Depression. And sea life in the Gulf of Mexico is paying the price.The nation's corn crop is fertilized with millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizer. And when that nitrogen runs off fields in Corn Belt states, it makes its way to the Mississippi River and eventually pours into the Gulf, where it contributes to a growing "dead zone" -- a 7,900-square-mile patch so depleted of oxygen that fish, crabs and shrimp suffocate.
The dead zone was discovered in 1985 and has grown fairly steadily since then, forcing fishermen to venture farther and farther out to sea to find their catch. For decades, fertilizer has been considered the prime cause of the lifeless spot.
With demand for corn booming, some researchers fear the dead zone will expand rapidly, with devastating consequences.
"We might be coming close to a tipping point," said Matt Rota, director of the water resources program for the New Orleans-based Gulf Restoration Network, an environmental group. "The ecosystem might change or collapse as opposed to being just impacted."
Environmentalists had hoped to cut nitrogen runoff by encouraging farmers to apply less fertilizer and establish buffers along waterways. But the demand for the corn-based fuel additive ethanol has driven up the price for the crop, which is selling for about $4 per bushel, up from a little more than $2 in 2002.
I learned more about the Dead Zone (with fun graphics!) here, and like I said, the best thing about it is how easy it would be to stop this process. Unfortunately, we're hearing things like this:
"I think you have to try to be a good steward of the land," said Jerry Peckumn, who farms corn and soybeans on about 2,000 acres he owns or leases near the Iowa community of Jefferson. "But on the other hand, you can't ignore the price of corn."
I'd love to see lawmakers take the initiative and work to regulate when and how fertilizers are used and to create buffer zones to keep the dangerous runoff out of the Gulf, like the article suggests. It would be ridiculous to let this problem get out of hand. I think I might have a letter or two to write to my representatives.
I know I'm on sabbatical, but I got this press release about David Mincberg's official filing for Harris County Judge in the mail today.
The public has lost confidence in Harris County's leadership, which is out of touch, indebted to big donors who "pay to play" for County contracts, and raises taxes via appraisals while pretending to cut tax rates. There is a no focus on the critical issues of growth, jobs, and quality of life. That is why today I filed to run for Harris County Judge, the chief executive officer of the County.I will campaign on competence, not conservatism or liberalism. I am pro-business, pro-growth and pro-quality of life. I founded and ran one of the largest real estate companies in Texas. As a businessman, I understand budgeting, payrolls and business risks. The County Judge needs to know how to make a budget, prioritize, work with people on complex transactions, and improve the world around him.
Harris County is an enterprise with a budget of more than $1.3 billion a year, much of it spent mysteriously. No-bid contracts for expensive professional services are awarded primarily to big donors. That approach is not a business environment that will bring new companies and new jobs to Harris County. Instead of pandering to the worst in people, I will help Harris County be the best place in the world to do business, because that is what will make our people prosper.
I want to reform the Harris County Judge's office, making it a place where leadership, responsibility and ethics prevail. I will mount a strong, issues based, year-long campaign to win this most important post in the 2008 General Election.
The voters of Harris County are demanding a leader; someone with a vision, willing to roll up his sleeves and make a difference. I am a first generation American. I grew up in an immigrant household, with parents who could not speak English when they arrived here shortly before my birth and who labored long and hard, teaching me that looking ahead, working hard, and playing by the rules is the way to success. They were right, and I will work hard to apply those lessons to lead Harris County.
I want to restore the words "fair, honest, and hardworking" to the office of County Judge. The Judge's office will not operate in secrecy, and if elected, I will do everything in the Judge's power to open up government to the voters. Budgets, appointments, contracts - they will be available online to any individual who wants to participate in a government for and by the people. I will make decisions based on facts, in consultation with my fellow Commissioners, and decide solely on the basis that every vote I cast will benefit the residents of Harris County.
In filing for my candidacy for Harris County Judge, I am sending a strong message that it is time to run the County more like the major business it is. I will push for higher ethical standards, provide stronger oversight of managing future growth, and make environmental quality commonplace at the courthouse.
There is much work to do at the Courthouse and given Harris County's mounting problems--from mobility to emergency management, from juvenile justice to health care--there is no time to waste! We can learn from the past, and I am excited about moving Harris County forward. I invite every resident of Harris County to join me in this exciting endeavor.
There's so many campaigns to look forward to next year that it's hard to keep track of them all, but here in Harris County, this one is at the top of the list. I've heard David Mincberg speak, and he's an impressive person, with a lot of ideas about how the County's business should be conducted. Whoever his opponent will be, he's in for a fight against Mincberg.
I'm going to be taking a bit of a break over the next week or so to spend some quality time with the family. I will still be publishing a Looking Forward To 2008 piece each day, and you can expect to see stuff from my excellent guest bloggers Martha, Alex, and Greg. I may yet post stuff as time allows and the spirit moves. But I need a little break, and this is a good time to take one. Have a great week, and I'll see you after Christmas.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Jay Aiyer.)
2008 will mark the beginning of a historic building boom for schools in our community. A few weeks ago, four of the largest school districts in our area passed massive bond projects to improve the physical infrastructure of local schools.
As we look forward to 2008, it's a good time to discuss where we are in terms of education reform in general and here in Houston. What do we need to do and how do we truly improve public education if we are going to move forward? Here are a few thoughts I think we should consider. Some of them you may have heard me or others talk about before. Some may be new. I hope it helps start a conversation.
I am an unabashed advocate of smaller schools. I believe it is the best way to deliver education. The modern school needs to be smaller and more intimate to provide the kind of attention students, particularly younger ones need. That needs to be done two ways, small communities within existing schools, and the establishment of a maximum size for schools at each level: 500 elementary, 1000 middle school, 2000 High school, and align feeder patterns accordingly. Currently, there is a disproportionate distribution of children across schools within districts (particularly HISD). There are several theories as to exactly why this has occurred. Some argue depopulation of some historic communities is the real cause while others think its resource allocation that has driven people away from some neighborhood schools. Still others think negative reputations of schools build over time, and those can drive parents away from neighborhood schools. While no one knows for certain why this happens, I don't think that really matters. The fact is it is a problem that threatens the stability of the school system. Uneven distribution of resources and more difficult management of mega-schools create a logistical nightmare and makes education delivery more difficult. Three high schools have over 3,000 students, while a few others have less than a thousand. Let's establish a standard and end the fights. The answer isn't to do away with district choice or magnet programs, but simply build more schools that are closer to an ideal size and enforce the size limitations. If people want to transfer out of the school--reconstitute the school and change it. Numerous studies have shown that performance improves for students in smaller environments. Smaller classes and smaller schools are simply better learning environments for students, particularly younger ones.
Speaking of reconstituting, let's allow open public competition to reconstitute underperforming feeder patterns. One of the biggest frustrations is the tolerance of many to allow children in underperforming schools to suffer in a failing school. Let's change that by being much more aggressive with underperforming schools and reconstitute it. Allow the 2 or 3 worst feeder patterns--to be laboratories for reform and let public and non-profit entities a chance to improve it. Focus more dollars on underperforming areas not less.
We also need to "incentivize" graduation at High School. School funding formulas are designed with a measurement system that allocates funds based on student attendance and standardized testing. Graduation and college preparedness or advancement is not enough of a factor. Make it one. By using that as a measure, schools will push for that. To avoid social promotion, continue end of course exams and national accepted tests for college preparedness like SAT and ACT to be a factor.
A few more thoughts....
Create Master teachers programs. Spend money to retain and attract high quality teachers by providing administrator level compensation for teachers. The highest paid employees at school districts should be teachers, not administrators.
Change the school day to correspond to work day. 7:45-3:10 for a school day is impractical. Parents work till at least 5 everyday and we have to change the antiquated school day to meet that reality. That time can be used to offer enrichment classes like art, music, etc and avoid latch-key issues.
Demand greater Parental involvement. The success of KIPP and YES can be directly attributed to 2 factors...longer school days, and a requirement for parental involvement. Adopt this same approach for all ISD students. Particularly at the Junior High and High School level where involvement is at its lowest.
Change ISD budget priorities to fully fund teacher salaries first and operational administrative functions second. The success of the Charter School (YES and KIPP) movement has shown that more efficient administrative functions can be achieved. Secondly, this approach provides greater transparency in what and where money is going.
Jay Aiyer served as a trustee for the Houston Community College System and is an attorney with Tindall and Foster. He has two children in HISD schools, and serves on the Regional Advocacy Council for Raise Your Hand Texas.
I can't exactly say that I hope the New England Patriots will run the table and go on to win the Super Bowl. I mean, I'll root for them against the greater evil of the Cowboys in the unfortunate event the two teams meet up in Arizona next February, and I admire their accomplishments so far, as how can one not? But even putting the Boston factor aside, I can't claim to be anywhere near their bandwagon. If by some happenstance they lose focus in one of their remaining games, or somehow get upset by Jacksonville or someone in the playoffs, I'll shed no tears for them.
Having said that, I do endorse what Jim Henley says.
Idiot sports radio personalities - and I apologize for the redundancy - constantly ring variations on The Patriots realize that the real prize isn't going undefeated, it's winning the Super Bowl. Nonsense. Somebody wins the Super Bowl every year. The NFL has had 41 of the things and they don't look like they're going to stop staging them any time soon. There are plenty of Super Bowl champions. There's only one post-merger, undefeated champion. Why pass up a chance to make history?What I suspect and hope is that the Patriot organization thinks the same way. The core members - Kraft; Belichick; Brady; Vrabel et al - have already won a bunch of Super Bowls. They haven't matched the most annoying achievement in modern NFL history. (In fact, by going 19-0 they'd exceed it.) Don Shula ran his mouth worse than Steeler safety Anthony Smith - you have to figure a vindictive bastard like Belichick will want to rub his nose in it.
Someone pointed out to me the huge risk: If the Patriots go 16-0 and don't win the championship, people will consider it a great flop. Pundits will second-guess the decision to go for the streak instead of "doing the sensible thing" (like kicking on fourth down?) and resting key players for the playoffs.
I think they'll like that part best. Get the adrenaline flowing. Introduce some risk into the equation. If the Pats go 14-2 or 15-1 and lose to a 13-3 or 14-2 Colts team in the playoffs, or get beaten in the Super Bowl by Dallas or Green Bay, well, they had a good year but lost. If they go 16-0 and one of those same things happen, observers will paint it as one of the monumental collapses in sports. Tell me these guys aren't up for that. Tell me these guys don't need that.
So I have faith that New England won't pull weenie moves down the stretch like the Colts did a couple times. Unlike the Colts before last year, the Pats don't have anything else to prove anyway. And if they do bag the last game or two, I hope they get run out in their first playoff game. Spanked like babies. Who dares wins, dudes.
Yep. About the only counterargument I can come up with is that the Pats need another Super Bowl to ensure that they're included in the Greatest Teams Of All Time debate - you know, the 60s Packers, the 70s Steelers, the 80s Niners, all those teams that won multiple times, and so forth. Of course, by going 19-0 they'd not only be sure of their inclusion in that discussion, they'd be sure of winning it, too. How can you argue against them if they pull it off?
The other thing to mention is the vapidity of the "monumental collapse" meme in the event a 16-0 Patriots team fails to win the Super Bowl. Sportswriters love "character", and rightly or wrongly, the Patriots' "character" is open to question by the nattering classes due to the signal-stealing kerfuffle and the team's penchant for running up the score and generally not doing the things teams are "supposed" to do. They'll have a field day with a Pats' loss - it'll make the gossip rags' coverage of Britney Spears look like a church bulletin. The simple but uncomfortable (for them) fact is that playoffs and tournaments are always little more than a crapshoot. Being the best team is never a guarantee. Falling short may be a huge disappointment, and may make an otherwise magical season feel like a failure, but it's not indicative of anything other than one day's result. Which isn't to say I won't enjoy some of the hyenafest that will surely follow a Patriot flameout - I think Bill Belichick is a jerk, too - but I will feel vaguely dirty about it. Such is life.
The urge to conserve goes mainstream. Headlines like that are weird to me, because it's always seemed mainstream to me.
A growing acceptance of human-induced climate change and the link between energy and national security has pushed conservation into the mainstream, industry consultant Joseph Stanislaw says, giving consumers more power than ever before.In a paper to be released during the Deloitte Oil & Gas Conference in Houston today, Stanislaw says energy consumption has become a political issue because of greater awareness of its effect "on our wallets, on foreign policy, the environment and climate change."
In turn, that is changing how governments and companies are answering the world's growing demand for energy. It's no longer a matter of just finding more supplies but also finding ways to use less.
"Conservation isn't sacrifice, it's opportunity," said Stanislaw, a well-known economist and co-founder of Cambridge Energy Research Associates. "The amount of investment that will be made in the coming decades in these areas will be enormous."
There will still be a need for huge supplies of oil and natural gas for decades to come, he said, but the breakthrough in perception means long-term changes.
Consumers "are, in effect, on the frontier of discovering new energy reserves -- since energy not used is arguably the best, cheapest and least environmentally damaging source of supply," he said.
I remember, as a kid in New York in the 70s, seeing a barrage of TV ads (usually featuring a member of the Yankees broadcasting team, like Phil Rizzuto) by Con Edison - the utility company, mind you - urging people to conserve energy. New York was forever suffering blackouts back then, especially in the summer, and the only preventative measure was using less. Then there was the OPEC price shocks of 1973-74 and the resulting shortages, for which I remember waiting on gas lines, something which we got to experience again in 1979. Again, the most viable option was to use less. As such, the idea of conservation has been, for me, a lifelong concept. Maybe I'm the odd one in that regard, I don't know. But if it really is just becoming "mainstream" now, all I can say is no wonder we are where we are.
From the Ideas Whose Time Have Come department:
A team of American scientists are developing the "StupidFilter" - an open-source filter software that will be able to detect "rampant stupidity" of web-content in written English. Similarly to the way spam recognizing software detects suspicious e-mails, the "StupidFilter" will look for pre-fed words or sign combinations that characterize stupidity, assigning particular tokens with different weights based on how often they occur in hand-picked examples of idiotic comments. The developers are using weighted Bayesian analysis along with some rules-based processing, similar to spam detection engines, in order to efficiently distinguish unacceptable messages among the submitted texts.
Their website is here, and no, this is not a joke. It is, however, just about the form of the content, and not the meaning of it. As the FAQ says, it's entirely blind to irony. It's not what you say, it's how you say it.
Aren't you just trying to eliminate comments and discourse that you consider to be stupid?As much as that might be nice, no. The StupidFilter does not understand, in a meaningful sense, the text that it parses, and our graders select comments that are formally stupid -- that is, their diction, not their content, marks them as stupid. It is not our intent to eliminate debate or disagreement, but rather to programmatically enforce a certain quality of expression. Put another way: The StupidFilter will cheerfully approve an eloquent, properly-capitalized defense of mandatory, state-subsidized rocket-launcher ownership for all schoolchildren.
So you'll still have to deal with that kind of stupidity on your own, though I daresay there's a decent correlation between the type of content this thing will catch and actual pain-inducing stupidity. In other words, it still represents progress, and I intend to hunt down a Movable Type plugin for this when it's ready. Thanks to John for the link.
You may recall that Attorney General Greg Abbott had been asked for an opinion on the matter of procedures for removing the Speaker of the House. Well, late last night, Abbott delivered it.
The Texas Constitution protects House Speaker Tom Craddick from moves by foes to "vacate the chair" and kick him out of his leadership position before his term is up, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott said Friday.They can still move to expel him from his legislative office as Midland's state representative with a two-thirds vote, or the House and Senate could impeach him, according to the opinion issued late Friday.
But only the Senate has the power to decide whether impeachment of the speaker would mean his removal - either from his leadership position or from office. The impeachment trial would be by the Senate.
Mr. Abbott declined to address questions over whether the speaker has "absolute authority," as Mr. Craddick claimed, to recognize or decline to recognize any member for any reason - on a vote to remove him from his leadership position, or on any other issue. The attorney general said it was not in his authority to address House rules matters.
[...]
In a strongly worded statement, Reps. Jim Keffer and Byron Cook, both Republicans who requested the opinion in June, slammed the opinion and said it "only reaffirms the adage: 'Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.' "
"We strongly disagree with the unprecedented contention that the office of Speaker is a statewide officer. Furthermore, it is unprecedented to contend that the House Speaker is subject to removal by a vote of the Texas Senate," the statement said. "It now appears that the integrity of Texas Government is still at a critical crossroads. Enough is enough. The people of Texas need to let their local representatives know that they've had enough of Tom Craddick's one-man dictatorship."
Yes, according to our Attorney General, it takes the participation of the Senate to remove a Speaker of the House. Utterly ridiculous, yet completely typical of the Rick Perry/Tom Craddick school of governance. BOR has more, and I'm sure many others will follow.
I don't quite understand this.
The Comets will leave Toyota Center and play their 2008 home games at the smaller but cozy Reliant Arena.Comets owner Hilton Koch signed a contract with Reliant earlier this week.
"We are very excited that Reliant Arena will be the new home for the (Comets)," Koch said. "As an organization, our goal is to provide Comets fans with a phenomenal in-arena experience while at the same time maximizing the team's long-term growth potential.
"Reliant Arena's smaller venue (capacity 5,800) will be a great setting for our boisterous fans and will help create a powerful home-court advantage."
I should first note that the Toyota Center is more convenient for me. Not that big a deal, but still. If they'd asked me, I'd have told them to stay put.
What puzzles me about this is the rather small capacity of Reliant Arena. Googling around a bit, I found these average attendance figures (PDF) for WNBA teams. It listed the Comets as drawing 8166 per game in 2007, and 7682 per game in 2006. It's a bit hard for me to imagine why they'd want to move to a 5800-seat venue given those figures.
On the other hand, as the Houston Roundball Review wrote back in 2006, when it pegged the Comets' attendance at 6,743 per game midway through that season, those numbers probably aren't that accurate:
It's widely believed a WNBA team needs to average at least 7,500 fans in order to "break even". If that belief is correct, nine (not counting the 7495 of the LA Sparks) WNBA teams will lose money this season. That means more than half the league's teams could be in financial trouble. If more than half the teams are having financial difficulties, then the WNBA may be experiencing similar money troubles...I'm not going to discuss the actual "butts in the seats numbers" because I believe those attendance numbers would make the situation more dire. However, I will state this:
I don't believe nearly 7,000 people per home game have seen the Comets play this season.
I have a hard time believing any of these cited numbers, too. There were oceans of empty seats at Toyota in the past few years, for nearly every game. So if this is true, then I can understand the move, in that it's got to be cheaper to play in the smaller site. But it feels like a retreat, and doesn't look like an especially positive thing for the franchise to do, since they won't even be able to pretend they drew the kind of crowds they had done before. If I were Hilton Koch, I'd be a little worried about my investment.
Looks like Gonzalo Camacho and his I-45 tunnel concept have gained themselves a convert in Tory Gattis.
A few weeks back, Gonzalo Camacho sent me an intimidating 30-page white paper (PDF) on the tunnel option for expanding the I-45N corridor using some of the newest tunnel-boring technologies from Europe and elsewhere. It took me a while to get around to reading it, but in one fell swoop it converted me from skeptic to a true believer.The essence of what makes it so compelling is that all of the money spent is for completely new capacity, since the existing surface 45 stays right where it is. Compare that to the current alternative being proposed, which, at the end of the day after $2+ billion is spent, only adds a net of 3 new lanes of capacity between downtown and Beltway 8 (from 8 + HOV to 8 + 4 managed lanes) - and that's after 5+ years of nightmare construction (vs. disruption-free underground tunneling).
On top of that, the tunnel can also solve several problems not addressed in the current plans, by continuing through downtown to 45S, 288, and 59 - bypassing the downtown bottlenecks at the Pierce Elevated and the 59-288 junction. Talk about killing several birds with one stone.
What we're talking about here is a congestion-priced, tolled set of express through-lanes that only have a few exits at major junctions. Local traffic stays on the surface freeway, which may evolve into a more sedate parkway over time, like Memorial or Allen Parkway (although I'm more skeptical of that ever happening - given the high demand and powerful commercial interests along that freeway).
That point about all new capacity is something I hadn't considered, and I agree that it changes the lane-mile cost comparison when you think about it in those terms. You'd still have to deal with things like the 59/288 junction in this scenario, but since you don't have the constraint of an un-widenable elevated freeway at that point, you can design that interchange in a way that won't be a 24/7 bottleneck. It really does solve a lot of problems all at once.
Tory adds some suggestions and enhancements in a followup post. I've been skeptical of the idea that this thing is sellable to the folks who make the decisions about stuff like this, but pretty much everyone that talks to Camacho comes away liking his plan, so who knows? Maybe for once the big dream will come true.
I just have one thing to say about this article: Any time a reporter can work in a Wile E. Coyote reference to what you're doing, that can't be a good thing.
Jeb Corliss wants to fly -- not the way the Wright brothers wanted to fly, but the way we do in our dreams. He wants to jump from a helicopter and land without using a parachute.And his dream, strange as it sounds, is not unique. Around the globe, at least a half-dozen groups -- in France, South Africa, New Zealand, Russia and the United States -- are chasing this same flight of fancy. Although nobody is waving a flag, it is a quest that has evoked the spirit of nations' pursuits of Everest and the North and South poles.
"All of this is technically possible," said Jean Potvin, a physics professor at St. Louis University and skydiver who performs parachute research for the Army. But he acknowledged a problem: "The thing I'm not sure of is your margins in terms of safety, or likelihood to crash."
Loic Jean-Albert of France, better known as Flying Dude in a popular YouTube video, put it more bluntly: "You might do it well one time and try another time and crash and die."
The landing, as one might expect, poses the biggest hurdle, and each group has a different approach. Most will speak in only the vaguest terms out of fear that someone will steal their plans.
Corliss will wear nothing more than a wing suit, an invention that, aeronautically speaking, is more flying squirrel than bird or plane.
[...]
Wing suits are not new; they have captured the imagination of storytellers since man dreamed of flying. From Icarus to Wile E. Coyote, who crashed into a mesa on his attempt, the results have usually been disastrous.
But the suits' practical use began to take hold in the early 1990s, when a modern version created by Patrick de Gayardon proved safer and led to rapid innovation.
Modern suit design features tightly woven nylon sewn between the legs and between the arms and torso, creating wings that fill with air and create lift, allowing for forward motion and aerial maneuvers while slowing descent.
As the suits have become more sophisticated, so have the pilots. The best fliers, and there are not many, can trace the horizontal contours of cliffs, ridges and mountainsides.
I'm thinking the beta testing of these things was a challenge. At least you won't have to worry that you've accidentally grabbed someone's backpack instead of your parachute, I suppose.
I was going to say it was a slow week in candidate filings until this happened.
Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle, who has led that office since 1977, told his staff today that he will not seek re-election.He was expected to issue a statement later.
Earle, 65, will serve the one year remaining on his term, but his retirement will end an era.
"Is the district attorney's job an elective office?" Ken Oden, a former county attorney, once quipped about his friend's long tenure.
Earle, a Democrat, might not be done with politics.
By retiring, he would be available for a gubernatorial bid in 2010.
It would be his first statewide campaign -- and a longshot at that -- but it would give Earle, who has a populist streak, the opportunity to speak out on issues other than criminal justice. In court he once accused corporations of trying to buy state elections, likening them to robber barrons and facists.
I don't see him making a statewide race - that's the first I'd heard of that idea - but you never know.
Today's announcement kicks off what could be a crowded race to replace Earle.For the past two months, would-be successors have been weighing a campaign as speculation grew that the longtime prosecutor would not seek re-election.
As many as half-a-dozen Democrats are mentioned as possible candidates. Three prosecutors from within Earle's office might make the race: Rick Reed, 52, who joined Earle's staff after losing a 1998 race for Dallas County district attorney; Gary Cobb, 46, who's been a prosecutor since 1990; and Mindy Montford, 37, who worked in the Harris County District Attorney's Office before joining Earle's staff in 1999. She is the daughter of former state Sen. John Montford.
Outside Earle's staff are two possible candidates: Jeanne Meurer, 54, retiring this year as state district judge; and Randy Leavitt, 53, a longtime defense attorney who became the first assistant county attorney in 2004.
If no Republican candidate surfaces, the race to be the county's next elected felony prosecutor will be a sprint. Early voting for the March 4 primaries begins Feb. 19.
Best of luck to you, Ronnie Earle, whatever you decide to do. Link via BOR.
Meanwhile, we finally had a little bit of action on the Congressional challenger front, as Brian Ruiz made formal his candidacy in CD31, and a fellow named Steve Bush jumped into CD06. That was a district for which race-tracker Benawu had heard nothing previously; with its location of a challenger, Texas Dems now appear to be on track to at least compete in half of the Republican-held seats this year. That is a big dropoff from 2006, and I'm still not sure why, but it is how it is.
I'm still waiting on an update to the status of CD07. There have been a few straws in the wind, but no clear direction yet from any of the potential Democratic contenders. This may wind up being one of those last minute filings (or, heaven forfend, non-filings).
A couple more State House primary challenges have been confirmed. The opponent to State Rep. Jessica Farrar filed yesterday. I've said my piece about that one, though I'm sure I'll be saying it again. Over in Austin, the challenger to State Rep. Dawnna "Viva Las Vegas!" Dukes sent out an email this morning giving a fairly unsubtle hint about his plans:
After an outpouring of encouragement from friends, activists, and East Austin community leaders, I filed paperwork to begin exploring a potential run for State Representative in HD 46 (East Austin). In one short week our grassroots campaign has already raised more than $6500 online. Obviously, our community is appalled by the incumbent's endorsement of Republican Speaker Tom Craddick's failed ideology of starving public schools and denying children health care.On Tuesday, December 18, I will make an announcement regarding my intentions for House District 46. We sincerely hope you can join us for this big event. We will be in East Austin at Vivo's Restaurant on Manor Road at 6:30.
That's Brian Thompson doing the announcing, and if his intentions are anything other than to file as seems apparent he will, I'll be surprised.
Not much else to report. David Mincberg is supposedly filing today, at least according to what I'd heard last week. I haven't heard anything further on that, however, so maybe it's not happening today after all. Stay tuned.
UPDATE: And a second challenger for Constable May Walker in Precinct 7 has filed, one Reuben Anderson.
[Today, the Texas Progressive Alliance honors its 2007 Texan of the Year. This year, the Alliance elected to recognize a number of other Texans who have contributed to Texas politics and the Progressive cause during 2007. This week, leading up to the TOY announcement, we brought you our Texas Progressive Alliance Gold Stars. Thursday, we recognized State Sen. Mario Gallegos. Wednesday, we recognized Molly Ivins. Tuesday, we recognized Denise Davis. Monday, it was Rick & Melissa Noriega. Our Silver Stars, announced last week, may be found here.]
The Texas Progressive Alliance is proud to announce the House Leadership team of State Rep. Jim Dunnam, State Rep. Garnet Coleman, and State Rep. Pete Gallego as our 2007 recipients of the Texan of the Year award.
There may not be another three individuals who have done more for Democrats in the state of Texas over the past four years than Rep. Jim Dunnam, Rep. Pete Gallego. Together, they have led the fight for the resurgence of the Texas Democratic Party. Every day is another story. They fought through the 2006 elections, and then they fought for the months leading up to the first day of session. They led the fight against Speaker Craddick in the final days of the session, and are now poised to add to the Democratic gains in the House as they continue their roles as Co-Chairs of the House Democratic Campaign Committee.
Their work together is imperative to the continued progress of Democrats in Texas, but it's their individual efforts that really demonstrate how this leadership team makes the best of one another for the good of all Texans. Here is a brief highlight of what each of these leaders did over the past year:
State Rep. Jim Dunnam
We had a mere 62 members in the House in 2003. Today, there are 70, including State Rep. Kirk England, who announced his intentions to switch parties and run as a Democrat next cycle. In only 5 years, there was full frontal attack on Speaker Craddick's ability to lead, launched by one question by the Waco Democrat: "Mr. Speaker, what is the process of removing the Speaker of the Texas House?" His mastery of the House rules is incredible to watch.
During the 80th Regular Session, Rep. Jim Dunnam led efforts to clean up the mess Governor Perry and the Republican leadership made at the Texas Youth Commission. He worked with Rep. Coleman and Rep. Gallego to lead the fight against expanding new tax cuts for the richest 10% of Texans at the expense of health care and education opportunities for Texas families. He passed numerous bills for his district, but he will forever be remembered for the efforts he made on the House floor, challenging the absolute power of Speaker Craddick.
State Rep. Garnet Coleman
Rep. Garnet Coleman is one of the most progressive members of the Texas House. Rep. Coleman filed over sixty piece of legislation, including (1) legislation end tuition deregulation, (2) legislation to overturn the ban on gay marriage, (3) legislation to prevent the construction of any new toll roads anywhere in the state of Texas. But beyond these strong policy positions, he successfully passed legislation to expand health care opportunities for former foster children and double the funding for cancer research. He continued his fight to fully restore CHIP -- an effort he's worked for ever since Speaker Craddick and his allies cut hundreds of thousands of kids off of health care since 2003.
Beyond his legislative work, Rep. Coleman is the top fundraiser for Texas Democrats, and is well-known for his non-stop efforts in supporting House Democrats across the state. He chairs the Legislative Study Group, which received a Silver Star award from the TPA for its incredible policy work.
State Rep. Pete Gallego
Rep. Pete Gallego is the chair of of the largest bipartisan legislative caucus in the Texas House-- the Mexican American Legislative Caucus. He also sits on the national board of NALEO. He was a top lieutenant for Speaker Pete Laney, and his trust from that better time in the Texas House allows him to remain as one of the most trusted members in the Texas House.
His policy issues are far-reaching, and can range from helping protect our state's natural resources to preventing those horrid voter ID bills behind the scenes. Rep. Gallego also helped temper some of the more controversial issues of the session, including immigration and security.
Rep. Gallego often makes waves quietly inside the Capitol, but his efforts help thousands of Texans from all walks of life. Together, Rep. Gallego, Rep. Dunnam, and Rep. Coleman are extremely deserving for our 2007 Texan of the Year award.
Geez. I was there this morning for breakfast, maybe two hours before this happened.
A popular Montrose-area bagel shop was damaged after a car drove through the front of the business this morning, authorities said.The incident occurred around 9:20 a.m. at the Hot Bagel Shop, 2009 South Shepherd, where a maroon Ford Taurus drove through the front window, authorities said.
No injuries were reported at this time and the cause of the crash is still under investigation.
I love the Hot Bagel Shop, and I hope this doesn't hurt their business at all.
Richard Justice makes a point that, on its surface at least, is eminently sensible.
Here's the thing. If you had one view of [Barry] Bonds, you ought to have the same view of [Roger] Clemens because they're accused of doing the same thing.
Though Justice talks about how Clemens will remain stained by these accusations no matter what happens, it's important to remember that all they are so far is accusations. And as Grits reminds us, accusations are often little more than that.
Texas baseball great and seven-time Cy Young award winner Roger Clemens was the biggest star and most often mentioned player named besides home-run king Barry Bonds in the "Mitchell Report." Clemens' lawyer said the pitcher's name was included based on uncorroborated testimony from a "troubled" informant, who himself faced federal charges and was seeking leniency from federal prosecutors. The informant apparently is "Brian McNamee, a former undercover police officer who worked with Clemens while he was the Toronto Blue Jays strength and conditioning coach and later with the Yankees. McNamee allegedly injected "the Rocket" with steroids he said Clemens obtained from some unknown source in 1998.Having just looked through the massive 400+ page Mitchell Report (pdf) looking to ascertain McNamee's role, it really does seem as though his testimony is the only accusing voice against Roger Clemens. Unlike several other players named, the report provided no canceled checks or other documents linking Clemens. McNamee previously denied to the press and, at first, to investigators, that Clemens used steroids, then changed his story after he was repeatedly threatened with prison.
I saw no corroboration for McNamee's claims accusing Clemens in the report, just his testimony. Is that enough to destroy the pitcher's reputation, to taint a lifetime of athletic achievement? Can he now be dismissed as "just another cheat"? The allegations could be true, but repeatedly threatening a witness if he doesn't give investigators names makes me think his uncorroborated testimony shouldn't be enough to draw a firm conclusion. Certainly the witness has never faced cross-examination related to these claims.
Was McNamee telling the truth before prosecutors threatened him with prison, or after? One just can't tell from the report.
I've written before that under Mosaic Law, no one could be accused without testimony from two or three witnesses. By that standard, the allegations against Clemens would not withstand scrutiny, and I'll be quite surprised if it's enough to convince an MLB arbitrator that Clemens is definitively guilty.
It is, of course, entirely possible that Clemens is guilty of the things for which he has been accused, and that corroborating evidence is on its way. All I'm saying is that what we've got here is the equivalent of an indictment, not a conviction. Let's let there at least be a defense presented before we decide who to keep out of the Hall of Fame. And as Will Carroll reminds us, now would be a good time to do some real reading on this subject, since what you're likely to see and hear in the media is going to be a lot of hot air. I know I need to.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Jeff Balke.)
I'm not greedy. Really, I'm not. Like anyone, I'd love to have enough money to never have to worry about bills again, be adored by millions and have all the good things in life fall gently at my feet. Is that so much to ask? Seriously.
But, since those wishes will end up on the "what I didn't get for Christmas" list I've been keeping since I was 10 along with the entire Star Wars action figure collection and a real arcade version of Galaga (I'm still waiting on that one, St. Nick!), I'll try to keep it simple.
No requests for an end to the war in Iraq or peace on earth from me. I know that those things are harder to come by than naked photos of Jessica Alba and, perhaps, less desirable. Instead, I'd like to list the things that would not necessarily give me fulfillment or bring meaning to life or open the doors to enlightenment, but rather just bring a little joy and a touch of convenience to my life in 2008.
Houston Rockets Win a Playoff Series
I'm a big Rockets fan and 10 years of playoff futility is, quite frankly, enough. I don't care if they have to bring Tom Nissalke back to coach or pull Moses Malone out of the Fonde Rec Center (I bet he'd grab more rebounds than Yao). Maybe they can blind the opponents with one of Calvin Murphy's suits. If nothing else, make a trade and get Robert Horry back. That guy doesn't play for a team unless they win a title.
Fewer Social Networking Sites
Ever since I earned Nerd First Class when I bought a Commodore 64 back in my youth and dialed up bulletin boards with a modem straight out of War Games, I wanted to be connected. At this point, I'm ready to disconnect. With MySpace and Facebook and Twitter and 43 Things and Flickr and all the blogs I read, never mind write (here and here), I spend more time goofing around than I ever have, yet I rarely leave my desk. That can't be good. If the powers that be (I'm looking at you Al Gore, creator of the interweb) won't stop pushing sites through the series of tubes we know as the internet, maybe they'll make a neural interface like that ship that hooked into Tom Paris on that episode of Star Trek Voyager. What? Stop looking at me like that. You know Seven of Nine was hot.
More Music, Less Business
As a musician, I love playing and writing music. Few things in life give me greater pleasure. And, as much as I love the new found independence we have as the record industry slowly falls apart, I'm exhausted from all the extra crap I have to do. Personal social networking is hard enough. Try doing the same stuff plus even more for your band. I don't want to be an accountant, promoter, booking agent, manager, designer, etc. Can't I just be a bass player?
People Not Thinking I'm A Pervert Just Because I Have a Camera
A very close second to music when it comes to joy in my life is taking photos. I'm very fortunate to have a father who shares the affliction and it gives us a chance to compare notes and talk shop regularly. But, hey, Houstonians, I'm not some weirdo who wants to take upskirt pictures of you and your children. When I'm at the park or downtown or in the women's dressing rooms at the Galleria (ok, bad example), I'm just trying to get innocent, family-friendly images. I can promise you that I have no interest in stealing your identity or your children. Now, if you fear that having your picture taken will steal your soul, I can't help you with that one.
A Little Houston Snow
Not a lot. Not the kind that freezes the streets and makes everyone in town go looney bin crazy because they think the best way to avoid skidding on ice is to slam on the brakes and whip the wheel violently from side to side. Just enough to remind us of how lovely winter can be and how glad we are we don't have to shovel it every day in the winter.
Better Historic Preservation and More Parks for My City
Who are we kidding? Houston is bought and paid for by developers. If I have to deal with a stucco monstrosity on Heights Boulevard, the least the city can do is keep the River Oaks Theater from being torn down in favor of condos and build a few more parks so we can enjoy all the clean air. Oh, did I mention stiffer air pollution restrictions?
Flying Cars
Before you start with the, "Wait, didn't you just say..." nonsense, hear me out. How long have we been talking about "the car of the future?" They were making cartoons about flying cars back in the 1940's. You'd think by now Ford or Toyota or freaking Yugo could come up with a practical bubble car that flies through they air like they had on the Jetsons. Am I wrong?
But, mostly what I'd like this year is health, happiness and peace for all my friends on and off the internet and inside and outside of the blogosphere. As silly as I may get, I'm a big sap who cries at every Christmas special and still believes miracles can happen (hey, if Bill Murray's Francis Cross character in Scrooged gets it...). Happy Holidays, everyone! All the best in 2008.
Jeff Balke is a musician, photographer, and two-fisted blogger.
The Houston GLBT Political Caucus had a pretty good election season this year. Here's the press release they sent out about it:
The Houston GLBT Caucus was victorious in 16 of the 17 races in which they endorsed in the November general election and December runoff election including the city council race for District D which encompasses the Montrose Area. Unofficial canvass reports from Harris County had Adams winning Montrose by about 800 total votes, receiving 88% of the vote in those precincts. The GLBT Caucus also endorsed Jolanda Jones, At-Large 5 and James Rodriguez, District I for Houston City Council.GLBT President Jennifer Pool said, "The Caucus worked very hard to elect those candidates it endorsed, and it worked. Jolanda Jones and Wanda Adams each won decisively in their respective runoff races because of the extraordinary work of our volunteers coordinated by Nick Hellyar."
Pool also emphasized, "We are not a special interest group; we are a general interest group. That is why we endorsed in the HISD, county, and state bond elections as well. Our focus is on cleaner air, better public schools, increasing public safety, and electing quality progressive candidates. We want a better Houston for our families, and that starts by electing the best candidates."
The Houston GLBT Political Caucus (HGLBTPC), founded in 1975, is the South's oldest GLBT civil rights organization. The HGLBTPC is member based and serves as the political arm of the Houston GLBT community. The Caucus meets the first Wednesday of every month at 7:00 p.m. The monthly meeting is held at the Havens Center, 1827 W. Alabama. For more information go to www.thecaucus.org.
The one race they did not win was in the HISD Trustee election where they endorsed Kevin Hoffman over Yolanda Navarro Flores. Other than that, they ran the table. It's a pretty impressive achievement, especially when you consider how wide open a couple of those races were.
This Chron story took a look at one big way in which the Caucus affected the outcome of a race, the District D runoff election.
Montrose, on the map an awkward appendage to a district that covers the south side of the city, provided almost all of the margin of victory for candidate Wanda Adams in Saturday's runoff election contest against Lawrence Allen Jr.Adams, who lives in the Hiram Clarke neighborhood several miles to the south, had worked in the Montrose area and was backed by the Houston Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Political Caucus.
Allen never sought the endorsement of the caucus, which ran an aggressive voter turnout program in support of Adams.
The group exploited its database with contact information for more than 30,000 friendly voters throughout Harris County.
In some Montrose precincts, Adams garnered more than 85 percent of the vote. Allen's showing was not as strong in any single precinct in the district.
Adams won with 57.2 percent of the 8,183 votes cast.
"I thank the citizens and voters of Montrose," Adams said. "They really wanted their voice to be heard."
[...]
Caucus president Jenifer Rene Pool said the group backed Adams and Jolanda Jones, who won a citywide council race Saturday, because they are "people who believe in equality for all and not just equality for a selected few."
The results showed that the caucus can influence local contests "especially in a low-turnout election," she said.
The data isn't available online yet, but the Montrose precincts accounted for nearly all of Adams' margin of victory. That's what I call getting out the vote.
One interesting sidebar from that story:
The council voted in 1993 to move Montrose to D from C to balance population and because of court pressure to create more districts in which clusters of minority voters have influence.Some gay activists, however, accused then-Councilman Vince Ryan of District C of letting Montrose go because [Annise] Parker had run against him in 1991 in hopes of galvanizing gay support in the southwest side.
Ryan denied the allegation, but added, "Maybe if they had been friendly and not run someone against me, I could have helped them prepare to run a good candidate" in future contests.
Given that Ryan will be back on the ballot in 2008 as the Democratic nominee for County Attorney, all I can say is that I hope he and the Caucus have mended their fences by now.
Since State Rep. Phil King has once again raised the awful idea of massively hiking sales taxes in order to reduce property taxes, the CPPP has once again swung into action to explain why it's so dumb (PDF) to do this.
Public education is the foundation of our democracy and the engine of our economy. Texans have a collective responsibility to ensure that public education is adequately supported. This responsibility needs to be fairly distributed among Texas families in a way that supports economic growth. Recently, some have proposed that Texas replace local school property taxes by increasing the rate of the state sales tax or expanding the sales tax to more goods and services. Such a tax swap would be a bad deal for businesses, families, and public education. 1) The swap would make Texas businesses less competitive because the higher sales tax would raise the cost of Texas goods and services. 2) Taxes on most Texas families--including middle-class families--would actually go up. Only the wealthiest families would see a tax reduction. 3) At the same time, public education would be hurt. Schools would have one source of revenue, sales, which is less stable than property. With the state paying all the bills, more decisions would be made in Austin, and the link between local taxpayers and public schools would be broken. In addition, local communities could no longer supplement the basic education provided by the state.Texans need to ask what problem we are trying to fix? Are property taxes too high? Even if Texas eliminated school property taxes, Texas would still have to raise the same amount of tax dollars. Are we worried that some residents aren't paying their fair share? In fact, everybody pays the property tax either as owners or as renters (with the tax reflected in the rent). Are we worried that property taxes discourage homeownership? Texas already has laws on the books to ensure that property taxes do not undermine homeownership. Are we worried that property taxes don't corresond to our ability to pay? Generally this is not true, but for those families for which it is true, most states address the problem through a tailored tax break called a circuitbreaker. Texas could provide a circuitbreaker too. As we discuss in this paper, trading property taxes for sales taxes does not solve any real problems, but it does create some.
Read the whole thing and remember that in the end, the overall tax level won't be reduced under this scheme, it will be redistributed. And unless you've got an expensive house, you will be one of the 90% or so of Texans who will be on the losing end of that redistribution. On top of all that, as Burka points out, this would be devastating to the public schools. Which, as he also notes, is the whole point of King's plan. Link via Eye on Williamson.
You may recall that the city of Duncanville recently decided to git tuff on swingers. Well, the swingers are now fighting back in court.
A Duncanville swinger sued the city Wednesday, contending that a new ordinance banning sex clubs violates his privacy and due process rights.Jim Trulock, 59, and his partner, 29-year-old Julie M. Norris, call themselves advocates for the swinging lifestyle. On weekends, they turn their home near Cedar Ridge Drive and Interstate 20 into the Cherry Pit, where guests can mingle, dance and have sex.
Last month, the Duncanville City Council unanimously adopted an ordinance deeming sex clubs in private homes a public nuisance. City officials say they were acting in response to complaints about the Cherry Pit.
"Where it crossed the line was they took a private act and made it public," city spokeswoman Tonya Lewis has said.
[...]
The new ordinance classifies sex clubs as a public nuisance. Officials also contend that the Cherry Pit is an unlicensed business operating in a residential area, Ms. Lewis said.
The Cherry Pit's attorney, Ed Klein, said the city is trying to regulate private acts in a private home. The ordinance is unconstitutionally vague and overly broad, according to the lawsuit, filed in Dallas County Court-at-Law No. 2.
"The ordinance as written criminalizes the behavior of a substantial portion of the population of Duncanville who seek to engage in sexual activity," the suit says, "as well as each and every person who may be present on the premises at the time in question."
The suit alleges that a man interested in sex with his wife could be prosecuted. And if the encounter occurred in a hotel, every guest could face criminal action, the suit says.
Mr. Klein asked for a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from enforcing the ordinance while the lawsuit proceeds. Judge King Fifer denied the request.
We'll see if they have any better luck than Houston's SOBs did. This blurb from the AP story makes me think they may not.
Duncanville, which proclaims itself "the perfect blend of family, community and business," is an unlikely venue for a neighborhood swinger club. The city of 36,000, just southwest of Dallas, has about 50 places of worship and not a single registered sexually oriented business.Other cities have wrestled with the same issue.
Phoenix, for example, prohibited live sexual performances in 1998, effectively outlawing swinger parties. An appeals court upheld the law in 2003, and Duncanville used it as a blueprint when passing a ban last month.
I'm not a lawyer, but I might start contemplating Plan B if I were the Cherry Pit folks. I'm just saying.
I got word of this last week but didn't get a chance to mention it - Ramblings of an HHSC Employee is being updated again by our intrepid and anonymous employee of the "food stamp" office in Texas. Just in time, too, given stories like this. Take a look and remind yourself why privatization is not now and has never been all that.
[This year, in addition to recognizing its Texan of the Year (which will come this Friday), the Texas Progressive Alliance elected to recognize a number of other Texans who have contributed to Texas politics and the Progressive cause during 2007. This week, leading up to the TOY announcement, we bring you our Texas Progressive Alliance Gold Stars (one each day through Thursday). Wednesday, we recognized Molly Ivins. Tuesday, we recognized Denise Davis. Monday, it was Rick & Melissa Noriega. Our Silver Stars, announced last week, may be found here.]
Don't forget! The Texan Of The Year Will Be Announced On Friday!!!!
State Sen. Mario Gallegos
We all like to think that when our beliefs and principles are truly put to the test, that we will be able to answer the call and stand up for the things we hold dear, even if it means putting our own well-being at risk. Most of us never find ourselves in that position, and it's often just as well, for as the Apostle Peter could tell us, it's easier said than done. But when it is done, it serves as an inspiration for all of us.
State Sen. Mario Gallegos was in that position this spring. Having undergone a liver transplant shortly after the legislative session began, he spent most of the rest of the session in Houston recuperating. His absence meant that the Democratic Senate caucus had only ten members in it, which by itself was not enough to block a divisive partisan bill, such as the many that were filed to restrict voting rights by requiring photo ID. Sen. Gallegos asked Lt. Gov. Dewhurst to give him notice if a voter ID bill was going to be on the docket, so he could do his duty and prevent it from passing. Dewhurst made a one-time-only guarantee, so against the advice of his doctor, Gallegos arrived in Austin and vowed to stay there until sine die to protect all voters' rights. And it was a good and necessary thing that he did, as later events proved Dewhurst's willingness to pass such a bill by any means necessary. His health was weak, but his will was strong, and the battle was at a standstill.
But alas, just as victory seemed assured, his fragile health sent him back to Houston, and it looked like Dewhurst would finally get his chance. And then, when everyone least expected it, he came back, and he left no doubt as to the force of his resolve.
Ailing state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, has a hospital bed set up in the sergeant's office -- about a 100 feet from Gallegos' Senate chamber desk, Monday so that he could help block a contentious voter ID bill from debate."I'm hurting. I'm hurting," Gallegos said a few minutes ago as the Senate went into session.
[...]
In the meantime, Sen. Bob Deuell, R-Greenville, is monitoring Gallegos' health. Deuell is a physician.
In the face of such resistance, Dewhurst finally capitulated, and let Sen. Gallegos return home where he could get the treatment he needed. He left the Senate chamber to a standing ovation, and the lasting gratitude of all Texans who cherish the right to vote.
For literally putting his life on the line in order to protect democratic principles, State Sen. Mario Gallegos is a deserving winner of a Gold Star from the Texas Progressive Alliance.
Much like the impending arrival of the Iowa Caucuses, I'm kind of glad that the Mitchell Report is finally being released, on the grounds that with it no longer looming over us, we can begin to get past the hysteria and move on to more substantive things. My reaction at this point is basically a shrug. It's not that I don't think performance enhancing drugs are bad, it's that I don't think they're The End Of The World As We Know It. I'll leave the puffing outrage to the professional shriekmeisters and just ride it out from here.
Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Presiding Judge Sharon Keller apparently violated court policies for handling death penalty cases when she closed the court clerk's doors on Michael Richard's efforts to file a last-minute appeal before his execution.In response to a national outcry against Keller's actions, the court adopted written policies last month to make certain a death row inmate's appeals always go first to an assigned judge.
In response to a public information request from the Houston Chronicle, Keller said in a letter that no written court procedures existed Sept. 25, the day of Richard's execution. However, she said the new written rules reflected the court's unwritten policies on that day.
Keller was not the judge assigned to handle Richard's appeal when she decided to close the clerk's office so that Richard's lawyers could not file a late appeal.
Judge Cheryl Johnson was in charge of Richard's case on the day of his execution, but did not learn of his lawyers' attempts to file for a stay of execution until the day after his death.
A lawyer who has been representing other attorneys in filing complaints against Keller for her handling of the Richard case said Keller's response to the Chronicle's information request clearly shows Keller violated the court's unwritten policies in cutting off Richard's appeal.
"To me, it's a pretty stunning admission that she operated totally outside of their procedures," said Jim Harrington, who has coordinated attorney complaints filed against Keller with the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct. "She doesn't have respect for the processes of the court, which are designed to protect due process."
[...]
In its public information request, the Chronicle asked for the state appeals court procedures for handling death penalty cases on the day of Richard's execution.
"No written policies regarding those matters existed on that date (Sept. 25)," Keller wrote. "Subsequent to that date, the court reduced to writing the unwritten policies that did exist on that date."
The written policy the court later adopted said the judge assigned to the case should stay on duty on the day of an execution until the execution occurs. The policy also said "all communications regarding the scheduled execution shall first be referred to the assigned judge."
Can we please get her off the bench now? What more do we need to take action?
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Hale Stewart.)
Kuff asked me to write a piece about what I was looking forward to for 2008. I told him I would love to write something like that, except the economy just isn't shaping up to be a good story next year. So I told him that I wasn't very optimistic about the economy and that's about all I could write. He gave me the go ahead, so here I am.
Here's the short version. Economically things just don't look that good right now. My hope for the end of 2008 is the economy gets through with as little damage as possible. To highlight the problems out there, I'm going to reference several recent speeches from the Federal Reserve and Congressional Budget Office.
Let's start with San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen:
With these developments in mind, let me review the economic situation. By the time of the October meeting, the data indicated that the economy had turned in a very strong performance in the second and third quarters. However, the fourth quarter is sizing up to show only very meager growth. The current weakness probably reflects some payback for the strength earlier this year--in other words, just some quarter-to-quarter volatility due to business inventories and exports. But it may also reflect some impact of the financial turmoil on economic activity. If so, a more prolonged period of sluggishness in demand seems more likely. The timing of the slowdown certainly matches well with the financial turmoil explanation. Of course, much of the data that drove the third quarter strength cover the earlier part of that quarter, just the very beginnings of the turmoil in July and August, and therefore probably do not reflect its effects very much. However, the data for the end of the quarter--that is, for September--did come in on the soft side, and the data for the beginning of the fourth quarter in October have shown even more of a slowdown.
While correlation does not usually mean causation -- that is, just because things happen at the same time does not mean one causes the other -- her statement that, "The timing of the slowdown certainly matches well with the financial turmoil explanation" makes a great deal of sense. Credit is the life blood of the economy; when it's harder to get, everybody suffers.
In addition, recent numbers have not been good. Personal consumption expenditures were weak, as were durable goods. Oil is a drag. Retail sales are fair but not great. In short, the numbers could be a lot better.
I'd like to go into this "story" in more detail. First, the on-going strains in mortgage finance markets seem to have intensified an already steep downturn in housing. Indeed, forward-looking indicators of conditions in housing markets are pointing lower. Housing permits and sales are dropping, and inventories of unsold homes are at very high levels. Moreover, rising foreclosures will likely add to the supply of houses on the market. It's well known that foreclosures on subprime adjustable rate mortgages have increased sharply over the past couple of years. More recently, we've begun to see increases in foreclosures on subprime fixed-rate mortgages and even on prime ARMs. The bottom line is that housing construction will likely be quite weak well into next year before beginning to turn around.Turning to house prices, many measures at the national level have fallen moderately, and the declines appear to be intensifying. Indeed, the ratio of house prices to rents, which is a kind of price-dividend ratio for housing, remains quite high by historical standards, suggesting that further price declines may be needed to bring housing markets into balance. This perspective is reinforced by futures markets for house prices, which indicate further--and even larger--declines in a number of metropolitan areas this year.
Here Yellen gives a great overview of the basic problems of the housing market. Excess supply = lower prices. Rising foreclosures = more supply for an already bloated market = lower prices.
In addition, with the credit market turmoil listed above, it's harder for people to get loans to buy houses. That means demand is drying up.
In shorter version, here is a chart of the total existing homes available for sale:
And here is a chart of months of inventory available for sale at the current sales pace:
This weakness in house construction and prices is one of the factors that has led me to include a "rough patch" in my forecast for some time. More recently, however, the prospects for housing have actually worsened somewhat, as financial strains have intensified and housing demand appears to have fallen further.
I couldn't have said it better myself. Bottom line: it's getting worse.
Moreover, we face a risk that the problems in the housing market could spill over to personal consumption expenditures in a bigger way than has thus far been evident in the data. This is a significant risk since personal consumption accounts for about 70 percent of real GDP. These spillovers could occur through several channels. For example, with house prices falling, homeowners' total wealth declines, and that could lead to a pullback in spending. At the same time, the fall in house prices may constrain consumer spending by changing the value of mortgage equity; less equity, for example, reduces the quantity of funds available for credit-constrained consumers to borrow through home equity loans or to withdraw through refinancing. Furthermore, in the new environment of higher rates and tighter terms on mortgages, we may see other negative impacts on consumer spending. The reduced availability of high loan-to-value ratio and piggyback loans may drive some would-be homeowners to pull back on consumption in order to save for a sizable down payment. In addition, credit-constrained consumers with adjustable-rate mortgages seem likely to curtail spending, as interest rates reset at higher levels and they find themselves with less disposable income.Consumption spending was moderately above trend in the third quarter, and though I had built in some slowing for it in my October forecast, there are signs suggesting even more moderation over the next year or so. For example, although consumers will continue to receive support from gains in employment and personal income, they will also confront constraints because of the declines in the stock market and house prices, the tightening of lending terms at depository institutions, and higher energy prices.
First, note that Yellen admits the importance of mortgage equity withdrawal (MEW) for the current economy. In addition, she also admits the impact of declining wealth on personal consumption behavior which is negative. In short, the housing mess stands a chance of really hitting about 70% of the economy, and that's a cause for serious concern.
Here is a chart of personal consumption expenditures from the latest GDP report.
Overall, PCEs were the same from July to August. But they have declined since then. The durable goods number is also cause for concern, as it has jumped around quite a bit.
Moreover, there are significant downside risks to this projection. Recent data on personal consumption expenditures and retail sales are not that encouraging. They have begun to show a significant deceleration--more than was expected--and consumer confidence has plummeted. Reinforcing these concerns, I have begun to hear a pattern of negative comments and stories from my business contacts, including members of our Head Office and Branch Boards of Directors. It is far too early to tell if we are in for a sustained period of sluggish growth in consumption spending, but recent developments do raise this possibility as a serious risk to the forecast.
Short version: Consumer spending is slowing and business leaders are worried. And well they should be.
Central banks seek to promote financial stability while avoiding the creation of moral hazard. People should bear the consequences of their decisions about lending, borrowing, and managing their portfolios, both when those decisions turn out to be wise and when they turn out to be ill advised. At the same time, however, in my view, when the decisions do go poorly, innocent bystanders should not have to bear the cost.In general, I think those dual objectives--promoting financial stability and avoiding the creation of moral hazard--are best reconciled by central banks' focusing on the macroeconomic objectives of price stability and maximum employment. Asset prices will eventually find levels consistent with the economy producing at its potential, consumer prices remaining stable, and interest rates reflecting productivity and thrift. Such a strategy would not forestall the correction of asset prices that are out of line with fundamentals or prevent investors from sustaining significant losses. Losses were evident early in this decade in the case of many high-tech stocks, and they are in store for houses purchased at unsustainable prices and for mortgages made on the assumption that house prices would rise indefinitely.
To be sure, lowering interest rates to keep the economy on an even keel when adverse financial market developments occur will reduce the penalty incurred by some people who exercised poor judgment. But these people are still bearing the costs of their decisions and we should not hold the economy hostage to teach a small segment of the population a lesson.
I love this paragraph. While paying lip service to the idea of moral hazard, Kohn basically says, "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" (yes, I was a Trekkie). In other words, ignore what he said in the first paragraph and let the interest rate cuts begin.
Related developments in housing and mortgage markets are a root cause of the financial market turbulence. Expectations of ever-rising house prices along with increasingly lax lending standards, especially on subprime mortgages, created an unsustainable dynamic, which is now reversing. In that reversal, loss and fear of loss on mortgage credit have impaired the availability of new mortgage loans, which in turn has reduced the demand for housing and put downward pressures on house prices, which have further damped desires to lend. We are following this trajectory closely, but key questions for central banks, including the Federal Reserve, are, What is happening to credit for other uses, and how much restraint are financial market developments likely to exert on demands outside the housing sector?Some broader repricing of risk is not surprising or unwelcome in the wake of unusually thin rewards for risk taking in several types of credit over recent years. And such a repricing in the form of wider spreads and tighter credit standards at banks and other lenders would make some types of credit more expensive and discourage some spending, developments that would require offsetting policy actions, other things being equal. Some restraint on demand from this process was a factor I took into account when I considered the economic outlook and the appropriate policy responses over the past few months.
An important issue now is whether concerns about losses on mortgages and some other instruments are inducing much greater restraint and thus constricting the flow of credit to a broad range of borrowers by more than seemed in train a month or two ago. In general, nonfinancial businesses have been in very good financial condition; outside of variable-rate mortgages, households are meeting their obligations with, to date, only a little increase in delinquency rates, which generally remain at low levels. Consequently, we might expect a moderate adjustment in the availability of credit to these key spending sectors. However, the increased turbulence of recent weeks partly reversed some of the improvement in market functioning over the late part of September and in October. Should the elevated turbulence persist, it would increase the possibility of further tightening in financial conditions for households and businesses. Heightened concerns about larger losses at financial institutions now reflected in various markets have depressed equity prices and could induce more intermediaries to adopt a more defensive posture in granting credit, not only for house purchases, but for other uses a well.
This is a really long-winded paragraph, isn't it?
Here's the short version:
1.) Everybody thought house prices would go up forever.
2.) Because everyone thought house prices would go up forever, lenders got really lax in their lending standards. If you had a pulse, you could get a loan (actually, both of my dogs were recently solicited for a mortgage)
3.) Oooops! Number 1 didn't happen.
4.) That means number 2 was a really bad and stupid idea.
5.) Because of number 2, lenders are not really thrilled about making new loans right now.
6.) In fact, lenders are buttoning down their hatches right now.
7.) In fact, if you want to get a loan, lenders will actually look at things like your credit score and payment history, rather than if you have a pulse.
8.) In fact, even if you have a decent credit score, it's still going to be harder to get a loan largely because the two largest mortgage purchasers (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) are bleeding pretty badly right now.
Central banks have been confronting several issues in the provision of liquidity and bank funding. When the turbulence deepened in early August, demands for liquidity and reserves pushed overnight rates in interbank markets above monetary policy targets. The aggressive provision of reserves by a number of central banks met those demands, and rates returned to targeted levels. In the United States, strong bids by foreign banks in the dollar-funding markets early in the day have complicated our management of this rate. And demands for reserves have been more variable and less flexible in an environment of heightened uncertainty, thereby adding to volatility. In addition, the Federal Reserve is limited in its ability to restrict the actual federal funds rate within a narrow band because we cannot, by law, pay interest on reserves for another four years.At the same time, the term interbank funding markets have remained unsettled. This is evident in the much wider spread between term funding rates--like libor--and the expected path of the federal funds rate. This is not solely a dollar-funding phenomenon--it is being experienced in euro and sterling markets to different degrees. Many loans are priced off of these term funding rates, and the wider spreads are one development we have factored into our easing actions. Moreover, the behavior of these rates is symptomatic of caution among key marketmakers about taking and funding positions, and this is probably impeding the reestablishment of broader market trading liquidity. Conditions in term markets have deteriorated some in recent weeks. The deterioration partly reflects portfolio adjustments for the publication of year-end balance sheets. Our announcement on Monday of term open market operations was designed to alleviate some of the concerns about year-end pressures.
The underlying causes of the persistence of relatively wide-term funding spreads are not yet clear. Several factors probably have been contributing. One may be potential counterparty risk while the ultimate size and location of credit losses on subprime mortgages and other lending are yet to be determined. Another probably is balance sheet risk or capital risk--that is, caution about retaining greater control over the size of balance sheets and capital ratios given uncertainty about the ultimate demands for bank credit to meet liquidity backstop and other obligations. Favoring overnight or very short-term loans to other depositories and limiting term loans give banks the flexibility to reduce one type of asset if others grow or to reduce the entire size of the balance sheet to maintain capital leverage ratios if losses unexpectedly subtract from capital. Finally, banks may be worried about access to liquidity in turbulent markets. Such a concern would lead to increased demands and reduced supplies of term funding, which would put upward pressure on rates.
Boy, he's a long-winded guy, isn't he?
OK -- here's the short version.
1.) Financial institutions are hoarding cash right now. Why? Because a lot of them are taking big hits to their capital.
2.) Financial institutions aren't thrilled about lending money to other financial institutions right now. Why? All of those write downs we've been hearing about indicate that a borrower might not be around in 90 days when a short-term loan comes due. This is called "counterparty risk above."
3.) Financial institutions are really concerned about their own capital positions right now. Why? Because chances are they bought some of the sub-prime crap out there and they'll have to write down their assets in the near future. Therefore, they're hoarding cash. This is where the phrase "the ultimate size and location of credit losses on subprime mortgages and other lending are yet to be determined" comes into play.
4.) The Fed really can't do much about this. Why? It doesn't matter how much cash you have if you don't want to lend it to somebody. But the Fed will try anyway by flooding the market with as many dollars as possible. Hey -- at least it's something, right?
And finally, we have Bernanke's speech:
With respect to household spending, the data received over the past month have been on the soft side. The Committee will have considerable additional information on consumer purchases and sentiment to digest before its next meeting. I expect household income and spending to continue to grow, but the combination of higher gas prices, the weak housing market, tighter credit conditions, and declines in stock prices seem likely to create some headwinds for the consumer in the months ahead.Core inflation--that is, inflation excluding the relatively more volatile prices of food and energy--has remained moderate. However, the price of crude oil has continued its rise over the past month, a rise that will be reflected in gasoline and heating oil prices and, of course, in the overall inflation rate in the near term. Moreover, increases in food prices and in the prices of some imported goods have the potential to put additional pressures on inflation and inflation expectations. The effectiveness of monetary policy depends critically on maintaining the public's confidence that inflation will be well controlled. We are accordingly monitoring inflation developments closely.
The incoming data on economic activity and prices will help to shape the Committee's outlook for the economy; however, the outlook has also been importantly affected over the past month by renewed turbulence in financial markets, which has partially reversed the improvement that occurred in September and October. Investors have focused on continued credit losses and write-downs across a number of financial institutions, prompted in many cases by credit-rating agencies' downgrades of securities backed by residential mortgages. The fresh wave of investor concern has contributed in recent weeks to a decline in equity values, a widening of risk spreads for many credit products (not only those related to housing), and increased short-term funding pressures. These developments have resulted in a further tightening in financial conditions, which has the potential to impose additional restraint on activity in housing markets and in other credit-sensitive sectors. Needless to say, the Federal Reserve is following the evolution of financial conditions carefully, with particular attention to the question of how strains in financial markets might affect the broader economy.
OK -- here's the translation:
1.) People aren't spending as much because food and gas prices are rising.
2.) The financial markets aren't doing that well and people are noticing. That is adding downward pressure to the markets.
Let's sum up all of these speeches.
1. All of the Federal Reserve governors highlighted the problems in the credit market which probably won't go away soon. So long as there is a ton of sub-prime paper in various portfolios, lenders will be concerned that borrowers who hold the paper will blow-up - or at least announce a massive write-down -- which will inhibit the borrower's ability to repay the loan. Considering how many people own mortgage related sub-prime prime paper, that problem won't go away any time soon.
2. The consumer is facing serious headwinds. High gas prices, declining home equity and a slowing job market are just some of the problems he faces. While the US consumer is resilient (to say the least) and therefore difficult to count out, the bottom line is there are some serious problems.
3. Housing isn't going to look up until the end of 2008 at the earliest. There is a ton on inventory at the national level and the credit markets are tightening making it harder for consumers to get a loan. In short, we have excessive supply and declining demand. That means prices are headed lower.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article, my main hope for 2008 is we get through these problems with as little damage as possible. Let's hope we can.
Hale "Bonddad" Stewart is a former bond broker who is currently studying international and domestic taxation. He blogs at the Bonddad Blog and at the Huffington Post.
I don't think I can add anything to Matt Glazer's BOR post about encountering Craddick D Dawnna Dukes in Las Vegas, so let me just commend you to click over and read it. The embedded image it contains may be one of the most effective attacks ads you'll ever see, if it gets used as such. Check it out.
In the course of discussing how expensive modern campaigns are now in Texas, this Statesman article talks about three contested general election races for the State Senate. But first, a little nitpicking:
Unlike the 150-member Texas House -- where scrappy, every-two-year campaigns for office are the norm and a dozen or more new lawmakers must be elected to change things -- the clubby, 31-member upper chamber can shift politically with just one new senator, who could mean the difference between what legislation gets considered and what gets blocked.The Senate's arcane two-thirds rule allows 12 members to block consideration of a bill. At present, there are 11 Democrats.
Actually, it takes 11 votes, as we know from the previous session. It's a bit surprising that no copy editor caught that error.
It appears the political landscape in some parts of Texas could be shifting. And the emerging Senate races will test how that will play out.Example A: [Kim] Brimer's Senate District 10, a politically diverse zone that stretches from western Fort Worth through downtown to southern Tarrant County and Arlington. Affluent, working class, poor, white, Hispanic, black: The district has them all, [Dana Chiodo, a government affairs consultant and author of the Source Book, which analyzes legislative races,] and other analysts say.
In the last elections, it voted 55 percent Republican, meaning it's a "swing district" that could go for a Democrat if the circumstances are right, according to Chiodo.
And that could be now, observers say, because it is a presidential election year, with the GOP's fortunes arguably on the wane over the war in Iraq, the shaky economy and the mortgage crisis, among other factors.
"This will be the first (election) cycle in 22 years where there won't be a Bush on the ballot or sitting in office after the election is over. That will make a difference, too," Angle said.
In many respects, Brimer and [Democrat Wendy] Davis are opposites. With his trademark white hair and familiar cigar, the Republican Brimer, 62, is an insurance man and fifth-generation Texan with almost two decades in the Legislature, 14 years in the House. Davis, 44, a Democrat, is a Harvard-educated lawyer and former Fort Worth City Council member who represented many of the working-class neighborhoods that she hopes turn out against Brimer -- neighborhoods like the ones she grew up in.
I'd love to link to Wendy Davis' campaign webpage so you could get a deeper feel for the differences, but I can't find it. To say the least, I'm rather surprised she doesn't have one up and Googleable by now.
In many ways, the early stages of their battle highlight the issues in other races as well. The incumbent has become too close to Austin lobbyists, spends too much time in Austin, has lost touch with his or her district.For Brimer, that translates into criticism of his purchase with campaign funds of an Austin condominium, debate about a poll touted by the Davis campaign showing that most folks in his district didn't know who he was, and discussion of the changing political flavor of his district.
"The Democratic candidate for DA ran against a longtime Republican and got 48 percent of the vote, even spending only $50,000," Davis said. "That's a real tell-tale sign. ... The juxtaposition between us could not be more extreme: He's been in office 20 years and almost no one knows who he is, and I've been in office eight years and have an eight-year record on the council of working very hard for this district that everyone knows me for."
Brimer did not return a phone call for comment. His initial reaction to Davis' candidacy has been silence, much like his low-key manner in the Senate.
You know, you just don't get a better illustration of the word "microcosm" every day. I don't think I can add anything to that.
South of Houston, in Senate District 11, also considered a swing district by many, Sen. Mike Jackson, a La Porte Republican and owner of an industrial construction firm who has served since 1999, faces an announced challenger, attorney and former Galveston City Council member Joe Jaworski, a Democrat."There are plenty of politicians in Austin. What we need now are a few more leaders," Jaworski says on his Web site, calling for "independent leadership for a new direction."
Jaworski of course does have a web page. He's also in the midst of an end-of-reporting-cycle push to raise money and meet his ambitions fundraising goals. Go here if you want to help him with that.
In far south Texas, [Sen. Judith] Zaffirini faces two announced challengers: former Webb County Judge Louis Bruni and San Antonio trial lawyer Rene Barrientos. Zaffirini has faced challengers in every re-election race but one since she joined the Senate in 1987, she said. As before, she's taking no chances."This election is different, and I need your help," she said in a recent fundraising letter. "I face two opponents, each of whom is independently wealthy and pledges to spend $2 million of personal funds and to focus on negative advertising and personal attacks on my family and me."
Zaffirini is one of the better Senators in Austin, and she'll work her butt off in that race. Having said that, her district isn't exactly bright blue any more, so nothing should be taken for granted. If that district isn't made more Democratic in 2011, it will be a prime pickup opportunity for the Republicans when she retires.
I'm still waiting to hear about a challenger to Sen. John Carona in SD16, which I had misidentified as SD04 previously. If no Democrat runs in this moderately purple district, where some county Democratic candidates topped 46% of the vote, it'll be a huge missed opportunity.
Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in the Crawford v. Marion County Election Board case, which is about Indiana's restrictive voter ID law. That brief, which you can see here (PDF), has more than a few fanciful claims in it. Vince does the dirty work of fact checking Abbott. Check it out.
[This year, in addition to recognizing its Texan of the Year (which will come this Friday), the Texas Progressive Alliance elected to recognize a number of other Texans who have contributed to Texas politics and the Progressive cause during 2007. This week, leading up to the TOY announcement, we bring you our Texas Progressive Alliance Gold Stars (one each day through Thursday). Yesterday, we recognized Denise Davis. Monday, it was Rick & Melissa Noriega. Our Silver Stars, announced last week, may be found here.]
Molly Ivins. Had Molly Ivins been born in 1984 instead of 1944, she might have been a modern-day blogger. Instead, she was an award-winning, best selling journalist, columnist and author. A Texan, a progressive, a feminist, and a survivor, Molly Ivins' passing earlier this year marked the end of an era for Texans and those who loved her fiery, populist brand. Molly Ivins gave progressives a prominent, national voice.
In honoring someone as distinguished as the late, great Molly Ivins, sometimes it's best to do so in someone else's words. In this case, Molly's:
I used to say, having once been a card-carrying Sixties radical, that if I had to be called a liberal, I'd just as soon be the worst kind of liberal--a bleeding heart. I wound up being a liberal because I was for civil rights and against the war in Vietnam and that's what I got called. I missed the New Deal and McCarthyism and all that good business.I've got more important things to worry about--three-year-old kids getting raped and denied admission to a hospital because their mamas don't have any money and things like that. I carry neither brief nor guilt for the many sins of liberals past and present: there's too much to bleed over. And laugh over.
Indeed, Molly Ivins. Indeed. For this and more, we name you a Texas Progressive Alliance 2007 Gold Star.
Here's something you don't see every day - members of the Texas Legislature telling the State Supreme Court that they've been misinterpreted.
In an unusual move, four legislators have asked the Texas Supreme Court to reverse a recent decision that, critics say, gives refineries and other industrial plants a new shield against liability claims from contract workers injured on the job.The ruling contradicted the law, said two Democrats -- Rep. Craig Eiland of Galveston and Sen. Rodney Ellis of Houston -- and two Republicans -- Sen. Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio and Rep. Bryan Hughes of Mineola -- in a brief filed with the all-Republican court.
"This Court, by disregarding the express terms of the Legislature's enactments, has violated the separation of powers clause of the Texas Constitution and impermissibly encroached on the powers and functions expressly reserved to the Legislature," the lawmakers argued.
The Texas AFL-CIO also is seeking a rehearing of the case, and the Texas Trial Lawyers Association is expected to file a similar plea.
Plaintiffs' attorneys and union officials have said the unanimous opinion, handed down Aug. 31, expands the ability of plant owners to seek liability protection from workplace accidents under the state's workers' compensation laws.
Had the decision been in effect before the BP refinery explosion in Texas City in 2005, contract workers might not have been able to sue the company for damages, they said.
In their brief, the lawmakers noted that the Workers Compensation Act provides immunity from liability to employers who have purchased workers compensation insurance for their direct employees.
But they said the court wrongly expanded that immunity.
"This Court's holding in this case improperly extends that immunity to non-employer premises (plant) owners," they added. "The Legislature has never authorized such an extension, never intended to provide such an extension, and, in fact, has repeatedly rejected such an extension."
The fact that this was a bipartisan complaint is almost as surprising to me as the fact of its existence. What I don't know is how likely the Supremes are to reconsider, let alone reverse, their decision. Regardless of that, I'd say the next step is for the Lege to revisit this statuts, and explicitly codify the immunity limits in language that even a State Supreme Court justice can understand. We'll see what happens. I should note that the AFL-CIO sent out an email with a bunch of stuff about this on Monday - click the More link to read it.
AFL-CIO email excerpt:
1) Central Labor Councils across Texas today joined the Texas AFL-CIO and our allies in calling for the Texas Supreme Court to rehear and reverse its decision in Entergy v. Summers.In news conferences and localized press statements, the CLCs noted labor's support for a reversal of the decision, preferably in court but, if necessary, in the Legislature. The events highlighted growing opposition to the decision within the Texas Legislature.
In related activity, a bipartisan group of four Texas lawmakers filed a friend-of-the-court brief with the Texas Supreme Court in support of rehearing the decision. The lawmakers who join others in telling the high civil court that they know full well what the Legislature intended include Rep. Craig Eiland, D-Galveston, Rep. Bryan Hughes, R-Marshall, Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston, and Sen. Jeff Wentworth, R-San Antonio.
Here is the news release used in the Austin event. It is similar to the material used in events in Galveston, Dallas and other locations.
A big thank-you to all the leadership of the Central Labor Councils who put together news events and delivered news releases on short notice to make a coordinated statement on International Human Rights Day:
Dec. 10, 2007
News Release
Contacts: Becky Moeller, (512)477-6195
Or Louis Malfaro, (512)472-1124Opposition Builds to Anti-Worker Court Opinion
Entergy v. Summers Case Poses Danger for Texas WorkersThe Texas Supreme Court's decision to override clear legislative intent and allow Texas companies to shut the courthouse door to injured workers is drawing more opposition starting at the court itself, where organized labor, civil rights and community organizations are asking the justices to reconsider.
The Texas AFL-CIO and other groups filed a brief supporting the motion for rehearing filed by the victim in the case that points up the threats to workplace safety and the major holes in the reasoning of the unanimous Entergy v. Summers opinion. Meanwhile, a growing group of legislators who oversee insurance and workers' compensation issues made it clear that they intended no such interpretation of the law.
Reflecting the fundamental importance of safety in the workplace, the Texas AFL-CIO and Austin Central Labor Council joined CLCs across the state today in making the case the central theme of Texas observances of International Human Rights Day.
In addition, a broad range of labor, civic and civil rights organizations added their voice to this issue by joining with the Texas AFL-CIO in petitioning the Court to reverse its decision. Among the organizations joining the Texas AFL-CIO and Austin CLC in opposing Entergy v. Summers are LULAC, the Labor Council for Latin American Advancement, the A. Philip Randolph Institute, the Coalition of Labor Union Women, the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance, the Alliance for Retired Americans, United Steel Workers, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Texas Watch and Texans for Public Justice.
"The Texas Supreme Court has gouged a giant hole in the legal protections for Texas workers by giving large business owners a technical loophole to escape the consequences of their own wrongdoing," Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller said. "This decision deprives injured workers of key rights and basic protections while providing absolutely nothing in return. It is judicial activism at its worst. It is wrong, and we are going to fight it with everything we have."
Until the Texas Supreme Court waltzed into this issue, the Texas Legislature, even at the height of the "tort reform" craze, had declined to go this far in closing the courthouse doors to injured workers, despite repeated efforts by the anti-lawsuit lobby. The Entergy v. Summers decision effectively makes an end run around the Legislature by reaching back almost 15 years to an obscure piece of a non-substantive recodification of the Labor Code to justify its decision to change the law.
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, said the Entergy decision ignored clear legislative intent to maintain legal protections for workers who enter a work site that may be dangerous.
"The Court reached a result that the Legislature has rejected over and over again," Watson said. "The Legislature has avoided reducing and has, instead, worked to assure worker protections and also make sure employers keep a commitment to safety."
A partial list of other legislators who are criticizing the decision is attached.
Moeller noted that the Entergy v. Summers case has prompted legislative review already as part of the interim charges assigned by House Speaker Tom Craddick.
"But we believe the Texas Supreme Court should return the status quo and practice the opposition to 'judicial activism' that it preaches," Moeller said. "This is no time for those who wear judicial robes to take on the role of legislators, particularly when so many lives are at stake."
2) Texas AFL-CIO President Becky Moeller issued this statement on the Entergy case:
Statement by Becky Moeller
President, Texas AFL-CIO
Dec. 10, 2007Good morning. We are here today to raise awareness of a Texas Supreme Court decision in Entergy v. Summers that threatens the safety of workers across Texas.
Central Labor Councils across Texas are issuing parallel news releases and holding other news conferences on this issue as labor's observes International Human Rights Day. The right to a safe workplace is one of the fundamental rights that this day commemorates. Because the Entergy case threatens workers everywhere in Texas, the Texas AFL-CIO has joined in the effort to seek a rehearing and reversal of the decision and will participate in interim legislative hearings called to discuss the case.
In the Entergy v. Summers case, the court used an obscure, 15-year-old non-substantive recodification of the Labor Code to find that any worker who sets foot on a property that is covered by a certain type of workers' compensation insurance is now barred from the courthouse when the owner of the premises negligently causes an injury. This is true under the ruling even though the worker is not an employee of the premises owner and the premises owner is not a general contractor.
So a plumber who is hired to fix a leak in a skyscraper, an electrician who fixes wiring in a corporate headquarters, a caterer called in to put on a party or, yes, a visiting laborer at a refinery that explodes, as happened in the deadly BP blast in 2005, can now be saddled with the limited benefits and restrictions of the workers' compensation system if injured on the job as long as the premises owner follows the blueprint for protection laid out by the Supreme Court in this opinion.
The Texas Supreme Court has gouged a giant hole in the legal protections for Texas workers by giving large business owners a technical loophole to escape the consequences of their own wrongdoing. This decision deprives injured workers of key rights and basic protections while providing absolutely nothing in return. It is judicial activism at its worst. It is wrong, and we are going to fight it with everything we have.
Until the Texas Supreme Court waltzed into this issue, the Texas Legislature, even at the height of the "tort reform" craze, had declined to go this far in closing the courthouse doors to injured workers, despite repeated efforts by the anti-lawsuit lobby. The Entergy v. Summers decision effectively makes an end run around the Legislature by reaching back almost 15 years to an obscure piece of a non-substantive re-codification of the Labor Code to justify its decision to change the law.
In one ill-considered opinion, the Supreme Court has changed decades of well-settled law. The Texas Legislature is acutely aware of the importance of this issue, having considered and consistently rejected the pressure of the "tort reform" lobby to pass legislation to accomplish this very result. The House Committees on Insurance and Business & Industry will be examining this opinion as part of their interim charge, and the list of legislators who say the Court overstepped its bounds in the Entergy case is significant and growing. Should this decision stand, we will certainly press for legislative action to restore balance to this area of the law.
But we believe the Texas Supreme Court should return the status quo and practice the opposition to 'judicial activism' that it preaches. This is no time for those who wear judicial robes to take on the role of legislators, particularly when so many lives are at stake.
3) A number of Texas Senate members have weighed in on the case:Quotes from Lawmakers on Entergy v. Summers
Sen. Rodney Ellis, D-Houston:
"I believe the Texas Supreme Court ruling on Entergy v. Summers threatens the safety of all Texas workers. The Legislature has studied this issue numerous times and the majority agrees that the current law provides needed incentives for employers to keep workers safe and it provides them necessary legal protection."
Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston:
"Whenever the legislature looked at this issue in the past, we've specifically declined to do what the Supreme Court has effectively done on their own. As much as many complain about 'activist judges,' it's clear in this case that they have vividly overstepped their boundaries on this decision. I would hope that legislators from both Parties will remedy this travesty of justice at our earliest opportunity. Meanwhile, I hope the court reconsiders this ill-advised decision which flies in the face of legislative intent, and threatens the health and safety of working Texans."
Sen. Eddie Lucio, D-Brownsville:
"Non-Substantive re-codifications of statutes are a constitutionally mandated duty* of the Legislature (and the Legislative Council) specifically meant to NOT change the intent of law. In the Entergy decision, the Texas Supreme Court has violated the separation of powers in this state using judicial activism to write law. One of the court's primary missions is to protect those that have no voice at the Legislature, instead they are usurping powers and writing law. Perhaps, worst of all, they are using these non-substantive changes to remove protections for Texas workers that the Legislature has specifically supported again and again over the years."
Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio:
"The Legislature already has considered and rejected policies that would have reached a result similar to the Entergy decision. The people of this state, through their elected officials, have decided to protect Texas workers with legal remedies, while requiring employers to maintain a safe environment for their employees. Unfortunately, the court has ignored the will of the people with its ruling on the Entergy case."
Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio:
"The grievous ruling by the Texas Supreme Court threatens the basic safety of our workers; and my colleagues and I have unfailingly rejected propositions, in line with this ruling. It is crucial that we address this action to ensure every employer maintains a commitment to the well-being of its employees."
Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin:
"The Court reached a result that the Legislature has rejected over and over again. The Legislature has avoided reducing and has, instead, worked to assure worker protections and also make sure employers keep a commitment to safety."
Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas:
"The Legislature has considered this issue several times and determined that the current law provided not only important legal protections for workers, but crucial incentives for every employer to maintain a high commitment to safety," West said. "The court has stepped outside its proper bounds with an Entergy case decision that directly contradicts the will of the Texas State Legislature."
Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo:
"In my opinion, the Supreme Court overstepped its boundaries in their Entergy decision. Legislators considered this issue before and specifically declined to pass a bill that would have had the same results."
Also, Quorum Report last week spoke to two Republican lawmakers who raised serious questions about the ruling:
Rep. John Smithee, R-Amarillo:
The chairman of the House Insurance Committee told QR late last week that he was one of those lawmakers taken surprise by the Court's decision. And with the Entergy decision now listed as an interim charge for his committee, he'd like to take a look at how the Court treats recods [recodification laws] in its opinions.
"I think we see those revisions and don't read them closely because we think those things aren't substantive," said Rep. John Smithee (R-Amarillo), noting that a recod can sometimes be an inch or two thick. Many members of the House currently don't pay attention to recods because they are told the documents don't make substantive changes in the law. With the Court's treatment of a recod in Entergy, that could change, he said.
"It seems to be a first," said Smithee of the justices' use of a recod in the opinion.
Sen. Robert Duncan, R-Lubbock:
Sen. Robert Duncan (R-Lubbock) has also been critical of the ruling, saying that legislative intent on the matter is clear. Lawmakers have had multiple opportunities in the past to address extending workers' comp protections to premises owners but have opted not to.
4) The USW issued a national statement on the Entergy case, quoting Brother Mickey Breaux, who is the District Director for the geographical division that includes Texas:
News From USW: Texas Supreme Court Decision on Remedy for Injured Contract Workers Rewards Negligent Employers who Maintain Unsafe Workplaces
PITTSBURGH--(BUSINESS WIRE)--News From USW: The Texas Supreme Court's decision in Entergy v. Summers to limit contract workers to workers' compensation benefits when they are injured at a plant they are visiting puts the burden of recovery on the workers and protects corporate wrongdoers, says the United Steelworkers union (USW). The union urges a rehearing of the case.
"This decision rewards negligent employers who fail to maintain a safe workplace," said USW International Vice President Gary Beevers. "Without the ability to sue companies where they work when they get injured, the contractors end up shouldering the cost of their injuries and the employers avoid liability except for the cost of workers' compensation coverage.
"If Entergy v. Summers had been in effect when the BP explosion occurred at Texas City in March 2005, BP would have escaped at least $1.5 billion in liability and we would have never known the extent of the corporation's wrongdoing. It was only through the legal process that we were able to get access to documents that revealed the company's disregard for safety," Beevers said.
The Texas Supreme Court removed a major incentive for employers to maintain a safe workplace-the threat of litigation.
"This threat is the only way we can force companies to make dangerous workplaces safer," said USW International Vice President Tom Conway. "Regulation and enforcement is practically nonexistent under the Bush administration. OSHA did not perform a single comprehensive planned inspection at a single refinery in the entire country between 1995 and 2005.
"Without this threat, worker injuries and deaths become just a cost of doing business. BP managers made exactly this calculation when they figured the cost of providing a safe workplace versus the liability they might face for failing to do so," Conway added.
Texas statute mandates that the Court interpret the Labor Code to promote public over private interests. The Court's decision goes against this by benefiting large corporations.
Worker's compensation was never intended to compensate an injured worker fully and deals with compensation only and not prevention of an unsafe workplace. Benefits decrease dramatically regardless of the severity of the injury. Even though a worker may not be recovered or be able to fully recover, he or she is thrown out of the system when the benefits end. Workers' compensation also does not include non-economic damages like the pain and suffering of a worker burned severely on the job and the costs his or her family bear because of the injury.
"Workers' compensation is totally inadequate when it comes to refinery explosions," said USW District 13 Director Mickey Breaux. "We had an explosion on Feb. 23, 1999 at the Tosco refinery in California. The survivors of the three contract workers killed sued the company and were awarded $21 million in damages. One of the refinery employees jumped off the tower while ablaze from the blast and broke every bone in his body. He underwent at least 24 surgeries, numerous skin grafts and the amputation of his fingers and a thumb on one hand. He is confined to a wheelchair. His only remedy was workers' compensation and now that is gone.
"Whether you like it or not, the threat of litigation is often times the only way to get companies to make the necessary expenditures to have a safe workplace," Breaux added.
The USW is the largest industrial union in North America and represents over 850,000 workers, 30,000 of them in the oil and petrochemical sector alone.
Looks like we're about to have some more action on the billboard-reduction front.
Under a proposed ordinance, billboard owners could remove some signs in exchange for relocating other ones, city officials said.The exchange would be based on the size of the signs. For example, owners would be allowed to remove three 100-square-foot signs, then relocate a 300-square-foot sign, city officials said. The billboards could not be relocated to scenic districts.
The City Council is expected to consider the plan this morning.
The measure is similar to an agreement city officials struck with Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. this week.
That agreement requires Clear Channel to remove two-thirds, or 881, of its 1,347 small and medium-sized billboards from private property.
The firm would remove all of its 6-foot-by-12-foot signs and 39 percent of its 12-foot-by-20-foot billboards within 180 days of the date the agreement becomes effective.
The 20-year agreement requires the company's remaining 466 billboards to be upgraded. Some wooden signs in disrepair, for example, would be rebuilt as metal billboards.
[...]
Scenic Houston, a city beautification group, opposes the deal and the proposed ordinance, said Carroll Shaddock, the organization's founding chairman.
Shaddock said the city's 1980 sign ordinance prohibits the construction of new billboards. The proposed ordinance and Clear Channel's agreement would allow it through sign relocation, he said.
"We appreciate and understand the good indentions of Mayor White and Councilmember Holm," Shaddock said, "but we think the approach of permitting the construction of new billboards is a terrible mistake. We hope that a modification, or, if necessary, a withdrawal of the proposed agreement, will be possible."
City officials said the ordinance and the agreement would reduce the number of billboards. The proposed ordinance and the Clear Channel agreement are the latest measures that have grown out of the city's efforts to reduce the number of off-premise signs.
My feeling about this is the same as before. In general, fewer billboards is a good thing, but I'd still like to know the details. What are the rules and restrictions for placing or relocating a billboard going to be? Will they be allowed in places where they currently are not found? Is there a cap on billboard density? What recourse, if any, exists for folks who object to the placement of a particular billboard? My inclination is to support this, but I want to read the fine print first.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Jeff Caynon.)
I have been a proud member of the Houston Fire Department and the Houston Professional Firefighters Association for nearly fourteen years. I am honored to lead the 3800 members of nation's fourth largest firefighter's union. As the newly elected President of the HPFFA I'm looking forward to 2008 as the beginning of a new era for Houston firefighters. Along with the Board of Directors, I have the good fortune to lead the men and women of HFD who are committed to serving the public. We are committed to improving our membership's lives and working conditions.
The Houston Fire Department is the largest and busiest fire department in the state of Texas responding to well over 250,000 calls annually. We are the largest ISO rated "1" department in the world which results in lower insurance rates for every citizen and business owner in the city. We have one of the nation's highest cardiac arrest survival rates (see this USA Today article). We have been partners in numerous medical studies including Dr. James Grotta's recent stroke study. We are a model for fire-based EMS Systems. The HFD Arson division has a case closure rate above the national average. We have built a successful partnership between HFD, building managers, the Building Department in Triad, which has been touted as a national model. Recently we have been successful in passing a sprinkler retrofit ordinance.
I say all this to demonstrate that in every measurable way except for one HFD comes out ahead of our peers. The one indicator that is consistently out of line with the rest is SALARY. Fire House magazine ranks paid professional fire departments annually. In my fire department career HFD has never made it into the top 150.
In what will likely be the most important issue of this union's administration, we are preparing for our next Collective Bargaining Agreement with the city. The current agreement was negotiated on the heels of six years without a pay increase under the Brown Administration. At the time both city administration and union leadership agreed that after all the years of neglect the city could not close the gap in the very first Collective Bargaining Agreement. It is time to repair the damage. We continue to slip behind our professional peers.
Another high priority issue we have is also a distressing safety concern. In partnership with Fire department administration, we intend to restore some important safety related staffing. A decision in 1989 that had more to do with saving money than lives caused Incident Command Technicians (formerly known as Chief's Aides) to be cut from the fire department budget. Labor and management have agreed since that time on the importance of the positions for not only the safety of the public, but firefighters as well. We need to have the IC techs back as soon as possible.
We are looking forward to 2008 to take a step forward while righting some of the wrongs of the past.
Jeff Caynon is the President of the Houston Professional Firefighters Association.
I see Marc Campos has picked a side in the upcoming primary fight between State Rep. Jessica Farrar and her opponent.
Commentary's friend Jose Medrano is running for State Representative, District 148 in the Dem Primary. Jessica Farrar is the incumbent. Commentary votes in District 148. Jose used to work for Jessica. The conspiracy folks think Commentary is behind this race. Sorry pals. Jose has his own pros and friends involved. I like Jose, will vote for him, and tell others to support him because I think he would make a great public official.
Well that's nice, but speaking as someone else who votes in District 148, I say we already have a great public official serving us, one with a proven track record of doing the right thing. The single most important issue for any legislator or legislative candidate going into 2009 will be where they stand on House Speaker Tom Craddick and his notion of a divine right of Speakers. I know exactly where Jessica Farrar stands on this, because she's been voting against Craddick since 2005, back before most people realized how important it was to do so. She paid a price for it, too. Maybe her opponent will oppose Craddick, as all Democrats (and most Republicans) should. But why should I wonder about that when I have certainty with Farrar? I'll stick with the person who has demonstrated her courage when it counted.
More than that, Jessica Farrar represents my beliefs as well as any member of the House. I thought she had a great session this past year, standing up time and again for things that needed a champion. She fought for the HPV vaccine, after many of her colleagues suddenly and temporarily became concerned with the Governor overreaching his powers and used that as an excuse to demagogue against women's health. She was a leader in the fight against a genuine and pernicious power grab by the Governor on Homeland Security. She fought for clean air. On issue after issue, she voted the way I would have voted, and was up front about it.
Now, maybe Farrar's primary opponent believes the same things she does, and maybe he doesn't. If he doesn't, then for sure I wouldn't vote for him. But even if he does, why would I want to replace someone who's been doing a good job and voting the way I like for as long as Jessica Farrar has? Why wouldn't I want to keep the person who's been there and done that and has the record to prove it? I can't think of any reason at all. There's plenty of need and room for change in the Texas Legislature, but I want to change the parts that don't work. Jessica Farrar represents what does work. She belongs in the Lege, and I intend to help keep her there.
The choice could not be clearer. If you live in HD148, I hope you'll make a point of voting in the Democratic primary, and then again in the November general, for State Rep. Jessica Farrar. Thanks very much.
According to the latest list of candidates I've seen from the HCDP, Joel Redmond has made his official filing for HD144. Given how that open-seat race is at or near the top of the list of takeover targets by both the Democrats and the pro-Craddick Republicans, I'm more than a little surprised to have heard so little about any of the candidates who have announced so far. I've seen more written about Amber Moon, who may or may not actually be running, than I have about Redmond or any of the three Republican candidates who have actually filed. I haven't gotten so much as a press release on Redmond, which is frankly rather amazing considering the amount of campaign-related mail I get for other candidates; I just got one from a candidate for Austin City Council, for crying out loud. I hope this just means he doesn't have a formal operation up and running yet and not that he's going to be this quiet about his business going forward. We'll see.
Elsewhere in Houston, State Rep. Ellen Cohen made her filing for re-election official. Still no word of an opponent for her. Unless there's a self-funder lying in wait somewhere (very quietly), it looks like she'll be getting a pass this year. Other incumbents who have filed as of yesterday: Reps. Scott Hochberg, Kevin Bailey (who has a primary challenge from Armando Walle), Senfronia Thompson, Ana Hernandez, Borris Miles (who may have a rematch against Al Edwards), Garnet Coleman, Jessica Farrar, and State Sen. Mario Gallegos.
Meanwhile, in other State Rep news, two Republicans so far have filed to run for HD52, left open by Mike Krusee's retirement. Democrat Diana Maldonado is already in this race, and already generating positive buzz.
Two Harris County Constables so far will face primary challenges. Constable Ken Jones in Precinct 3 will run against William "Bill" Norwood, while Constable May Walker, the first female and the first African American female constable in Harris County, will be opposed by Curtis Thompson. I know nothing about these gentlemen other than the fact of their candidacies.
Finally, a little shuffling around in the District Court races. Ashish Mahendru, who's a friend and neighbor of mine, had been running for the 125th District Court (Civil). Last week, a fellow named Kyle Carter, who had originally announced his intent to run for the 215th, thus making that a three-person race with Steve Kirkland and Fred Cook, decided to hop over to the 125th instead. This was not a popular decision, as Mahendru had been recruited by the HCDP Coordinated Campaign Steering Committee to run for that seat and Carter had not been recruited at all; Mahendru is also by all accounts I've heard the better candidate. Rather than risk missing out on the chance to be on the ballot in November, Mahendru has now moved to the 334th, where original candidate Susan Strawn has dropped out due to professional constraints. Unfortunately for him, this means Mahendru needs to re-gather petition signatures - you need 250 sigs even if you pay the filing fee. We helped him out at our Lights in the Heights party on Saturday, where he picked up a dozen or so. If you see Ashish somewhere in the next few days, please offer to sign his petition. As for Carter, the word I hear is that he will not have a free shot at the 125th. Stay tuned on that one.
And speaking of Lights in the Heights, a gentleman (whose name now escapes me) who wants to run against Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in CD18 passed through gathering petition signatures. I wished him luck in the name of democracy, but for obvious reasons declined to sign. I don't think he did as well at my house as Ashish did, but I was outside setting up luminaria at the time, so I couldn't say for sure.
Still waiting on the official word for a couple of candidates I'm anticipating. I figure anyone who hasn't made it official by next Friday will likely wait till the deadline is almost upon us. And I'm still hoping for a surprise in the Court of Criminal Appeals, for which I wholeheartedly endorse what Scott Cobb says.
There are three seats up and Democrats should find strong candidates for all of them. Both Scott Henson at Grits and I have separately asked some people to run, but so far no one has said yes. Now, there are only three weeks left before the filing deadline. We need to find someone before it is too late.A Democrat can win election to the CCA in 2008 for two main reasons 1) the national political environment is favorable to the Democrats and a winning Democratic presidential candidate could have an impact on lower ballot races and 2) the "laughingstock" reputation of the CCA is likely to cause many editorial boards and other organizations to endorse a well-qualified challenger to the Republican incumbents on the ballot.
[...]
I am writing this post to ask the blogging community to help find good candidates for the CCA. Help us find a practicing lawyer, a law professor, or a judge whom we can interest in running for the CCA.
Please use the comments to suggest people the Texas Democratic Party should contact about running for the court. Or email names to me at scottcobb99 (at) gmail.com and I will pass them along to the state party.
Please, somebody step up. This really is important.
May there be many more of these, until the message gets through that the border fence is a wasteful and destructive idea.
City business leaders had an unorthodox plan today to get residents to attend a federally sponsored town meeting on the planned fence along the U.S.-Mexico border: They sponsored a protest rally.The McAllen Chamber of Commerce planned a "No Border Wall Rally" Tuesday to coincide with the open house, one of several ways residents can comment on the government's environmental impact statement. The environmental report assesses the effects of fence construction along 70 miles of border in the Rio Grande Valley.
Steve Ahlenius, president of the chamber, said community leaders wanted a crowd at the open house to testify and to "lay a foundation" that residents oppose the fence in case residents or city officials decide to sue the government over the fence.
The heavily populated Rio Grande Valley has been the center of opposition to the planned fence, a combination of steel fence and "virtual fencing" designed to stop illegal immigration and smuggling. But landowners and government officials complain the fence will cut them off from the Rio Grande, a historically significant waterway to Texas and the only source of fresh water in the region for livestock and crops. They also say it will do little to stop illegal immigration and smuggling and essentially cede miles of riverfront land to Mexico.
Starr County will have its hearing on Thursday.
The meeting will be held from 4:30 p.m.-8 p.m. on Dec. 13 at the VFW Post No. 08526 in Rio Grande City. DHS is hosting similar "open house" meetings in McAllen on Dec. 11 and Brownsville on Dec. 12.Members of Texas' congressional delegation were asked to help persuade DHS to concede the public hearing. Starr County Judge Eloy Vela, Rio Grande City Mayor Kevin Hiles and Roma Mayor Roy Ybarra asked U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, to assist.
"DHS has agreed to hold a public hearing for Starr County," Cuellar told the Guardian [last] Wednesday.
Let's hope they do what McAllen did. And Cameron County will have its day as well.
[Brownsville] city officials will vote today on whether to enter into an agreement with McAllen officials to hire Houston attorney Jim Blackburn and associates to represent the entities in litigation regarding the border fence. Blackburn specializes in environmental law.City Manager Charlie Cabler said the city would be joining other cities along the border in showing their opposition to construction of the fence and offering alternative ways in which to protect the border.
Alternatives include adding more U.S. Border Patrol agents, technology and the construction of a weir or building up of the current levee system, Cabler said.
"We want an opportunity to discuss and sit down and give ideas are how this should be addressed...instead of fencing in and fencing out some of our properties," Cabler said.
Today's votes come on the eve of Wednesday's "open house" in Brownsville in which the Department of Homeland Security will address the draft Environmental Impact Statement and take public comments. The first open house is today at the McAllen Convention Center. The second is at the Brownsville Events Center from 4:30 to 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
Brownsville Mayor Pat Ahumada Jr. plans to hold an anti-war protest at the tennis courts outside the Brownsville Events Center where he plans to hold a forum for the community to air their complaints.
Representatives from CASA (Coalicion de Amigos en Solidaridad y Accion) and San Felipe De Jesus Church in Cameron Park are also expected to line the sidewalks leading to the events' center protesting the wall.
Good luck, y'all. Thanks to South Texas Chisme for the links.
Remember Michael Wolfe, the Harris County Department of Education trustee who was elected last year and caused a bit of a ruckus for his push to get the department's headquarters named for his personal hero, Ronald Reagan? I didn't blog about this silly little contretemps, but you can catch up on it here, here, and here. Anyway, I was recently sent a copy of this fascinating letter (PDF), in which John Sawyer, the County School Superintendant, takes young Mr. Wolfe to task for a variety of things, ranging from his improper requests of HCDE staff to take him on site visits to his general indifference to protocol and his strange work habits. It's quite the dressing down, and it's one of the more entertaining government documents I've encountered in recent memory. Take a look and see what you think.
[This year, in addition to recognizing its Texan of the Year (which will come this Friday), the Texas Progressive Alliance elected to recognize a number of other Texans who have contributed to Texas politics and the Progressive cause during 2007. This week, leading up to the TOY announcement, we bring you our Texas Progressive Alliance Gold Stars (one each day through Thursday). Yesterday, we recognized Rick & Melissa Noriega. Our Silver Stars, announced last week, may be found here.]
Denise Davis. Few stories this year enthralled the politically inclined among us this year like the ongoing turmoil in the Texas House of Representatives. From the Speaker's race at the onset of the 80th Legislative Session to Rep. Pat Haggerty's call for members who wanted to remove House Speaker Tom Craddick to take the keys to their voting machines and follow him out of the chamber at the end of the session, this year was a watershed moment in Texas political history. While there were many, many, elected officials who deserve (and, indeed, will receive) recognition and historical remembrance for the parts they played in the pageant of chaos that was the 80th Texas Legislature, one other individual--who happens not to be an elected official--also deserves to be recognized for the role she played in the unprecedented drama. Denise Davis, the former Parliamentarian of the Texas House of Representatives was never an uncontroversial figure. Throughout her tenure--which lasted for nearly three sessions--some Democrats privately criticized Davis for some of her rulings and believed her to be an unrepentant loyalist to House Speaker Tom Craddick. That changed near midnight on May 25, 2007 when Denise Davis walked out of the Parliamentarian's Office and into the pages of history. Around 9 p.m. that night, after House Democratic Leader Jim Dunnam attempted to get Craddick to recognize a motion to vacate the chair, Craddick walked off the dais and left the House in utter chaos, 'adjourned' until 11 p.m. What happened in the interim to some degree remains a blur, although one thing is clear: Parliamentarian Denise Davis (and her deputy, Chris Griesel) resigned, and House Speaker Tom Craddick appointed two enforcer-thugs to take their place. Denise Davis departed House Speaker Tom Craddick's service that night rather than legitimize his dictator-like hold over the Texas House. It is a move that took courage, because the full weight of Craddick's office--in attempts to keep her quiet about what happened in those last days--came down upon her and demanded she say nothing about her tenure publicly. While Davis, for her own reasons, has not spoken about what happened in those last days and hours of her tenure, one thing is sure: when the history of the 80th Legislature is written, amidst the legislators who will occupy the pages of the texts that tell this story, there will be one other person whose part will be recognized, and that person will be Denise Davis--for her courage.
You know, the current unpleasantness between the NFL and cable providers Comcast and Time Warner (which King Kaufman has aptly described as a protracted whizzing match), which has now found its way to the Texas state legislature, basically reminds me of the 2005 legislative fight between Time Warner and AT&T/Comcast over telecom deregulation, in that I can't quite decide which loathsome group of overprivileged fat cats I despise and want to see lose the least.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Monday urged the House Committee on Regulated Industries to force binding arbitration on Time Warner and Comcast if the two major cable companies won't negotiate to keep certain games on expanded basic cable.Comcast, which serves the Houston market, has placed the NFL network on a sports and entertainment tier that costs $7.95 a month. The two companies want to put the NFL on a premier sports tier in other markets as well and charge customers more each month for the package.
Because the NFL attracts more viewers than any other TV programming, Goodell told lawmakers that cable companies would be better off if they put the NFL network on expanded basic cable. The NFL wants cable companies to pay about 70 cents per viewer per month and have it on basic cable, which has a larger audience.
But the big cable companies want to charge up to $8 a month for a premium package, he said.
"We think that's obscene. We don't think that's right," Goodell told the committee, emphasizing that NFL officials prefer a negotiated outcome instead of a legislative solution.
[...]
The free market should dictate the outcome, argued Todd Baxter, vice president of the Texas Cable Association and a former GOP state representative from Austin.
"Government intervention would be inappropriate," Baxter told lawmakers. "We can tell you that what the NFL wants is government intervention."
But Goodell complained that the league isn't dealing in a free market system. "We are dealing in a system where cable operators are thinking not in the best interest of the consumer, so it's difficult to be able to do that," the NFL commissioner said.
And Jones complained that "America's Team," as the Cowboys are known, has "millions of fans outside of the home market who are being kept in the dark by Big Cable."
Yes, that's Jerry Jones, inveighing against those evil monopolists on behalf of the common man. I'll pause for a moment while you regain your composure.
Like I said, the whole spectacle gives me a rash. All I can say is that I'm glad to see I'm not alone in feeling this way:
Rep. David Swinford, R-Dumas, seemed to summarize the mood among his colleagues: "I really don't care about the billionaires on both sides."
Amen, brother. Let 'em fight it out mixed martial arts style. Just let me know when it's all over.
There will soon be fewer billboards in Houston. This is a good thing.
Clear Channel Outdoor Inc., one of the largest outdoor advertising companies in Houston soon will begin removing more than 800 of its small and mid-size billboards across the city, officials said Monday.The agreement to remove about two-thirds of Clear Channel's 1,347 small and medium-sized billboards from private property is expected to end two decades of litigation with the city and speed the elimination of signs that were slated to come down in 2013 anyway, company and city officials said.
City officials estimate there are about 4,000 billboards in Houston and just outside its boundaries. Removing them has been a hotly contested battled since the city adopted an ordinance to regulate them in 1980.
[...]
The agreement with Clear Channel settles a 1987 lawsuit challenging the city's sign ordinance.
The agreement, which is effective for 20 years, is not intended to stop outdoor advertising, but to make less clutter, said Andy Icken, deputy director of the city's Department of Public Works and Engineering.
Icken, who helped develop the agreement, said many of the signs to be removed are in residential areas.
"The city hopes to see better-placed signs," he said, "and to avoid the visual blight that particularly litters several neighborhoods."
The agreement calls for all of the firm's 6-by-12-foot signs and 39 percent of its 12-by-20-foot billboards to be removed within 180 days of the date the agreement becomes effective.
[...]
The city's 1980 ordinance requires that all but about 180 of the smaller billboards covered in the agreement be removed in 2013 anyway, said Jonathan Day, a board member of Scenic Houston, a beautification group.
The settlement, Day said, will allow Clear Channel to remove them early in exchange for the right to relocate others.
"It causes us to oppose the agreement," he said.
Day said neighborhoods which now may have no signs, could suddenly be faced with billboards.
Icken said the agreement eliminates the small billboards quicker than the city's sign ordinance does. It allows relocation of the remaining signs to better manage visual space without curtailing business.
"The agreement, we believe, addresses the needs of the entire community," Icken said.
Back when I lived near Montrose and West Dallas in the mid-90s, there was a billboard just south of that corner - I forget if it was on the property of the Chevron station or right next to it, but whatever the case, it was visible to southbound traffic. One time it advertised the appearance of a pr0n star at a nearby adult bookstore - the ad, along with a picture of the performer, remained for months after the date of the scheduled appearance. I couldn't tell you when that billboard ceased to operate, but I'll bet the nice people living in all those shiny new Perry townhomes nearby are glad it's not there any more. I know I would be.
As for Jonathan Day's complaint, it would be nice to know where exactly Clear Channel is allowed to relocate those boards to. Andy Icken says "they cannot be placed in the city's scenic districts, such as along Allen Parkway or downtown", but it's not clear to me what that does and does not cover. I think on balance it's better to get 800 billboards removed now even if 180 that would have been taken down in 2013 can move elsewhere and thus live on, but I'd like to know what that means in practice before I say for sure.
(Note: I have asked a variety of people to submit an essay to me to be posted during the month of December, to be called "Looking Forward to 2008". This entry was written by Barbara Radnofsky.)
I look forward to the day that the executive branch of the US Government is presided over by an individual who believes in the rule of law, respecting the Constitution. The November election will end an administration so filled with corruption, hypocrisy and incompetence that even short term historians recognize the Bush Administration as a low water mark.
I look forward to November 2008, when the incoming executive branch no longer justifies as "free market" a regulatory scheme providing a massive tax break for the country's 25 richest hedge fund operators, instead of funding for education, health care and security. Then, we'll look expectantly towards Congress to have the courage to do the right thing with our increasingly skewed tax policies and to have the courage to understand the need for a system of health care analagous to the single risk pool planned for the Veterans Administration, but strangled by the current Administration.
When we have a Chief Executive who respects military service, we'll have a GI Bill of Rights for the 21st century.
When we have a Commander in Chief who will set a deadline and withdraw from our destabilizing occupation of Iraq, we'll have the resources for the needs of this country.
When we have a President of the US nominating judges of judicial temperment and common sense and not slaves to disproven theories of strangulation of government and privatization, we'll see a decline in boondoggling, incompetent privatized projects which increase costs to taxpayers and line only the pockets of greedy mercenaries and sweetheart deal holders.
When we have a leader of the free world who can handle herself in the rough and tumble world of diplomacy, abides by treaties we sign and observes the Geneva Accords, our service personnel, this nation and the world will be safer.
With the peaceful transition of power, we can work to regain the respect and leadership role once accorded the USA, its diplomats and armed forces. We've never lost the respect the rest of the world gives to our greatest ambassadors abroad: private US citizens. We can look forward to a healthy, educated citizenry to continue to be such ambassadors.
Barbara Radnofsky was the 2006 Democratic nominee for US Senate. She has since written two optimistic books on democratic prospects, "The Dancer's Dead" and "Stepping Forward". She is planning another run for statewide office in the future.
Michael Vick has received his sentence for the federal dogfighting charges for which he pled guilty in August.
Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison today for his role in a dogfighting conspiracy that involved gambling and killing pit bulls.The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback could have been sentenced up to five years by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Vick, who turned himself in Nov. 19 in anticipation of his sentence, was wearing a black-and-white striped prison suit.
After Vick apologized to the court and his family, Hudson told him: "You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you."
"Yes, sir," Vick answered.
Vick acknowledged he used "poor judgment" and added, "I'm willing to deal with the consequences and accept responsibility for my actions."
Federal rules governing time off for good behavior could reduce Vick's prison stay by about three months, resulting in a summer 2009 release.
We'll defer on the question of whether or not he'll ever set foot on an NFL playing field again - it seems highly unlikely, but stranger things have happened. Vick still has state charges to worry about, so he hasn't even come to the end of this part of his journey. But if there is a third act for him some day, today is the day he starts working towards it. I still think he can rehabilitate his image and make something good come out of the mess he created, but let's see where we are in 2009 first.
Got a couple hundred million bucks burning a hole in your asset portfolio? If so, you can purchase a Houston architectural icon.
The owner of Williams Tower, the 65-story skyscraper that dominates the Galleria-area skyline, has put the architectural icon on the market.In a deal that industry experts said could fetch $500 million, the offer includes the 1.5 million-square-foot office building, its 10-level parking garage, an interest in the adjacent Waterwall Park and a 2.3-acre undeveloped parcel at 3009 Post Oak Blvd.
The tower is 91 percent leased and home to such companies as Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Corp., an affiliate of the Williams Cos., Wachovia, Citicorp North America, Hines and Rowan Cos.
[...]
The glass-clad building, which many still refer to by its former name -- Transco Tower -- was designed by the renowned architectural team of Philip Johnson and John Burgee.
The architects modeled it on the setback Art Deco towers of the late 1920s, according to the Houston Architectural Guide.
The building is topped with a searchlight that rotates at night.
It'll always be the Transco Tower to me, in the same way that the megachurch in the Greenway Plaza area will always be the Summit, and the airport north of the city will always be Intercontinental. If nothing else, I suppose we can all feel assured that whoever buys the Tower is unlikely to tear it down and replace it with a Barnes & Noble. Well, mostly assured, anyway.
Only 14 more blogging days till Christmas! While you ponder that, here's this week's Texas Progressive Alliance blog roundup for your perusal. Click on for more.
It appears that TX. Sen. Craig Estes is considering recommending an investigation into the egregious negligence and malpractice of the Texas Railroad Commission. However, as TXsharon at Bluedaze reminds us: It's no time to rest! Keep the pressure on with your letters, emails, faxes and calls.
Now that Williamson County's secret complaint has been dismissed, the Texas Fair Defense Project's class-action lawsuit on behalf of indigent defendants is now back on track. Eye on Williamson's wcnews provides an update on the slowly progressing case in The Upside-Down World of Williamson County.
The Associated Republicans of Texas met, ate, belched and applauded the most recent venom spewed from the mouth of Karl Rove at an appearance in Austin last week. Grab your can of disinfectant and click over to Brains and Eggs, where PDiddie has the (pooper) scoop.
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme enjoyed this headline: 'Where was Hutchison, Valley veterans ask'. Why aren't all US veterans asking where all 'support the troop' Republicans have been?
John Coby at Bay Area Houston has his take on a Christmas poem T'was the Night Before Impeachment. T'was the night before impeachment it was cold, wet, and rainy Not a creature was testifying, not even Dick Cheney. Impeachment resolutions were hung in the House for appearing Waiting for Conyers and Waxman, and a long awaited hearing.
BossKitty at Bluebloggin is frustrated with Congress dropping the Hate Crime Bill H.R. 1585 Hate Crime Bill Married To Iraqi War Funding - No Joke
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the lies and errors in Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott's amucis brief to the U.S. Supreme Court in groundbreaking Voter ID case.
The Texas Cloverleaf calls out TxDOT for delaying DFW area construction projects even after receiving $3.197 billion from NTTA.
The Sunset Commission is taking a hard look at TXDOT and McBlogger thinks it's about time. Feel free to send in your suggestions on how to fix the ailing agency.
One week into Filing Season, Off the Kuff reviews the filings he's waiting for.
The Texas Education Agency made national news after the forced resignation of Chris Comer, its science curriculum director, in the ever-swirling "intelligent design" controversy, reports North Texas Liberal's Texas Toad.
This year, in addition to recognizing its Texan of the Year (which will come this Friday), the Texas Progressive Alliance elected to recognize a number of other Texans who have contributed to Texas politics and the Progressive cause during 2007. This week, leading up to the TOY announcement, we bring you our Texas Progressive Alliance Gold Stars (one each day through Thursday). I turn the mike over to Vince for the announcement of today's honorees:
Rick and Melissa Noriega. These two Houston Democrats could easily be called Texas' new Political Power Couple. Melissa Noriega made news early this year with her run for the Houston City Council seat vacated by Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who resigned the seat to assume the last six weeks of former Congressman Tom DeLay's term in 2006. Through a special election, a runoff, and a general election battle to win the seat for a full term, Melissa Noriega's positive message endeared her to Houston voters, earned her statewide media recognition, and helped mark her as part of a new generation of progressive leaders with statewide potential.
Rick Noriega's story is one that is also well known. A veteran of the "War on Terror," Rick Noriega started generating buzz early in 2007 as a number of progressive Netroots activists and bricks-and-mortar Democratic activists created a movement to "draft" Noriega into the Democratic Party's race for United States Senate. Rick Noriega answered the call to service and threw his hat into the ring to take on John Cornyn and the Texas Republican machine in the 2008 election in spite of the fact that he could have easily won re-election to his seat in the Texas Legislature or even run for another office where the fight would have been small to none. Instead, he had the courage to stand up for all Texans and say enough is enough. True people-powered candidates, the Noriegas have both made significant sacrifices to serve the people of Texas. For this and many other reasons, the Texas Progressive Alliance is pleased to recognize Rick and Melissa Noriega among its 2007 Gold Stars.
Congratulations to the Noriegas for all that they have done this year. I'm proud to call myself a supporter of theirs.
Starting tomorrow and hopefully going through the end of the year, I'm going to run some guest posts, all on the subject "Looking Forward to 2008". Basically, I've asked a variety of interesting people to write something on this topic for me, and the responses I've gotten so far have been a lot of fun to read. I'm still waiting to receive some of these, so the schedule and frequency of these postings may vary - ideally, it'll be one a day, or perhaps one per weekday, through the 31st, but nothing is set in stone. Each entry will have an intro and a brief bio to tell you who the author is. At some point, I'll post my own thoughts on this subject as well. I hope you'll enjoy this little experiment in blog outsourcing. Tune in tomorrow for the first installment.
I suppose I'm more amused than anything else by this article on how City Council has been taking action lately to impose some new rules on development in Houston. I don't find anything frightening about the concept, nor am I worried that we're going to suddenly transform into some Kotkinesque nightmare that no one will recognize. It's always reasonable to ask if what we've always done is still working for us, and it's reasonable to think that a city that has changed and grown so much in recent years, with even more change and growth forecast for the visible horizon, might need to see how conditions are different now than they've been before, and see what if anything ought to be done about it.
I mean, call me crazy, but I don't think the developers are about to lose a bunch of influence at City Hall. We'll see a few changes, some of which they'll grumble about, but nothing too radical. And that's fine by me for the most part, since I don't think we need to completely throw out our current approach. But we do need to ask the right questions, and we do need to give some serious thought to a sensible form-based approach for the city as a whole rather than trying to solve the same problem in a hundred discrete neighborhoods. I feel confident we're up to it, I just hope we have the will.
One thing to comment on from the story:
[Mayor] White, however, has shown no indication that he's interested in widespread changes. He made it clear that the Old Sixth Ward historic protections would apply only to that neighborhood, and he has instructed his staff to keep the high-density traffic impact ordinance narrowly focused.In a recent interview, the mayor indicated that he generally favors market-based rather than government-imposed solutions to development problems.
"I'm perhaps a stronger believer in markets and consumer choice on some issues involving development than some people who might vote in the Republican primary," said White, a Democrat.
And on some issues, like say pollution, the Mayor has been a pretty strong advocate for "government-imposed solutions". What matters here is what works. That's pretty much all there is to it.
Early voting begins today for the last election in 2007, the runoff elections in Fort Worth, which include the special election runoff for HD97. Democrat Dan Barrett picked up the endorsement of the Star Telegram as voting opens.
Democrat Dan Barrett has a ready answer for people who contend that the controversies involving Speaker Tom Craddick's heavy hand in the Texas House don't matter to the voters in District 97."Maybe only the most inside of political wonks know his name," said Barrett, who is facing Republican Mark Shelton in the Dec. 18 runoff, "but they are upset by a style of leadership that allows Craddick and the people he works with to exercise absolute control by fair means or foul."
Craddick's "politics of fear and intimidation" came to a startling climax in the last session, Barrett said, when the speaker declared himself the ultimate authority in the House, but this has been an issue ever since the Midland representative took the speaker's chair.
"That is so contrary to the very principle of democracy," Barrett said. Even if people aren't well-informed about the particulars of government, they still care what happens in Austin. "They want to make sure that things are going OK so they don't have to watch every single move. That's why they elect representatives."
Note the contrast with Austin's Rep. Dawnna Dukes regarding how much people know and care about Speaker Craddick. We'll see who's right. If you live in Fort Worth, please be sure to vote for Dan Barrett. Thanks to BOR for the link.
Lisa Gray gives a downer update on the Alabama Bookstop, which is not what I needed after a great weekend.
"Well, there's one," says David Bush, wearily eyeing a two-foot discoloration on Bookstop's high ceiling -- one of several such blotches he's noticed in the historic Alabama Theatre, home of the Barnes & Noble-owned Bookstop.Concerned that the blotches indicate a leaky roof, the building's fans have been calling Bush, the programs and information director of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance, to see if anything can be done to protect the already endangered building.
The Preservation Alliance can't do anything, really, but now and then, Bush drops by to take a look. "Over there," he says, pointing his chin. "Two more spots, over the balcony."
Bush worries that the blotches are early signs of "demolition by neglect," the bane of historic preservationists everywhere, but especially a problem in Houston. Too often an owner, intentionally or not, allows a historic building's small problems to grow into large ones, until the building becomes shabby and sometimes structurally unsound -- and thus, less likely to arouse public anger when it's demolished.
Most cities prohibit demolition by neglect, requiring owners to keep historically significant buildings in reasonably good repair. But in Houston, except in the city's one tiny "protected historic district," no laws protect even a city-designated landmark like the Alabama Theatre. "All we can do is make them feel bad," says Betty Chapman, head of the Houston Archaeological and Historic Commission.
I think we've pretty clearly established that Weingarten is utterly indifferent to public opinion on this matter. They just don't give a damn, and they don't care who knows it. Oh, they're smart enough to realize that tearing down beloved landmarks and replacing them with snooty high-rises is something that must be done carefully, but they appear to be prepared to wait it out. I wish there were something that could be done about this, but I'll be damned if I can think of anything. It's very depressing to contemplate.
I confess, this story from Saturday confuses me.
In a little-publicized decision, a judge in Travis County signed off this week on the validity of the Houston Independent School District's $805 million bond election.The pre-emptive court action means that HISD won't be handcuffed from selling the bonds, even if critics file a lawsuit against the district for its handling of the election.
HISD took its lesson from the Waller school district, in neighboring Waller County, which has seen more than $49 million in bond money put on hold because of a legal challenge that thus far has received little backing in court.
"It's absolutely the right thing to do," HISD spokesman Terry Abbott said Friday. "The election is over. We need to move on and build schools."
But the legal maneuver has infuriated critics of the bond issue, who plan to officially respond Monday.
[...]
[Three days after the November 6 election], HISD filed a bond validation lawsuit in Travis County. The school board discussed the lawsuit the following week, partly during a closed-door meeting.
Pat Mizell, a partner with the Vinson & Elkins law firm, said he filed the case in Austin because "the Austin courts are more accustomed to this type of administrative proceeding."
"There was no attempt to hide anything," Mizell said, adding that HISD posted legal notice of the court action and the school board meeting.
Ty Clevenger, the attorney representing the Waller County resident who is suing the Waller district, disagreed.
"It was a really dirty trick," he said. "They had absolutely no other reason to file in Travis County other than to hide it."
The proceedings unfolded without the knowledge of the most vocal critics of HISD's bond plan, who said they would have appeared at the Dec. 3 hearing in the court of state District Judge John K. Dietz.
As it was, no opponents spoke in court, HISD officials said.
Okay, what the heck is a bond-validation lawsuit, and under what conditions does one file such a thing? I don't know how to judge this action without knowing if it's a standard thing to do or not. How often does this happen?
I can say that whatever the case, filing it in Austin with apparently minimal notice does strike me as an attempt to hide things. Maybe it wouldn't have mattered anyway, and maybe the bond opponents should have been prepared for HISD to take this action, but still. The fact that no opponents spoke in court is pretty telling.
So anyway. Dirty trick or clever gambit? Help me out here if you can. Thanks.
The day in which our nation's youth will completely fail to grasp the whole Superman/phone booth thing draws ever closer.
AT&T Inc. plans to exit the pay-phone business by the end of 2008, company officials said Monday.The largest telephone company in the United States is pulling out of the market at a time when consumers are relying more heavily on alternatives, such as wireless phones. AT&T also operates the country's leading wireless company.
AT&T's Public Communications unit will continue to honor existing contracts and customer service commitments until the business is phased out. The unit holds numerous contracts at government correctional facilities. All of these customers will receive advance notifications of the company's specific plans as well as information on other pay-phone providers and product options.
[...]
AT&T officials say pay phones in the United States have declined across the industry from about 2.6 million phones in 1998 to an estimated 1 million phones today.
I've racked my brain, and I can't think of the last time I used a pay phone. They just don't register on my consciousness since I started carrying a cell. Do you remember your last time?
Dave Mock remembers scoring some change as a kid by checking coin return slots regularly. I don't think I ever found any money that way, but I do recall a trick a high school buddy of mine used to employ to make free calls from pay phones. There was about a two second grace period after your call connected before your dime (or quarter) was fully consumed by the phone. If you hung up right away after the call connected, you'd still get your money back, as if you'd hung up without a connection being made. I'm not sure why this was the case - answering machines weren't exactly ubiquitous back then, and the duration was too short to ascertain you'd reached a wrong number - but that's how it was. Anyway, my buddy had a prearranged deal when he called another friend of his at that friend's house from a payphone. When the friend answered, Buddy would quickly shout out the first three digits of the payphone's number, then hang up. After retrieving his dime, he'd call again, this time announcing the last four digits of the number, and again hang up in time to get a refund. His friend would then call the payphone to talk to him. Slick, no? File it under Great Obsolete Scams of the 20th Century. Thanks to Dwight for the catch.
The latest Metro Solutions email blast directly addresses their recent kerfuffle with the FTA.
Recent news reports about METRO and the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) may have left the false impression that two of Houston's five proposed light rail lines are in jeopardy. They are not.We do not expect delays on the start of construction, which is scheduled for next spring.
The Federal government already has the vast majority of information needed to evaluate these light rail projects.
METRO is working aggressively to provide the federal government the remaining documentation requested.
Well all-righty then. If that turns out to be the case, then we can file this under "tempest in a teapot". Let's hope so.
Meanwhile, the Chron jumps in the fray.
Houston leaders reacted with puzzlement and concern to a pointed letter from FTA Deputy Administrator Sherry Little withdrawing approval for the two lines and calling for extensive new documentation and public hearings. The letter also includes a request that Metro demonstrate its technical capability to implement light rail, an odd requirement considering the demonstrated success and strong ridership of the existing Main Street line.FTA officials say they warned Metro that the federal agency would be obstructive if Metro changed its plans. The warning, however, does not justify the obstructive behavior.
Metro CEO Frank Wilson says most of the information the FTA wants has already been provided and can easily be resubmitted. Some environmental assessments for the lines could take up to six months to rework, but that should not delay the 2012 completion dates for the entire light rail system if there are no further federal demands.
"We can begin some other places on the locally funded work and double back later and pick up the pieces that are," Wilson said. "What I can't gauge at this time and I can't control is their time for review and their time for approval."
Work on the new lines is expected to begin in May of next year.
The FTA's motives for withdrawing its approval after earlier approving the planned conversion to rail are unclear, but the move smacks of partisan vindictiveness. Although Little claimed in her letter that federal guidelines required the proposal to be resubmitted, Metro officials pointed out that the document's harsh tone was a striking change from previous cooperation between the agencies.
Not much new here. They're taking Metro at their word regarding the potential for delays, which I hope is reflective of the evidence and not just of hope. And while I'm certainly open to the idea that "partisan vindictiveness" may have a role to play in this, I think they owe us a bit of speculation as to who's being vindictive and why if they're going to bring it up. Rep. Culberson said he wasn't involved. Is the Chron dismissing his denial, or hinting that there's another possible suspect? It would be nice to know.
Much as I like to see Governor Perry and his malarkey about the property tax cuts get smacked down, I rather wish there weren't so much space given in the story to those who seem to see tax cuts as an entitlement for themselves. As I see it, the reason we're in such a fix over paying for education and other necessary services is because of whiners like Michael Kubosh and Paul Bettencourt and the outsized influence they have on the discourse. So I'm just going to skip over their palaver and get to the important parts of the article, which follow after that.
Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, said the tax plan didn't solve the school finance problems and didn't raise enough money to meet the state's growing needs."I'm not sure anybody (in the Legislature) believed the $2,000 figure, certainly nobody who had seen the math," Whitmire said. "The bottom line is we have a broken tax system. We're just not keeping up with our growth."
[...]
[T]he amount of savings that Perry touted won't come to average homeowners because the governor's claim was based on home sales prices, which tend to be higher than actual taxable values. The calculation also did not account for ever-rising property values or school bond issues, which are repaid by a part of the tax rate unaffected by the new caps.
Perry's TV ad clarified the $2,000 was money taxpayers would save over three years; the radio spots had no such caveat.
Sorry, I have to interrupt here for a second before I get to the best part. "Ever-rising property values"? Do the words "subprime mortgage crisis" (or if you prefer, Big Shitpile) mean anything to you? It's true that property values have generally increased around here. Anyone who thinks that's true for everyone or forever needs to re-enroll in Econ 101.
Back to the best bit:
Homeowners with more expensive homes will save most.An $800,000 home in the Cypress-Fairbanks school district, for example, would have produced a tax savings of about $5,083 over the last two years.
The legislative response to the Supreme Court order for a new education finance plan was not about adequately funding schools, said state Rep. Scott Hochberg, D-Houston, a school finance expert.
"It was about reducing property taxes, primarily for the owners of the most expensive homes," Hochberg said.
Hochberg, Bettencourt and other tax experts predict a continuing saga because school funding formulas benefit the state when property values go up. Local taxpayers owe more to their schools, but the state then sends them less state money for public education.
"It's not just Alamo Heights and Spring Branch and Highland Park in Dallas. It's every school district," Bettencourt said.
Local governments typically use increased property values to cover inflation "so they can at least stay even, but for school districts, if their values go up, they don't get the benefit of that," Hochberg said. "That benefit accrues to the state. Instead of putting that money into local school district budgets, we send that directly back to tax relief, which means the districts then have to turn around and raise the tax rate, and there goes the savings.
"The governor takes credit for tax relief while pushing the true costs back into the hands of the local school board members, who now have to take the blame for raising taxes just to stay even," Hochberg said.
I couldn't have said it better myself. There really isn't anything else in that story you need to read.
And the 2007 election season is officially over for Houston.
Lawyer and former track star [Democrat] Jolanda Jones coasted to victory over education consultant Joe Treviño in the only citywide contest in Saturday's runoff election, according to unofficial results.Runoffs were needed to fill three City Council seats and one Houston Independent School District position when no candidate received a majority of votes in the Nov. 6 election.
Houston voters also elected city employee [Democrat] Wanda Adams and businessman Michael Sullivan to City Council seats in districts D and E, respectively. They chose Houston NAACP President [Democrat] Carol Mims Galloway for the opening on the school board.
About 26,000 people voted in the At Large #5 race, meaning that your vote counted for 40 people. For comparison purposes, the June runoff for the special election had 25,000 votes, and the December 2005 runoff had 36,000.
My congratulations to all of the newly elected Council members, all of whom ran good races and I believe will do a fine job in office. My thanks and sympathy to the runnersup, for whom the same could be said. Congratulations also to Carol Mims Galloway for her successful return to public service. And finally, a little extra salute to my neighbor Joe Trevino for his strong debut in politics. I hope we'll see you on a future ballot.
Pasadena voters, charged with picking a new mayor in a special election Saturday, will have to return to the polls in a Jan. 19 runoff to decide between top vote-getters Johnny Isbell and Ralph Riggs.
We've cast our last votes until March here in Houston, but the folks in Pasadena and Fort Worth still have a job to do.
What with preparations for Lights in the Heights and all, I never had a chance to blog about the 2007 Texan of the Year award, which my blogging colleagues and I with the Texas Progressive Alliance have been working on. This year, we're honoring more than one person. I'll let Vince explain:
For our Third Annual Texan of the Year Awards, the Texas Progressive Alliance elected to not only name a Texan of the Year-the Texan or Texans who contributed the most to the cause of the Progressive movement in 2007-but also recognize other Texans whose contributions were also important to the Progressive cause and worthy of recognition.The Texan of the Year will be announced next Friday, December 14. Between now and then, the Texas Progressive Alliance will announce its list of Texans whose contributions to the progressive cause it believed worthy of special recognition. This begins today, with the announcement of the Texas Progressive Alliance's Silver Stars. Starting Monday, four additional "Gold Stars" will be announced followed by the TOY on Friday.
Click over to see the Silver Star winners. Congratulations to all for your fine work.
The Drum Major Institute calls on the netroots to take a leadership role in the debate over immigration. They offer six ways in which blogs can add value to the discussion, and they include links to research on the subject. It's useful stuff. If you've got any interest in taking part, check it out.
The 2007 election season comes to an end in Houston (but not in Texas - see more in a minute) today as the City Council and HISD runoffs take place, with polling places open from 7 AM to 7 PM. To find your voting location, go to HarrisVotes.org, then click on Voting Information...Election Day Voting Info. You can search by precinct number or by address, and see a complete listing of where to cast your ballot. And you can see the candidates' statements about why you should vote for them before you go. Go do your civic duty, you'll likely be speaking for about 100 of your fellow citizens when you do. The fact that I can't even find a mention of today's election on chron.com might have a little something to do with that.
There's still one more election of interest this year, up in Fort Worth where TPA- and TexBlog PAC-endorsed candidate Dan Barrett will try to pick up another seat in the State House for the Democrats. Early voting starts Monday the 10th, and there are things you can do to help Barrett in this election. The conventional wisdom is that Barrett can't win this district, which I would characterize as purple rather than Republican. Only one way to find out about that, and we'll do so on the 18th. If you live in HD97, be sure to vote for Dan Barrett next week.
It's Lights in the Heights time again, with today being the 20th anniversary of this most excellent neighborhood festival. I give you Marty Hajovsky for most of what you need to know.
The best place to start is the WHCA's own site at www.woodland-heights.org. You can find the map of the route and a very helpful list of frequently asked questions that covers issues such as parking, route, times, how to volunteer, etc. For more information, you can also e-mail co-chair Sharon Greiff at sharon@glassattraction.net.Another good link is the story in the Chron about Unsilent Night and its Houston debut at Lights in the Heights. Check out Charles Ward's excellent piece here.
We're in te middle of the last minute rush for volunteers and porches for musical acts along the route. Here's the list of people to contact to chip in for what is a completely volunteer, free and unsponsored event:
For porches, Alan Harris at 832-661-2819 or alan.harris@emersonprocess.com.
For entertainment, Dana Loudon at lithentertainment@msn.com.
Melinda Davenport's About Houston blog at http://houston.about.com/b/2007/11/26/lights-in-the-heights.htm.
And for a last-minute check of the weather before heading out, see: http://weather.chron.com/US/TX/Houston.html
Just remember that the featured blocks are closed to vehicular traffic, so be prepared to park a few blocks away and walk. The official time for the event is 6 to 10 PM. Come out and see the houses and hear the music. I had some help decorating our house this year:
With assistants like these, what more could you need?
Via Swamplot, the original Otto's Bar B Que restaurant on Memorial near Detering will soon serve its last meal.
The storied Otto's Bar B Que & Hamburgers restaurant, known to be favored by former President George Bush, will be demolished to make way for the sale of the high-profile Memorial Drive land.Otto's owners June and Marcus Sofka have listed the 1.3-acre tract for sale with Cushman & Wakefield of Texas Inc.
An adjacent 17,000-square-foot shopping center, which is also owned by the Sofkas, is part of the sales package. The center includes a nail salon, a cleaners, a barber shop and Biba's Greek Pizza.
Cushman & Wakefield broker Dave Cook says he is currently taking offers on the land and hopes to get a deal done soon.
The Chron has more. I'll be honest, I've eaten at Otto's a couple of times, and was never terribly impressed by it. I'll take Goode Company any day for my BBQ cravings. I am unhappy to hear about the center that includes Biba's being sold, however, since I'd hate to see that place go away. Given the development boom on that part of Memorial and in the neighboring West End in general, I'd have to figure that whoever buys this property is going to do so with the intent to build something high-end, very likely a high-rise, possibly a mixed-use kind of thing. So swing by and get yourself some Greek pizza while you can. I have a feeling time is running out for it.
UPDATED: Fixed the verb tense in the first sentence, as per Kevin's comment.
Sherrie Matula, who gave Rep. John Davis a run for his money in HD129 last year, is back for an encore. Here's her press release:
Sherrie Matula, long-time educator and community activist, announces today her candidacy for State Representative District 129. Matula is committed to improving the community's economic health and vitality and will focus her efforts on: fighting for better public education; addressing environmental concerns impacting quality of life; and providing relief from the skyrocketing cost of living in Texas.Matula's passion for public education stems from her years as a science teacher and advocate. Having lobbied on the state and federal level for public schools, she brings an in-depth understanding of the problems facing school districts and can provide smart solutions to public school financing. "Our educational system is part of the infrastructure of the community," states Matula. "The quality of our schools directly impacts our quality of life and economic viability. We need effective legislation to ensure adequate funding and strategic improvements. An investment in education is an investment in our future."
From years of active community involvement, Matula knows the people of the district. She shares their concerns and she understands the complexities of the issues impacting the community. Both a leader and a doer, she has the critical thinking and analytic skills to develop and enact smart solutions.
"I am encouraged by the support I already am receiving throughout the district" says Matula. "It's time for change. The people want a representative who will listen to them and fight for their interests. Texas voters want action, and they are interested in seeing the results that I can deliver." Matula captured over 42% of the vote when she ran for the office in 2006, demonstrating her appeal to voters interested in seeing a change in leadership.
"Sherrie has the education and experience to bring about positive change and smart representation in government," states Matula's campaign manager, Martha Griffin, who was instrumental in Melissa Noreiga's successful bid for a seat on Houston's City Council. "Sherrie's amazing support throughout the district demonstrates a community tired of the current government and seeking a change. Her knowledge of the issues combined with her dedication to the community makes her the smart choice for State Representative."
A graduate of the University of Houston with a Bachelor of Science in Education and a dedicated teacher for 25 years in the Clear Creek and Pasadena school districts, Matula is a highly respected education consultant. She earned a reputation for her leadership skills and collaborative efforts while serving two terms on the Clear Creek ISD School Board. She was a Board member on the Texas State Teachers Association Board and she has worked as a citizen lobbyist for children and schools at the Texas Legislature since 1978. Active in her community for over 30 years, Matula is involved in many community and civic organizations and serves as president of the Clear Lake Symphony Society and of the Middlebrook Community Association.
Matula and her husband have lived in District 129 since 1974. The district includes a significant portion of southeast Harris County from Friendswood and Pearland to Pasadena, Seabrook and the Clear Lake area.
Matula's been busy raising money and garnering institutional support. She's put this district on the map for the Democrats. You'll be hearing a lot more about her as we go.
Meanwhile, the Dems have a serious contender for HD144 with the filing of mortgage broker Joel Redmond. We know that Amber Moon, the communications director for the Texas Democratic Party and a Pasadena native, had been looking at this race, but in the end she decided to stay in Austin. I look forward to meeting Redmond and talking to him.
Finally, it looks like we'll have a contested primary for Harris County Sheriff, as 2004 candidate Guy Robert Clark has paid his filing fee. I'm fairly confident he won't be the candidate in November, but he'll be on the ballot in March.
Those who do not learn from history are doomed to say stupid things on the campaign trail.
State Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) wants a constitutional ban on the use of property taxes to fund public schools in Texas."I am absolutely convinced that my constituents, and frankly, the voters across Texas would rather pay a sales tax when they purchase something than a property tax for the rest of their life," King said speaking by phone Wednesday.
It was only two years ago that the Lege spent a regular session and two special sessions trying to do a sales tax/property tax swap. Perhaps Rep. King doesn't remember to Legislative Budget Board analysis of that proposal, or the headlines it generated around the state. Or, perhaps he doesn't care. All I know is that if the Republicans want to campaign on raising taxes on 90% of the state in order to reduce those of the richest 10%, I say go for it. The rest of us will be ready to campaign against that. Burka runs the numbers and demonstrates clearly why King's proposal is completely unworkable as well as unpalatable, and Vince has more.
Remember the Crowne Plaza implosion, and how some people thought that a video recording of it showed a person entering the building just before the big boom? Well, HPD says that didn't happen.
The Houston Police Department opened an investigation into the possibility someone might have been inside The Crowne Plaza Hotel at 6701 South Main after receiving an amateur video apparently showing the figure of a person running across the hotel's eighth floor just prior to its implosion on Nov. 11.The Cherry Demolition Company immediately stopped work on the site to cooperate with HPD's investigation, police said. Employees painstakingly removed debris while investigators and cadaver dogs searched for any signs of human remains, they said.
In the course of the investigation, HPD homicide investigators examined more than 100 photographs taken before and and during the implosion that clearly showed no one was in the building at the time, police said..
The entire site of the demolition has now been cleared and no human remains were found, police said.
At one point, cadaver dogs responded to material believed to be blood, but investigators determined the blood came from an employee injured before the demolition, they said.
Good to hear. Now we'll see if that settles the question or if the story turns into a full-fledged urban legend.
I'm sure this will be well received in South Texas.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is giving Texas landowners opposed to a border fence one last chance to allow access to their land before he takes court action against them, a Texas senator said today.Sen. John Cornyn said letters from the Department of Homeland Security are expected to go out Friday. But for those who refuse access, the department would likely seek a court order to enter the property, he said.
"He assured me that negotiations would continue and his hope is the vast majority of these cases could be resolved without litigation, maybe in handful of cases litigation would be required," he said.
Our junior Senator, showing the kind of leadership for which he is known.
Some landowners along the border have opposed government plans to build fencing to curb illegal immigration on the Texas-Mexico border."All that will do is fire people up more down here," John McClung, president of the Texas Produce Association, said of the impending letters.
"Nothing makes a landowner more unhappy than the idea of condemnation of land, the idea of being forced to turn land over to government," McClung said.
Several members of the group could lose access to the Rio Grande, which they rely on for irrigating crops, or to rich farm land that abuts the river.
Opponents have criticized the government for failing to keep them fully informed on fence plans and refusing to listen to residents' proposals for alternatives to the fence. Others say the fence is a waste of taxpayers' money and will hurt border economies.
[...]
Cornyn said Chertoff told him about 40 landowners have refused to provide access to their land. Of the total, 110 have not responded or can't be located and 258 have given the government the access, a congressional official familiar with the statistics said on condition of anonymity because the Homeland Security Department had not released them.
What about the border mayors who are refusing access to city-owned land? Are they a part of those statistics?
About 127 miles of land are being considered for the fencing and about 15 miles of that is on property where the government cannot get access, the aide said.
Given how little of the total border will actually be fenced, what's a few more holes? It won't be any more ineffective than it already is. South Texas Chisme has more.
Remember the strip club fee that passed the Lege this last spring? Well, a coalition of strip clubs in the state have now filed a lawsuit to block the law from being implemented.
The suit, filed Wednesday in Travis County, alleges that lawmakers violated club operators' constitutional right to free speech when they approved the surcharge last spring. Owners of topless bars have argued that the fee, designed to help victims of sexual assault, imposes a discriminatory tax on their businesses and unfairly links their patrons to rape.And though officials from the Texas attorney general's office vowed to do whatever it takes to uphold the adult entertainment fee, government insiders acknowledged quietly that they may face an uphill battle.
A similar strip club fee endorsed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2004 - one that would've raised money for education - never made it into law after legislators voiced concerns that it was an inappropriate and unseemly stretch.
The bill's authors say they're not suggesting that people who go to strip clubs or adult-video stores walk out and commit sex crimes; they're simply seeking revenue for underfunded programs.
"Clearly we're disappointed by the lawsuit; we were really hoping this industry would see this as an opportunity to do something positive for the communities they're in," said Annette Burrhus-Clay, executive director of the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault. "We're going to fight it because we believe in the merits of our position."
The fee lawmakers passed this spring is expected to raise about $40 million each year, more than half of which would go toward sexual assault services. The rest would be used to provide health assistance to Texas' poorest residents.
But in the suit, filed against Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott and Comptroller Susan Combs, advocates for the adult entertainment industry argue the fee would amount to an unconstitutional tax on nude dancing, a form of expression protected by the First Amendment.
And they say the measure singles out strip clubs by not applying to all sexually oriented businesses. Nude modeling studios and adult video arcades aren't affected, they say.
"Exotic nude dancing is protected speech under the First Amendment," the lawsuit states. "It [the fee] singles out income derived from protected speech for a burden the state places on no other income."
I am not a lawyer, so as always, take the following with a grain of salt. The free-expression argument is interesting. I'm not sure if that would come down to whether the fee represents an undue burden - my layman's opinion is that it probably wouldn't - or if you just can't single out one particular form of expression for this kind of tax. The income argument seems specious to me - we're not taxing the dancers themselves, we're imposing a per-customer fee on the venues, which they can pay themselves, pass along to the customers, or some combination thereof. Now, a tax on lap dances, that I could see as singling out the dancers' incomes. This feels like a stretch to me. Finally, the issue with the fee not applying to other types of SOBs, well, I suppose if you can ban smoking in bars but leave an exception for cigar bars, then I'm not sure why you couldn't impose a fee on Treasures but not on the Adult Video Megaplex.
So, I'm a bit skeptical about the clubs' chances in this suit. I'm also a bit perplexed by the assertion that "government insiders" are worried.
But neither did state officials appear overly optimistic about their chances of fighting the legal challenge."Any time you get in a courtroom, there's a 50 percent chance you'll win, a 50 percent chance you'll lose," said Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, an attorney. "If we didn't do it right this time, that will tell us what we've got to do to get it right next time."
That's not exactly an assessment of the merits of the suit, is it? And Sen. West isn't a defendant, so he's not really going to be fighting this challenge anyway. Sure, anything can happen in a courtroom, but saying so doesn't help evaluate the state's odds of winning. Vince thinks the state will have it tough, however, so maybe I need to rethink this.
On a side note, as I mentioned in that previous link, does anyone know if the recent victories by the city of Houston over its strip clubs will affect the revenue estimate for this fee? It's not relevant to the issue at hand, I'm just curious.
One last thing:
A lawyer for the plaintiffs - the Texas Entertainment Association, which represents more than half of the topless clubs in the state, and Karpod, Inc., which operates a club in Amarillo - declined to comment on the suit.
Amarillo has a strip club in it? I never would have guessed.
This is a long time in coming.
The Houston City Council on Wednesday paved the way for a long-awaited project to extend the Hardy Toll Road the final four miles to downtown from the North Loop.Without discussion, the panel approved an agreement with Harris County, which will build and pay for the road, allowing it to close certain public streets just north of downtown and west of U.S. 59 to build the extension.
Construction of the $200 million project is scheduled to begin in August 2009 and be completed by the end of 2011. An estimated 32,000 vehicles are expected to use the extension daily.
"It will help us tie our central business district closer to our largest airport and significantly reduce the trip time for people coming in from the airport," Mayor Bill White said.
The project also will spur economic development in the north part of downtown where traffic exits the road, he said.
County officials said they were able to minimize the number of homes and businesses that had to be razed or moved by configuring the toll road to follow a Union Pacific track and its adjoining land for much of the way into downtown.
But the county could not move forward with the project until the city agreed to close as many as five streets that Union Pacific's new track will cross.
[...]
The Hardy extension is one of the projects that The Woodlands agreed to help fund as part of a regional participation agreement with Houston. In October, city officials agreed to release the master-planned community from its future boundaries for annexation in exchange for money to fund projects, including regional park and transportation improvements -- that benefit both communities.
The community has until November to make an initial payment of $16 million, of which $5 million is dedicated to the Hardy Toll Road.
Officials have envisioned extending the Hardy Toll Road to downtown since it opened.
Vehicles headed downtown will be able to exit onto U.S. 59 east of downtown, and then take the Hamilton exit into downtown, said Mike Perez, who is heading the project for the toll road authority.
Another exit will be built eventually, going along the Elysian Viaduct -- which is to be rebuilt -- and connecting to La Branch or another street.
Here's a map of the extension. I'm a little curious as to why it's connecting to 59 south of I-10, but not to I-10 itself. You'd think the ideal would be to do both. I suppose there's a logistical reason why not - can anyone comment on that?
Regardless, this makes all kinds of sense, and ought to help relieve some of the pressure on I-45 north of downtown as well. One thing I'm also curious about is the lack of any mention of feedback from the Near Northside neighborhood, which has had issues about proposals to widen the Elysian Viaduct - see here, here, and here (scroll down to Elysian Viaduct Update) for background. There were public meetings held on this back in 2004 and 2005, but for the life of me I couldn't find any newer information than that. I therefore have no idea if the residents' concerns had already been adequately addressed, or if they gave up after being steamrolled by the process. Anybody out there know what the deal is with that?
You may recall the kerfuffle between the City of Houston and HOPE over the latter's radio ads concerning high school students answering 911 calls. The city had initially denied the claims made by HOPE and tried to quash the ads. LM Sixel picks up the story from there.
After months of negotiations over vacation time, grievance procedures and other matters, several sticking points remain unresolved. For instance, the city wants to reserve more than half of the money for merit increases -- like most private sector workers get -- while the union wants a much higher proportion distributed in across-the-board raises.Some of the problems facing the city stem from not paying its employees enough money, said Jere Talley, a member of the negotiating team for HOPE. Low wages create turnover that puts additional pressure on remaining workers, she said.
"I want to stress the point that it's truly about quality public service and what's on the table now won't remedy that," said Talley, a city employee.
The union is hoping to gain traction through radio ads that claim high school student interns are answering 911 emergency calls.
City spokesman Frank Michel said high school students are not permitted to field emergency calls and he criticized the HOPE radio ads that featured a retired supervisor claiming that he supervised the students as they answered the phones. However Michel concedes that after the supervisor retired this summer, another supervisor improperly allowed four high school students to answer emergency calls, a practice since stopped.
"The ads just aren't true and I can only guess they're desperate and they're misleading people in an effort to put public pressure on the mayor and City Council to come to some agreement," said Michel. The mayor is working on his own radio ad to answer some of the union's criticisms.
So it turns out that the union was right about the use of high school kids, and the city got caught with its pants down. Isiah Carey hits on this as well.
It was Monday when David Cutler (pictured above), the director of HEC, maintained high school students never answered 911 emergency calls as part of a co-op program. This came after HOPE, the city workers union, ran radio ads making the claims. A former 911 center supervisor is heard in the commercial saying he supervised high school students who answered 911 calls. Those life or death type emergency calls. But Cutler in a video taped interview said it never happened. He said the union was misleading the public. Today, we find out Cutler was wrong. There were at least 4 teenagers - high school students - answering 911 emergency calls according to the Mayor's office. I asked spokesperson Joe Laud how could the head of HEC not know who's answering 911 calls. Laud didn't have an answer but told me they only learned of the student's actions after the tv interview with the Insite. The question I had for Laud is how could the director of HEC not know what was going on at the facility the Mayor entrusted him to oversee? Just a question the Insite would like answered...
Never a good time for a government agency when it gets the "how could you not have known about this?" question. But really, that's just a gotcha, and it's not the main point. The key is what Jere Talley said about low wages and high turnover. Speaking as someone who worked for years in the customer service business, you just can't be training new people all the time. It's inefficient, it puts a huge stress on your best people since they're picking up the slack for the newbies as well as answering their questions, and it leads to a high rate of error. That's a bad thing for a computer help desk, but it's quite a bit worse for an emergency call center.
One more thing, from the Sixel piece:
The challenge of public sector unions that deliver key services is not to alienate the public, said Mark Sherman, an arbitrator and mediator and associate professor of management at the University of Houston-Clear Lake. It's an automatic public relations problem if they stop collecting the garbage or responding to citizens' problems.Those unions can't afford to lose popular support, he said.
"If you do, you just play in the hands of the (city)," said Sherman. "Then they can drop the boom on you -- and they can use public disenchantment as the reason."
Seems to me that public disenchantment works both ways. How many city officials do you think have ever been voted out of office for not getting the trash picked up on time? More than a few, I'd venture to guess. The city has the deeper pockets here - speaking of which, the Mayor's response ad is here (MP3) - and can probably win the PR battle if it needs to. But I don't see it as necessarily zero sum, and I don't think it's a sure thing for the city if it comes down to some kind of service disruption. The buck stops with the people in charge, after all.
Responding to the earlier story about its letter demanding more data from Metro before matching funds can be made available for the North and Southeast lines, the Federal Transit Administration says METRO knew this was coming and shouldn't act so surprised by it.
Before Metro's board voted in October to rework its plan for new rapid transit lines, the agency's president was warned by the Federal Transit Administration that such a change could result in delays and force a return to the drawing board, federal officials said Wednesday.That message was repeated with far greater detail when Metropolitan Transit Authority President Frank Wilson met with FTA officials in Washington on Nov. 14, FTA Associate Administrator Wes Irvin said.
"There was no blindsiding from this agency to Houston Metro," Irvin said.
[...]
If Metro can satisfy the FTA's requests within two months, which Wilson called "the most optimistic" scenario, he said there would be no construction delays. Metro has projected it would complete all five lines by late 2012.
"If we have to take the more draconian read on how much work we've got to do ... we are probably looking at a year -- and that will definitely delay our construction."
Irvin estimated the paperwork could be completed within six months if Metro moves quickly to provide the necessary data and "if they start working together with us and Frank starts being forthright with information."
The FTA insists its deputy administrator, Sherry Little, clearly outlined to Wilson during a phone call several days before the board's October vote that a decision to change its transit plan could force new engineering and environmental studies as well as affect Houston's selection as one of three cities in a federal pilot program.
"During that conversation, our deputy administrator was very clear that we don't want to influence this decision one way or the other ... but now there will be probably some real impact to our processes," Irvin said.
[...]
Though Wilson suggested that the agencies' relationship appeared to be deteriorating, Irvin stressed FTA would work closely with Metro:
"What I want to make very clear ... is we are an advocate for this project but we have to do our due diligence and play our processes out to the point we are being fair and consistent around the country."
Clearly, there was a failure to communicate in here. It's entirely plausible that METRO could have downplayed what they were told, or that they somehow didn't think some of this would apply to them. Christof's comment from before, that some members of the engineering staff were expecting this, now cuts against what Wilson said in yesterday's article - if the engineers knew what to expect, he should have as well. It would be nice to know what METRO's response is to this parry, but whatever it is, the bottom line appears to be that construction will start a few months later than we first thought, perhaps pushing the groundbreaking to 2009. To say the least, that's annoying as hell. I still applaud the decision to go back to all light rail as was originally promised, and I'd have still advocated that had I known in October what the effect of that change would likely be. I'd guess that most people who want these lines built as light rail would feel the same way. But it would have been nice to have had the full story at the time. If what the FTA is saying is correct, then shame on METRO. Its constituents deserve better than that from them.
One other matter:
Metro is receiving little sympathy from Rep. John Culberson, a Houston Republican who has crossed swords with the agency over the possible location of its controversial University light-rail line."FTA is simply following the law," Culberson said. "Common sense tells you that if you apply for a loan to buy a Chevrolet, when the bank approves the loan, you can't turn around and use the money to buy a Rolls-Royce."
Culberson, who some observers had suggested was behind the FTA letter, denied asking the federal agency to pull its approval once Metro changed the plan. The lines in question, he noted, are not in his district, but in those of Houston Democrats Sheila Jackson Lee and Gene Green
Good to hear. May he continue to remain uninvolved.
Last week, the Chron published a characteristic piece of tripe from Charles Krauthammer, in which he claimed that the recent breakthrough by American scientist James A. Thomson and his Japanese colleague Shinya Yamanaka on an embryo-free way to produce genetically matched stem cells vindicated President Bush's policies that forbid embryonic stem cell research in the US. Now Thomson has joined with Alan I. Leshner, the chief executive of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and executive publisher of the journal Science, to print a rebuttal to Krauthammer's foolishness.
Far from vindicating the current U.S. policy of withholding federal funds from many of those working to develop potentially lifesaving embryonic stem cells, recent papers in the journals Science and Cell described a breakthrough achieved despite political restrictions. In fact, work by both the U.S. and Japanese teams that reprogrammed skin cells depended entirely on previous embryonic stem cell research.At a time when nearly 60 percent of Americans support human embryonic stem cell research, U.S. stem cell policy runs counter to both scientific and public opinion. President Bush's repeated veto of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, which has twice passed the House and Senate with votes from Republicans and Democrats alike, further ignores the will of the American people.
Efforts to harness the versatility of embryonic stem cells, and alleviate suffering among people with an array of debilitating disorders, began less than 10 years ago. Since then, scientists have continued to pursue embryonic stem cells because of their ability to transform into blood, bone, skin or any other type of cell. The eventual goal is to replace diseased or dysfunctional cells to help people with spinal cord injuries, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions.
Since 1998, many strategies for addressing sanctity-of-life concerns have been pursued. While commendable, these efforts remain preliminary, and none so far has suggested a magic bullet. In the same way, the recent tandem advances in the United States and by Shinya Yamanaka's team in Japan are far from being a Holy Grail, as Charles Krauthammer inaccurately described them. Though potential landmarks, these studies are only a first step on the long road toward eventual therapies.
Krauthammer's central argument -- that the president's misgivings about embryonic stem cell research inspired innovative alternatives -- is fundamentally flawed, too. Yamanaka was of course working in Japan, and scientists around the world are pursuing the full spectrum of options, in many cases faster than researchers in the United States.
One hopes that having published Krauthammer's fantasies, the Chron will see fit to follow it up with the facts. One would think they owe their readers that much.
The Texas College Democrats have something to say about Sen. John Cornyn:
You know, much as I like Ron Kirk, the campaign he ran back in 2002 was more about how similar he'd be to Cornyn, at least in terms of being able to work with President Bush. You can certainly disagree with that strategy, but times were different then. How much nicer it is now to be able to run a campaign that's predicated on being a complete contrast to and break from our junior Senator and the Presidential administration he's so willingly enabled since then.
It's also much more satisfying to support such a campaign, which is no doubt one reason why, as Karl-Thomas points out, that Rick Noriega has raised over $250,000 online already, from over 2500 supporters. They're hoping to raise another $35K or so by the end of the year, so if you've got a little spare change left after doing your Christmas shopping, please consider helping them out.
Well, I can't say this is a surprise.
The Coastal Habitat Alliance has taken its fight against two wind farms to court.The alliance, a group of 11 organizations including the King Ranch and Frontera Audubon Society, filed federal and state lawsuits Tuesday hoping to halt the construction of two wind farms in Kenedy County, or at least gain input in the projects. The group says the wind farms will affect environmentally sensitive wetlands and possibly lead to bird kills.
The federal lawsuit alleges that state officials and developers are violating the federal Coastal Zone Management Act by building the farms without an environmental review or permit.
The organization also filed another lawsuit in a Texas court, objecting to the Public Utility Commission of Texas' recent refusal to grant the alliance "intervenor" status in the projects. The commission has granted permission for the construction of an electric-transmission line that will connect to the wind farms.
"In both (lawsuits), we're asking to be heard at the Public Utility Commission," said Elyse Yates, a spokeswoman for the alliance.
Defendants in the federal lawsuit are General Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, wind developers PPM Energy and Babcock & Brown and the Public Utility Commission's three commissioners.
Texas adopted a coastal management plan, in compliance with federal law, in the 1990s, and that plan called for environmental reviews for any electricity generating plants, the federal lawsuit says. When the state repealed a law requiring all electric plants to have permits, officials didn't include that change in updates to the coastal management plan, the suit says.
Therefore, electricity generating projects built on the coast without a permit remain in violation of federal law and the state's own plan, according to the document.
[...]
The Texas General Land Office will respond to the alliance's petition "in a timely manner," said office spokesman Jim Suydam in a statement.
Through the state suit, the alliance hopes to gain intervenor status in the project and request that environmental studies be conducted, Yates said.
A spokesman from Babcock & Brown, one of the two companies developing wind farms on Kenedy Ranch, said the lawsuit was "completely without merit." The farms would not pose harm to coastal wetlands or migrating birds, he said.
"Before we began construction on this project, we voluntarily completed three years of comprehensive wildlife studies," said spokesman Matt Dallas. The company concluded in these studies that endangered species and migrating birds wouldn't be harmed, he said.
The Public Utility Commission, another defendant in the lawsuits, denied the alliance "intervenor" status because the group didn't qualify, said commission spokesman Terry Hadley. Hadley said he couldn't comment further on the lawsuit because he hadn't reviewed it yet.
The PUC ruling was made in October, at which time I figured a lawsuit was next. I've no idea what the merits of either suit are, but I'll be interested to see how this shakes out. I would like to see these wind farms built, but if there are issues with the federal law, then that needs to be addressed. I've got a copy of the CHA press release here (PDF). More coverage of the suit can be found in the Corpus Christi Caller-Times and the Statesman. South Texas Chisme is also following this story.
A unique new check-in procedure using cell phones or personal digital assistants as boarding passes is being unveiled by Continental Airlines and the Transportation Security Administration at George Bush Intercontinental Airport today.The three-month pilot program involves technology using encrypted bar codes on mobile device screens, something not being used anywhere else in the world, TSA official Melvin Carraway said.
"We have been in favor of this for a long time and had fairly consistent dialogue with TSA on our desire to do this," said Mark Bergsrud, a senior vice president for Houston-based Continental. "We were ready technically and we are pretty nimble with our ability to develop software and test it."
Carraway said the TSA, which has had a problem with people trying to use fraudulent paper boarding passes in the past, is confident the technology can't be cracked.
The program will allow passengers to receive boarding passes electronically, then present bar codes on the screen to be scanned by TSA security officers at the checkpoint, according to Continental.
Ultimately, it could eliminate the need for a paper document besides photo identification. Continental is the first U.S. carrier to test paperless boarding passes.
Initially, the pilot program will be used solely on Continental flights at Intercontinental. If successful, plans call for it to be rolled out to other airlines in about three months, Carraway said.
"Can't" is a pretty strong word to use when the subject is "cracking technology". I don't doubt this is better (and more environmentally-friendly) than paper, but I say never say never. Be that as it may, we're going to be flying on Continental out of IAH in the near future, so perhaps I'll get to see this technology firsthand. If I do, I'll let you know how it goes.
Here is the news regarding the candidacy for Tax Assessor that I alluded to earlier. That candidate is Diane Trautman.
[A]fter much soul searching over the Thanksgiving holidays and encouragement from my family, friends, and past supporters, I have made the decision to run for Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector in 2008 instead of making another run for the state capitol. By running for this countywide position, I believe that I can make an even bigger difference for our children, our schools, and our communities. I want to thank each of you for all the support you gave me in my last race and for standing by me in this new decision.As you may know, I am passionate about providing a quality education in all of our public schools, and I believe that it is everyone's responsibility to play a role in educating our children-especially our political leaders. That is why, when our current Tax Assessor/Collector publicly campaigns against our schools in the recent school bond elections, I think he needs to be challenged. Instead of an incumbent who has spent the last decade using his county office as a partisan pulpit, we need someone who will focus on getting the job done for all the citizens of Harris County.
Additionally, I think that the public has had enough of recent ethics scandals in county offices, and that they are ready for some accountability and ethical leadership in county government, which will be a primary focus of my campaign. What is more, it is outrageous that Harris County, the third most populous county in the country, has one of the lowest voter registration rates. We must do better if we are to have a truly effective government and democracy. My campaign will be about modeling ethical and appropriate officeholder behavior, building a voter registration system that is fair, inclusive and works for all Harris County citizens, and running an efficient, transparent office for county taxpayers.
Be sure to stay tuned to my Web site -- www.dianetrautman.com -- for updates and upcoming campaign events, and please spread the word about my campaign to make a positive difference in our Harris County leadership. In the months to come, I will need your support more than ever, and please let me know your ideas, thoughts, and suggestions about this new direction at dtrautman@comcast.net.
Diane ran a great campaign for HD127 last year, performing well above the Democratic average in that tough district. I think she'll make a formidable opponent for Paul Bettencourt, and I'm enthusiastic about supporting her. There will be much more on this to come soon. Now if we can get the Sheriff situation straightened out, we'll be all set...
Lots more filing activity going on. Here's a quick summary.
- Numerous District Court candidates in Harris County have made their candidacies official, including Al Bennett (61st District Court (Civil)) and Josefina Muniz Rendon (165th District Court (Civil)), who do not have primary opponents as of today; Andres C. Pereira (190th Civil District Court) and Fred Cook (215th District Court (Civil)), who do. I expect there will be a steady stream of these all the way through.
- In Travis County, we have another DA wannabe in the event Ronnie Earle calls it a career.
State District Judge Jeanne Meurer, who's retiring from the bench after 20 years, confirmed Wednesday that she's weighing a race if Earle retires after more than three decades in office."It's a high probability," said Meurer about her possible candidacy.
But she added that she hasn't made a final decision because Earle hasn't announced his intentions.
"It's real easy to say you've made a decision when there isn't a decision to make," Meurer said. "I'm very serious about it, but I would never run against Ronnie."
The possibility of Earle's retirement has been speculated about for awhile, and other candidates are mentioned there. Grits has more on Judge Meurer.
- Elias de la Garza is the first to jump into the open HD145 race. I don't really know anything about him, so I'm hesitant to make any sweeping statements, but at this point I see no reason why I would not be supporting Carol Alvarado in the expected event of her entry. Nothing against Mr. de la Garza, but barring anything unusual it's Alvarado for me.
- Checking the handy big TDP spreadsheet of filings (XLS file), I see a couple more contested primaries out there, in HD43, where a dentist named Tara Rios Ybarra would face off against Rep. Juan Escobar, and for Railroad Commissioner, where an Orientation & Mobility Specialist (as listed) named Mark Thompson would make it a three-way race with Dale Henry and Art Hall. I know nothing about either of these folks, though in the former case one always has to wonder about the possibility of Craddickian involvement.
- On the GOP side, BOR notes a challenge to 2006 Leininger acolyte Rep. Nathan Macias:
Edwards Aquifer Authority Chairman Doug Miller filed papers Monday to run in the Republican primary for District 73 in the Texas House against first-term incumbent Nathan Macias."Texas can accomplish great things if we work hard and work together," Miller said. "I am willing to do that hard work. Conservatives have been let down. There is too much spending and there are too many loopholes being left open for criminals to walk through. Those are the problems I intend to focus my attention upon."
Miller represents Comal and Guadalupe counties on the EAA board, which he has served on since it was created in 1993. He has also served as a police officer and as mayor of New Braunfels. He owns an insurance agency.
That one ought to be interesting to watch.
That's all I've got for now. What are you hearing?
So we know that EarthLink is basically abandoning the municipal WiFi market, and we know that the original deal the city had with EarthLink is more or less kaput, in spirit if not yet in legal terms. Where do we stand now? Unclear.
[The City will] use part of the $5 million penalty fee that EarthLink paid in September to finance a "digital inclusion" program intended to help students and the elderly in low-income neighborhoods access the Internet."One of the goals of the WiFi plan was to bridge the digital divide, and because of the city's good contract, we have substantial money to invest in that," Mayor Bill White said Tuesday.
EarthLink paid the $5 million penalty for missing a deadline to begin building the project earlier this year.
Under plans being drawn up by the city, $3.5 million of that penalty fee would go toward creating free, WiFi hotspots in 10 neighborhoods and helping residents there acquire equipment and training to use the Internet, said Richard Lewis, the city's director of information technology.
Those neighborhoods have not been chosen, he said, but the first should see access nodes by March. He said he hoped corporations will come forward with money or equipment to supplement city funds.
The remaining $1.5 million will go toward other city wireless projects, including public safety, Lewis said.
EarthLink officials admitted in September they were not ready to start building the network in Houston, which was supposed to span the city's 640 square miles.
The $5 million penalty bought the company another nine months to decide whether to continue the project.
Because the company does not face any further penalties, there is wide speculation that it will drop or alter the $50 million Houston project. White said he had doubts about whether EarthLink will follow through on the contract.
[...]
Unlike some other cities where EarthLink has wireless plans, the city of Houston has agreed to serve as the company's anchor tenant, paying $2.5 million over five years to use the network.
But since the subscriber model has yet to prove it is financially viable, even Houston's anchor tenancy may not be enough for EarthLink to make money here.
Let's assume that EarthLink ultimately decides to bail on Houston. What are the city's options at that point?
1. Find another provider, perhaps a local consortium like the one that lost the original bid to EarthLink. As I noted before, there's still a lot of political support for the citywide WiFi idea. The main question here is whether there is another vendor to be found. It's not clear yet whether the entire concept of citywide WiFi is being abandoned by the industry, or if it's just not at a point of viability yet, but if EarthLink won't do this, I'm not sure who will.
2. Scale it back to something smaller, cheaper, and less ambitious. Maybe just make downtown a WiFi zone, as Austin did, with some "digital inclusion" hot spots in low income neighborhoods as described here. Or just do the neighborhood hot spots. This would accomplish something, and would put some infrastructure in place in the event that a citywide extension becomes feasible again, and would likely be cheap enough to be provided by the city for free, thus making up a bit of the sting for scaling the big vision down.
3. Give up completely and reallocate all dedicated resources elsewhere, as Cory suggests. This is obviously the cheapest solution, and as with #2 still allows for the possibility of trying again if conditions become more favorable.
I'd guess #1 is the preferred option for the city. If it's not possible, look for some form of option 2. I can't see a complete abandonment happening, given that the amount of public money involved is fairly small and the lack of any organized opposition to the citywide WiFi initiative. What do you think?
Here's the fuller version of the story about the FTA telling Metro to resubmit paperwork for federal funding. It was front page above the fold in today's Chron, and it sounds more alarming than it did yesterday.
An unexpected demand for additional justification for two planned Houston light rail lines raises doubts about Metro's relationship with a federal agency it is counting on for funding, Metro President Frank Wilson said Tuesday.A letter from Sherry Little, deputy administrator of the Federal Transit Administration, withdraws that agency's approval of preliminary engineering studies and other elements of rail lines planned for the North and Southeast corridors.
The letter, which Wilson said arrived Friday, said Metro must do additional environmental studies, including public hearings, before it can acquire land and start construction. It said Metro's October decision to build light rail in all five of its transit corridors, rather than bus rapid transit that could be converted to rail in four of them, requires the extra information and review.
Wilson said Metro already had provided almost all of the requested information and can quickly generate the rest. He said, however, that the letter's content and tone suggest that the healthy working relationship the two agencies have enjoyed may be deteriorating.
"There is a very hard edge to this letter," Wilson said. "They're acting as if light rail transit is a whole different planet" from bus rapid transit, when "the only real difference is the vehicle."
[...]
Metro is seeking federal funds to cover half the costs of the Southeast, North and University lines, but plans to pay for the Uptown and East End lines with local funds.
Wilson said the transit administration previously "gave us every indication that what we were talking about was great." He suggested that something other than procedural or technical considerations may be in play.
"I don't know what's behind the letter," Wilson said. "I don't know the motivation."
An FTA spokesman said the agency would have no comment.
Wilson said he was particularly perplexed by a sentence in Little's letter stating that Metro must demonstrate its technical capacity to build and operate a light rail line.
"Just look out my window," he said, nodding toward the Main Street rail line that his office overlooks. Wilson said the Main Street line, which opened in 2004, carries 45,000 riders daily, a volume it was not projected to reach until 2030.
The letter itself is here (PDF). Christof is quoted in the story saying that this is not a big deal, and has a comment on my earlier post saying the same thing, with the additional point that some of METRO's engineering staff were expecting this. So perhaps it's not all that alarming.
But still. One can't help but wonder where this is coming from. And one need not look far for a possible suspect.
U.S. Reps. Gene Green and Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston Democrats who have supported Metro's plans, said they would try to help resolve the issues cited in Little's letter.Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, who has been a persistent critic of Metro's plans, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
Culberson, of course, has a long history of obstruction with METRO and its attempts to get FTA funding for the 2012 plan. I don't know if he had anything to do with this, but it's not exactly wandering into conspiracy-theory territory to imagine the possibility that he might have. The good news is that the two lines mentioned in this letter, the North and Southeast lines, are not in Culberson's district, so his influence (if he is attempting to wield it) would be limited. Let's hope this turns out to be much ado about nothing.
Now that filing season has begun, here are the races where I'm most anxious to see who (or if) the opposition candidate will be. In some cases, there may be a candidate out there and I've just not heard about him or her. I think in most of these cases, I'm not even aware of a rumored candidate. Let's take a look:
Supreme Court, Place 1 - Someone has to run against Chief Justice Wallace Jefferson, right?
Court of Criminal Appeals - If the Dems fail to field anyone here, or (sigh) get nothing but another dose of JR Molina, Grits and I are gonna be pissed.
Harris County Sheriff - Is Adrian Garcia in, or isn't he? Far as I know, nobody knows for sure right now. I'm aware of other possibilities, some better than others, if Garcia decides not to jump in. I'd rather have Garcia, but right now I just want to know where we stand.
By the way, if you're wondering why I didn't list Tax Assessor here, the answer is that I am now aware of a very good candidate for this office. I am not yet at liberty to discuss this candidate, however. But we have one, so even though this person has not yet filed, I know it's coming. Stay tuned.
Congressional District 7 - As above, I am aware of two possibilities, neither of which I can disclose yet, but I don't know whether one will yield to the other, or if we'll have another contested primary. I expect to hear something on this very soon.
My Eight for 08 State House seats - Ginny McDavid is running in HD138, I figure one way or another Dan Barrett will be on the ballot in HD97, and I've heard the faintest whisper of a rumor about HD26. Beyond that, I'm waiting. I figure most of these seats will draw contenders, it's just a matter of whom.
Congressional District 32, State Senate District 4 - Two from Dallas County, each reasonably competitive. I have to figure that after the success of 2006, the Dallas folks will want to put up a real fight for these, but as yet I've heard nada.
State House Districts 134, 137, and 143 - Only three State House Dems from Harris County faced an opponent in 2006. Hubert Vo has one again, but as yet Scott Hochberg and Ana Hernandez have none. For that matter, freshman Ellen Cohen has no known opponent. Will the local GOP give them all a pass, so it can concentrate on playing defense?
State House District 145 - Both for the primary - is Carol Alvarado really in? - and for the general - will the GOP leave this open seat uncontested?
On a related note, yesterday I heard of a primary opponent against my State Rep., Jessica Farrar. I'm going to keep this one pretty simple, because as far as I'm concerned, Farrar = good, anyone running against her = bad. I'm sure I'll have more to say about this one soon, but for now, that's all there is to it for me.
What filings are you waiting on?
We don't get a whole lot of D-versus-R elections for Justice of the Peace around here - by my count, only three of the fourteen JP races in the past two cycles had both a Dem and a Republican in them (a fourth was GOP versus Libertarian). We've got at least one interesting primary election shaping up for a JP seat, and now I know there will be at least one contested general election. Peter Rene will run against Justice of the Peace Russ Ridgway in Precinct 5, Place 1. Ridgway was the JP with the Lib challenger back in 2004, winning that race easily. Precinct 5 is huge, and generally pretty Republican - of 285,955 ballots cast, Ridgway was named on 174,202, or just over 60% of them. I'd have to do some digging to figure out what State Rep and Congressional districts it intersects with - much of CD07, I'd venture to guess - but with the coordinated countywide campaign for the Democratic judicial slate, I expect there will be some effort to raise the overall Democratic performance in the area. Rene has told me that he plans to run a ground campaign, and knock on a lot of doors. So, if you live in the area, check out Peter Rene, as he'll be on your ballot this spring and fall.
Following up on the earlier bloggage about the Texas Education Agency and its curious position on scientific neutrality, Bluedaze and PDiddie round up more reactions and commentary, to which I'll add Wonkette (never a good sign for a government agency to be blogged about by Wonkette), Wired News, and the Waco Trib's John Young:
When it comes to explaining human origins and early man, don't forget:The club came before fire.
Long before man figured out that lumber could be burned to illuminate and heat the cave, he knew that he could wield lumber to clobber his fellow man.
That was the case in Austin the other day in a 21st-century way.
A person whose job was illumination got clubbed.
Finally, the most interesting thing I've read on this topic comes from Hope, who knew TEA hatchetwoman Lizzette Reynolds from several years ago, and was surprised to hear of her role in this fiasco. Check it out.
UPDATE: The Chron jumps in as well.
The theater troupe known as Infernal Bridegroom Productions, which shut its doors several months ago due to financial strife, has been reborn under a new name.
You wouldn't think anything "catastrophic" would prompt an eager welcome.But when theater fans learn that Jason Nodler and Tamarie Cooper, two of Houston's most intrepid pioneers of venturesome theater, will be back in the spring with a new company called the Catastrophic Theatre, many may be breaking out the champagne.
For more than a decade, Nodler and Cooper have been among our foremost makers of provocative theater -- chiefly at Infernal Bridegroom Productions, the company they co-founded in 1993 and helped develop into Houston's leading avant-garde theater.
When IBP ceased operations in July because of financial difficulties, it was one of the Houston cultural scene's more disheartening turns of recent years.
Nodler said Tuesday that his new company's programming "will be comprised exclusively of works that concern themselves with the strange condition of being a human animal living on the planet Earth -- no other rules apply."
Catastrophic Theatre will launch with a four-play festival to be produced in April-July at the University of Houston School of Theatre and Dance, Discovery Green, DiverseWorks and Stages Repertory Theatre.
Dates and titles for that series will be announced in January. The company will announce a fall 2008 season later in the year.
Good to hear. IBP was a uniquely Houston asset. I'm very happy to hear that it will live on in this form.
Looking for a special gift for that devout atheist in your life? It might be harder than you think to find something appropriate. According to Greg Beato, atheists are way behind the entrepreneurial curve.
Look for atheist perfume, and you'll be looking for eternity. Try to find the works of Bertrand Russell packaged like the latest issue of Self or Cosmo, as the publishing company Thomas Nelson does with the Bible. ("Becoming is the complete New Testament in magazine format, but it wouldn't be a culture 'zine if it didn't address men, beauty, fitness and food!") Search for the atheist equivalent to Christian yo-yos and Christian neckties, and you will come up as empty-handed as Mother Teresa passing the plate at Christopher Hitchens' dinner table.To many freethinkers, the idea of atheist lip balm or atheist jelly beans may be even less appealing than Christian lip balm and Christian jelly beans. One virtue of non-belief is that not every aspect of your life has to be yoked to some clingy deity who feels totally left out if you don't include Him in everything you do. And then there's the logical disconnect: What does candy have to do with atheism? Why not stick with books, arguments, reason?
If today's Christian entrepreneurs thought like that, atheists might not have to be concerned about their own current marginalization. Instead of fretting about "obscene spending bonanzas" or admitting that jelly beans are mentioned in the Bible exactly as often as Homo habilis is, Christian entrepreneurs embrace pop culture. They recognize what the consumer puritans behind efforts like Buy Nothing Day never quite grasp: that the stuff we buy, from lipstick to Star Wars figurines, helps to fashion identities, to build communities, to infuse our lives with purpose and meaning.
Amusing stuff. Check it out.
Here. Worth your time to read - kudos to Matt Glazer and Judge Criss for the effort. Check it out.
From Team Noriega:
In an unprecedented early show of confidence in a candidate for the race for U.S. Senator from Texas, Democratic members of the Texas Delegation in the U.S. House of Representatives today endorsed Texas State Representative Rick Noriega in his quest to win the Democratic nomination in March, and the General Election in November, 2008.
The following U.S. House members endorsed Rep. Noriega in the U.S. Senate race: Reps. Al Green, Ruben Hinojosa, Silvestre Reyes, Chet Edwards, Sheila Jackson-Lee, Charlie Gonzalez, Nick Lampson, Ciro Rodriguez, Lloyd Doggett, Solomon P. Ortiz, Gene Green, and Eddie Bernice Johnson.
"Rick Noriega is the candidate in this race whose entire life represents his commitment to profound service to our nation's military service and public service," said the members of the Texas Delegation. "From the halls of the University of Houston under an ROTC scholarship, to the halls of Harvard, to the Texas National Guard, to the halls of the State Capitol, to the mountains of Afghanistan after 9-11, and to the Texas border with Operation Jumpstart ˆ we know that Rick Noriega is the candidate to best serve Texans in the United States Senate."
"On the defining issues of the day - national security, border security, health insurance for our children, and fiscal responsibility - Rick is uniquely positioned, by virtue of his life experience, to best serve Texas interests in the U.S. Senate," the members agreed. "U.S. military policy will long command the attention of future Congresses. Rick's understanding of on-the-ground logistics - as well as abilities and limitations - of our military will be a fresh and important voice in the Senate on military issues."
Excellent. It may not seem like a big deal for a bunch of Democratic members of Congress to endorse a Democrat running for Senate, but 1) it's never a trivial thing to get a bunch of Democrats to agree on anything; 2) the more unified Noriega's support is here, the more likely he'll get support from the national folks; and 3) this is still a contested primary, however loosely that's being defined.
You may be wondering about that thirteenth member of Congress. That would be Rep. Henry Cuellar, and as usual, he's doing his own thing.
U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, says he will not be endorsing Democrat Rick Noriega for U.S. Senate - at least not yet.Cuellar told the Guardian that he does not endorse challengers over incumbents. The incumbent in this case is U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.
"I am supporting the straight Democratic Party ticket," Cuellar said. "I am more than sure he (Noriega) will be the nominee, so I will be supporting him. (But) I am not gonna get involved right now in any primaries. Come the primary, then straight party ticket, I support the straight party ticket; that includes Rick Noriega."
Whatever. I swear, I keep trying to like Henry Cuellar, but the man just mystifies me sometimes.
Anyway. This announcement comes just ahead of the news of a new poll on Sen. John Cornyn's job performance. Again from the Noriega campaign:
A new Lake Research Partners' survey of likely voters in Texas shows that Republican Senator John Cornyn is very vulnerable in his 2008 bid for reelection. Currently, fewer than half of voters have a favorable impression of him, his job-performance ratings are netnegative, and only a third support him for reelection. The winds of change are blowing in Texas, and John Cornyn should be on the list of endangered Republican Senators.Senator Cornyn is vulnerable for these reasons:
1. Cornyn has an extremely weak profile. Thirty-eight percent of likely voters are unable to rate Cornyn - 24% have heard of him but have no opinion about him, while 14% have never heard of him even though he has served in the Senate for five years and as Texas Attorney General for 4 years before that. Overall, only 40% of voters rate him favorably, while 22% rate him unfavorably. A well-respected Senator would have favorable to unfavorable ratio of about 3-to 1, but Cornyn's ratio is only 1.8-to 1.
2. Voters dislike the job Cornyn is doing in the Senate. Cornyn's job performance numbers are net-negative. Forty-one percent of voters rate Cornyn's performance as either just fair or poor, while only 36% rate it excellent or good. Almost a quarter are unable to rate his performance at all (23% do not know). Conversely, the most recent publicly available data shows Senator Hutchison with a job approval rating of 58%.
3. Cornyn has weak re-elect numbers, and this race is wide-open. Only three in ten voters (31%) say they will vote to reelect the incumbent, while 16% say they will vote to replace him. More than half (53%) will consider someone else or do not know if they would support his re-election.
4. President Bush cannot save Cornyn. While Cornyn has been Bush's most loyal supporter in the Senate, it is unlikely that Bush can help given his poor ratings. More than half of voters (53%) have an unfavorable impression of the President, including 37% who intensely dislike him. Forty-two percent rate Bush favorably (only 20% are very favorable). In fact, voter pessimism goes beyond Bush, with 62% of Texas believing the country is off on the wrong track and only 28% believing things are headed in the right direction.
In sum, Senator Cornyn has a weak public profile that is vulnerable to further negative definition. He has a small base of political support, and he cannot count on help from a weakened president. Even in Texas, voters want change. Come next November, Cornyn could be another Republican casualty. Democrat Rick Noriega, a veteran, has a unique profile that can make this an upset race if he has the resources to communicate his message and define Cornyn.
You know what to do about that last bit. A PDF copy of the memo is here. More to come soon.
Mere formality, or potential genuine stumbling block? Beats me.
Federal transit officials have told the Metropolitan Transit Authority it must re-apply for approval of its preliminary engineering work for planned light rail lines in the north and southeast corridors.The Federal Transit Administration's decision was prompted by Metro's announcement that it would build rail rather than bus rapid transit in the two corridors, according to a letter from Sherry E. Little, the agency's deputy administrator, to Metro chief executive Frank Wilson.
Metro spokesman George Smalley said he believed federal funding for the projects was secure. He said Metro officials were trying to determine whether the letter from the FTA would affect the timetable for the north and southeast corridor projects.
[...]
Before the north and southeast projects can be considered for re-approval of preliminary engineering, the FTA must review Metro's updated travel forecasts and capital cost estimates, Little said in the letter to Wilson.
After that review is complete, she wrote, Metro must submit a full application including an updated financial plan, transit-supportive land-use plans and other documentation before the projects can proceed.
What happens if the FTA decides Metro's new travel forecasts are inaccurate or insufficient? Do they go back to BRT again, or do they try to figure out some alternative means of funding the desired light rail? I don't know, and I bet they hope it's nothing more than a theoretical concern. We'll see.
This could open up a sixpack of worms.
A joint venture led by a road construction company and an engineering firm has asked Harris County to enter into a public-private partnership to build and operate the 197-mile Grand Parkway as a toll road.Commissioners Court will consider today whether it wants to study the unsolicited offer to undertake the $5.3 billion project to build an outermost ring skirting the metropolitan area.
"It's intriguing because we have not seen details of the proposal," said Art Storey, director of the county's public infrastructure department.
"It appears that it would allow us to retain some control of the project, (rely on) the local construction community and get financing for the project guaranteed."
[...]
Storey said the joint venture proposal envisions the Harris County Toll Road Authority serving as the project's managing partner.
Under a partnership, the county and the joint venture could agree to have the toll road authority operate the Grand Parkway and retain some of the revenue, Storey said.
The subject of toll roads in general, and privatized toll roads in particular, is pretty contentious these days. What I'm seeing here seems to avoid some of the bigger areas of controversy - there's no competing free road that might be left to rot if the private toller doesn't meet its revenue projections, and HCTRA would retain some control as well as the revenue, using the private investor as a funding mechanism for construction, instead of taking an already-existing asset and selling it off for nebulous purposes. There's still a billion details to learn about, and there's still the question of whether or not the project as proposed is worth the cost - the people living in Spring and Greatwood would certainly question that.
The idea of a Grand Parkway encircling the metropolitan area outside Highway 6 has been around for decades. Critics long have contended that it is a highway sought by road builders and developers who intend to build subdivisions and strip malls in the still undeveloped areas.
Um, yeah. I don't even think this is in dispute any more. If it weren't for developers and real estate speculators (often one and the same, at least in this case), there would be no Grand Parkway.
Regardless of one's stance in that debate, the Legislature and TxDOT have decided the Grand Parkway will be built.Delvin Dennis, TxDOT's deputy district engineer in the Houston area, said some areas where the highway would be built are rural now, but will not be in 10 to 20 years.
It would be easier and cheaper to build the road now before the largely rural area is developed, he said.
I realize it's pointless to argue against a done deal, but it doesn't - or at least, it didn't - have to be the case that all that rural land will get gobbled up by suburban tract development. Instead of spending the money to build that huge road out in the middle of what is now nowhere, we could have chosen to spend money on urban core infrastructure, including transit, in order to support denser development. There will always be people who want to live in the far-flung areas, but that doesn't mean it's good public policy to enable it. We could have chosen a different path, is all I'm saying.
The Veterans Committee has enshrined a half dozen executives and managers, and their list contains a surprise.
At last, Bowie Kuhn beat Marvin Miller at something.The late commissioner was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Monday while Miller was rejected by a revamped Veterans Committee stacked with those he regularly opposed -- and beat -- in arbitration and bargaining sessions that altered the history of the game.
"Bowie was a close friend and a respected leader who served as commissioner during an important period in history, amid a time of change," commissioner Bud Selig said, adding: "I was surprised that Marvin Miller did not receive the required support given his important impact on the game."
Former Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley, managers Dick Williams and Billy Southworth and ex-Pirates owner Barney Dreyfuss also were elected.
Manager Whitey Herzog and umpire Doug Harvey each missed induction by a single vote.
Dreyfuss helped bring peace between the American and National Leagues by arranging the first World Series in 1903. O'Malley united the East and West Coasts under baseball's flag when he moved the Dodgers to Los Angeles after the 1957 season. Southworth and Williams won World Series titles.
Kuhn presided over the introduction of night games to the World Series and baseball's first, tentative steps into national marketing. But the game also changed in ways he fiercely resisted: Free agency, salary arbitration and dozens of other benefits that Miller won for the players as the head of their union.
I just can't wrap my mind around Bowie Kuhn in Cooperstown. Even as a kid, I could tell he was a joke. This is a pretty fair summary of his tenure as Commissioner:
Despite his frequent, albeit forced, accomodations of player demands, Kuhn was perceived as a tool of the owners and as overmatched by the head of the Players Association, Marvin Miller. Kuhn regularly chided the players for their demands, called them overpaid, and preached of the potential evils of free agency, all stances pleasing to his employers, the owners. But Kuhn's officious, pompous manner gained him enemies beyond the ranks of the players. His handling of an investigation of Cubs manager Leo Durocher ended in personal, although largely private, embarrassment. Writer Red Smith excoriated Kuhn in many columns, producing such bon mots during the 1981 strike as "this strike wouldn't have happened if Bowie Kuhn were alive today" and "an empty car pulled up and Bowie Kuhn got out." Kuhn also feuded with A's owner Charlie Finley, who referred to Kuhn as a "village idiot" and then apologized for the offense to village idiots. Kuhn vetoed some of Finley's innovations, and in 1973 he prevented Finley from vindictively placing second baseman Mike Andrews on the DL during the World Series following a costly error. Their biggest clash came when Kuhn voided the sales, and lopsided trades involving cash, of A's stars Vida Blue, Joe Rudi, and others. The players were going to leave Oakland as free agents to escape Finley's tyrannical ownership, and Finley was trying to get some value for them. Many owners in the past had sold off their stars; Connie Mack, who had guided the A's for a half-century, was famous for breaking up his great teams. But Kuhn ruled that Finley's deals were not "in the best interests of baseball." Kuhn also suspended Yankees owner George Steinbrenner for a year after he was convicted of perjury and making illegal contributions to the election campaign of Richard Nixon, and suspended Braves owner Ted Turner for tampering.Kuhn may ultimately be remembered for the spectacular growth of baseball in the 1970s and 1980s, a period that began with expansion in 1969, the same year Kuhn became Commissioner. Attendance in 1980 was more than triple what it had been in 1968, and television revenue was up more than $ 10 million dollars in the same period. But the eagerness of baseball to bow to the demands of network TV resulted in concessions criticized by purists. The most notable of these concessions was night baseball during the World Series. The first such game, in 1971, found Kuhn attending bareheaded and coatless despite the cold weather, with cameras frequently focusing on him in an attempt to deny the effects of the temperature.
It's even more galling to me to see Marvin Miller get screwed like this.
The veterans panel has been changed twice since 2001, when charges of cronyism followed the election of glove man Bill Mazeroski. The original 15-member panel was expanded to include every living member of the Hall, but that group failed to elect anyone in three tries.It was replaced by three separate panels -- one for players, one for managers and umpires and one for executives and pioneers, leaving Miller's fortunes largely in the hands of the same group he once fought in collective bargaining and the courts.
He did not come close, receiving only three of 12 possible votes. Under the previous system, Miller received 63 percent of the votes earlier this year while Kuhn got 17 percent .
I'll give Beelzebud Selig credit for championing Miller's candidacy. Marvin Miller was worth a dozen Bowie Kuhns, easy. Far as I'm concerned, as long as Kuhn is in and Miller is out, the Hall is terribly out of balance. Thanks to David Pinto for the link. AOL Fanhouse and King Kaufman have more.
Today is the last day to vote early for the City Council/HISD runoff elections. Polls will be open from 7 AM to 7 PM at one of these fine locations. If your experience is anything like mine was, when I was the first voter to show up at the West Gray Multipurpose Center a bit after 8 AM, you'll be in and out before you even realize it.
Here's a list of statements I have received from each of the Council candidates on the subject of why you should vote for them:
From Lawrence Allen, District D.
From Wanda Adams, District D.
From Michael Sullivan, District E.
From Annette Dwyer, District E.
From Jolanda Jones, At Large #5.
From Joe Trevino, At Large #5.
I did not get statements from the candidates in HISD II, but I think the choice there is clear: Carol Mims Galloway is the superior candidate.
Anyway, there you have it. Go be one of the select (very) few and make your voice heard. Runoff Day itself is this Saturday, December 8.
The Democrats up in Tarrant County are feeling pretty good about their chances to make electoral gains next year.
Local Democrats are feeling a new sense of urgency to put up a fight in every race, even the long shots. The main motivator: last year's surprise Democratic sweep in Dallas County."Right now, we're all thinking, 'Look what happened over there,'" said Stephen Maxwell, a Fort Worth lawyer who is running to lead the Tarrant County Democratic Party after the current chairman, Art Brender, steps down in May.
"The time has come to show that we have a Democrat on every race on the ballot. It's a different world."
[...]
"I've had friends who say, 'I'll start running when Democrats start winning.' Well, they're not going to start winning until we start running," said Randy Turner, a Fort Worth lawyer making his first run for judge of the 17th District Court. "It's a catch-22."
It's fair to say that Tarrant County was less red in 2006 than it was in 2002, at least compared to the state as a whole. Here's a spreadsheet that compares the GOP vote percentage in Tarrant to that of the state for each of the nine non-judicial statewide races in 2002 and 2006. In 2002, the GOP vote share in Tarrant County for the Senate race was 3.96% higher than it was overall; in 2006, the share was only 2.17% higher. Every race saw similar drops; in the case of the Governor's race, Tarrant was slightly less Republican than the state was. Overall, Tarrant was 5.02% more Republican than the state was in 2002, but only 1.13% more Republican in 2006. That's not exactly a juggernaut, but it is progress.
Keith Annis, treasurer of the Tarrant County Young Democrats and a veteran campaign worker, said it's not always smart to run a candidate for the sake of having a Democrat on the ballot."If you put a good candidate in a race they're not likely to win, you run the risk of having that candidate burned out for future races," Annis said.
[...]
[M]any local Democrats believe their party could gain ground in 2008.
Activists point to recent Democratic victories in Dallas County as a symbol of hope and a blueprint for success. In 2006, Democratic candidates were all over the ballot in Dallas. Using a campaign strategy focused more on party affiliation than experience or positions on the issues, the Democrats swept 47 races, completely overturning Dallas County's political leadership.
Many Republicans say it's unrealistic to think that what happened in Dallas County could happen in Tarrant County anytime soon.
"I'd hate to have [the Dallas model] as my political strategy. That's wishful thinking," said Paul Benson, a Fort Worth-based Republican consultant and an assistant professor of government at Tarrant County College.
Benson said Dallas' demographics trended Democratic for years before the entire county made the switch in 2006. Tarrant isn't at that point, and putting effort into unwinnable races is a waste of the local party's resources, he said.
"Tarrant County is not Dallas County. It's that simple," Benson said. "The demographics aren't the same."
John Todd, associate professor of political science at the University of North Texas in Denton, said Tarrant County probably has more Democratic voters than it did a few years ago, but the GOP base vote in the county still appears to be larger.
"I think it's likely that Republicans still have an edge, but I think it may be getting more competitive for the Democrats," Todd said.
Couple things here. First, as a supporter of Run.Everywhere, I'd rather encourage than discourage people from getting into a race. That said, the concept obviously works better if those who do get in do so with the mindset that it's going to take a lot of work, much of which is fundraising, to make a difference as a candidate. I'm not so worried about burning candidates out. Gaining campaign experience, proving yourself as someone who can raise funds and attract followers, generating name ID, learning from mistakes - these are all good things that can result from a losing campaign. Sometimes a closer-than-expected loss acts as a proof of concept that a previously ignored office is in fact winnable. As long as everyone understands what's realistic for now, for the short term, and for the longer term, I say have at it.
Regarding strategy for Tarrant, I have to agree here with Benson and Todd. The demographics aren't there yet for Tarrant County. Winning is going to require persuasion more than turnout. That's harder to do, but in the end I think it's healthier. Expanding the base is never a bad idea.
BOR has more on this, from a local perspective. And as long as we're talking about Tarrant County, I'll note that former Fort Worth City Council member (and former Republican) Wendy Davis has officially filed for SD10. That along with SD11 here (go Joe!) and maybe SD04 in Dallas represents a great chane for the Democrats to gain ground in the upper chamber. Davis may yet have a primary opponent, possibly Brender, so keep an eye on that.
UPDATE: The Mid Cities Democrats have sent out the following press release this morning:
The Mid-Cities Democrats, the largest Democratic grassroots organization in Tarrant County, is proud to announce the filing of Watauga resident, and computer technician for the Keller Independent School District, Christopher Utchell for the Democratic nomination for State Representative in House District 91. Mr. Utchell filed the necessary paperwork for the 2008 Democratic ballot on Monday, December 3, 2007.
The Chris Utchell for Texas House Campaign will focus on improving Texas public education, reining in out of control utility rates, and restoring S-CHIP access to Texas children. Chris is opposed to assessing tolls on existing freeways and government seizure of property to benefit the well connected. Chris believes that the power in Austin needs to be taken away from the high-dollar special interests and returned to the people of Texas.
"Our grassroots campaign will take our message to the people of House District 91 so we can change the way business is conducted down in Austin. We must restore people oriented politics and remove special interest politics from the state house," said Mr. Utchell.
Chris is an active member of the Mid-Cities Democrats, and group leader of the North Central Democrats. He has been involved in Democratic politics since high school, when he worked on his first gubernatorial campaign. Most recently, Chris was the campaign manager for former North Richland Hills city councilman, Byron Sibbet, in his grassroots campaign to represent District 91 in 2006.
Mr. Utchell, 43, has spent the past 10 years as a resident of Watauga. Chris has been a computer technician in Keller since 2000. Before that, he spent 10+ years in retail management. He and his wife Sherry, an elementary school secretary, have four children, three of whom are current high school students. Chris is a member of the Richland Hills Church of Christ, in North Richland Hills.
HD91 is pretty red, but definitely the kind of district you want to be active in as you work to change people's minds.
It appears that the Criss/Yanez dilemma, in which sitting Judges Susan Criss and Linda Yanez have announced their intention to run for the same State Supreme Court seat, will not come to a resolution that allows both candidates on the ballot in November. According to this subscriber-only Texas Lawyer article, the two tried to come to an agreement, but never could.
Yanez and Criss tried to mediate their differences in September. Yanez says Houston solo Barbara Radnofsky suggested the mediation, which Radnofsky conducted in her home.Radnofsky, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully against U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in 2006, confirms she conducted the mediation but declines further comment.
Yanez says the mediation lasted about four hours. "It didn't work," Yanez says, adding that Criss was set on running for the Place 8 seat.
"I told her then that I was not going to throw away thousands of dollars spent on campaign materials and petition-gathering to start over," Criss says.
[...]
Criss suggests that Yanez could make history by running for chief justice of the currently all-Republican Texas Supreme Court.
"There are no Hispanic chief justices on any Supreme Court in the country," Criss says. "She really could make history by becoming the first Hispanic chief justice."
Yanez calls that suggestion a gimmick. "This is a serious race," she says. "I am a serious candidate."
However, Criss says she didn't make the suggestion until after Yanez accused her of standing in the way of history by stopping Yanez from becoming the first Latina on the Texas Supreme Court. That occurred at a July meeting between the two candidates, Criss says.
That's not true, Yanez says. "When I give my speeches, I talk about the element of the historical significance of my race," she says. "But I have even gone so far as to say that is not the reason anybody should vote for me."
Yanez has made history in the past. Appointed to the 13th Court in 1993 by then-Gov. Ann Richards, Yanez is the first Hispanic woman to serve on an appeals court in Texas history, according to her biography posted on the 13th Court's Web site. The 13th Court sits in Corpus Christi and Edinburg.
When asked if she would consider switching races this year, Yanez responds, "Absolutely not. . . . I've announced for this seat, and I intend to file for it."
Criss, who voters first elected to the 212th District Court in 1998, says that Emmett Sheppard, then president of the Texas AFL-CIO, and Boyd Ritchie, chairman of the Texas Democratic Party, asked her in late April to run for the state Supreme Court. That occurred on the last weekend in April, Criss says, noting that she had decided by the start of the next week to run for the Place 8 seat.
"I suggested that she run," Sheppard says of Criss.
"We encouraged her to run for the Supreme Court -- not any specific seat on the court -- the same as we encouraged Justice Linda Yanez," says Ritchie, the Young County attorney. "Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine they'd end up running for the same seat."
With all due respect, I think you need wilder dreams, Boyd. The seat they're both running for is held by an appointee, Philip Johnson, who beat a Libertarian in 2006 for the unexpired term of his office. The other two are held by justices who have already won a full term in a statewide race against a Democrat. Place 8 is the obvious first choice for anyone looking to run.
Criss says she suggested to Boyd that he call Yanez to get her to run for the Supreme Court.A few weeks after deciding to run for Place 8, Criss says that she called Yanez and suggested that Yanez run for the Place 7 position held by Justice Dale Wainwright. "I told her, "I think this is our time,'" Criss recalls.
As we now know, and as the article discusses later, there are now two candidates running for Justice Wainwright's seat as well. It looks to me like Chief Justice Jefferson will get a pass, however.
I can't say I'm happy about the way this has turned out. It's good that we have well-qualified candidates who want to make statewide runs like these, and I hope the nature of this primary will help elevate the profile of each candidate. I'd still have preferred that one or the other of Criss and Yanez had chosen to run against Jefferson, but I can't tell from the story who decided on Place 8 first, and I can't blame either of them for wanting to stay put. So, let's fight it out, and may the best candidate win. According to her press release, Judge Yanez filed yesterday, and Judge Criss tells me she will file later this week. Assuming nothing changes, we should at least have ourselves an interesting race.
At the bottom of Clay Robison's column yesterday is a mention about what should be another one of the high profile State House races for next year:
Amber Moon, communications director for the Texas Democratic Party, is thinking about returning home to Pasadena to run for the legislative seat being vacated by Republican Robert Talton, who is running for Congress.Moon, 28, still has a lot of personal ties in the district and worked for two years for former U.S. Rep. Ken Bentsen, when he represented the area in Washington.
Businessman Ken Legler already is running for the Republican nomination, and Fred Roberts, a member of the Pasadena school board, also has been eying a GOP primary race.
Although the district has been in Republican hands for several years, Moon believes a Democrat could be competitive.
It's been trending blue, that's for sure. I've mentioned it before, but though it's not listed on the electoral analysis for HD144, Jim Sharp got 46% of the vote there. As an open seat, and without something like HD134 to dominate everyone's attention locally, this one should be near the forefront. I've heard rumors for weeks about whether Amber or someone else (at least two other names have been floated) will jump in. It looks now like it'll be Amber, but nothing is certain until filing is finished. Stay tuned.
As we race towards the finish line for 2007, there's always time to pause for another weekly roundup of the Texas Progressive Alliance blogs. Coming soon: an announcement of the 2007 Texan of the Year. See Vince for more on that, and click on for more of the bloggy stuff.
What happens when it rains and containers holding lethal chemicals overflow into creek beds? See How Are Injection Well and Gas Coupling Inspections Alike? for another example of RRC negligence that puts Texans at risk. Brought to you by TXsharon at Bluedaze.
Refinish69 from Doing My Part For The Left shares his memories of loved one lost to AIDS in his World AIDS Day diary and podcast.
Gary at Easter Lemming Liberal News observes the devolving of Texas Education.
Jaye at Winding Road asks "What if abortion is outlawed in a Republican administration?"
Xanthippas at Three Wise Men informs you that when it's the National Football League versus Big Cable, the only loser is you.
Vince at Capitol Annex takes a look at the Interim Charges for committees of the Texas House in the 80th Legislature in three posts, as well as Tom Craddick's views on the charges.
The Texas GOP is gearing up a sophisticated voter suppression effort for the 2008 elections. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs forwards the Lone Star Project's comprehensive report.
The Texas Cloverleaf tells us that TxDOT can no longer plead poverty! It just received a Christmas gift of $3.197 Billion from NTTA for the rights to build SH 121 Toll.
Hal at Half Empty reports that the Republican Party of Fort Bend County has taken a radical shift to the right as neoconservative evangelicals have taken over their county party leadership.
Lightseeker at Texas Kaos looks at the mess Texas Education Agency has become with TEA: We must remain neutral on junk science theory. This should be enough to make parents either vote or move to get their kids out of the Texas school systems.
Matt Glazer at Burnt Orange Report talks about the Texas Internet Revolution and the good publicity TexBlog PAC has been getting recently.
Stunned about the tuition increases at UT Law? So was Closet Purist at McBlogger who takes a detailed look at how UT Law compares to Harvard and Yale and asks, what do you get for the money?
You may have heard the right-wing echo chamber saying that the surge is working in Iraq, or that things are going better now. Texas Toad at North Texas Liberal gives us the real deal in "Some Perspective on the Surge."
CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme notes that federal rules allow ferry
security guards to sleep on the job. Republicans say they care about security, but prove they don't.
Off the Kuff exercises his privilege as a blogger to nitpick an article about the rise of the netroots in Texas.
Eye On Williamson takes a look at the retirement of Rep. Mike Krusee in Why We Won't Have Mike Krusee To Kick Around Anymore.
I'll be doing quick hit posts like this as news of various candidate announcements comes my way...
I received a press release from a fellow named Sam Murphey, who is running as a Democrat in HD55, the open seat that had belonged to Diane White Delisi.
Today I am here to announce my candidacy for State Representative, District 55. We are pleased and proud that you all are here to show your support. As someone who has spent 38 years in service to our country both in and out of uniform and 44 years as a resident of Bell County, I care deeply about Texas and the Bell County in which our children and grandchildren will grow up, marry, have families of their own, and make their future. We all want to see a Texas where our children can grow up healthy, get a good education in our public schools, and have a fair opportunity to attend an affordable Texas college or university. We should expect a Texas where working families aren't drowned by sky high utility bills, over priced insurance rates, expensive toll roads and high taxes.Our state government faces serious challenges in the years ahead in many areas. Transportation, health care, education and agriculture are just a few. We need positive change in Austin to solve these problems, and it will take new leadership to make that change happen. We need to end the partisan bickering that now prevails in Austin and put Texas families first, not special interests.
Today I am here because I believe I am the best qualified candidate in this race to move Texas toward these goals. I have defended America in uniform during times of peace and war at lonely outposts around the globe. I have worked hard for the families of Bell County and Fort Hood as a senior member of Congressman Chet Edwards' staff. And I have helped to grow and promote business and economic development in Bell County through leadership in area Chambers of Commerce. This experience, along with my proven leadership ability, sets me apart from others in this race.
Together we can help end the divisive partisanship that has raged in Austin for the past several years and bring back the spirit of cooperation and bipartisanship that has traditionally been the hallmark of the Texas legislature. Together we can find solutions to the difficult problems facing our State and our County; quality education for our children, safe and accessible roads for personal travel and vital commerce, health care for all our citizens, and agriculture to maintain plentiful and affordable food for our families' dinner tables.
Today is the first day of our campaign effort. This election is about who has the experience and proven record of leadership to get real results for Bell County in Austin. Over the coming months, our campaign will work hard to earn the support of Democrats, Republicans, and Independents across Bell County.
My name is Sam Murphey. Today it is my honor to file my application for State Representative, District 55 and formally place my name on the ballot.
I'm thrilled to see a candidate like this step up in a red district like HD55. This looks like a very tough row to hoe, but if the HDCC is involved (as is clear from the email I got), then this is a race to watch.
Here in Houston, Ginny McDavid will make her official filing for HD138 tomorrow.
FILING PARTYCome join us for Virginia's Filing Party!
Tuesday, 12/4/07
4:30 pm - join us at HCDP
Headquarters for Virginia's filing
(1445 North Loop West)
5:30 - 7:30 pm-Reception at Cavatore's
(2120 Ella Blvd.)* CPA for 19 years; public & private industry experience
* Flight attendant with over 17 years experience with a major international carrier
* Awarded Civilian Desert Shield & Desert Storm Medal by the US Air Force
* Active in the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Air Transport District 142
* Democrat challenging Republican incumbent Dwayne Bohac in Texas House District 138
Where HD55 is red, HD138 is purple. With all the attention Harris County is going to get next year, this ought to be a high profile race. Stay tuned.
Exploring no more, Rick Noriega is now officially a candidate for Senate.
State Rep. Rick Noriega, of Houston, officially filed today as a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate. Noriega called the war in Iraq an occupation and assailed incumbent U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of pandering on immigration."America wins wars. We are in an occupation of a country," Noriega said of Iraq.
Noriega said the nation needs to refocus the war on terror on fighting al-Qaida in Afghanistan and set a timetable for getting out of Iraq. He said Iraq needs a political solution, not a military one, but said the pullout should be done in a way to maintain security for U.S. troops.
Noriega also said Cornyn, a Republican, has been an obstructionist on getting meaningful immigration reform and border security passed in the U.S. Senate.
"It's unfortunate that he had to pander to extreme ideological group on this issue," Noriega said. "We have people who want to be obstructionist and use this as a wedge."
Noriega said comprehensive immigration reform is necessary to secure the border while still providing workers for American businesses.
I can't tell you how excited I am about Noriega's candidacy. I mean, you've probably figured most of it out by now, based on everything I've written so far. But still. I'm jazzed about this.
Click on for the campaign's press release, and a draft copy of Noriega's remarks. I'm expecting some video tomorrow.
Press release:
State Representative Rick Noriega officially became a candidate for the United States Senate today, the first day of filing for the 2008 election, answering the call to serve from a network of Democratic Texas grassroots community leaders.
"Leaders in Washington are out of touch with the fundamental values of regular Texans," said Noriega, a five-term state legislator and Lieutenant Colonel in the Texas National Guard. "This is a mission to reclaim our United States Senate seat. This is a mission to restore true Texas values. This is a mission on behalf of millions of regular Texans who are ready to reclaim America's global standing, Texas' true values, and the voice in Washington that belongs not to the politicians, but to the people."
This morning, after a kick-off breakfast in his hometown of Houston, Noriega flew to Austin to file his candidacy papers with Texas Democratic Party Chair Boyd Richie.
Noriega, who served a 14-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, supports ending the war in Iraq and setting firm timetables for withdrawing troops. Noriega also outlined the need to provide veterans and their families with better medical care, and to help hard-working Texans afford health insurance, college and housing.
Noriega and his wife Melissa, a Houston City councilwoman, have two sons. Prior to his service in the state legislature and the Texas National Guard, Noriega taught in the Houston Independent School District and Houston Community College System and managed economic development for CenterPoint Energy.
Texas has never elected a Houston resident to the U.S. Senate. Several Senators from Texas were born in Houston, but lived elsewhere at the time of their election, and one Houstonian was appointed but served less than one month.
Prepared remarks:
Good morning. Today marks the last day of our Exploratory Campaign for the United States Senate and the first of my official candidacy to unseat Republican John Cornyn. It's time all Texans had representation in the United States Senate. It's time to put an end to the politics of division. It's now time to work together to get our country back on track.We are wasting no time. Today is the first day of the candidate filing period, and I have in hand the official forms, completed and signed, along with the candidate filing fee to offer myself for service as a Democratic candidate to be the next United States Senator to serve the Great State of Texas.
After a grueling legislative session, Melissa and I had long talks about the state of politics in Texas. Our concern is one shared by Texans across our state, we're frustrated with political leadership that is out-of-touch with the fundamental values of regular Texans. Texans want to invest in education, protect the health of children, and respect the privacy of law-abiding citizens.
We have long been involved at the grassroots level. But it had become increasingly clear that the politics of arrogance that puts special interests ahead of the public interest was coming from higher up the ladder. It was time to challenge the politics of Karl Rove. Their game plan has been to divide. Our mission must be to unite.
So in mid-June, in the heat of the summer, we launched our Exploratory campaign for the United States Senate. We traveled from Houston to Austin, Uvalde to Amarillo, Dallas to El Paso. We listened to people's hopes, dreams and concerns. We shared ideas on how we can bring an end to the War in Iraq and address the issues our families face here at home. And I challenged Texans from all walks of life to join me in answering the call. We launched our campaign at the foot of the Heroes of the Alamo statue. And everywhere we've traveled, Texans stepped up, crossed the line in the sand, and answered the call.
When you take the time to break bread with Texans, you see a very different picture than what is portrayed in the media. The media looks at John Cornyn's bank account, but voters look at their own - weighing the needs of saving for a college education for their children, while hopefully not letting go of their dreams for retirement. The media believes it's all about TV and negative attacks, but voters have become increasingly sophisticated. They don't believe everything they hear, and for good reason. And when it comes to joining hands with others to get our state and country back on track, they're willing and ready to get to work.
For Melissa and I, public service has always been a calling. I heard and answered the call as a young man, seeing the news as hundreds of Americans were taken hostage in our nation's Embassy in Iran. I've continued to answer the call in the National Guard, serving a tour of duty in Afghanistan alongside some everyday American heroes. I answered the call, as thousands of Texans did, doing my part to provide shelter and hope to families fleeing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Texans understand the difference between self-service and public service. Unfortunately, it's a lesson lost on the junior Senator from Texas. Today, we have the opportunity to correct course, and that's why I'm answering this next call to service to help get our country back on track.
We enter this campaign under no illusions. Few people today, if asked, recognize the name Rick Noriega. But when you go beyond the superficial questions, you'll find that millions share what our campaign stands for. This campaign is not about making my name a household name. It's not about a Democrat versus a Republican. It's not about two people, Rick Noriega versus John Cornyn. As we prepare to spend the next 11 months traveling this state, we plan to talk about who this campaign is really for. This campaign is for the moms, dads, and grandparents who are caring for the children of troops who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan over and over again. It's for our veterans who have served our country, but return home and carry on without adequate medical care, or health insurance for their children. And it's for the countless Texas families who work hard, yet find that health insurance, and college, and housing remain just out of reach.
For them, we can no longer call this an Exploratory Campaign. This is a mission to reclaim our United States Senate seat. This is a mission to restore true Texas values. There will be those who sit back and judge from the sidelines. But week-by-week, month-by-month, they will be outnumbered by the regular Texans who are ready to reclaim America's global standing, Texas' true values, and the United States Senate seat that belongs not to the politicians, but to the people.
(I have asked the candidates involved in next Saturday's runoff to send me a brief statement saying why people should vote for them in that runoff. I will run the responses for candidates for each race concurrently. This statement is from Annette Dwyer in District E.)
Why should voters of District E vote for Annette Dwyer? I believe that District E voters will agree that I am uniquely qualified to serve as their next council member for three reasons: Education, experience and a demonstrated commitment to serve.When it comes to experience, I am the only candidate in this race with a broad base of professional experience working in both the private and public sectors.
When it comes to education, residents of District E share a high level of education, and a strong commitment to supporting education to benefit our families and the future of our community. I share this commitment.
I am the only candidate in this race with a college degree. I worked hard to earn the money to put myself through college, and later through graduate school. I received a bachelor's degree in journalism and worked for a number of years as a newspaper reporter and editor. I earned a master's degree in public administration from the University of Houston Clear Lake, and put that education to use as an economic development planner with the Harris County Department of Community and Economic Development. I worked to develop county construction projects, learned the value of thoroughly analyzing contracts and budgets, and scrutinized proposed projects to make sure goals would be met and budgets adhered to.
No other candidate has this hands-on experience creating and improving infrastructure. The district relies on its council member to bring tax dollars back to the community for Capital Improvement Projects, including street improvements, flooding and drainage projects, libraries and fire stations, and other "big-ticket" items. There are a number of important projects that need to be completed in District E, and we can't afford to have a council member who needs "on-the-job" training, or who is still learning about budgets and contracts.
I have already demonstrated that I am not afraid to stand up against special interests to fight for what is right for the community. I spent more than three years leading efforts to bring the proposed San Jacinto Rail Line to a successful resolution, avoiding construction of a rail line which would have been used to transport highly toxic chemicals through residential areas. Residents of District E should expect nothing less of their council representative, and I will continue to fight for what is right for all areas of the district.
Residents throughout District E have expressed concerns about development, and possible negative impacts on our neighborhoods. I share these concerns and will work to make sure that future development has a positive, and not a negative, impact on our community. Because I have not received money from developers, I will be able to act in the best interests of District E residents.
Since 2001, I have served on the Citizens Advisory Committee for District E, and have earned the respect and trust of other community leaders throughout the district. I continue to serve on a number of boards dealing with civic and regional issues, including flooding, transportation, police staffing, business development and park space. I have met with the mayor, city council members, police chief and county commissioners, and with representatives from TxDOT, Harris County Flood Control and other organizations and agencies to take action and address these issues.
District E Voters -- I believe that District E deserves to be represented by a council member with education, experience, and a demonstrated commitment to working on issues and getting things done. I have built a reputation for taking action, solving problems and building consensus, and I ask for your vote on December 8.
For more information, please visit my web site at www.annettedwyer.com, or contact me at (832) 201 9009. Thank you for this opportunity to share my qualifications and my passion for public service.
Thank you, Annette Dwyer. Please click here for a statement from Michael Sullivan.
One can only hope that Rep. Phil King will meet a similar fate as his former colleague Kent Gruesendorf did. But at least he's got a challenger, one with a pretty extensive resume, and that's a good start.
Former U.S. House Republican leader Tom DeLay is political history, but Democrats still smarting from that congressional redistricting plan he engineered four years ago may want to keep an eye on an anticipated Republican race in North Texas.State Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, who sponsored the redistricting bill that booted several veteran Texas Democrats from Congress, is expected to be challenged in the GOP primary by Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison.
Tison was unavailable for comment late last week, but insiders said his announcement may come as early as today.
It has arrived. I received his press release this morning. It's beneath the fold for your perusal.
If so, it would mark the first time that King, first elected in 1998 in the largely Republican district west of Fort Worth, has been opposed in his own primary. The race also could affect the 2009 speaker's race because King is one of Speaker Tom Craddick's top loyalists.Tison, who has been Weatherford mayor since 2000, is being recruited by Texas Parent PAC, a pro-public schools political action committee that helped unseat several Craddick lieutenants in 2006.
Tison is definitely a ParentPAC kind of candidate - according to his release, he's an educator and was once named Superintendant of the Year by the Texas Association of School Boards. I've no doubt that on education issues, he'll be orders of magnitude better than King. As I expect education to be a dominating issue in 2009, I'll be rooting for Tison to win. Well, that and the redistricting thing. I admit, I've still got a grudge.
As for the effect on the Speaker's race, I have been told that Tison will not vote for Craddick. That's not what last year's crop of ParentPAC Republicans did, so even though I trust my source on this, I'm a bit wary. I'd like to see a public statement by Tison on the subject. Be that as it may, getting rid of Phil King has merit on its own. If it turns out we get another anti-Craddick vote out of the deal, I'll consider it to be gravy. Click on for Tison's press release.
Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison today announced he will run for the Texas House rather than seek a fifth term at City Hall, saying North Texas needs a positive new voice at the State Capitol working for better health care, education, and transportation services.
"This fast-growing area needs a representative whose top priorities are the hard-working families and small business owners of Parker and Wise counties, not the partisan agendas of politicians in Austin," Tison said.Tison, a former educator who started his career in the Aledo Independent School District and served as superintendent of the Weatherford Independent School District for more than a decade, has been Mayor of Weatherford since 2000. His term ends next spring.
"Over the past two years, I have been asked by many citizens of both Parker and Wise counties to consider running for state representative," Tison said. "I accept the challenge and look forward to a positive campaign on the issues our communities face."
Elected Weatherford mayor seven years ago, Tison promised to work hard to improve working relationships between members of the city council, strengthen leadership of the city's administration, address transportation issues, revitalize the downtown square, and strengthen economic development. He has earned praise for delivering on each of those promises, but he gives the credit to the city council and staff working collaboratively to meet the needs of Weatherford residents.
Tison was named Superintendent of the Year by the Texas Association of School Boards in 1992. Also during his tenure, the Weatherford School Board was honored as the Outstanding School Board of Texas by the Texas Association of School Administrators.
After leaving the Weatherford superintendency in 1997, Tison held positions as interim superintendent in Aledo, Duncanville, Grand Prairie, Joshua, and Allen. He also was interim president of Weatherford College in 2005.Among Tison's numerous awards are Weatherford Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Citizen, Weatherford High School Distinguished Alumni, and Weatherford College Distinguished Alumni.
Last year, Tison served as Campaign Chair for the United Way of Parker County. By implementing his vision of shared leadership, the United Way Board and volunteers exceeded their goal by more than 20 percent.He currently serves as Chair of the Weatherford Economic Development Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Weatherford College P-16 Committee and the Weatherford College Development Foundation.
Tison earned both a bachelor of science and a master of public school administration from North Texas State University. He and his wife Patsy have three grown children and two granddaughters and are active members of Central Christian Church in Weatherford.
(I have asked the candidates involved in next Saturday's runoff to send me a brief statement saying why people should vote for them in that runoff. I will run the responses for candidates for each race concurrently. This statement is from Michael Sullivan in District E.)
Thank you for allowing me to share my thoughts with you and your readers as to why they should vote for Mike Sullivan for Houston City Council, District E.
I have been campaigning for this position for 2 years, meeting with voters all across the district, from Clear Lake to Kingwood, and from the Hobby Airport area to the South Belt area. Residents throughout the district have been clear in what they expect from their Council Member, and I know that I can meet and exceed their expectations.
Once elected, my first step will be to put together the very best constituent service team at City Hall. I will be respectful, responsive, and resourceful in solving problems. I will "own" your problem until it is solved. I will also conduct frequent Town Hall meetings throughout the district to receive input from the residents of District E. Besides covering general topics of interest to residents, I will rotate specific themes, i.e., police and fire/EMS, solid waste, quality of life, ongoing project updates, and other timely topics.
Public safety issues are foremost on everyone's minds. Property crime is rampant and crimes against victims are more prevalent than anyone wants to admit. I have solid and straightforward plans on how we can improve our police coverage in our communities, resulting in "more boots on the ground tomorrow", all while we ramp up our cadet training program. This is why the Houston Police Officers' Union has endorsed me; they know I understand what needs to be done and that I will work with them to see it carried out.
Last, rest assured that no one will be able to return more tax dollars to District E than me. As a Community Liaison for Council Member Michael Berry since 2003, I have learned, through "hands on experience", how to deliver projects and funding to this council district. My work with Council Member Berry has been real, not some nebulous community activity in name only. I still have a City of Houston employee ID card and am at City Hall on a regular basis, learning all that I can to serve District E once elected.
I am also the only candidate in this race who owns their own business, has prior elected office experience (as a Trustee of the Humble Independent School District), and has actually worked at City Hall. This experience clearly sets me apart from my opponent.
Let me end by asking for your vote, and to share with you that the Houston Chronicle gave me their formal endorsement this Saturday, December 01, 2007. I am both honored and proud to also have the endorsement of Wil Williams, a former candidate in the District E race. Mr. Williams has supported me based on my ability to create working relationships with the diverse group of residents in this city, and because he and I share a common vision.
For more information, please go to my website, www.MikeSullivanCampaign.com, or call my campaign office at 713-554-9202.
Thank you.
Thank you, Michael Sullivan. I have not yet received a statement from Annette Dwyer. I will print one as soon as I do.
Today is opening day for Filing Season, so we political junkies are going to be up to our clavicles in news, gossip, and speculation for the foreseeable future. I'm going to do my best to keep on top of things, but I can guarantee you that there'll be more than I can follow. At least we'll know for sure who's in and who's not soon enough.
So to get things started, here's a look at the "Krusee wannabees" in HD52.
Only one has filed the paperwork to raise money to explore making a race: Bryan Daniel, originally from Jarrell, who headed up the state office of rural development for the United States Department of Agriculture.Others being mentioned are former County Commissioner Frankie Limmer, lobbyist Randy Lee, former Round Rock Council member Gary Coe, Round Rock Council Member Joe Clifford, and Larry Gonzales, chief of staff to Rep. John Otto of Dayton.
Eye on Williamson has more on these folks. Meanwhile, over in Travis County, BOR has more on Brian Thompson, the potential challenger to Rep. Dawnna Dukes. Judging from the comments to the that and their previous entry, the statement made by Dukes' consultant about the district not having any idea who Tom Craddick is did not go over well. Keep an eye on this one, it has the potential to get pretty hot.
Are plastic bags evil? Some places think so.
In recent years, countries from Ireland to Australia have passed laws to cut use of plastic bags. But the movement only recently gained momentum in the U.S.While plastic bags were not used widely in supermarkets and other retail outlets until the early 1980s, they're now ubiquitous, and Americans use billions a year.
Last month San Francisco's ordinance began outlawing plastic bags at large supermarkets, encouraging them to use recyclable paper bags or compostable ones made of cornstarch or potato starch. The ban will be extended later to big chain pharmacies.
A number of other cities are also considering plastic bag bans, including Boston; Baltimore; Oakland, Calif.; Portland, Ore.; Santa Monica, Calif.; and Annapolis, Md. In Texas, Austin and El Paso have looked at bans as well.
Yet in Austin, and other cities including New York and Philadelphia, discussions recently have shifted toward plastic bag recycling.
"The only thing we all agreed on was a need to recycle more," said Rick Cofer, who runs a Web site called www.bagthebags.com in support of a plastic bag ban in Austin.
Cofer has participated in meetings with city officials, environmental groups and the plastic bag industry since Austin's city council passed a resolution in April calling for a reduction in plastic bags.
Recycling programs have gained momentum amid concerns that bags made of recycled paper or "bioplastics" would cost more to produce than conventional plastic bags, and consumers could end up paying the bill.
A conventional plastic bag costs about 2 cents to make, compared with 5 to 6 cents for a recycled paper sack and 6 cents or more for a bag made of compostable plastic, said Donna Dempsey, managing director of the Progressive Bag Alliance, a plastic bag industry lobbying group run out of Houston.
The plastic bag industry hopes that recycling programs, if passed in some major cities, could serve as models for the rest of the nation.
"We believe New York is the tipping point," said Isaac Bazbaz, whose family owns Superbag, a major plastic bag supplier to Wal-Mart that has its headquarters and factory in northwest Houston.
I think a greater emphasis on reuse and recycling is always a good thing, even if the price of producing a recycled plastic bag is currently higher than it is for producing a new one. I'd expect that cost to come down as the demand for recycled plastic bags increases, and even without it, easing the burden on landfills makes up for the differential. I'd like to see more incentives for recycling as we go. Perhaps there's still time for Mayor White to address that before he moves on.
By the way, we do use plastic grocery bags for pet waste retrieval and disposal. I also use the plastic sleeves that home-delivered editions of the Chron come in for that purpose. What do you do with yours?
The Chron continues its reporting on the campaign finance habits of Commissioners Court with a piece on how they spend all that loot they raise.
In filings dating to January 2006, several commissioners, most notably Steve Radack and Jerry Eversole, disclosed some campaign expenses in ways similar to those that have led to fines for other Texas politicians. For example:
- Hundreds of campaign expenses, particularly Eversole's, were labeled with vague descriptions such as "public relations" and "misc." -- sweeping designations that encompass everything from meals to purchases at boutique gift shops and typically offer little clues as to what was purchased or who benefited from those purchases.
- Dozens of reimbursements made to office workers from several commissioners' campaigns, most frequently Radack's, did not detail the purpose of those payments.
- Radack, commissioner of Precinct 3, omitted the addresses of hundreds of expense payees until mid-2006. He has begun including that information on recent filings, but his old reports still do not include addresses, which are required by law.
When Texas politicians report campaign expenses, they are expected to follow regulations intended to show the public who the money was given to and what goods or services were received in return.The Texas Ethics Commission enforces those rules but only acts when it receives a sworn complaint. No Harris County commissioner has faced a substantiated complaint while in office in at least 15 years, according to records.
"The disclosure laws in Texas are built largely on transparency," said Tim Sorrells, deputy general counsel for the ethics commission. "They're designed so people can look at the reports and be able to ascertain what's going on."
Well, there's your problem right there. As the Chron showed in last Sunday's story, County Commissioners' finance reports are done on paper, and are not available online. Seems to me it's a no-brainer to require electronic filing, but it'll take an act of the Lege to make it happen, and however sensible this may be, there will be resistance.
Interesting, by the way, that the bulk of the questionable activity here was done by the Republican commissioners, Radack and the now-under-investigation Eversole. It's true that former Judge Robert Eckels was a champion of greater transparency and campaign finance limits - perhaps this is why he and his partymates on the Court never got along that well. The Chron editorialized about this, and hit on a relevant point:
Able to give unlimited campaign donations, professional services vendors who are not subject to competitive bidding for government contracts instead compete to give the most to their patrons in office. It's a situation that appeals to the worst tendencies in elected officials, tempting them to reward those who are most generous with both contracts and access.As reported by the Chronicle's Chase Davis, major county vendors such as Dannenbaum Engineering's James Dannenbaum; Turner, Collie and Braden Inc.; and Andrews Kurth LLP have given hundreds of thousands of dollars to county officials since 2003. The officials awarded the donors millions of dollars in contracts. It's not illegal, but it suggests a "pay to play" system that does not serve the public interest. In today's lean and mean business environment, it's hard to believe those firms are contributing huge sums simply to support good government -- unless it's defined in their minds as government with lots of contracts to let.
Former Harris County Judge Robert Eckels took a lot of heat from colleagues seven years ago when he decried loose ethics in government and advocated contribution limits for campaign gifts from those who do business with the county. At the time, Eckels opined that there was a perception of corruption in county government and "an implied coercion in the process, even if its not actual coercion."
This is something I've touched on before, most frequently in connection with Tom DeLay and his longtime penchant for corporate shakedowns. You hear all the time that "there is no quid pro quo" when a company that makes a big donation gets something favorable passed or unfavorable quashed, even when the donations are made right as legislation that affects it is being crafted or debated. But if it's true, as the beneficiaries of the donations always claim, that the money had no effect on their actions, then why would any rational profit-maximizing entity make those non-tax-deductible donations? What's their motivation if not to improve the bottom line? And even if you do think this they're just being played for suckers, it still leads to the perception of corruption that Eckels talked about, which both increases cynicism and makes other businesses feel compelled to get in on the game, whether rigged against them or not. It's bad all around. Let's get some transparency into the system so we can at least start to deal with this.
Via Dwight, Cory Doctorow says Facebook is doomed.
Having watched the rise and fall of SixDegrees, Friendster, and the many other proto-hominids that make up the evolutionary chain leading to Facebook, MySpace, et al, I'm inclined to think that these systems are subject to a Brook's-law parallel: "Adding more users to a social network increases the probability that it will put you in an awkward social circumstance." Perhaps we can call this "boyd's Law" for danah boyd, the social scientist who has studied many of these networks from the inside as a keen-eyed net-anthropologist and who has described the many ways in which social software does violence to sociability in a series of sharp papers.Here's one of boyd's examples, a true story: a young woman, an elementary school teacher, joins Friendster after some of her Burning Man buddies send her an invite. All is well until her students sign up and notice that all the friends in her profile are sunburnt, drug-addled techno-pagans whose own profiles are adorned with digital photos of their painted genitals flapping over the Playa. The teacher inveigles her friends to clean up their profiles, and all is well again until her boss, the school principal, signs up to the service and demands to be added to her friends list. The fact that she doesn't like her boss doesn't really matter: in the social world of Friendster and its progeny, it's perfectly valid to demand to be "friended" in an explicit fashion that most of us left behind in the fourth grade. Now that her boss is on her friends list, our teacher-friend's buddies naturally assume that she is one of the tribe and begin to send her lascivious Friendster-grams, inviting her to all sorts of dirty funtimes.
In the real world, we don't articulate our social networks. Imagine how creepy it would be to wander into a co-worker's cubicle and discover the wall covered with tiny photos of everyone in the office, ranked by "friend" and "foe," with the top eight friends elevated to a small shrine decorated with Post-It roses and hearts. And yet, there's an undeniable attraction to corralling all your friends and friendly acquaintances, charting them and their relationship to you. Maybe it's evolutionary, some quirk of the neocortex dating from our evolution into social animals who gained advantage by dividing up the work of survival but acquired the tricky job of watching all the other monkeys so as to be sure that everyone was pulling their weight and not napping in the treetops instead of watching for predators, emerging only to eat the fruit the rest of us have foraged.
Keeping track of our social relationships is a serious piece of work that runs a heavy cognitive load. It's natural to seek out some neural prosthesis for assistance in this chore. My fiancee once proposed a "social scheduling" application that would watch your phone and email and IM to figure out who your pals were and give you a little alert if too much time passed without your reaching out to say hello and keep the coals of your relationship aglow. By the time you've reached your forties, chances are you're out-of-touch with more friends than you're in-touch with: Old summer-camp chums, high-school mates, ex-spouses and their families, former co-workers, college roomies, dot-com veterans... Getting all those people back into your life is a full-time job and then some.
You'd think that Facebook would be the perfect tool for handling all this. It's not. For every long-lost chum who reaches out to me on Facebook, there's a guy who beat me up on a weekly basis through the whole seventh grade but now wants to be my buddy; or the crazy person who was fun in college but is now kind of sad; or the creepy ex-co-worker who I'd cross the street to avoid but who now wants to know, "Am I your friend?" yes or no, this instant, please.
I use Facebook more as a lark than anything else, and I can't say I've experienced anything Doctorow describes. Besides, after nearly six years of blogging, it's not like I'm anonymous any more. What do you think about this?
Now, Facebook being bad about privacy, that I could see killing it. Fortunately, they seem to have gotten the message. More or less.
Missed this from last week:
The state's director of science curriculum has resigned after being accused of creating the appearance of bias against teaching intelligent design.Chris Comer, who has been the Texas Education Agency's director of science curriculum for more than nine years, offered her resignation this month.
In documents obtained Wednesday through the Texas Public Information Act, agency officials said they recommended firing Comer for repeated acts of misconduct and insubordination. But Comer said she thinks political concerns about the teaching of creationism in schools were behind what she describes as a forced resignation.
Agency officials declined to comment, saying it was a personnel issue.
Comer was put on 30 days paid administrative leave shortly after she forwarded an e-mail in late October announcing a presentation being given by Barbara Forrest, author of "Inside Creationism's Trojan Horse," a book that says creationist politics are behind the movement to get intelligent design theory taught in public schools. Forrest was also a key witness in the Kitzmiller v. Dover case concerning the introduction of intelligent design in a Pennsylvania school district. Comer sent the e-mail to several individuals and a few online communities, saying, "FYI."
Agency officials cited the e-mail in a memo recommending her termination. They said forwarding the e-mail not only violated a directive for her not to communicate in writing or otherwise with anyone outside the agency regarding an upcoming science curriculum review, "it directly conflicts with her responsibilities as the Director of Science."
The memo adds, "Ms. Comer's e-mail implies endorsement of the speaker and implies that TEA endorses the speaker's position on a subject on which the agency must remain neutral."
I dunno, I guess if you take a really hard-line view of whatever appropriate-use email policy the TEA may have in place, this could be construed as a violation. I daresay under those conditions, you'd have to fire everybody else as well, but hey, rules are rules. What confuses me, as it also confuses The Scientific Activist (link via School Zone) is why wouldn't this be considered a normal part of her job? Does the TEA not take any position on any scientific "controversy" - would she have been fired for notifying folks about a speech by Bob Park on the subject of perpetual motion machines - or is it just "intelligent design" that's off limits?
I doubt it. This is pure politics, and the Statesman is right to call a spade a spade:
The education agency, of course, portrays the problem as one of insubordination and misconduct. But from all appearances, Comer was pushed out because the agency is enforcing a political doctrine of strict conservatism that allows no criticism of creationism.This state has struggled for years with the ideological bent of the state school board, but lawmakers took away most of its power to infect education some years ago. Politicizing the Texas Education Agency, which oversees the education of children in public schools, would be a monumental mistake.
This isn't the space to explore the debate over creationism, intelligent design and evolution. Each approach should be fair game for critical analysis, so terminating someone for just mentioning a critic of intelligent design smacks of the dogma and purges in the Soviet era.
But then, this is a new and more political time at the state's education agency.
Can we please leave the scientists and not the hacks in charge of the science curriculum? I mean, what's the point of spending money to cure cancer if we're not teaching our kids real science in school? Vince, Hal, Lightseeker, and Easter Lemming have more.
After you've had breakfast with Rick Noriega on Monday, you can head north to HCDP headquarters and wish Armando Walle well as he officially files for HD140. Here's the press release:
Armando L. Walle, Democratic candidate, will file for District 140 at the Harris County Democratic Party Headquarters Monday, December 3, 2007 at 10:00 A.M.Armando Walle decided to run after witnessing the immense need for effective representation in Texas House District 140. Walle stated, "There are issues of great importance to parents, students, businesses and neighborhoods that continue to be neglected. District 140 deserves a State Representative that will fervently fight for better schools, access to affordable healthcare, flood prevention and public safety. I have the leadership skills, experience and education to hit the ground running and deliver for our community."
Armando, the oldest of five children, is a native Houstonian. Armando grew up in Northeast Houston and graduated with Honors from MacArthur High School in the Aldine Independent School District. Armando was the first in his family to pursue higher education and proudly graduated from the University of Houston, earning a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and a Minor in Sociology. Armando began his career in public service by participating in the Texas Legislative Internship Program, sponsored by State Senator Rodney Ellis.
Armando went on to work for Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Soon after, he was brought on staff to the Office of Congressman Gene Green and was employed with Congressman Green for over six years. During that time, Armando led and worked on several community projects such as Citizenship Day, Immunization Day and Senior Citizen Issues Forums. Armando currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Aldine-Greenspoint YMCA. He has worked tirelessly to increase outreach community service programs, such as youth sports leagues and adult General Education Degree (GED) programs for Aldine/North Houston residents.
With the support from community leaders, friends and family Armando, is ready to work for District 140.
For questions or for more information, please call his campaign office at 713.505-0057
WHO: Armando L. Walle Files for District 140
WHEN: December 3, 2007 at 10:00 A.M.
WHERE: Harris County Democratic Party Headquarters
1445 North Loop West in Suite 110
Houston, Texas 77008
This will be one of the biggest Democratic primaries to watch in Harris County next year. Can we take out a Craddick Dem for the third straight cycle? I'm beginning to hear that Rep. Kevin Bailey is saying that he'll support Rep. Senfronia Thompson for Speaker, but I don't have a whole lot of faith in that. Best to vote in Armando Walle and remove all doubt. Stace has more.
Of all the Craddick Democrats, I figured Austin's Dawnna Dukes would be the first to draw a primary challenger this year. Travis County has one of the strongest organizations in the state, they have few Republican targets to aim at, and I've heard plenty of discontent with Dukes for some time now. But up till now, there's been nothing. Up till now.
In Austin, Rep. Dawnna Dukes, a Democrat, got a key post on appropriations after voting for Craddick."That whole line of Dawnna voting for Craddick has no traction," said Dukes' political consultant Colin Strother. "It hasn't come up. This is Austin, probably the most politically aware city in the state, and they have no idea who he is."
More important, Strother said, is that Dukes has a good Democratic voting record and is running as if she has an opponent.
Her political signs will be up next week as she begins block walking.
"We're hitting it full speed," he said. "If someone wants to run, they will have a steep hill to climb."
This summer a faction of Austin Democrats tried -- and failed -- to find Dukes an early opponent. But Brian Thompson, a lawyer who works at McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore and who serves on the Austin Human Rights Commission, said Friday he is being encouraged by Democratic activists to challenge Dukes.
"We're tired of being represented by a Republican-funded politician who has pledged absolute loyalty to Republican Speaker Tom Craddick and puts her own political ambition and self-interest ahead of the best interests of the good people of East Austin," Thompson said.
I'm not sure if that's bravado or baloney on Strother's part, but I sure as heck wouldn't count on people not knowing who Tom Craddick is. Seems to me it'll be easy enough to print up flyers that say something like "I support a Democrat for Speaker, Dawnna Dukes supports Republican Tom Craddick", and make her defend that. Sure, I agree that it'll take more than that to oust someone. If Dukes' record is as good as her consultant says it is, she'll probably be okay. It's just that without her support of Tom Craddick, we wouldn't even be having this discussion. There's a simple resolution to that, but I'm thinking the moment has passed. So be it. Link via BOR.
Back when the city passed its more comprehensive smoking ban, there was a lot said by folks in the local music industry about how this would kill the bars, especially those that feature live music. I'm glad to see that John Nova Lomax, who had done some of that public fretting back then, has now taken the time to check around and see if some of those apocalyptic predictions have come true. He starts out by giving free rein to one musician and his anti-ban rant:
It's safe to say that John Evans is no fan of the recently enacted smoking ban. To him, the municipal stubbing out of our collective ciggies is another step in a long process of pasteurization that is making Houston less, well, Houston."This has always been a 'Screw you we're from Houston' kind of town, the last frontier," he says. "Let everyone else be all tight-ass, but now we're just like everybody else."
What's more, he believes it is harming his bottom line. "The smoking ban is kicking our ass," he adds flatly.
[...]
With Evans's rant in mind, I decided to call a few more people in the Houston music scene to gauge opinion on the first 90 days of the ban. Here are their responses:
He spoke to a total of eleven people. Here are their responses, briefly summarized:
Pam Robinson, owner, Walter's on WashÂington: It really hasn't had much of an effect on overall attendance.Geoffrey Muller, musician in the Sideshow Tramps and a host of other bands: I haven't really noticed a difference.
Byron Dean, singer, Poor Dumb Bastards: Being in a band and being a smoker, it absolutely sucks.
Allen Hill, bandleader, the Allen Oldies Band: I wasn't a fan of how it became law, but now that it is here, I love it both as a showgoer and a performer.
Tom McLendon, owner, The Big Easy: It certainly hasn't helped business.
Thomas Escalante, singer in the El Orbits and the owner of record store Sig's Lagoon: It's been refreshing.
JJ White, singer-guitarist, Dizzy Pilot: As a nonsmoker I was against it, and I am still against it after the ban.
Pete Mitchell, owner, Under the Volcano: I'm really confused. So much of the feel of my place has changed. The regulars have been shifted to the patio, and there's not that banter with the bartenders there used to be. Ultimately, though, I think this is a time of transition, and my gut feeling is that people will just smoke less in the future. More people will just give up.
Brad Moore, owner, the Pearl Bar: Mike Simms told me a funny story about the Dwarves show at Rudyard's a while back. The Dwarves are kinda infamous for doing 20-minute sets, but this time they played for 45 whole minutes. They wanted to do an encore, but the whole room had cleared out as soon as they finished; everybody had stampeded out to the patio. Their fans weren't expecting them to play that long, and all of them went to go smoke as soon as they were done.
Miss Leslie, singer in Miss Leslie and the Juke Jointers: The smoking ban has been fine, but you have to get used to watching half your audience walk out to go smoke in the middle of your set.
John Egan, singer-songwriter: Who cares? What's everybody getting so bent out of shape about one way or the other? It's less smoky. Big deal.
Doesn't sound like it's been too bad for business to me. I haven't gone to many shows lately, but that's due to babysitting requirements; it certainly isn't because I miss coming home smelling like an ashtray (not much of an issue for me anyway since the Mucky Duck went to all non-smoking shows). What do you think?
Elsewhere, the Press notes that the smoking ban is being cited as a factor in the closing of Cosmos Cafe.
In an e-mail note to customers on Thursday, owner Pete Pallas said a combination of factors led to his decision, including his workload, not having enough customers willing to support live music, and the recent smoking ban introduced by the City of Houston.
Yesterday was its last day of business, with Friday being its final live show. Ironically, Cosmos is one place I had stopped going because of the smoke. Tiffany and I used to enjoy eating there, but gave up because you couldn't escape the fumes. I'm still sorry to see it go, but I think it's a bit of a stretch to blame this on the smoking ban. From the description, it sounds to me like the place was headed towards closure anyway - the smoking ban may have accelerated that, but I doubt it was decisive.
Almost missed this today: The Chron makes its endorsements for the four runoff elections.
Jolanda Jones, Houston City Council At-Large Position 5 -- Jones is a family and criminal law attorney who helped bring attention to shortcomings in the Houston Police Department's crime lab. She has extensive community service experience and pledges to work for safer neighborhoods, increased affordable housing opportunities and a vibrant Houston economy.Wanda Adams, Houston City Council District D -- Adams is an employee in the Houston Solid Waste Department's Recycling Go Green Initiative. Among her priorities on council will be ensuring the district has good streets and sidewalks, developing public/private partnerships to spur economic development and supporting environmental quality initiatives.
Michael Sullivan, Houston City Council District E -- Sullivan is a business owner with experience in city government as the community liaison for Houston City Councilman Michael Berry. He is also a past Humble Independent School District trustee who is active in various business development and community service groups. His goals on council include holding the city to high standards of fiscal responsibility and open constituent communication.
Carol Mims Galloway, Houston Independent School District, District II -- Galloway is a former city councilwoman and president of the Houston branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. She held the school board position she now seeks from 1992-99. Her opponent is Michael Yarbrough, also a former council member, who the Harris County Appraisal District contends wrongly accepted property tax discounts for years.
The first two are repeats from the November election, the second two are new, as the Chron had previously touted Wil Williams in District E and Reginald Adams in HISD II. I'm not exactly sure why they couldn't have this done before the start of early voting, but whatever. And it's always interesting to note, as in the case of the Galloway endorsement, when the Chron feels the need to call out the other candidate for something he or she had done. In this case, I can't say I'm surprised. But it's still interesting.
And another icon of my childhood has passed away.
Evel Knievel, the red-white-and-blue-spangled motorcycle daredevil whose jumps over Greyhound buses, live sharks and Idaho's Snake River Canyon made him an international icon in the 1970s, died [Friday]. He was 69.[...]
Immortalized in the Washington's Smithsonian Institution as "America's Legendary Daredevil," Knievel was best known for a failed 1974 attempt to jump Snake River Canyon on a rocket-powered cycle and a spectacular crash at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. He suffered nearly 40 broken bones before he retired in 1980.
Though Knievel dropped off the pop culture radar in the '80s, the image of the high-flying motorcyclist clad in patriotic, star-studded colors was never erased from public consciousness. He always had fans and enjoyed a resurgence in popularity in recent years.
His death came just two days after it was announced that he and rapper Kanye West had settled a federal lawsuit over the use of Knievel's trademarked image in a popular West music video.
[...]
He began his daredevil career in 1965 when he formed a troupe called Evel Knievel's Motorcycle Daredevils, a touring show in which he performed stunts such as riding through fire walls, jumping over live rattlesnakes and mountain lions and being towed at 200 mph behind dragster race cars.
In 1966 he began touring alone, barnstorming the West and doing everything from driving the trucks, erecting the ramps and promoting the shows. In the beginning he charged $500 for a jump over two cars parked between ramps.
He steadily increased the length of the jumps until, on New Year's Day 1968, he was nearly killed when he jumped 151 feet across the fountains in front of Caesar's Palace. He cleared the fountains but the crash landing put him in the hospital in a coma for a month.
His son, Robbie, successfully completed the same jump in April 1989.
In the years after the Caesar's crash, the fee for Evel's performances increased to $1 million for his jump over 13 buses at Wembley Stadium in London -- the crash landing broke his pelvis -- to more than $6 million for the Sept. 8, 1974, attempt to clear the Snake River Canyon in Idaho in a rocket-powered "Skycycle." The money came from ticket sales, paid sponsors and ABC's "Wide World of Sports."
The parachute malfunctioned and deployed after takeoff. Strong winds blew the cycle into the canyon, landing him close to the swirling river below.
On Oct. 25, 1975, he jumped 14 Greyhound buses at Kings Island in Ohio.
Knievel decided to retire after a jump in the winter of 1976 in which he was again seriously injured. He suffered a concussion and broke both arms in an attempt to jump a tank full of live sharks in the Chicago Amphitheater. He continued to do smaller exhibitions around the country with his son, Robbie.
I'm thinking the only appropriate sendoff for him would require his hearse to jump over a pit of crocodiles or something. The standard, boring funeral procession just won't do. It's just a shame Howard Cosell isn't around to do the play by play.
PDiddie has more. Rest in peace, Evel Knievel.
(I have asked the candidates involved in next Saturday's runoff to send me a brief statement saying why people should vote for them in that runoff. I will run the responses for candidates for each race concurrently. This statement is from Jolanda Jones in At Large #5.)
I am running for Houston City Council because I believe in a Houston where a kid like me can grow up to be a successful lawyer and businesswoman, a homeowner, a candidate for City Council and most importantly, a mom who can afford to give her son the opportunity for a bright future.
My name is Jolanda Jones, and I would be honored by your support. I'm a criminal law and family law attorney, and was instrumental in exposing the serious problems at the HPD Crime Lab.
I currently serve on the LARA board, where I'm working to redevelop abandoned properties with affordable housing. I was recently re-confirmed by a unanimous vote of City Council.
I grew up very poor in the Third Ward - but I'm one of the lucky ones.
- I had access to good public schools, after-school sports and other activities, and a strong community.
- And I used that opportunity to become a Rhodes Scholar nominee and Female Athlete of the Century at the University of Houston.
- As an athlete and scholar I could have attended many of the nation's most distinguished universities on full scholarship - but I chose to go to the University of Houston because I love this town. I still love this town and I'm running for City Council to make it better.
While I'm interested in working on many issues, my primary areas of focus are public safety, affordable housing, quality of life - especially as it relates to economic development - and improving educational opportunities for youth.
- I want to see our police force up to full strength, more coordination between law enforcement agencies and more accountability for our public safety tax dollars.
- I have strong views on improving our affordable housing programs and protecting our city's long-term investment in affordable housing.
- I believe that improving our quality of life is the best way to make Houston attractive for businesses to start here, stay here, or move here.
- And I believe every Houston leader should make a commitment to giving our kids the same opportunity to succeed that I had - a good public education and access to positive and productive after-school activities.
Thank you for considering my candidacy.
Thank you, Jolanda Jones. Please click here for a statement from Joe Trevino.
(I have asked the candidates involved in next Saturday's runoff to send me a brief statement saying why people should vote for them in that runoff. I will run the responses for candidates for each race concurrently. This statement is from Joe Trevino in At Large #5.)
As a public servant for over 30 years, I have left my mark on Houston. If anything, I hope my legacy in that regard is a positive one. I am now in a position to serve Houston's expansive and diverse community in a new capacity. Over the years I gained extensive experience in prioritizing tax dollars, while also ensuring that the critical needs of constituents were met. I believe that my experience as a public school administrator will be useful on council. I am someone who has ground-level management experience as to the needs of the overall community and am uniquely qualified to serve all Houstonians. While Ms. Jones is also a very good candidate, I think that Houston would be better served with someone with my managerial background.
Thank you, Joe Trevino. Please click here for a statement from Jolanda Jones.
Looks like we've got our first successful rebellion against electronic voting machines in Texas.
On whether computerized electronic voting machines are reliable and secure, the Republican leadership in Wharton County votes "no."Precinct chairmen in the county southwest of Houston decided this week to return to using paper ballots in the March GOP primary for president, congressional seats and local races. About 3,000 people are expected to vote in the primary.
The move is a rejection of the touch-screen technology that Wharton County rolled out for the statewide election a few weeks ago. In Texas, the Democratic and Republican parties conduct their own primaries in individual counties, and the election process is overseen by the secretary of state.
In the statewide election, businessman Jim Welch tried to vote at a fire station in Boling. Some of his votes on state constitutional amendments changed before his eyes, he said, and when election officials acknowledged the problem and offered to let him start over, he concluded the equipment was unreliable and declined. Welch later complained to county and party officials.
County election administrator Judy Owens confirmed that a voting machine malfunctioned because of a calibration problem with the touch function, but she emphasized that the machine was taken out of service immediately and that Welch was given a chance to vote accurately on another machine.
"Occasionally if someone press, press, presses a particular button, it can cause problems. We had someone go out and fix things," she told the Wharton Journal-Spectator on Election Day.
County commissioners are sticking with the iVotronic electronic voting system, which is used widely in Texas and manufactured by Election Systems & Software of Omaha. The company says extensive testing proves its system is accurate and secure and that the machines need to be calibrated in preparation for every Election Day.
But Welch's complaint alarmed Debra Medina, chairwoman of the Wharton County Republican Party.
After checking with county officials and a nationally recognized electronic voting critic, and reading about ES&S's legal dispute with voting jurisdictions in California about its equipment, she sought a change. The dozen or so precinct chairmen, from among the county's 22 precincts, agreed this week to avoid using the new equipment.
Without an explanation for why a machine lost its correct calibration on Nov. 6, Medina said, there is no guarantee that a more serious disruption won't take place in March.
"I don't want to be on the front page of any newspaper having to say our vote (was) unreliable," she said. "We work very hard to get voters to the polls, and if we can't rely on the vote to be the intent of the people, what are we doing?"
Medina said she is looking into using ballot cards that, like standardized test sheets, are marked with dark circles and then tabulated by equipment called optical scanners. Or the party could revert to using old-fashioned paper voting forms counted by hand.
Count me as a fan of optical scanners, which as I understand it have a very low error rate. I think a better idea than ballot cards is to use an electronic interface like what we have now, and have that spit out a paper ballot for the scanners to count. I'd also be happy with the e-voting machines now if we had paper ballots to act as a backup in the event of a disastrous loss of data or just a controversial situation like the phantom vote problem that the Tarrant County GOP faced in last March's primary, using these same ES&S machines. Going back to hand counts is in my opinion a step way too far. Save that for recounts - let's improve the technology we have now for the regular business.
It's interesting that a county Republican party is the first to make this break. Voting machine concerns have mostly been the province of Democrats. That does not seem to be the case in Wharton, however.
"I kind of like the (iVotronic) machines," said [Wharton County Democratic Party] chairman Roger Benavides. "They had one problem, and they corrected the one problem, that's all it was.""Even if you change it, you still have to put up with (the iVotronic equipment) in the next election," he said. "You might as well get the people used to using them."
I can already hear the cries of anguish by some of my colleagues today.