I don’t usually pay much attention to “elected official endorses candidate” news, mostly because most of the time it makes little difference, but in this Mayor’s race I’m more interested than usual, so I will note this for the record.
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee
Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo endorsed U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in Houston’s mayoral contest on Thursday, saying the congresswoman has the tenacity and experience for the job.
“If there’s someone that can take the heat on behalf of the communities in Houston and Harris County, it is Sheila Jackson Lee,” Hidalgo said at the announcement in Mickey Leland Memorial Park, where the heat index reached 108 degrees. “Houston will have the best of both worlds, an experienced leader and a creative thinker.”
Jackson Lee is among the front-runners in the November election, along with longtime state Sen. John Whitmire. The crowded field of contenders includes former City Councilmember Amanda Edwards, attorney Lee Kaplan, Councilmember Robert Gallegos and former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia.
Hidalgo is not the first local politico to pick sides. U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia and state Sen. Carol Alvarado, both Democrats, are supporting Whitmire, among others. Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis endorsed Jackson Lee at the congresswoman’s launch party in April.
The endorsement did not come as a surprise. Hidalgo said Thursday that Jackson Lee was among the earliest supporters of her 2018 campaign for county judge, which she won in an upset. At the ceremony, Jackson Lee said she looks forward to collaborating with Hidalgo, touting her own work collaborating with partners across government while in Congress.
“We should have collaboration and coordination, that’s what government is all about,” Jackson Lee said.
Most of the time, in a tossup-type race between candidates who are ideologically similar, most elected officials stay on the sidelines for as long as they can. No point making someone you might have to work with unhappy with you if you don’t have to. The main exceptions are ones where there was a previously existing relationship, as is the case here. It’s also a little unusual for elected officials to jump into races with a large number of credible candidates. Often the strategy is to wait for the runoff; this applies to various endorsing groups, too. This Mayor’s race, it’s something else. I expect there to be more surprises as we go forward.
To draw attention to her endorsement, Hidalgo should have got flustered, dropped an F-bomb, and then implied that DA Ogg had threatened Adrian and SJL. That would have stirred the local media up again.
I do have a sense of humor.
I understand this endorsement is because SJL stood by Hidalgo in 2018. I don’t recall that so I went to the finance reports for 2018 and was enlightened to see Robert Gallegos gave Hidalgo money in 2018. I didn’t see any other elected officials.
Hidalgo loves to play political games and get more press opportunities. I eagerly await her downward spiral into National politics and her exit from Houston.
So many young Latina haters, but not enough, as Lina Hidalgo has won twice without their votes.
Julian, some support is not with money. I donated to Hidalgo early on but did not help much against the millions that Emmet had. One can’t win in Harris County without the Black Community supporting you. They vote, and they vote as a group. Those hundreds of years of slavery may have something to do with that.
I support SJL and will donate some money, not because it is needed but so that I can get more text messages from all over the US to give money;-)
Greg, I did not call the brown and browner haters fascists. I did think about it.
Big Jolly no longer publishes, so the fascists come here to post.
How did SJL support Hidalgo in 2018?
Manny, Houston and Harris County are now majority minority, with most of our elected officials being people of color. Given this fact, criticizing a local official’s actions will usually mean criticizing a person of color. That doesn’t mean the critic is a racist or hater. Race aside, focus on whether the criticism is valid. For instance, I disagreed with Judge Hidalgo giving away our ARPA funds when she could instead use it like Mayor Turner did to address our budget shortfalls (and not raise our property taxes). Note that I am praising Mayor Turner’s actions (a person of color) and criticizing Judge Hidalgo actions (also a person of color). Anyway, some people are quick to give our local officials a free pass by dismissing all criticism as being racially motivated (or merely partisan politics). The reality is, some of our officials are doing a poor job and need, but don’t want, the scrutiny and candid feedback. That goes for White officials, too, of course. Trump and Paxton are crooks, but some people defend them simply because they are White or because they are Republican.
I know there are a lot of “brown and browner haters” out there. Still, in a region as diverse as ours, I believe those folks are a relatively small minority.
“I know there are a lot of “brown and browner haters” out there. Still, in a region as diverse as ours, I believe those folks are a relatively small minority.”
Huh. Basically *all* Republicans are joyfully racist. Get one of your R buddies to put you on one of their email lists, shocking racist jokes in your inbox every morning.
Summerlin, you are wasting your breath on Manny, any discussion that does not end up as a regurgitation, blaming, and pointing of fingers at racism does not exist. It is as if logical discussions about other topics are light and the perpetuity of racism and it’s topics are the singularity of a black hole. Once that interesting topic passes the event horizon, it is sucked into the only topic that is discussed: racism. It gets boring and exhausting.
Oh yeah, Manny is really Q-anon.
J, I don’t believe *all* Republicans are racist. Only extremists think that way. Extremists do nothing to bring people together and only work to tear us apart. I do believe that Trump and the ultra-right-wing part of the Republican Party have ties to White Supremacists and other intolerant hate groups. That’s just one of the many reasons I’m a moderate Democrat, not a Republican.
David, I agree that, regardless of the topic, J and Manny often only see things from the perspective of racial oppression. That probably comes from years of seeing, or being the victim of, racial discrimination. I do sympathize. I’m not willing to give up just yet.
Fagan, boring, countdown clock.
Racism has been the lifeblood of the Republican Party since the Civil Rights Era in the early sixties, and it is now stronger than ever. Just look at the overtly racist laws targeting the teaching of history now on the books. Or all of the laws making it harder and harder for minorities to vote.
It seems master Greg is living in a dream world in more ways than one.
Thank you, J, you’re so kind.
Re: “ Huh. Basically *all* Republicans are joyfully racist. Get one of your R buddies to put you on one of their email lists, shocking racist jokes in your inbox every morning.”
First, no they’re not. Not all Republicans are fasciitis and not all Democrats are woke kale eaters. It just doesn’t work like that, regardless of what you’re trying to pigeonhole or what your preconceived notions are. Stop with the all-encompassing descriptors. To paraphrase Ted Lasso, ‘be curious, not judgmental if you want to learn.’
Second, members of both parties are guilty of an incessant emailing program of suggested extremist views. The crown of PITA (pain in the ass) social media messaging is jointly held.
My opinion is, no party has successfully, long term, governed this country while maintaining a far left or far right position. At some point ya gotta compromise with those holding a differing opinion.
The vast majority of Republicans are racists/fascists.
Studies have shown the above to be true.
Studies indicate that most Democrats agree that Republicans are racists/fascists.
I can safely assume the ones that take umbrage with the statement about Republicans are either in the small minority of Democrats are Republicans pretending to be Democrats.
Greg, I tend to use the word fascists, which implies, in this country, the Right Wing Party, the Republican Party.
Who did Hitler look at for models to handle the Jews?
https://www.history.com/news/how-the-nazis-were-inspired-by-jim-crow
Which party is taking us back there? The Republicans/Fascist Party.
John Whitmire is carrying water for the Fascist Party.
C.L., you are beyond hope. To try to prove something, you don’t change the topic to all.
Julian, maybe helping Lina with the Black community is considered helping?
Greg, Latina/o is not a race or ethnicity, for that matter. But I know many white people, especially the fascists, think so. I used to refer to them as gabachos, sometimes gringos.
David, don’t you have a clock to count down? Are you still fuming about your not getting a pay raise? Maybe you all can strike gold twice and support someone for mayor who still sticks it to you.
Then, Greg, you should be focusing all your energy on Trump and the party that he is running for if you believe;
Extremists do nothing to bring people together and only work to tear us apart. I do believe that Trump and the ultra-right-wing part of the Republican Party have ties to White Supremacists and other intolerant hate groups.
I am over 70 years old and certainly don’t need white pity:
David, I agree that, regardless of the topic, J and Manny often only see things from the perspective of racial oppression. That probably comes from years of seeing, or being the victim of, racial discrimination. I do sympathize.
LOL.
Dang, Manny, don’t hold back, tell us what you really think (ha, ha). You may be over 70, but it looks like you still have some fire in your belly.
To all you guys out there: HAPPY FATHERS DAY!
It will come down to SJL/Gallegos/Whitmire. Gallegos is a wildcard for many reasons.