This is a weekly feature produced by my friend Ginger. Let us know what you think.
This week, in news from Dallas-Fort Worth, we have the end of the filing period for the March primaries, including a surprise primary matchup for a state Senate seat here in Dallas; competing proposals for next year’s bond election in Dallas have our city officials getting cranky; that big property in Irving that the Adelsons have bought; Pale Horse gets a new name; short-term rentals, both those in Dallas and those owned by AG Ken Paxton; a roundup of school district news; DPD’s new constitutional policing unit; the question of who’s bigger in rodeos, Fort Worth or Houston; and more.
This week’s post was brought to you by Apple’s Electroclash essentials playlist.
The big news this week is the close of filing for the March primary and the fallout around open seats and which incumbents have drawn primary opponents. KERA has a rundown of area races. The DMN has a good rundown of the Texas congressional delegation’s issues. For the Lege, D Magazine has an overview, plus this piece from KERA about Collin County and the Paxton primary opponents to the legislators who voted against him in his impeachment earlier this year. For complete and detailed news about who’s running in Tarrant County, I refer you to the Fort Worth Report’s election tag, which has stories about pretty much everybody who filed.
The state of the primary in CD 12, Kay Granger’s current seat, is pretty well known. It’s a heavily Republican district. Two Democrats have put their hat in the ring, plus a scrum of Democrats. You may recall that John O’Shea was already planning to primary her and that Craig Goldman, who currently represents HD 97 in the Lege, was the other name brand in what appears to be a crowded primary field. Goldman was on the pro-impeachment side of Paxton matters this summer so it’ll be interesting to see how the Tarrant County GOP tries to put a thumb on the scale against him, and for whom.
After Rep. Michael Burgess’ retirement, CD 26 has a crowded race. Five Republicans and one Democrat will by vying for his seat. I don’t have a good sense for what’s going on in this race, but like CD 12, I’ll be watching it to see which candidates get big GOP backing.
I’m in CD 24, represented by Beth Van Duyne, who is seeking her third term. Two Democrats are contesting the primary: Sam Eppler, whom I know nothing about, and Francine Ly, who has already been texting me for support. Before redistricting, I was in CD 5 and I’m sad but unsurprised to report that Lance Gooden has no primary opponent and no Democrat to oppose him in the general.
In the local state Senate filings, the most exciting news is in SD 16, putting me at ground zero. Nathan Johnson, my incumbent state senator, drew a last minute primary opponent in Victorian Neave Criado, currently holding HD 107 here in Dallas. This is over Johnson’s vote for SB4, which I didn’t like but I can see why he held his nose and voted for it. Johnson is canny and I appreciate his instincts, and as much as I like having a positive choice between two good candidates, I don’t know that Neave Criado can do as well in the Senate given her more confrontational style. That said, I am open to being convinced, and having John Bryant behind her, as mentioned in this KERA piece, is a point in her favor for me. You’ve probably already read this, but the Texas Tribune also has a piece on this race. At press time for these articles, nobody was clear on who was going to run for HD 107; I hope to have some information on that next week.
In other State House news, the big item is in Tarrant County, where HD 97 is now open as incumbent Craig Goldman is running for Kay Granger’s Congressional seat. There’s a good quick summary in the KERA piece I mentioned above and the Fort Worth Report has details on the two Republicans and two Democrats who’ve filed for it. I’m still wading through reports but it also looks like the Tarrant County Republican House members who voted to impeach Ken Paxton unsurprisingly drew primary opponents.
Last, but not least, Denton County has our first residential eligibility question of this cycle, as one of the Republicans vying for the open SD 30 seat says the other guy lives in SD 12. This is the first question of the cycle but it won’t be the last.
In other news:
- We’re starting to get down toward the wire with Dallas’ bond proposal and nothing about it is simple. The DMN has had it with the bond fight between the mayor and the city manager. The gist of the competing proposals is laid out in this D Magazine article. You may recall that we talked about Mayor Johnson’s interest in spending money on parks instead of housing as expressed in his State of the City address (delivered on conservative talk radio); unsurprisingly City Manager Broadnax, who has been at odds with the mayor for a while, backed his staff’s proposal. I’m sure the whole business wasn’t helped by the fact that the mayor had a conflict with last week’s council meeting to discuss the bond proposal. If they’re going to have this proposal ready for the May election, the Council has a lot to do in the next month or two. Meanwhile, KERA, Culturemap, and the Dallas Observer have more about last week’s meeting and the competing bond proposals. Plus the City Council is getting tired of the fighting too.
- On the subject of housing and Dallas’ unhoused population, I also have two other articles from the Dallas Observer for your attention: ‘Delays and Snafus’: Years Later, Dallas is Still Working on These Three Homelessness Projects and Homeless People in Dallas’ Rapid Rehousing Program Face a Ticking Clock.
- And for the hat trick on housing, I direct your attention to this D Magazine article on an analysis of Dallas’ housing market. The map at the top of this article sure looks like the broad racial distribution of population in Dallas, doesn’t it?
- Going back to the rather testy editorial board of our local paper, the DMN has also had it with Dallas County’s IT Department. They’re not the only ones; I like Clay J, our county judge, but the IT clown show we’ve dealt with this year, and I don’t mean ransomware, I mean all the other stuff, is a real black mark on his tenure.
- In a story that made me go “oh” when I read it, the DMN explained last week that an Adelson-related business concern bought 108 acres of land in Irving across SH 114 from the site of Texas Stadium, where the Cowboys used to play. It’s a marriage made in somewhere related to lobbying the Lege, whose approval will be needed to make the gambling mecca that Mark Cuban and Miriam Adelson are hoping for. More coverage from the Texas Tribune. The DMN has more on what you should know. Related: the approval date for the sale looks like December 20, and the minority owners are selling to Adelson.
- You remember Pale Horse Strategies, the Jonathan Stickland consulting firm caught making nice with Nazis earlier this year? They’re trying to shed that controversy by changing their name to “West Fort Worth Management LLC”. And in case the Texas Tribune hasn’t reminded you of who Stickland was huddling with, Rolling Stone has Fuentes’ latest and greatest fulminations about how “perfidious Jews” and other non-Christians should be executed. This is who the Texas GOP won’t swear off talking to and working with.
- In news that will surprise absolutely nobody, a Dallas County judge gave a TRO to the opponents of our new short-term rental ordinance. KERA and the Dallas Observer also have the story. Everything we do now is just churn until the next legislative session, when the Lege is going to override all these ordinances, or until we have official word that the existing Death Star legislation has already done the trick. The solution, as always, is to throw the Republicans making these terrible decisions out of office.
- Speaking of short-term rentals, Collin County’s favorite, AG Ken Paxton, has apparently been purchasing them and not disclosing them in his mandatory paperwork. (For a breathless take on his Oklahoma rental, check this Dallas Observer item.) KERA notes that Paxton might possibly be skirting the law, by which I mean skirting being legal by dawdling about asking for an opinion about the legality of his lack or reports. Let’s not kid ourselves, though: Paxton thought he was untouchable before his Senate trial and until the voting tide turns against him, he probably is. Compared to his other legal troubles, failing to clean up his financial disclosures is small potatoes.
- Speaking of our Attorney General, the Star-Telegram has an editorial about Paxton’s habit of filing politically-oriented lawsuits to provide red meat for his base and political cover for his many troubles. The editorial board is not a fan of this behavior.
- A prisoner in the Tarrant County jail died after a medical emergency in late November. This is the tenth inmate death in 2023.
- Some things from the schools in the area that may be of interest:
- DISD is about to cut “unpopular” programs to get enough money for counselors.
- Keller ISD parents are fighting back against the book banners as part of a statewide effort. Frank Strong of Anger and Clarity, which I quote occasionally, is also involved. Who’s against them? The usual suspects, including State Rep. Jared Patterson.
- Also in Keller ISD, a veteran trustee stepped down this month over allowing chaplains to volunteer in the district. This story seems so much like a mountain made out of a molehill that I suspect there’s a lot we’re not seeing.
- There’s a massive racial disparity between teachers (mostly white) and students (mostly Hispanic) in FWISD schools. The chart in this article really drives the point home.
- Meanwhile, here’s a piece from TPR about how record property values don’t mean increased funds in urban districts. Thanks, Greg Abbott!
- Last, but not least, conservative group Americans for Prosperity-Texas sent out a mailer describing Texas House reps who voted against vouchers as “grinches”. My state rep voted for vouchers and I’d be happy for him to change his vote.
- DPD has created a “constitutional policing unit” that’s designed to improve policies and training. Unlike most of these units in police departments nationwide, Dallas is building its unit before the Justice Department comes after them. More from KERA.
- In case you forgot George P. Bush existed, he has an op-ed supporting Israel in the Star-Telegram.
- The Dallas SPCA has hired a former city council member to lead it after donors lost confidence in its previous president, whose leadership was poor. The DMN has an interview with the new leader. I wish Chris Luna luck in rebuilding the SPCA. Dallas and its animal population need all the help they can get.
- I’ve been talking about the fight between the Bishop of Fort Worth and the Carmelite nuns in Arlington for a while, so I’d be remiss if I failed to point you at Texas Monthly’s look at the situation. A lot of it is about how the Bishop got to be the kind of man who’d question a disabled nun after she’d come out of general anesthesia.
- The state of Texas has a climatologist and he says the heat and extreme weather are here to stay. I wish he could get Greg Abbott’s attention with this news.
- Some time ago I noted the news that someone was removing books from the gift shops of Texas’ plantations and historical sites. Texas Monthly has a piece about how that’s happening and it’s a doozy. Part of the story is clearly the Lege’s interest in banning books, but the anti-woke activist who put the pressure on comes off looking terrible too.
- Actual Texas history from the Star-Telegram: how Pvt. Maj. Ripley Arnold took timber from the local settlers after the annexation of Texas, how he was sued, and how the court proceedings went.
- Last, but not least: Is Rodeo Houston more popular than the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo?. In defiance of Betteridge’s Law, the answer is yes.