Off the Kuff | Knowledge Is Good

Celia Israel wins HD50 special election runoff

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Celia Israel

In the special runoff election for District 50 in the Texas House, Democrat Celia Israel took the lead after early voting.

Israel, a Realtor, earned 58.8 percent of the early vote, and Republican Mike VanDeWalle, a chiropractor, took 41.1 percent. The total number of ballots cast during the early voting period, which ran four days last week, was 4,541, or 4.67 percent of all register voters in the northern Travis County district.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. Tuesday, and hour later than normal. Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir successfully petitioned a local district judge earlier in the day to grant a request for the additional hour of voting because of inclement weather and the closing of eight of 36 polling places that operated out of schools that were closed due to bad weather.

The special election in District 50 took place to replace former state Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, who resigned last year to lead Google Fiber in Austin.

The final total is here. Israel wound up with ~~60.2%~~ 59.4% of the vote. And yes, turnout was pathetic. The weather obviously played a part of that, but there were other factors, too.

Turnout during early voting was extraordinarily low. Just 4.5 percent of eligible voters cast early ballots in the election — about half as many as in the last special election runoff in Travis County, according to the county clerk’s office.

Supporters of both campaigns have acknowledged the awkward timing of both early voting and election day. Early voting began last Tuesday, one day after the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, and ended Friday, when polls opened five hours late because of icy weather.

So there were only four days of early voting instead of the usual five – really, more like three and a half days of early voting. And this runoff occurred during the heat of the primaries, three weeks before early voting for that begins. I think people could be forgiven if they took their eye off the ball a bit on this one. Such downward pressure on turnout can sometimes cause bizarre results, which would have been greatly magnified given the subtext of this election.

[Jeremy] Bird is one of the founders of Battleground Texas, a group dedicated to making this Republican stronghold competitive for Democrats. Celia Israel’s race for an open seat in the state House of Representatives is not expected to be difficult considering the district has historically voted for Democrats.

“It’s nice to have a special election and a little bit of a test,” Bird said in an interview with The Associated Press. “Identifying, engaging and turning out voters will help the Israel campaign now and (gubernatorial candidate) Wendy Davis, (lieutenant governor candidate) Leticia Van de Putte and other Democrats in November. Not only are people more likely to turn out to vote again, but the results will give us a chance to check our voter model and fine tune it for the election.”

[…]

On Saturday, Israel’s volunteers each had a list of homes to visit where Battleground’s research showed a reliably Democratic voter could be found. The volunteers were given a recommended script to follow, including thanking the prospective voter, asking whether the person would be willing to volunteer, and taking down an email address.

The data collected by Battleground staff, combined with publicly available voter records, is critical to the group’s strategy to identify, register and recruit the 2 million Democrats they estimate are not voting in Texas elections.

“Data collected from personal conversations is much more effective for predicting who people will support and at what level they’ll participate,” Bird said.

Israel is running against tea party Republican Mike VanDeWalle, but few voters know about the election, so Battleground’s help in getting out the vote is critical. Battleground Texas volunteers have knocked on over 14,000 doors over two weeks, Bird said.

“Battleground Texas is not just a political slogan, it’s a political muscle, and we’re going to use it in 2014,” Israel said.

The final total in this election was far less than 14,000 votes, but the weather was a big factor in that. That cut both ways, however, and in the end Israel’s vote percentage was quite good. Here’s how she compared to the top scoring Democrat in HD50 going back to 2002:

2012 results
2010 results
2008 results
2006 results
2004 results
2002 results


Year      High D   High D%
==========================
2014SpR   Israel     59.4%
2012       Obama     57.8%
2010       White     55.9%
2008       Obama     60.3%
2006       Moody     58.7%
2004      Molina     51.2%
2002       Sharp     54.3%

Note that Bill White and Bill Moody both outperformed the rest of the Dem ticket in their year by several points, and in all three off years several Republicans carried HD50. If 2008-level performance is the norm in other State Rep districts this fall, I’ll be plenty happy, and so I suspect will Jeremy Bird. For the record, I don’t think this special election runoff is a harbinger of any kind for November. It’s nice, but it’s one little data point. That said, if Israel had struggled to win, or even worse if she had lost, you could have wallpapered Reliant Stadium with the collected writings of every damn pundit, blogger, and assorted loudmouth in the state blathering on about how this portended doom for the Dems and proved Battleground Texas was a sham. I think I’m entitled to point out that Israel and BGTX easily met expectations, at the least. And now Rep.-elect Israel gets to do it again in November, against the same Republican opponent. I’ve made it this far without mentioning that Rep.-elect Israel becomes the second out gay member of the Legislature, joining Rep. Mary Gonzalez of El Paso, so I’ll rectify that here; see Lone Star Q and the Dallas Voice for more on that. Congratulations, Rep.-elect Celia Israel, and best of luck to you in November.

UPDATE: When I wrote this post last night, the Travis County results page had been updated at 9:13 PM, and the cumulative totals page showed 39 of 39 precincts completed, with Israel at 60.2% of the vote. It also showed that all of 700 votes had been cast on Tuesday, but who was I to argue with that? In any event, a 10:23 PM update shows 5807 votes cast on Tuesday, with Celia Israel now receiving 59.42% of the overall total. That’s down a bit from what she had as of the 9:13 update, but still a higher percentage than any other Democrat other than President Obama in 2008 (former Rep. Mark Strama was unopposed in 2012, the only year in which he ran under the new boundaries), so my point about how she and BGTX did in this race remains.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Battleground Texas, Celia Israel, early voting, Election 2014, HD50, Mark Strama, Mike VanDeWalle, runoff, special election, Texas, The Lege, turnout | 2 Comments

Where BGTX stands today

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not quite where they thought they’d be when things first started up, but that’s in large part because so much has happened since then.

Jeremy Bird, Barack Obama’s former national field organizer, told The Texas Tribune that nearly a year into the creation of Battleground Texas, it has attracted more than 10,000 volunteers, exceeded the Republican Party of Texas in social media followers and has drawn more interest in field organizer “fellow” positions than it has openings currently available.

Battleground was formed last February to register more Democratic voters and turn them out for the party’s candidates, who haven’t won a statewide race since 1994.

“Those things are happening at a way accelerated pace. It’s because there’s an election that’s competitive,’’ Bird said. “But I didn’t think we’d be where we are today a year ago.”

[…]

Battleground has essentially become Davis’ field operation, and the group’s top staffers work side by side at the senator’s headquarters in Fort Worth.

“You know, just to be in the place where there’s a competitive election, and people are actually going to have a choice,” Bird said. “That’s fantastic for me. I didn’t think that would be happening so soon.”

I skipped over a lot of stuff in the story, so go and read it if you want. Much of it recaps current events. I did like the way Bird dismissively characterized James O’Keefe as the liar and convict that he is. Anyway, fun as that is it’s not what I wanted to talk about. Given that BGTX is basically the ground game for Wendy Davis’ campaign, it’s a little strange to recall that their original intent was to start laying the foundation for Texas to be competitive in Presidential years. It’s not a coincidence that Jeremy Bird is also Team Hillary, after all. 2014 wasn’t really on the radar at that time. Then Wendy happened, and now there was something concrete to work towards this year. The anecdotal evidence – voter registration, messaging, fundraising, activist engagement – is positive, but we won’t truly know how effective they’re being till November. The question is how to judge them afterward. They could facilitate big gains for Democrats but still lose every statewide race. Going from 58-40 losses to 50-48 losses would be a huge step forward and would surely put Texas on the map for 2016, which would exceed BGTX’s own stated timetable, but would still mean another statewide shutout and four years of Governor Abbott and his cadre of crazy. Twelve months ago, when all we had was the promise of a future Castro candidacy, that might have seemed like a great stretch goal. Now I daresay people will have decidedly mixed emotions. I’m sure I’ll be deeply conflicted. The best way to avoid those feelings, of course, is to get involved and do everything you can to maximize Democratic performance this fall. Let’s not have a case of the what-ifs and the if-onlys this November.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Battleground Texas, Election 2014, Election 2016, Governor, Hillary Clinton, Texas, Wendy Davis | Comments Off

The preservation ordinance is a work in progress

Posted on January 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the tl;dr version of this.

Sue Lovell

In October 2010, an emotional Sue Lovell, then a city councilwoman, lauded the passage of a strengthened historic preservation ordinance for Houston after a long, complex and divisive battle she and Mayor Annise Parker had led.

In recent months, however, Lovell has appeared before the commissions tasked with implementing the ordinance to lobby on behalf of builders and homeowners seeking to remodel historic homes.

What changed?

Not her support for preservation or for the ordinance, Lovell said. What has shifted, she and others said, is the Houston Archaeological and Historical Commission’s interpretation of the rules.

“I fought for this ordinance,” the former councilwoman said, “and I’m going to continue to fight to improve this ordinance.”

[…]

Parker said the ordinance is working well but acknowledged she has concerns with the law’s implementation, saying she sank a lot of political capital into the fight and wants it to work.

“The disconnect is not with the staff, it’s with the architectural and historical commission, which wants to substitute its judgment, on occasion, for that of the staff,” she said. “There are a couple activist commissioners over there who are hijacking the process.”

Historical Commission Chairman Maverick Welsh said the commission’s interpretations shift naturally as members leave and as city staff turn over, but he pointed to the overall approval rate as evidence of the body’s sound decisions.

“There’s this misconception that we’re this unreasonable bunch of preservationist people, but I think the data supports that we’re reasonable,” Welsh said. “I’ve gotten a lot of pushback from neighborhoods saying we’re too lenient and I’m getting pushback from developers saying we should approve everything. Somewhere in there is a balance, and I think that’s what we’re trying to achieve.”

The path forward, Parker said, is to better educate the historical commission’s members and to tweak language in the ordinance to clarify its intent.

Creating objective standards for something that is inherently subjective is hard. You’re not going to get it right the first time. Hopefully, you create a good foundation that you can work with later. See what works, see what doesn’t, learn from experience, and keep refining. It’s an ongoing process, and it will never be truly finished.

Posted in Local politics | Tagged Annise Parker, Houston, Houston Archeological and Historic Commission, Houston City Council, Maverick Welsh, preservation, Sue Lovell | 2 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Barbara Stalder

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in March. I am running these responses in the order that I receive them from the candidates. You can see all of my interviews as well as finance reports and other information on candidates on my 2014 Election page.)

Barbara Stalder

1. Who are you and what are you running for?

I am Barbara J. Stalder. I am running for the 280th Judicial District Court.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The 280th Judicial District Court primarily hears protective orders involving domestic violence. It can also hear (a) original family law cases filed with a protective order, (b) cases involving custody of a minor child if one parent is alleged to have caused the death of another parent and there is a history of domestic violence in the parents’ relationship, (c) divorce and custody cases in which a court has made a finding of family violence involving both parties; or a protective order has been issued, involving both parties.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

I have dedicated my entire adult life to improving the lives of children and victims of domestic violence in the Greater Houston community. All Houstonians deserve a voice in their justice system and I decided early in my career to challenge myself to tirelessly represent clients in need of help, regardless of their ability to pay.

Harris County deserves a judge with the training and experience needed to understand the devastating effects domestic violence can have on victims and their children. I know domestic violence because I’ve seen it and experienced it. As a survivor of both childhood and adult domestic violence, I fled an eleven-year abusive relationship in 1989. Since 1990, I have worked with child victims of domestic violence, abuse, and neglect. My work has includes helping women victims fleeing their homes with nothing but the clothing on their backs. I have represented women who have been stabbed, beaten, stalked, held captive, and threatened with harm to their children and/or fraudulent or coercive legal consequences by their abusers. Although the majority of victims were women I also had several cases in which I represented men. However, men do not usually report the violence and rarely come forward asking for help. My work with these victims and children gives me specialized knowledge and understanding of what effective judicial leadership looks like.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

I have practiced law for over 10 years but have worked closely with domestic violence victims for over 25 years. My legal career has been dedicated to working with victims of domestic violence, child abuse, and child neglect. Several years ago, I founded a children’s legal service program in Houston to train lawyers representing abused and neglected children. The program also represented children in Child Protective Services (CPS) and contested custody cases.

My experience also includes representing women and children at Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA). Some of the most difficult cases I’ve been involved with are those in which I represented children whose mothers had been murdered by their father. Relatives were left to pick up the pieces.

I am currently a clinical professor of law at the University of Houston Law Center, where I teach, mentor, and supervise second and third-year law students. Students represent real clients, including many involving domestic violence issues. I have been fortunate to have received numerous awards, including the Texas Young Lawyers Association (TYLA) President’s Award of Merit for co-authoring the publication, “What To Expect In Family Court.” I have worked with the domestic violence community, have a good working relationship with other legal aid organizations and am respected by my peers for my work as a lawyer and advocate for women and children.

I have been practicing law for over 10 years, I recently became Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and I have dedicated my legal career to helping others. My husband, Fred, and I recently celebrated our 22nd wedding anniversary, love exploring our Houston community, and volunteer our time with Houston animal rescue groups.

5. Why is this race important?

Our daughters, nieces, sisters, aunts, cousins and friends need a judge who understands not only the physical aspects of domestic violence, but the emotional, spiritual and economic aspects. We need a judge who has the knowledge and experience to recognize the subtle ways batterers continue their abuse after the victim has left. We need a judge who is willing to work with our domestic violence community in creating programs to move our victims from helplessness to hopefulness. We need a judge who can can be fair, respectful, and give every person the right to have their voice heard.

6. Why should people vote for you in the primary?

I am the most experienced lawyer in this race. I have dedicated my entire adult life to advocating for victims of domestic violence. Not only have I represented hundreds of women and children whose lives were forever changed by domestic violence, I also teach my students how to recognize, understand and advocate for victims of violence. I am objective, open-minded and believe every person who comes into court deserves respect and fairness.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Barbara Stalder, Democratic primary, Election 2014, Harris County, judicial races, Q&A | Comments Off

The counties we aren’t going to win are just as important as the counties we will win

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Collin County is a Republican stronghold. It’s also the kind of place that Democrats need to make gains in order to be competitive. That’s a tough thing to do when there’s little hope for winning the county or taking a legislative seat based in the county. But the needle needs to be moved, and the Democrats there seem to get that, which is good to hear.

“There is a completely different dynamic this time,” said Shawn Stevens, chairman of the Democratic Party of Collin County.

So far, most of the work has been organizing and preparing for next fall. In October, Battleground Texas, a statewide organization devoted to turning Texas into a swing state, hosted house parties to train volunteers.

In November, local party leaders hosted what they described as an unusually energetic crowd at their annual Ann Richards Dinner. And lately, a group has been meeting weekly at the Plano strip mall that houses the county party’s office to call other potential volunteers for 2014.

The hope is to have a large group of supporters ready for the fall who can make personal connections with as many voters as possible. And this time around they will probably have outside help, a rarity for Collin County.

There’s a reason there was a lack of energy in the party in the past. For years, Democrats have failed to even be competitive with the local GOP.

In 2010, Republican Gov. Rick Perry won Collin County with 64 percent of the vote, compared with 33 percent for Democratic former Houston Mayor Bill White. In 2012, more than 133,000 people voted straight-ticket Republican. Only 61,000 voted solely for the Democrats.

It will be next to impossible to turn that around in one election. But one reason for the current effort is the conclusion that Democrats can’t simply ignore the counties they know they won’t win, organizers said.

Battleground Texas has pushed for a new statewide attitude, arguing that the party needs a presence in all 254 counties to win elections. Its leaders say similar efforts are happening in other GOP-dominated counties across the state.

“Collin County is a fantastic example of the excitement we are seeing across the state of Texas,” said Jenn Brown, executive director of the group.

[…]

Republicans remain confident, however. State Rep. Jodie Laubenberg of Parker has drawn a Democratic opponent for the first time in years. But she said she isn’t worried. She knows many suburban women who agree with the GOP’s anti-abortion efforts, she said.

And Collin County is thriving economically and has strong schools, she said, so it’s unlikely that Democrats will find enough people who are unhappy with their state government.

“What they are anticipating is not going to work,” Laubenberg said.

Even many Democrats admit that winning the county or individual races in 2014 is a long shot. But they view the fact that they have already begun a significant effort as a positive sign.

And they argue that even a little progress can help Democrats statewide.

“Our voting numbers might not be 50 percent plus one,” said Stevens, the party chairman, “but if you inch up the vote a little bit, you can affect the election.”

Laubenberg doesn’t have to worry about her own re-election, but Stevens is correct, and his recognition of what needs to be done in Collin is critical. Democrats absolutely need to maximize their vote in big urban counties and South Texas, where the bulk of Democrats live. But places like Collin are where the big overall population growth is. Democrats have to be in there competing for these new voters or they’ll be undoing the work they’re doing elsewhere. Look at these figures from the past three off year elections:


Year  Registered  Turnout  Dem high  Pct Reg  Pct Turn
======================================================
2002     312,606  130,443    37,716   12.07%    28.91%
2006     381,821  138,686    42,514   11.13%    30.65%
2010     424,548  157,849    51,890   12.22%    32.87%

There’s likely to be between 450,000 and 500,000 registered voters in Collin County in 2014. Turnout actually wasn’t that high in Collin in 2010 – about 37%, compared to about 36% in 2006 – so between population growth and general turnout activities, the potential is there to add thousands of Democrats to the tally. As the story notes, there were over 61,000 straight ticket Dem votes in 2012, and just over 101,000 votes for President Obama that year. The voters are there if they can be persuaded to show up. Sure, the same is true for the Republicans, but that’s not our problem. The job for Collin County Dems is to get their people out. The potential is there. The fact that they recognize it and are willing to work for it even if there aren’t likely to be any local prizes to be won is better. We’ll see how it goes.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Battleground Texas, Collin County, Election 2002, Election 2006, Election 2010, Election 2012, Election 2014, Governor, Texas, turnout, voter registration, Wendy Davis | 1 Comment

Perry and pot

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Haul out your blind squirrels and acorns cliches.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry said Thursday that he favors decriminalizing marijuana use and lessening punishment for minor offenders as the nation moves toward a more moderate approach to pot use and two states have legalized the drug.

Perry’s comments surprised some, since the governor has repeatedly criticized the Obama administration for not stepping up border enforcement to counter the power of Mexican drug trafficking cartels. Perry has also supported legislation that would mandate drug testing for Texans seeking unemployment benefits or public housing.

But each state has the right to choose its path on how to deal with marijuana, he said, while defending Colorado and Washington’s decision to legalize the drug.

“As governor, I have begun to implement policies that start us toward a decriminalization” by introducing alternative “drug courts” that provide treatment and softer penalties for minor offenses, Perry said during an international panel on drug legalization at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

It’s the first time the governor, who’s voiced support for drug courts in the past, took a position on decriminalization in Texas.

Local law enforcement leaders in Houston had differing reactions to Perry’s comments.

Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson, who as a judge presided over a drug court, backed Perry’s advocacy of offering rehabilitation and community supervision.

“I echo Governor Perry’s support for drug counseling and lesser sentences for marijuana users in Texas,” according to a statement released by her office. “Our goal is to stop the revolving door process where a drug offender gets out of jail, starts using again, only to go back to jail where he or she will spend even more time.”

Anderson added: “Our hope is to keep people out of jail by getting them help.”

[…]

In the past, Perry has discussed his opposition to legalization of marijuana but voiced his support for the 10th amendment and states’ rights to legalize the drug, which he highlighted at the forum Thursday.

I include that last bit to observe that this is very likely more about poking President Obama with the 10th amendment than anything else. Perry doesn’t have a reformer’s record, to say the least, but a message of “keep your federal laws off my state” is consistent with the Rick Perry we know. That said, whatever the motivation Perry’s words are welcome. While most right-thinking people have evolved on this and on the huge costs of the “war on drugs” in general, having a few wrong-thinking people on board will help move things forward faster. As for Devon Anderson, I’m honestly unclear what she’s saying at this point. Let’s just agree that there’s a lot more that could be done here in Texas and in Harris County to keep pot smokers out of jail and provide better outcomes overall. I’d like to hear more candidates talk about decriminalization, or at least about dialing back punishment for smoking pot. If Rick Perry just gave some otherwise reluctant legislators and legislative candidates permission to do that, it’ll be one of the few genuine accomplishments he’ll be able to claim when he’s finally gone from office. Hair Balls, BOR, and Burka have more.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Barack Obama, Devon Anderson, jail overcrowding, jails, marijuana, Rick Perry, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

“Go, Texans” OK’ed

Posted on January 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Well, that‘s a relief.

County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez’s quest to ban “Go Texans” and other messages from Metro’s digital bus marquees has ended unsuccessfully with a pass from the Federal Transportation Administration and a scathing letter from the Metro board chairman.

Last fall, Sanchez asked the federal agency and the Harris County Attorney’s office to determine whether Metro was “misusing federal transit dollars” or somehow breaking the law by displaying certain messages on the destination signs on the fronts and sides of its buses. Sanchez argued that messages like “Go Texans” were not appropriate because they promoted a privately owned company on publicly owned property.

Both entities looked into Sanchez’s inquiry and concluded that Metro’s current policy is legally sound, with the federal agency saying the only applicable prohibitions of marquee messages would be the ones adopted by Metro itself.

In a letter to Sanchez this week, Metro Board Chairman Gilbert Garcia described the inquiry as “unnecessary” and said it jeopardized Metro’s relationship with the federal transportation agency, which he described as “a critical partner that provides crucial funding for projects that help move people throughout the region.”

“We hope to avoid distractions as we continue to keep the Houston area moving,” Garcia wrote. “Rather than pursuing unnecessary inquiries, we hope you will join us to positively address the transit needs in our community.”

Sanchez expressed no regrets, pointing out that “prior to my inquiry, Metro had no policy” on bus marquee messaging.

See here for the background. Sanchez apparently complained to the FTA after the Metro board adopted its policy to allow for these sporting messages plus other generic ones such as “Happy Holidays”, which seems a little petty to me. I just hope we have a football team that’s worthy of the exhortation this fall.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged buses, FTA, Gilbert Garcia, Harris County Treasurer, Houston, Houston Texans, Metro, Orlando Sanchez | 2 Comments

Interview with Ann Harris Bennett

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Ann Harris Bennett

In addition to District Attorney, there is another contested countywide primary on the ballot for Democrats. That primary is for Harris County Clerk, for the nomination to run against first term incumbent Stan Stanart, who has had his share of visible failures with election returns. First up is Ann Harris Bennett, who lost to Stanart in the 2010 election although she was one of the top votegetters among Dems in that landslide year. She also ran for Harris County Tax Assessor in 2012, losing a much closer race to Mike Sullivan. Bennett worked for Harris County for a number of years as the Court Coordinator for the 55th and 152nd District Courts. Previous interviews with Bennett are here for 2010, and here for 2012. Here’s this year’s interview:

You can see all of my interviews as well as finance reports and other information on candidates on my 2014 Election page.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Ann Harris Bennett, Democratic primary, Election 2010, Election 2012, Election 2014, Harris County, Harris County Clerk, interviews | Comments Off

January campaign finance reports for Harris County candidates

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

In our previous episode, we looked at the campaign finance reports for Democratic statewide candidates. Today, let’s have a look at the reports for candidates for countywide office in Harris County. I’m not going to get down to the Constable or JP level – I’m not aware of any interesting primaries, those districts tend not to be too competitive, and there are only so many hours in the day. Neither County Commissioner Jack Cagle nor Jack Morman has an opponent, so I’m skipping them as well. The real interest is in the countywide campaigns, so here are those reports.

County Judge

Ed Emmett
Ahmad Hassan
David Collins


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Emmett       28,600  119,244       401,209
Hassan            0    1,250             0
Collins           0        0             0

The only thing Judge Emmett has to fear, I’d say, is a 2010-style Democratic wave. Other than that, he should win without too much trouble. In the meantime, he will have plenty of campaign cash to spend on various things, including a $10K contribution to the campaign of Paul Simpson, who is challenging Jared woodfill to be Chair of the Harris County GOP, and $5K to the New Dome PAC. It’ll be interesting to see how much he spends on other campaigns from here on out.

District Attorney

Friends of Mike Anderson
Friends of Devon Anderson
Kim Ogg
Lloyd Oliver


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Anderson          0   29,730        36,739
Ogg          66,643    8,897        40,771
Oliver            0        0             0

The Friends of Mike Anderson PAC gave a contribution of $66,469.58 to the Friends of Devon Anderson PAC, which closed out the books on it. I presume Devon Anderson will commence fundraising at some point, and will have all the resources she needs. Kim Ogg has done a decent job fundraising so far, but it’s what you do with what you’ve got that ultimately matters. Zack Fertitta had $145K on hand as of his 30 day report in 2012, and we know how that movie ended. Early voting starts in three weeks, you know.

County Clerk

Stan Stanart
Ann Harris Bennett
Gayle Mitchell


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Stanart      16,400   19,398        45,969
Bennett      10,748    7,113         2,442
Mitchell      1,138    2,010             0

Stan Stanart has $20K in outstanding loans, which was the case in July as well. His fundraising came almost entirely from two sources – the campaign of County Commissioner Jack Cagle ($10K), and a Holloway Frost of Texas Memory Systems ($5K).

District Clerk

Chris Daniel
Friends of Chris Daniel
Court Koenning
Judith Snively


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Daniel            0   15,871             0
Daniel SPAC  31,843   24,166        20,859
Koenning     38,165   48,974       112,814
Snively       5,300    3,095         2,204

Still a lot of money in this race. Incumbent Chris Daniel’s PAC and challenger Court Koenning both have the same outstanding loan totals that they had in July – $74,500 for Daniel, and $50K for Koenning. Democrat Judith Snively has loaned herself $4K. I suspect we won’t see as much money raised in this race after the primary as we do before it.

County Treasurer

Orlando Sanchez
Arnold Hinojosa
David Rosen


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Sanchez      23,500    5,577       220,437
Hinojosa          0    1,250             0
Rosen         2,875    2,122           651

Orlando Sanchez’s eye-popping cash on hand total comes from an equally eye-popping $200K loan to himself. This leaves me wondering where he got that kind of money. Did he do really well for himself from 2002 through 2007, when he was in the private sector, or was he just that well off before he was elected Treasurer in 2006? Maybe someone with a journalism degree and some spare time should look into that. Google tells me that his primary challenger Hinojosa is a constable in Precinct 5. Other than paying the filing fee, he had no activity to report.

HCDE Trustee

Debra Kerner
RW Bray
Michael Wolfe – No report

Melissa Noriega
Don Sumners


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Kerner            0      810           329
Bray            135        0           135
Wolfe

Noriega           0    8,690         9,335
Sumners           0      750             0

Neither Michael Wolfe nor Melissa Noriega has filed a report with the County Clerk; Noriega’s report is from the Houston finance reporting system, for her City Council account, which will presumably be transferred at some point. Not a whole lot else to say except that everyone on this list has run for office at least once before, and with the exception of RW Bray has held office at least once. Who knew the HCDE Board of Trustees would be so popular?

113th District Civil Court (D)
311th Family District Court (R)

Steve Kirkland
Lori Gray


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Kirkland     55,065    6,806        35,963
Gray         35,000   30,209         4,791

Denise Pratt
Donna Detamore
Alecia Franklin
Anthont Magdaleno
Philip Placzek


Candidate    Raised    Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Pratt       146,020   78,361        67,659
Detamore          0    2,591             0
Franklin     15,555   13,595        47,317
Magdaleno     7,562   11,519           299
Placzek       6,700   25,012           149

I’m not interested in watching all of the contested judicial primaries, but these two are certainly keeping and eye on. The 113th is shaping up as a rerun of the 215th from 2012, in which the candidate running against Steve Kirkland is being financed by one person. In this case, George Fleming and the Texans for Good Leaders PAC he runs gave all of the money that Lori Gray collected. I don’t know Ms. Gray – she has responded to Texpatriate’s Q&A, but as yet has not sent answers to mine; if she has a campaign webpage or Facebook page I haven’t found it – but I don’t care for lawyers with vendettas like Mr. Fleming.

As for Judge Pratt, she may have a gaggle of challengers this March, but she’s not feeling the financial heat at this time. She’s also doing what she can to stay in the good graces of the establishment, with $10K to Gary Polland’s Conservative Media Properties, LLC for advertising and $10K to the Harris County GOP for various things (I’m not counting the $2500 for the filing fee). We’ll see how much good it does her.

Still more state and county finance reports, plus the city reports, to go through, and the federal reports should start being posted on February 1. January is a very busy month.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Ann Harris Bennett, Arnold Hinojosa, campaign finance reports, Chris Daniel, Court Koenning, David Rosen, Denise Pratt, Devon Anderson, District Attorney, District Clerk, Ed Emmett, Election 2014, fundraiser, Gayle Mitchell, George Fleming, Harris County, Harris County Clerk, Harris County Judge, Harris County Treasurer, HCDE, judicial races, Judith Snively, Kim Ogg, Lori Gray, Melissa Noriega, Michael Wolfe, Mike Anderson, Orlando Sanchez, Rasauli Bray, Stan Stanart, Steven Kirkland, Texans for Good Leaders | Comments Off

Clearing the rape kit backlog is producing results

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Very promising results.

Private forensic laboratories hired to clear the Houston Police Department’s untested DNA evidence – including a decades-old rape kit backlog – have identified potential offenders in a third of the cases where sufficient DNA samples were found, according to a HPD report.

[…]

Since the HPD lab resumed operations about six years ago, the city has spent millions to outsource DNA evidence testing to reduce the backlog, including $2.1 million in federal money in 2010 and 2011. That money was used, in part, to study why the kits had not been tested.

Last year’s multimillion-dollar clearance project to bulk outsource the cases came more than a year after HPD officials began an inventory of the sexual assault kits in their property room to determine how many had not been tested.

The two private labs have received 9,500 cases, and completed testing in nearly 6,200, according to the HPD report. Of those completed, sufficient evidence was found in 1,268, about a third of the 3,760 cases that have undergone HPD review to ensure the DNA evidence meets federal standards.

The remaining 2,492 cases reviewed did not find any results useful to investigators, the report states. Another 2,410 of the cases where testing was completed are still in HPD review.

See here and here for the background. If the same ratio of useful results holds true for the 2400 cases still being reviewed by HPD, then Houston will have had a higher success rate than some other cities when they finally cleared their backlogs. That doesn’t mean we should expect a thousand or more arrests – going by prior experience, we may see arrests in ten percent of these cases – but still, every single one will be good news. And of course, there are other possibilities.

Bob Wicoff, with the Harris County public defenders office, said the forensic testing could possibly result in exonerations of people wrongly convicted of a crime, or lead to the apprehension of guilty parties.

“There could be some exonerations out of this, but it’s too early to say,” said Wicoff, who represented two Harris County men who were wrongly convicted and imprisoned for rape. “That’s the whole point of doing the testing – its to identify unknown DNA.”

I’ll be surprised if there isn’t at least one exoneration out of all this. The experience we’ve seen elsewhere strongly suggests that one or more innocent men will be identified as a result of this work. That too is very good news, and it will be doubly so if the real rapist gets caught as well.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Annise Parker, crime lab, DNA, Houston, HPD, rape, rape kits | Comments Off

Abercia gets probation

Posted on January 27, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Good riddance.

Jack Abercia

Former Harris County Precinct 1 Constable Jack Abercia was sentenced Wednesday to three years probation for conducting illegal criminal background checks to raise money, in part, for an elevator in his home.

Abercia pleaded guilty in August to 11 counts of misusing his authorized computer access.

Federal prosecutors said Abercia and a top staffer performed illegal background checks for private companies for a fee, using a national criminal information database that is restricted to law enforcement purposes.

Abercia, 80, who took office in 1991, was facing up to five years in prison on each count, but pleaded guilty in U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison’s court in exchange for three years probation.

Abercia resigned from the $120,000-a-year job after being arrested in January 2012.

He took the plea in August, and was supposed to have been sentenced on November 26. Not sure why it took almost two more months to happen. Two of his aides were also arrested and pleaded guilty; one got two years’ probation, the other is still pending. Like I said, good riddance.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Constable, Election 2012, Harris County, Jack Abercia | Comments Off

Weekend link dump for January 26

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

You can now use Bitcoins to buy basketball tickets. In Sacramento, anyway.

Pot legalization is the gay marriage of 2016.

It’s hard out here on an atheist.

“Having somebody to watch your kid(s) during the day opens a lot of additional options– for a second source of income, further education, or just general parental sanity. Whether it encourages the sort of beneficial individual changes in the kids that proponents claim, universal preschool would be an enormous boost to their families.”

The drought in California is going to be especially bad.

Has the concept of falsifiability reached the end of its usefulness?

“The new results […] reveal that dogs do not hail from the same lineage as modern wolves — a big surprise, said Novembre, who was hoping to see evidence for either a single domestication or multiple domestication events, where, for example, the Australian dingo would be most related to the Asian wolf and the African basenji would be most related to the Middle Eastern wolf. Instead, the dogs are all most closely related to each other. The pattern suggests that dogs arose from a now-extinct line of wolves.”

Young baseball teams without much talent usually try to compete, and to sell themselves, as being scrappy, hustling teams that manufacture runs on the basepaths. Even by that standard, the 2013 Houston Astros were a complete failure.

There is no TMI on the Internet. If you don’t want to see/read/hear something, there are tons of ways to avoid it.

Your cough medicine isn’t actually doing anything.

Fewer vaccinations = more disease outbreaks. It’s really that simple.

“And now, 46 years after the accident that left her a quadriplegic and 38 years after publishing the memoir that made her a household name among white evangelicals, Joni Eareckson Tada has become the public face of the very same far-right Christianist groups that have effectively blocked the U.S. from ratifying the international Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities.”

“No baseball player, no football player, no cyclist, no one has built more on a base of sports-drug use than has Schwarzenegger.”

Best wishes to Ezra Klein on his new media venture.

Sometimes, the Internet uses its power for good.

“Why do we ask these players (and coaches) questions so soon after they were under fiery hypnosis, so soon after they were smashing into each other and breaking bones, right as the adrenaline is draining and the pain is beginning to surface? And, more, why do we expect their answers to fit our expectations?”

We think we’re going to drive more than we have been lately, in one graph.

The moral argument about Obamacare, and its effect on Mitch McConnell.

Virgin births are more common – or at least, more commonly reported – than you might think.

The NFL has a contingency plan for the Super Bowl in the event of a snowpocalypse.

“There’s an obvious way for Republicans to escape this dilemma: They can stop caring about budget deficits. That is what happened the last time Republicans held the presidency, under George W. Bush.”

Mork and Mindy, together again.

“Have you seen a Sochi Coke-themed commercial in the US? I certainly haven’t.”

From the couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy files.

“Yes, the 1984 ad created an indelible brand image. But it was the wrong image. It was a memorable ad, but it wasn’t a good one.”

Uncle Sugar meets Aunt Flo.

Or to put it another way, please continue, Governor Huckabee.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged linkdump | Comments Off

Charles Sebesta needs to be held accountable

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Amen to this.

Anthony Graves

Former Texas death row inmate Anthony Graves, who spent 18 years behind bars before he was exonerated in the bloody 1992 slaying of a Somerville grandmother, her daughter and four grandchildren, is seeking justice against the man who put him there.

In 2006, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Graves’ capital murder conviction when a three-judge panel said he deserved a new trial after ruling that Burleson County District Attorney Charles Sebesta elicited false statements from two witnesses and withheld two statements that could have changed the minds of jurors.

Graves, who was released from prison in October 2010, is taking advantage of a new state law that allows a grievance against a prosecutor to be filed within four years of a wrongfully imprisoned person’s release.

State Sens. Rodney Ellis, John Whitmire and state Rep. Senfronia Thompson, all Houston Democrats, stood behind Graves on the campus of Texas Southern University on Monday as he and his attorneys urged the Texas State Bar to investigate and discipline Sebesta.

“I am asking prosecutors who operate with the highest integrity to support me,” Graves, 48, told reporters. “I am seeking justice for the man who wrongfully prosecuted me.”

[…]

Graves and his attorney, Bob Bennett, said the new law remedies the statute of limitations rule.

“There’s been no final order,” Bennett said. “Even if it was dismissed, you still have the option of coming back because there’s been no final order.”

Whitmire and Thompson sponsored the bill that was one of several that passed last year as details of Michael Morton’s wrongful murder conviction and exoneration came to light.

Anthony Graves deserves justice in the same way and for the same reasons as Michael Morton. In many ways, the injustice done to Graves was worse. If you’re not familiar with Anthony Graves, read this report by Texas Monthly writer Pamela Colloff, who is the authoritative source on Graves and Morton. That article was published on the day that Graves was freed after the charges against him were dropped.

Not until yesterday morning did Burleson County district attorney Bill Parham and special prosecutor Kelly Siegler explain why they had made such a dramatic about-face. At a press conference at the D.A.’s office in Brenham—just across the street from the courthouse where Graves’s retrial was to have taken place early next year—Parham told reporters that he was “absolutely convinced” of Graves’s innocence after his office conducted a thorough examination of his case. Parham was clear that this was not a matter of having insufficient evidence to take to trial; charges were not dropped because too many witnesses had died over the years or because the evidence had become degraded. “There’s not a single thing that says Anthony Graves was involved in this case,” he said. “There is nothing.”

Former Harris County assistant district attorney Kelly Siegler, who has sent nineteen men to death row in her career, went even further in her statements. Siegler laid the blame for Graves’s wrongful conviction squarely at the feet of former Burleson County D.A. Charles Sebesta. “Charles Sebesta handled this case in a way that would best be described as a criminal justice system’s nightmare,” Siegler said. Over the past month, she explained, she and her investigator, retired Texas Ranger Otto Hanak, reviewed what had happened at Graves’s trial. After talking to witnesses and studying documents, they were appalled by what they found. “It’s a prosecutor’s responsibility to never fabricate evidence or manipulate witnesses or take advantage of victims,” she said. “And unfortunately, what happened in this case is all of these things.” Graves’s trial, she said, was “a travesty.”

So yeah, this is a big deal. You need to read Colloff’s two feature stories to get the full measure of outrage at this horror. Sebesta avoided any repercussions for his abhorrent actions initially because Texas’ law at the time started the clock on the statute of limitations way too soon. Here’s Colloff again with the details.

At first glance, the bar’s lack of action against Sebesta is confounding. Why would the statute of limitations prohibit the agency from taking action against Sebesta, who prosecuted Graves in 1994, but not against Anderson, who prosecuted Morton seven years earlier, in 1987? The answer lies in one simple detail: the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the facts of the offense—such as withholding evidence favorable to the accused—are discovered (or, in legalese, “become discoverable”). In the recent proceedings against Anderson, the bar persuasively argued that the statute of limitations did not begin running until 2011, when the transcript describing Morton’s son’s account of the killer was found in Anderson’s files. Such a strategy was not possible with Sebesta, Acevedo told me, because “the information at issue”—i.e., that he withheld favorable evidence—“was known more than four years before the grievance was filed.”

Bennett, who filed the grievance, takes issue with that, arguing that the Fifth Circuit’s ruling “was the official notice of what had taken place.” And Graves’s attorney, Cásarez, believes that’s key. While it’s true that Graves’s lawyers learned in 1998 that Carter had repeatedly told Sebesta of Graves’s innocence, when they took a deposition from Carter at that time, it was simply a defendant’s word against that of a sitting district attorney. It was not until 2006 that the Fifth Circuit made an official finding that Sebesta had withheld evidence. “Now, how can someone file a grievance and expect to get anywhere until a court finds that the prosecutor engaged in misconduct?” Cásarez wondered.

Thankfully, SB825 took care of that loophole last year. Now maybe Charles Sebesta will finally be held to account for his actions. The Trib and Colloff again have more.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Anthony Graves, Charles Sebesta, death penalty, innocence, John Whitmire, Kelly Siegler, Michael Morton, Rodney Ellis, Senfronia Thompson, State Bar of Texas, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Cutting one’s nose to spite one’s face isn’t a matter of principle

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just stupid and self-destructive.

Louie Gohmert

Lots of conservative lawmakers hate Obamacare. Rep. Louie Gohmert is putting his money where his mouth is.

The Tyler Republican gave up his health insurance for 2014, asserting that the president’s signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act, has made coverage too expensive.

“Other people are going to see what I did when I looked into health insurance for my wife and me: that the deductible rate, it doubled, about $3,000 to $6,000, and our policy was going to go from about $300 to about $1,500 a month,” he said during a recent radio interview with Trey Graham, a pastor at First Melissa Baptist Church in Collin County. “I actually don’t have insurance right now, so thank you very much, Obamacare.”

Gohmert’s salary as a member of Congress is $174,000 a year. And his calculations ignore the hefty employer subsidy for which he is eligible — almost $950 per month. He says he will pay the tax that takes effect this year for those without insurance — 1 percent of his annual income.

Health care experts say Gohmert is taking a big risk. He’s 60. His wife, Kathy Gohmert, is 59. At that stage of life, medical expenses are common and unpredictable.

“By not obtaining insurance, you are just rolling the dice, gambling that you are not going to get sick or going to get hit by a car,” said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute. “Most financial advisers and most independent experts would say it’s a wise move to obtain insurance and basically a no-brainer if you have an employer who is willing to kick in about 70 percent of the cost of your premium.”

That’s the case for Gohmert.

But for months, he’s said he would rather give up his government-supplied insurance than accept any government subsidy. If he did take the subsidy available to federal lawmakers and their aides, he would probably pay a monthly premium of about $600 — far less than the figure he cited on Graham’s show, which aired Sunday.

In a brief interview at the Capitol, Gohmert said that he’s a victim of Obamacare.

“I lost my health care. I liked it OK, but I didn’t get to keep it,” he said, referring to his previous insurance plan. “I couldn’t afford to go up four or five times what I was paying and double my deductible, and so I’m better off with just setting money aside for health care and paying the penalty.

[…]

Members of Congress and their aides represent an unusual category of insurance customers. Before the Affordable Care Act, they were eligible for the same insurance options offered to civilian employees across the federal government.

Under the new law, they get insurance through the Washington, D.C., insurance exchange, which created an unintended problem. Workers at big companies get employee-subsidized insurance through their jobs. Exchanges were meant for people who lacked insurance and didn’t get such subsidies.

To make sure that members of Congress and their aides weren’t penalized, the Obama administration announced that subsidies would carry over for them to the local exchange.

To be clear, the reason why members of Congress and their staffers are required to buy insurance through the exchange is because of a political stunt pulled by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R, Iowa) during the debate over the Affordable Care Act when it was still a bill. Had it not been for Grassley’s failed effort to embarrass Democrats during the debate, Gohmert would still have the same insurance he’d had since he was first elected. Go blame Chuck Grassley if you don’t like your choices, Louie. Or, you know, blame yourself.

Honestly, I don’t even know what principle Gohmert thinks he’s defending here. The right to be sick? The right to be bankrupted by medical misfortune? The right to be stuck in a crappy job because you have a pre-existing condition and need the insurance it provides? I don’t wish for bad things to happen to people, but if the Gohmerts were to suffer adverse consequences as a result of this foolish decision, it would at least serve as a shining example for why people need to have insurance, and why the Affordable Care Act was so vitally necessary for so many Americans. So thanks for that, Louie. Only you could have done this. Hair Balls has more.

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Chuck Grassley, Congress, health insurance, insurance exchanges, Louie Gohmert, Texas | 4 Comments

Finally doing that front door facelift

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Better late than never.

Renovations started this week on the historic Sunset Coffee Building at Allen’s Landing on the north end of downtown.

The more than 100-year-old structure, now behind a fence as construction begins, is getting a $5.3 million facelift from Houston First Corp. and Buffalo Bayou Partnership. They hope the new design will reconnect the bayou with downtown Houston.

The building sits on a spot often referred to as “Houston’s Plymouth Rock,” according to a joint announcement Friday from the Partnership and Houston First. Brothers August Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen established Houston there in 1836.

[…]

The project should be completed in about one year. At that time the building will have an outdoor plaza with refreshment and rental facilities for runners, canoeists, kayakers and bikers. The first level will be office space for the partnership and the second level and a rooftop terrace will be used as event space.

A walkway will connected the building to Commerce Street. Ultimately, the building will connect to Buffalo Bayou’s trail system that stretches to Shepherd Drive.

We first heard about this almost a year ago. At the time, the plan was for work to begin in April, 2013. I don’t know what caused the delay – this story doesn’t indicate – but at least it’s getting started now. I can’t wait to see what it looks like when it’s finally done.

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged Buffalo Bayou, Buffalo Bayou Partnership, construction, downtown, Houston, Houston First, preservation, Sunset Coffee Building | Comments Off

US-Mexico high speed rail?

Posted on January 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

What goes north can also go south.

Like this but with fewer mountains

A high-speed rail line connecting San Antonio and Monterrey, Mexico, could be less than a decade away from welcoming its first passengers, according to federal and Texas officials who met with Mexican officials in Washington, D.C., on Thursday to discuss the project.

U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-San Antonio, hosted the meeting in which Texas and Mexican officials offered a joint presentation to U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx about the project, and Cuellar said Foxx was receptive. It was the third meeting between U.S. and Mexican officials related to the project, Cuellar said, following a meeting in the summer and another in October.

“From the Mexican side, they are very interested,” Cuellar said. “From the Texas side, they are very interested.”

Supporters say the rail line, if completed, could move passengers from San Antonio to Monterrey in two hours. The trip takes nearly five hours traveling by car.

Cuellar said he became interested in such a project after learning that the Texas Department of Transportation had received $5.6 million in federal funds last year to study possible rail projects between Oklahoma City and South Texas.

[…]

Both Mexican and U.S. officials envision a large portion of the project’s funding coming from the private sector, perhaps from a single company investing in the project in both countries.

We are familiar with one private investor for high speed rail in Texas, and we heard about that FTA grant recently. Obviously, all this is a long way from happening, but if both do happen – I’m reasonably confident about the Houston-Dallas line – then it would make a lot more sense to connect them, since that would have more value than two separate, disconnected lines. That would mean finishing the rest of the so-called Texas Triangle, which would then have offshoots continuing on to Oklahoma City and Monterrey. That would be pretty cool, don’t you think? The Highwayman and the Express News have more.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Dallas, Henry Cuellar, high speed rail, Houston, Laredo, Mexico, Monterrey, Oklahoma, Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Texas, Texas Central High-Speed Railway, TxDOT, US Department of Transportation | 1 Comment

Saturday video break: Cups

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Cup-stacking is a thing with the kids these days, and this song from “Pitch Perfect” is the soundtrack for it (music starts about 1:28).

David Letterman was quite impressed by Anna Kendrick’s cup percussion ability:

As someone who finds it hard enough to do one musical thing at a time, color me impressed as well.

Posted in Music | Tagged movies, videos | 1 Comment

Petition problems

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Every election cycle there are fights over who really did or didn’t qualify for the ballot. This one is shaping up to be a doozy.

Three lawsuits over alleged ballot irregularities involving Harris County judicial candidates will be heard by a Beaumont judge, officials said Thursday.

State District Judge Bob Wortham was appointed to preside over the cases a day after the Harris County Attorney’s Office said it is reviewing documents filed by all local judicial candidates.

“We have a reasonable suspicion there are several instances that we need to look into,” said Terry O’Rourke, special assistant to County Attorney Vince Ryan.

O’Rourke and other officials appeared in a Harris County court Thursday for a hearing on a temporary restraining order request by longtime Precinct 2 Place 2 Justice of the Peace George Risner.

[…]

Harris County GOP chair Jared Woodfill said the party was not made aware of the allegations until after the five-day window to investigate inaccuracies that followed the Dec. 9 filing deadline.

Instead of ruling on Risner’s request for a restraining order to stop the county from printing or mailing any more ballots, including absentee ballots, for the March 4 primary, state District Judge Randy Wilson said it would be more appropriate for a judge from outside Harris County.

“This could affect a lot of judges here,” Wilson said. “I’m a candidate on that ballot.”

He noted that Risner’s case is similar to two other recently filed cases involving Republicans and Democrats in judicial races and said administrative Judge Olen Underwood would assign the cases, including the hearing that had been scheduled for Thursday, to Wortham.

Wortham is expected to have a hearing on Risner’s request for a temporary restraining order on Tuesday.

Moving the case to another jurisdiction makes a lot of sense, for the reason noted by Judge Wilson. The Thursday Chron had a preview of what was to come, with some more detail about the instigating case.

The allegation first was raised by longtime Precinct 2 Place 2 Justice of the Peace George Risner, who is suing the Harris County Republican Party, claiming it violated state election law by placing candidate Leonila Olivares-Salazar on its party ballot even after being told her application included hundreds of falsified petition signatures.

[…]

Olivares-Salazar “has publicly admitted to hiring a company to collect the required number of valid signatures (250) to qualify her for the ballot,” the petition states. “There were at least four circulators that gathered signatures for Olivares-Salazar who were employed by the company Olivares-Salazar hired, who falsified signatures on Olivares-Salazar’s petitions.”

Risner, a Democrat first elected to his post in 1987, and Olivares-Salazar are running unopposed in their parties’ respective primaries, meaning they would face each other in the November general election.

Risner said he was suspicious about the validity of the 456 signatures his opponent submitted after some of his “friends and campaign workers looked them over,” and decided to go door-to-door to see whether people whose names appeared on the petitions actually had signed them.

“Ninety-nine point nine percent of them told me no,” he said. The petition claims 380 signatures were falsified.

Anyone who is active in politics has signed judicial petitions. The parties hold events designed to help judicial candidates get the petition signatures they need, and anyplace where candidates and voters gather there will be clipboard-toters seeking signatures. One of the things about signing such a petition is that you promise not to sign any petitions for a candidate from another party, and you promise not to vote in another party’s primary or participate in another party’s candidate selection convention. I suspect that is what may have tipped off Risner – if his Republican opponent’s petition had a bunch of signatures from known Democrats on it, that would be odd. If Risner then got some sworn statements from these folks attesting that they never signed Olivares-Salazar’s petition, that’s pretty strong evidence. Plus, the universe of people who sign these petitions for either party is pretty small, and heavily partisan. Most names are likely to appear many times, for the reasons cited above. Seeing mostly unrecognizable names on the petition, and following up to determine that they mostly have no primary voting history, would also be a clue that something unusual was happening.

Anyway. I can’t wait to see what the Beaumont judge makes of all this. There are also rumors that the County Attorney’s investigation may turn up other instances of invalid signatures. That’ss the party’s job to check, and HCDP Chair Lane Lewis is quoted saying his team did do a thorough review of all their petitions. We’ll see how that goes. The other two lawsuits involved a Republican challenger to a Republican incumbent judge who was denied a spot on the primary ballot, and an allegation by Democrat Julia Maldonado that her opponent, Sandra Peake, did not turn in enough signatures. Campos (twice) and Lisa Falkenberg have more.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Election 2014, George Risner, Harris County Attorney, judicial races, Justice of the Peace, lawsuit, Leonila Olivares-Salazar, petitions | Comments Off

Metro names Lambert its next CEO

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

For the second time in a row, the Metro board will make its interim CEO its permanent CEO.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority board on Thursday voted unanimously to open negotiations with Tom Lambert for the permanent president and CEO position.

Lambert, who has led the agency on an interim basis since December 2012, served as Metro’s police chief for more than 28 years and more recently as an executive vice president. He was named interim CEO after George Greanias abruptly resigned.

Lambert, a 35-year Metro employee, initially said he would not be a candidate for the permanent job, and Metro hired a search firm to help it find a new leader. Over time, however, board members grew impressed with the job Lambert was doing and decided he should be considered for the permanent position.

“The chief has done a dynamite job, and his team has done a dynamite job, there is no doubt,” board chairman Gilbert Garcia said, referring to Lambert, during a December meeting with the Houston Chronicle editorial board.

As an earlier story notes, the Metro board hadn’t done much of anything to advance the search for an external candidate, so I guess they are indeed happy with Lambert. I think he’s done a decent job as well, though he does have some big challenges ahead, from reimagining bus routes to dealing with railcar shortages, and hopefully to restart the conversation about more rail lines in the future. I wish him the best of luck with these tasks. The Metro blog has more.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged buses, George Greanias, Gilbert Garcia, Houston, light rail, Metro, Tom Lambert | 1 Comment

Next stop, Virginia

Posted on January 25, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

More lawsuits coming on same sex marriage.

Almost overnight, Virginia has emerged as a critical state in the nationwide fight to grant gay men and women the right to wed.

This purple state was once perceived as unfriendly and even bordering on hostile to gay rights. That’s changed after a seismic political shift in the top three elected offices, from conservative Republicans to liberal Democrats who support gay marriage.

Two federal lawsuits challenging the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage are moving forward, and a hearing on one of the cases is scheduled for Jan. 30.

Along with the recent court rulings in which federal judges struck down gay marriage bans in Utah and Oklahoma, gay rights advocates are heartened by the new mood in Virginia.

[…]

One lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Harrisonburg, involves two couples from the Shenandoah Valley who claim the state’s ban on gay marriage violates the Constitution’s equal protection and due process clauses. The American Civil Liberties Union and Lambda Legal are representing the plaintiffs.

Camilla Taylor, marriage project director for Lambda Legal, said Virginia’s “intriguing” history on marriage rights played a role in filing the challenge here. A 1967 Supreme Court decision involving a Virginia couple invalidated laws on miscegenation, or interracial marriage.

The case involved Mildred and Richard Loving. The interracial couple had been living in Virginia when police raided their home in 1958 and charged them with violating the state’s Racial Integrity law. They had been married in Washington, D.C.

The Lovings were convicted before ultimately prevailing before the Supreme Court.

“The narrative in Virginia of how marriage plays into Virginia history, why the state was so important nationally for our struggle, is a very significant one,” Taylor said.

The other lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Norfolk on similar constitutional claims. The legal costs in that case are being paid for by the American Foundation for Equal Rights, which was behind the effort to overturn California’s gay marriage ban.

David Boies and Theodore B. Olson, the high-profile legal tandem that brought down California’s prohibition on same-sex marriage, lead the legal team in that challenge. Both cited Virginia’s history when they announced their challenge.

Olson also cited Loving v. Virginia in his comments on the case. These lawsuits take place against a backdrop not just of recent wins in court in Utah and Oklahoma, but also of the Democratic sweep in the November 2013 elections. New Attorney General Marc Herring was vocal on the campaign trail in his support of marriage equality, and the job of defending Virginia’s laws now fall to him. That’ll be one thing to watch. As has been the case nationally, opinions towards marriage equality have shifted considerably in Virginia, with a majority now in support. Texas will be up next after Virginia, so the news isn’t going to stop or even slow down any time soon.

Posted in National news | Tagged Election 2013, gay marriage, gay rights, lawsuit, Marc Herring, Texas, Virginia | 2 Comments

Friday random ten: Cold enough for you?

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m pretty sure we’ll all be happy to never hear the words “polar vortex” again.

1. Baby, It’s Cold Outside – The Priestess And The Fool
2. Cold – Annie Lennox
3. Cold Chicago – Humming House
4. Cold Irons Bound – Bob Dylan
5. Cold Shot – Stevie Ray Vaughan
6. Cold Wait – Ian Pooley
7. Cold War Fiasco – team9 vs Stereogum
8. Dark Was The Night, Cold Was The Ground – Asylum Street Spankers
9. Hot N Cold – Katy Perry
10. Truth Gets Colder – Idiot Savant

Stay warm, y’all.

Posted in Music | Tagged Friday random ten, theme lists | Comments Off

Interview with Rep. Carol Alvarado

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Rep. Carol Alvarado

In addition to the contested Democratic primary in HD131, there is also one in HD145, where Rep. Carol Alvarado is in her third term. Rep. Alvarado was of course a three-term City Council member in District I prior to her election to the Legislature, experience that served her on the Urban Affairs, Public Health, and Redistricting committees. She is also serving on the House Select Committee on Transparency in State Agency Operations, which among other things is investigating UT Regent Wallace Hall. Rep. Alvarado has also been a strong defender of reproductive freedom in the House, which is no small task. I was redistricted into HD145 in 2011, and while I was sad to lose Rep. Jessica Farrar as my representative, I was and am quite happy to be represented by Rep. Alvarado. Here’s the interview:

You can see all of my interviews as well as finance reports and other information on candidates on my 2014 Election page.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Carol Alvarado, Democratic primary, Election 2014, HD145, interviews, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Federal judge denies Abbott motion to consolidate same sex marriage lawsuits

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Lone Star Q:

A key hearing in a federal lawsuit challenging Texas’ same-sex marriage bans will go forward next month in San Antonio.

U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia, of the Western District of Texas, on Wednesday rejected Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott’s latest effort to transfer the lawsuit from San Antonio to Austin.

Garcia cited key differences between the San Antonio lawsuit, known as DeLeon v. Perry, and two other lawsuits challenging the marriage bans that are pending before U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks in Austin. Garcia’s decision to deny Abbott’s motion means a hearing in DeLeon v. Perry will take place as scheduled in February.

“The Court finds that while both lawsuits filed in the Austin court share a common issue with the present lawsuit in that all Plaintiffs challenge he constitutionality of Defendants’ refusal to let them marry their same-sex partners, the three lawsuits differ in important respects,” Garcia wrote.

That hearing will be on February 12. Previously, Abbott had petitioned Judge Sparks to consolidate the lawsuits, which do have some key differences, but Judge Sparks denied the request. Neel McLane, the attorney for the San Antonio plaintiffs, thinks Abbott has been forum shopping.

U.S. District Judge Orlando L. Garcia, who presides over the Western District of Texas’ San Antonio district, is a President Bill Clinton appointee. Garcia also happens to be the brother-in-law of Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, a Democrat and marriage-equality supporter who’s running for lieutenant governor in 2014. Legal experts say they believe there’s a good chance Garcia will rule in favor of marriage equality in DeLeon v. Perry, a lawsuit filed in his court in October alleging Texas’ marriage bans are unconstitutional.

[…]

Lane said Abbott’s office wants the cases before Sparks, who gave preliminary indications at [a hearing on January 9] that it won’t be easy to convince him to strike down the state’s marriage amendment.

“He [Sparks] did suggest it was going to be a difficult showing to make,” Lane said.

Of course, from there it would be appealed to the Fifth Circuit, where good things go to die. But it would still be a big step forward.

The state of Texas is sure to fight this every step of the way. At least, that would be the case as long as there is a fanatical enemy of marriage equality infesting the Attorney General’s office. If a proponent of marriage equality were to be elected, we might see what Virginia is seeing, where its newly-elected AG is declining to defend that state’s ban on same sex marriage.

Virginia’s new attorney general has decided to switch sides in an important case that is challenging the state’s constitutional ban on gay marriage.

In an interview with Morning Edition’s Steve Inskeep, Democrat Mark Herring said his office will no longer defend the state’s ban on same-sex marriages.

“As attorney general, I cannot and will not defend laws that violate Virginians’ rights,” Herring said. “The commonwealth will be siding with the plaintiffs in this case and with every other Virginia couple whose right to marry is being denied.”

Herring was sworn in just days ago after a razor-thin win in November, an election that marked big political change in the state and also ushered in Democrat Terry McAuliffe to the governor’s mansion. Herring is taking over for Ken Cuccinelli, a Republican who ran and lost a bid for governor on a Tea Party platform and was a staunch defender of the gay-marriage ban.

Herring said as he came into office, he asked his staff to review Bostic v. Rainey and, after careful consideration, he came to the conclusion that the ban violates the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

[…]

Herring’s solicitor general will tell a federal judge in Norfolk next week that Virginia is joining the plaintiffs in the case, that the state agrees a ban on gay marriage denies some couples in the state what the Supreme Court has called a fundamental right.

Herring said he’s doing it for Virginians. That’s when Steve reminded him that the amendment to Virginia’s Constitution defining marriage as only between a man and woman was approved by 57 percent of voters in 2006.

Herring said that his job is to defend laws that are constitutional. This one, he said, isn’t. Also, Herring added, he wants his state to be on the right side of history.

“There have been times in some key landmark cases where Virginia was on the wrong side, was on the wrong side of history and on the wrong side of the law,” Herring said. “And as attorney general, I’m going to make sure that the [people] presenting the state’s legal position on behalf of the people of Virginia are on the right side of history and on the right side of the law.”

Consider that a reason to vote for Sam Houston, if you needed one. Herring is not the first AG to reach this conclusion.

It is not the first time an attorney general has decided to stop defending their state’s gay marriage ban. In Pennsylvania, Attorney General Kathleen Kane said last year that she would stop defending that state’s gay marriage ban, also calling it unconstitutional. An outside law firm was hired to represent the state in a lawsuit over the ban.

And before that, the state of California declined to defend Prop 8, and the federal government declined to defend DOMA. It’s one thing to be dealt a losing hand, it’s another to be dealt a hand you don’t believe should be played at all. The fall of DOMA, the recent court rulings, and the massive shift in public opinion give plenty of cover for these decisions. And as Dave Weigel points out, it’s not like this is a bedrock principle that’s at stake here.

Virginia’s constitutional definition of marriage is not some sacred script handed down from Thomas Jefferson to Patrick Henry to (still sounds weird) Terry McAuliffe. It’s actually younger than the iPod. In 2006, 57 percent of Virginia voters approved the Marshall-Newman Amendment, adding the definition to their Constitution. Since then, lots of Virginians have, like Herring, changed their minds. As of six months ago, only 43 percent of Virginians opposed gay marriage — a 14-point swing.

So Virginia’s one of those states that’s probably ready to wave in gay marriages, but can’t, because an older and more conservative electorate locked and bolted the door. Back in 2006, this was seen as a boon for Republicans. And now it’s left Republicans defending a pretty unpopular position.

Texas passed its amendment in 2005, still years after the iPod hit the scene, though our history of banning gay marriage does go back to the pre-iPod era. The point about locking it in via the Constitution, which I’ve made before, is why this will need to be resolved by the courts. Daily Kos has more.

Posted in Legal matters, National news | Tagged Attorney General, Constitution, Election 2013, Election 2014, gay marriage, gay rights, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, Marc Herring, Sam Houston, Texas, Virginia | Comments Off

Endorsement watch: EQTx for Davis

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Sarah Davis, that is.

Rep. Sarah Davis

A gay rights group Tuesday backed its first Texas Republican in a primary election, for better or worse.

State Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West University Place, will find out in March if the endorsement, from Equality Texas, a gay rights advocacy group, will help or hurt her re-election bid. The announcement marks the first time the group has endorsed a Republican, a subtle signal of the momentum marriage equality is gaining as cases challenging the state’s Constitutional ban make their way through courts.

Davis said in a September interview with the San Antonio Express-News that she does not agree with the ban and that marriage should not be a government issue, citing personal freedom and limited government.

“I believe marriage is a religious sacrament, and the government should not force congregations to perform the ceremonies, however I do not oppose two consenting adults entering into civil unions,” Davis said by text message Tuesday. “The greatest threat to freedom is fiscal in nature, not social.”

She also said in the September interview that language outlawing sodomy in Texas’ law, which has been ruled void by the U.S. Supreme Court, should be removed. Davis also said spouses of same-sex members of the military should receive benefits, a move the federal government has asked state militaries to enforce but Texas has challenged.

“It just doesn’t make sense to me,” Davis said of denying the benefits.

Lone Star Q adds on.

Davis, who was first elected in 2010 and defeated gay Democrat Ann Johnson in 2012, has been an outspoken supporter of LGBT equality. Davis authored legislation to ensure equal hospital visitation and medical decision-making, and she helped defeat an effort to ban LGBT resource centers on college campuses. She also happens to be the lone House Republican who voted against Texas’ strict new abortion regulations.

“The majority of Republicans agree with most of our legislative priorities,” said Texas Equity PAC volunteer Daniel Williams. “We have to make it safe for Republican representatives to be out front on those issues. Rep. Davis has done that and she’s facing a primary opponent who is decidedly anti-equality. Endorsing Rep. Davis in the Republican primary isn’t just the smart thing to do, it’s a vital step towards making it safe for other Republicans to represent true Texas values of fairness.”

Davis wasn’t immediately available for comment on the endorsement, which Williams said she signed off on. Williams said the endorsement also applies to the November election, when Davis faces Democrat Alison Ruff.

EQTx announced the endorsement on their Facebook page; as you can see, there’s not exactly a consensus over this. They also sent out an email yesterday with their full slate of endorsed candidates for the primaries and links to contribution pages for each; Davis’ page is here. As of yet, there is nothing about any of this on Rep. Davis’ campaign Facebook page.

I respect EQTx and I get what they’re doing, though I can’t claim to be as impressed by Davis’ record as they are. That said, Davis does stand apart from the bulk of her GOP House colleagues on social issues, and Lord knows she’s better than her primary opponent. This is obviously a calculated risk for both EQTx and Davis, since it’s far from clear that an endorsement like this will be of value in a Republican primary. What will Jared Woodfill and Dan Patrick make of this? To be as fair to them as I can, dissenters on high-profile issues are never all that popular within their own party, for obvious and valid reasons. We Democrats have been historically pretty tolerant of our own heretics, often out of a practical need to avoid trouble and be competitive in less-than-ideal districts, but that tolerance is almost always grudging at best. You’d think after the example of Martha Wong last decade, that the GOP would want to take a more pragmatic view here, but we’ll see about that. Davis is a strong November candidate, but she has to survive March first. BOR has more.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Dan Patrick, Election 2014, endorsements, Equality Texas, gay rights, HD134, Jared Woodfill, Martha Wong, primaries, Republican Party, Sarah Davis, Texas, The Lege | 1 Comment

Trial date set for Wilson residency lawsuit

Posted on January 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Mark your calendars.

Dave Wilson

County officials have dropped their request to temporarily keep Houston Community College trustee Dave Wilson from his office in favor of an expedited trial date that will allow jurors to decide if he lives in District 2.

Last month, the county sued to prevent Wilson from serving on the HCC board amid questions about his residency.

On Tuesday, First Assistant Harris County Attorney Robert Soard confirmed that the county will stop pursuing immediate legal action against Wilson in exchange for a civil trial beginning on April 15.

“We decided that it would be helpful to the people of District 2 and the people of the state of Texas to get this trial over with as quickly as we can,” Soard said late Tuesday. “We reached an agreement with Mr. Wilson through his lawyer that we would drop our request for a temporary injunction. In return, they would agree to an expedited trial.”

Wilson is ready for a jury to consider the case.

“I look forward to the speedy trial and getting my name cleared,” he said late Tuesday. “They’ve got a losing case and they know it. … I hope they come to their senses. This is nothing but partisan politics.”

The temporary restraining order preventing Wilson from taking his seat had already been lifted, so it’s not a huge concession to quit fighting that battle. I have no doubt that both sides would like to get the core issues resolved, so an expedited court date makes sense. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged Dave Wilson, Election 2013, Harris County Attorney, HCC, Houston, lawsuit | Comments Off

Judicial Q&A: Julia Maldonado

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Julia Maldonado

1. Who are you and what are you running for?

I am Julia Maldonado and I am a Democrat running for the 246th Family District Court. I’m a family lawyer who has been in private practice since the start of my career over fifteen years ago. Since then, I’ve built a successful small business serving families in Harris and surrounding counties.

Although born in Mexico, I have spent my life here in Houston as part of a family who sought and achieved the American Dream. After graduating from Houston public schools, I received a Business degree from the University of Houston-Downtown and a law degree from Texas Southern University. I’m a proud mother to two grown men, and just recently became a grandmother. While my eldest, Vic, graduated from the University of Houston, my youngest, Aaron, is a Freshman at Baylor University. My sons are my best accomplishment to date.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The court primarily hears cases dealing with divorce, custody, visitation, adoptions and other family matters.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

After building a private practice and serving clients on both sides of a case, I have earned the experience and temperament to serve as District Judge in this family court. This calling is something I do not approach lightly and I look forward to serving the people of Harris County.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

I have spent my career practicing family law. During my 2012 campaign for the Court of Appeals, I found a little bit of time to study and pass the state examination to become Board Certified in Family Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, and I’m proud to say that I am the only candidate in either Party with such a designation. I have built a successful practice and I am diligent in all facets of a case. The 246th needs an impartial jurist who will ensure fairness for all parties, and I know that I am able to meet the highest ethical standards.

5. Why is this race important?

The 246th District Court needs a judge who comes to each case with no biases and high standards of jurisprudence. As a family lawyer who has represented clients in these courts, these qualities have sometimes been lacking in some of our judges. As a member of a political party that is open-minded and appreciative of diversity, I will ensure fairness and justice for all.

6. Why should people vote for you in the primary?

Any candidate for a family court will likely boast about their experience in the field, and I’m no different. Beyond experience, though, voters must seek the best candidates–candidates who are willing to put in the sweat and hard work of earning the vote. I was proud of my campaign in 2012 in which I was among the top vote-getters in Harris County, winning the county by over 12,000 votes. This kind of work is not easy and Democrats deserve candidates who work hard for every vote, rather than just serve as fixtures on the ballot. I am committed to putting in the hard work, raising the campaign cash, and deploying an effective campaign to earn the support of Harris County voters.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2014, Harris County, judicial races, Julia Maldonado, Q&A | Comments Off

Somewhat less onerous navigator rules published

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

They could have been worse, but they could still be better.

It’s constitutional – deal with it

The Texas Department of Insurance on Tuesday issued state regulations for health care “navigators,” the workers who assist people seeking health insurance in the federal marketplace created by the Affordable Care Act.

The rules take into account some of the criticism aired recently by Democrats and health care advocates at public hearings, while also broadening the definition of “navigator” to allow additional organizations — not just those that received federal grants — to hire and train navigators.

“These rules will help ensure Texans have confidence that anyone registered as a navigator has passed appropriate background checks and received the training they need to safeguard a consumer’s most sensitive and personal information,” Texas Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgeber said in a news release.

The rules require navigators to receive 20 hours of state-specific training in addition to the federal requirement of 20 to 30 hours of training, to undergo background checks, and to provide proof of identity. The rules also prohibit navigators from charging consumers, selling or negotiating health insurance coverage, recommending a specific health plan, or engaging in electioneering activities or otherwise supporting a candidate running for a political office.

Democrats and representatives from various health care organizations and nonprofits have raised concerns at public hearings held by the department that the proposed rules would impede navigators’ ability to educate people seeking health coverage, and divert time and funding away from their primary objective: helping people find health insurance.

In response to the public comments, the department removed from the proposed rules a $50 registration fee for each navigator. It also reduced the training requirements to 20 hours of state-specific training, from 40 hours in the proposed rules.

“There was no justification for the original proposal other than conservative politics,” state Rep. Lon Burnam, D-Fort Worth, said in a statement, “so I’m glad TDI has relented and come up with training requirements that are at least somewhat logical.”

[…]

Texans must apply before March 31 to receive federal tax credits to help pay for private coverage on the federal marketplace. Navigators must comply with the state’s additional training requirements and register by March 1.

Given the tight deadline, Democrats have alleged that the rules are politically motivated and are intended to curb enrollment in health plans offered in the federal marketplace. And despite the modifications, some Democrats and organizations that have hired and trained navigators say the rules will still increase costs, and take time away from navigators’ efforts.

Martha Blaine, executive director of the Community Council of Greater Dallas, which is among the groups that have received a federal grant to hire navigators, said the 12 navigators working for her organization have already undergone background checks and met other requirements in the state’s rules. She said she is unsure whether those efforts will have to be duplicated to meet the state’s requirements.

“It’s a bad use of resources, time and money,” she said.

See here, here, and here for the background. There’s a lot of people who’d like to enroll in an insurance plan via the exchange if Rick Perry and his cronies would quit interfering and get out of the way. Having these rules be only slightly obnoxious instead of blatantly obnoxious was probably the best outcome we could reasonably get. Here’s a side by side comparison of the rules as they were originally proposed and the rules that wound up being published (which you can see in full here), provided by Rep. Lon Burnam. I also received a letter Rep. Burnam sent about the original rules, and statements from Sen. Sylvia Garcia, and Reps. Garnet Coleman and Ruth Jones McClendon about the rules that were adopted. Finally, the Texas Organizing Project sent out a press release announcing a new collaborative effort to help inform folks about their health insurance options.

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged Garnet Coleman, health insurance, insurance exchanges, Julia Rathgeber, Lon Burnam, Rick Perry, Ruth Jones McClendon, Sylvia Garcia, Texas, Texas Department of Insurance, Texas Organizing Project, The Lege | 1 Comment

City sues HFRRF again

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox:

Mayor Annise Parker

In the face of growing concern about its ability to meet long-term retiree pension obligations, the City of Houston filed a lawsuit today against the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF), one of three pension systems covering City employees. The lawsuit seeks to enable the City to have the same input on contributions and plan design for HFRRF that it already has with the Houston Police Officers Pension System (HPOPS) and the Houston Municipal Employee Pension System (HMEPS).

“State law that applies only to Houston is unreasonably restricting our ability to protect taxpayers and keep our commitment to secure and sustainable firefighter retirement benefits,” said Mayor Annise Parker. “It is clear from the difficulties experienced by other cities that this is an issue that must be addressed. We have to have the ability to negotiate these benefits at the local level and be able to verify the financial health of HFRRF. We cannot and will not kick the can down the road.”

Through the “meet and confer” process with HPOPS and HMEPS, the City is already able to negotiate employee contributions, retirement ages and benefit levels for police and municipal retirees. In the past, these negotiations have resulted in agreements that have improved the city’s ability to meet its long-term obligations for these two pension systems. Under existing state law, there is no similar process available for the firefighter pension system. Contrary to the laws that apply to other cities, Houston is excluded from the important financial decisions about benefit levels and the contributions to support those benefits for its firefighter retirees. These decisions are made by boards controlled by current and retired firefighters who have an obvious conflict of interest. Several attempts to obtain a legislative cure for this problem have been unsuccessful.

“Litigation is the only remaining option available to the City,” said City Attorney David Feldman. “Instead of Houston determining, or even having a meaningful say about the level of its own contributions to HFRRF, that decision is being made by people likely to benefit from the decision. The City is asking the court to declare unconstitutional the laws that allowed this. The suit also seeks to end the practice of HFRRF using taxpayer money to lobby in favor of such laws.”

Firefighters retiring with 30 years of service are currently eligible for an average initial monthly lifetime annuity of 94 percent of their average pre-retirement salary, plus an average estimate lump sum of approximately $850,000. The value of the average combined benefits for these retirees is estimated to be $1.6 million, which is equal to a lifetime monthly annuity of 197 percent of their average pre-retirement salary.

The City’s lawsuit does not seek any change in benefits being paid to current firefighter retirees, nor would it have any impact on HPOPS or HMEPS.

The press release is here, and a copy of the lawsuit is here. As you might imagine, the HFFRF did not take this lying down. I’ve put a copy of their press release beneath the fold, but here’s a quote:

The leadership of the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund say the lawsuit filed today by Mayor Parker is nothing more than a power-grab and publicity stunt. The lawsuit is characterized as a political tactic aimed at attacking and hurting elderly and disabled firefighters and their families.

“The Texas constitution and statues that govern our plan have been in place since 1937, and has served our firefighters for over 75 years, and now according to Parker, our plan is all of a sudden unconstitutional,” says pension fund chairman Todd Clark. “Texas legislators have been supportive of our profession and have been the key decision makers in the protection of our plan.”

The Chron story has more reaction from the firefighters, including the president of the HPFFA, who among other things expressed surprise at the timing since the union is currently in negotiations with the city. I’d say if there’s one thing that Mayor Parker and the HFFRF agree on, it’s that the Legislature, in particular the Houston-area delegation, has been squarely on the side of the firefighters all along.

Anyway. The city had previously sued the HFFRF to get more access to their books, and won a ruling a few months later. This is a much bigger can of worms, as the city is seeking to do via the courts what it has been unable to do via the Legislature, which is get more control over how the pension fund operates. If you go back to the interview I did with Mayor Parker before last year’s election, she talked about what she wants the city to get. Skip to 8:54 for the start of the discussion about pensions, and 12:18 for the direct question about what she wants; basically, it’s to allow a defined-contribution option as an alternative for those who want it, and to make annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs) discretionary rather than mandatory. She does allude to some other changes she might pursue specifically for the firefighters’ pension, and I’m quite sure a change to the deferred retirement option (DROP) program would be on that list. You can also listen to the interview I did with Todd Clark and Chris Gonzalez last January if you want the opposing view. These things have all been points of contention for a long time, and in fact COLAs and DROP are both specified in the lawsuit. The city’s argument is that state laws regarding this pension only apply to Houston, and that is unconstitutional. They seek to overturn the Houston-specific laws so that the remaining state laws apply to Houston as well. We’ll see how it goes. Texpatriate has more.

Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged Annise Parker, budget, David Feldman, HFD, HFRRF, HMEPS, Houston, HPFFA, HPOPS, lawsuit, pension fund, The Lege, Todd Clark | Comments Off

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 20

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance thinks that if same sex marriage is OK for Utah and Oklahoma it’s OK for our state too as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged blog roundup, TPA | Comments Off

Abbott inserts himself in Houston same sex benefits lawsuit

Posted on January 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise.

Still not Greg Abbott

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has filed briefs arguing that a state court should be given an opportunity to declare Houston’s new policy of granting benefits to some same-sex partners of employees unlawful under Texas’ marriage laws.

In the first of two amicus briefs, Abbott argued that a lawsuit filed by a pair of Houston residents to stop Mayor Annise Parker’s decision last November to grant benefits to same-sex spouses of employees married legally in other states should remain in a state district court for review. The city has tried to get the case moved to federal court to take advantage of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year overturning the federal Defense of Marriage Act.

Abbott’s amicus brief argues that moving the lawsuit to federal court deprives the state of its authority to resolve the cases involving Texas’ Defense of Marriage Act.

“The defendants have challenged the constitutionality of Texas’s marriage laws,” Abbott writes. “This case should be remanded to state court as soon as possible.”

Abbott’s second amicus brief came in another lawsuit filed by national gay rights group Lambda Legal in a bid to get a judge to uphold the mayor’s change in policy.

Abbott argues that since the Lambda Legal lawsuit seeks to uphold the city’s decision to offer benefits to same-sex marriage partners, there is no dispute for the federal court to decide. He asks that the Lambda Legal suit be dismissed.

See here, here, and here for the background. I had assumed Abbott would get involved once Mayor Parker made the announcement. To meddle is his nature, and I’m sure he was feeling some pressure from the usual suspects to Do Something. Indeed, Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill hoped the suit would attract Abbott’s interest, so clearly everything is proceeding as planned. I Am Not A Lawyer, so I don’t know how to evaluate the merits of Abbott’s claims. I also can’t find the briefs in question, so you’re on your own if you want to venture some analysis. BOR, PDiddie, and Lone Star Q have more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Annise Parker, DOMA, gay marriage, gay rights, Greg Abbott, Houston, Jared Woodfill, Lambda Legal, lawsuit, Texas | Comments Off

Interview with Azuwuike Okorafor

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Azuwuike Okorafor

As previously noted, there are two contested Democratic primaries for State House seats in Harris County. Challenging Rep. Alma Allen in HD131 is Azuwuike Okorafor. Okorafor is a Houston native and graduate of HISD schools who received a BS from Texas Tech and a law degree from TSU. During his law career, he worked for a civil rights litigation firm, and is now an Equal Employment Opportunity consultant for businesses. Though he is a newcomer to the political scene here, he was active with the Tech Student Democrats in college. We discussed his background, reasons for running, and a variety of issues in the interview.

You can see all of my interviews as well as finance reports and other information on candidates on my 2014 Election page.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Azuwuike Okorafor, Democratic primary, Election 2014, HD131, interviews, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

January finance reports for Democratic statewide candidates

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

With the exception of a stray missing report here and there, all of the January campaign finance reports for state office holders and seekers are up on the Texas Ethics Commission webpage. Here’s a brief look at the reports filed by Democratic candidates for statewide offices. I already have reports for the candidates in contested primaries on my 2014 Election page, so this is a chance to look at the uncontested candidates as well.

Governor

Wendy Davis
Wendy Davis SPAC
Wendy Davis GPAC

Ray Madrigal – No report

As you’ve probably read by now, Wendy Davis filed three campaign reports – basically, the first one is her previously existing Senate account, to which people were contributing before her official announcement that she was running for Governor; the second is her special purpose PAC account for her gubernatorial campaign, similar to the “Friends Of” or “Texans For” PACs that Republicans often use; and the joint Battleground Texas PAC that has gotten every Republican’s panties in a wad. I’m not going to rehash any of that, I’m just going to note with amusement that her total must have really freaked them out to have reacted so strongly instead of just pointing to Greg Abbott’s bottom line, which is enough to make Switzerland salivate. Davis certainly answered the question about her ability to raise the funds she’ll need, but once won’t be enough. She’ll need to post similar, if not better, numbers for July. But we’ll worry about that another day.

Lt. Governor

Leticia Van de Putte
Leticia Van de Putte SPAC

As with Wendy Davis, the first account is the pre-existing Senate account, and the second is for the Lite Guv race. Here are the details from each:


Account     Raised     Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Senate    $154,087  $177,799      $235,084
LG SPAC   $290,514  $     21      $251,756

Total     $445,601  $177,820      $486,840

I presume all of the expenditures came out of the Senate account, which makes sense. The SPAC was created on November 23, so basically it represents five weeks’ worth of fundraising, which isn’t too shabby. I didn’t go through its contributions, but I did go through the expenses for the Senate account, and I did not see any transfers from the one to the other, so that $290K figure is accurate and as far as I know doesn’t include redundant funds. For five weeks during the Thanksgiving/Christmas period, that’s a decent total, which would project to $1.5 million to $2 million at that pace for the July report. Not bad as I say, but not really enough, either. LVdP doesn’t need to be in Wendy’s league, but she does need to have enough to do some real statewide outreach. If she doesn’t raise at least $5 million for July, I’d be concerned she won’t be able to do that. On the plus side, she can hit up Wendy’s supporters, including and especially the big-dollar ones. I feel confident that she is more than up to this challenge, but if you’ve donated to Wendy and not to Leticia, you need to rectify that.

Attorney General
Comptroller

Sam Houston
Mike Collier


Account     Raised     Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Houston   $184,595  $ 41,216      $153,678
Collier   $213,518  $170,791      $439,015

I put these two together, because they’re the only other candidates to report significant fundraising totals. Houston’s report begins in October, whereas Collier had the whole six month period in which to raise money. Both did pretty well, with Collier’s totals being boosted by $400K in loans ($250K from himself, $150K from his company; Houston reported $10K in loans as well). Collier spent $30K on video production, and $50K on “website design and video advertising”; he also spent many thousands on consultant fees, which I didn’t add up. As Van de Putte needs to kick it up by an order of magnitude this period, so do these two. I’d be happy with $2 million raised from each. We know the base is big enough to support Wendy’s campaign, and I’m confident that support will extend to LVdP. Will it reach this far? I hope so.

Ag Commissioner
Land Commissioner
Railroad Commissioner

Kinky Friedman
Hugh Fitzsimons
Jim Hogan

John Cook

Steve Brown
Dale Henry


Account     Raised     Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Kinky      $26,416   $ 4,256       $22,159
Fitz       $27,200   $ 6,549       $74,401
Hogan      $     0   $ 3,750       $     0

Cook       $13,153   $17,010       $     0

Brown      $ 4,455   $ 5,661       $     0
Henry      $     0   $     0       $     0

Not a whole lot to say here. Fitzsimons had $50K in loans, and Cook, the former Mayor of El Paso, had a bit more than $19K in loans. I’m not exactly sure why neither Cook nor Brown reported any cash on hand, but it’s not that important. With the exception of Kinky, none of these folks will have much in the way of name recognition in November, but then neither will any of their opponents other than Baby Bush. From this point on, it’s all about the top of the ticket.

Supreme Court
Court of Criminal Appeals

William Moody
Larry Meyers
Gina Benavides

John Granberg


Account     Raised     Spent  Cash on hand
==========================================
Moody      $ 7,500   $ 9,358       $ 4,037
Meyers     $ 1,000   $ 3,750       $   441
Benavides  $ 2,500   $ 3,750       $     0

Granburg   $   780   $ 5,296       $   780

Again, not much to say here. I thought Larry Meyers might have a few bucks stashed away just due to his longevity, but apparently not. He does have about $94K in outstanding loans, presumably money he has already spent. In case you’re wondering, that $3,750 figure you see is the filing fee. Again, these races are determined by the top of the ticket more than anything else. Maybe the state party will raise some money to campaign for the slate as a whole.

That’s it for these reports. I’ll look at others as we go along.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged Ag Commissioner, Attorney General, Bill Moody, campaign finance reports, Comptroller, Court of Criminal Appeals, Dale Henry, Election 2014, Gina Benavides, Governor, Hugh Fitzsimons, Jim Hogan, John Cook, John Granburg, Kinky Friedman, Land Commissioner, Larry Meyers, Leticia Van De Putte, Lite Gov, Mike Collier, Railroad Commission, Sam Houston, Steve Brown, Supreme Court, Texas, Wendy Davis | Comments Off

On pot and prosecutions

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’ve heard about President Obama’s remarks that marijuana isn’t really more harmful than alcohol. There’s plenty of evidence to back that assertion, but Harris County DA Devon Anderson strongly disagreed with him anyway.

President Barack Obama’s recently published remarks calling marijuana less dangerous than alcohol has prompted Harris County’s District Attorney to release a response today which bolsters her profile as a “law and order” prosecutor.

“I adamantly disagree with the President. According to a 2012 Drug Use and Health survey, marijuana is the number one drug that citizens over the age of 12 are addicted to or abuse. The negative effects of marijuana use on a developing brain can be permanent, and our President is recklessly giving what amounts to parental permission to our most impressionable citizens to break the law. Marijuana is creating deadly situations right here in Harris County,” Devon Anderson said in the news release.

[…]

“I welcome the President to come to Houston to review the same capital murder cases I did just last week that were the result of marijuana drug deals,” Anderson’s statement said. “Maybe then he will see that the most effective way to keep our law-abiding citizens safe is to obey all laws that our legislators put on the books at our State Capitol.”

You can see her full statement here. Again, the evidence is overwhelmingly with President Obama on this, and I’d recommend you read folks like Mark Kleiman for some current research on drugs, alcohol and crime – start with this WaPo interview, or go read his blog, for which he is not the only author. For this particular piece, I’m going to outsource the argument to Mark Bennett. But seriously, in terms of crime and social costs, it’s more correct to say that President Obama understated the case than that he overstated it.

The Chron also asked both Democratic candidates for their reaction. I’ll skip Lloyd Oliver’s rambling answer and go right to the good stuff.

Ogg, a former Harris County prosecutor now in private practice, supports diversion programs for people apprehended with small amounts of pot.

“In 2013, more than 12,000 people were arrested for marijuana and sent to jail in Harris County at a cost of more than $4 million,” she said. “Marijuana is illegal in Texas but jailing offenders in possession of small amounts is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Instead, those funds should be spent prosecuting violent offenders, gang members and thieves. It makes more sense to divert that group of offenders to voluntary work programs that make them more employable and don’t result in license suspensions, time in jail and other factors that cause them to lose their jobs or become less employable.”

[…]

Ogg, the former director of the city of Houston’s anti-gang task force and former executive director of Crime Stoppers of Houston has concluded – after 26 years in public safety work – that tougher marijuana enforcement isn’t what people want.

“They want to be safe. They want our focus and attention on the dangerous criminals,” she said. “There aren’t enough resources in Harris County nor is it fair to make people lose their jobs over minor offenses like possession of marijuana in small quantities.”

Ogg talked about this at length in the interview she did with me. Obviously, I agree with her perspective on this. I think she’ll have a lot of voters on her side for it as well. While I don’t expect anything to happen next session, or the session after that, there will continue to be legislative attempts to dial back penalties for pot smoking. As with many other things, we can get ahead of the curve, or we can scramble to catch up. Seems a pretty clear choice to me.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged alcohol, Barack Obama, crime, Devon Anderson, District Attorney, Election 2014, Harris County, jail overcrowding, jails, Kim Ogg, marijuana | 5 Comments

School finance retrial, Day One

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And they’re off, again.

Back in the courtroom after a 2013 legislative session in which lawmakers added money back to the state public education budget, lawyers representing nearly two-thirds of Texas school districts argued on Tuesday that the funding boost was short term, and that other changes had increased costs for schools.

“Any and all funding changes are temporary at best. There is absolutely no requirement they be in existence beyond the year 2015,” said Rick Gray, a lawyer for the Equity Center, which represents about 400 school districts, the bulk of them poor, in the sprawling litigation that involves five other parties. “It was an exceedingly small step in the right direction.”

Implementing complex new high school curriculum requirements, he said, including hiring more school counselors and broadening vocational education options, had imposed additional expenses on districts.

[…]

On Tuesday, school districts rejected any suggestion that legislative changes had weakened their argument.

“The state can’t dumb down its constitutional obligations and say that perhaps students aren’t held to same college-ready standards as they were previously,” said attorney David Hinojosa, referring to the new high school graduation standards.

But state lawyer Shelley Dahlberg said that all but a handful of districts met the state’s accountability standards and that student performance remained constant even in the face of budget cuts.

The new laws passed in 2013, she said, only improved an already consitutional system.

“School districts asked for and received more discretion and flexibility on every level,” she said.

Which doesn’t mean they got enough, of course. The state had argued that the post-2011, pre-2013 system was just fine as it was, so obviously they think the partial restoration of the drastic cuts from 2011 was manna from heaven. I don’t think the Lege did nearly enough, and I don’t think Judge Dietz will think the Lege did enough. Whether the Supreme Court thinks the Lege did enough is another question. Not that they have to get involved, however – his assertions to the contrary, AG Greg Abbott could try to settle the case instead of litigating it to the bitter end. Needless to say, I don’t think he’ll do that. I look forward to reading Judge Dietz’s opinion. Better Texas Blog has more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Attorney General, David Hinojosa, Equity Center, Greg Abbott, lawsuit, MALDEF, school finance, schools, Texas, The Lege | Comments Off

Calendar

Categories

Archives

My linkage

Polling Texas 2020

Polling Texas 2018

Polling Texas 2016

Polling Texas 2014

Polling Texas 2012

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Tags

Blogroll

Utilities

Categories

Archives

Polling Texas 2016

Polling Texas 2014

Polling Texas 2012

My Linkage

Recent Comments

Recent Posts

Tags

Blogroll

Utilities