Tag Archives: Waller County

We’re going to be electing what now?

I had no idea about this. It sure wasn’t covered in the runup to this past election. In a state known for too many elections, there’s another one coming to Texas’ 50 largest counties. This May, voters in those most … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023, Election 2024, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Waller mural story

I’m going to keep an eye on this. Even before artists Brad Smith and Kay Ray-Smith finished their first contracted mural in Waller, northwest of Houston, the community took notice — and lots of photos. “It instantly, as we were … Continue reading

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What will it take to keep those ten appellate court benches we won in 2018?

As you may recall, Democrats won a ton of Appellate Court races in 2018. Ten of them, in fact, five each on the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals, the first such victories since winning a lone bench in 2008. … Continue reading

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

What I want from the next HCDP Chair

As you know, the Harris County Democratic Party will soon have a new Chair. And as you know, I am a Democratic precinct chair, which means I’m one of the several hundred people that will vote on who that is. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Precinct analysis: Early voting versus Election Day

In his pre-election analyses of the early vote, Republican consultant Derek Ryan (whose numbers I have used in the past) suggested that there was still a significant number of regular Republican voters who had not voted yet, which could make … Continue reading

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Justice Department agrees to send election monitors

Good. The U.S. Department of Justice announced Monday it will send election monitors to three Texas counties — Harris, Dallas and Waller — to keep an eye on local compliance with federal voting rights laws on Election Day. Monitors from … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Judge rules against Prairie View students in 2018 voting rights case

There was a lot of legal activity last week, so it took me a minute to get to this story. A federal judge ruled Thursday that Waller County did not discriminate against student voters at Prairie View A&M University during … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Abbott’s weak spots

Is this a thing? As dominating as Gov. Greg Abbott’s GOP primary victory on Tuesday looked at first blush, a closer look at the results shows a nagging problem within his own party that could ultimately cost him in his … Continue reading

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Et tu, H-GAC?

WTAF? Houston is slated to get just 2 percent of the regional council’s $488 million tranche for storm mitigation, angering city leaders who say the city consistently has been shorted when it comes to the federal money. The Houston-Galveston Area … Continue reading

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Rolling coal

From last week. A teen who struck six cyclists while allegedly blanketing them in black smoke along a Waller County road faces six felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. “One for each of the people he almost … Continue reading

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What will Harris County do about rising case numbers?

I’m afraid we’ll find out soon enough. The Harris Health System’s COVID-19 ward was down to just one patient at the beginning of July. Anxious to hit zero COVID-19 patients, Dr. Esmaeil Porsa, the hospital system’s CEO, purchased and stored … Continue reading

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The lack of regional consensus on I-45

This is really frustrating. Regional transportation officials on Friday reaffirmed their support for a planned $7 billion widening of Interstate 45 in Houston, over strong objections from city and Harris County officials that the resolution passed was a toothless enabling … Continue reading

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Precinct analysis: Appellate courts, part 1

Introduction Congressional districts State Rep districts Commissioners Court/JP precincts Comparing 2012 and 2016 Statewide judicial Other jurisdictions My next two posts in this series will focus on the 1st and 14th Courts of Appeals. These courts are a little strange … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Counties of interest, part one: Around Harris

There’s been so much focus in the past couple of years about the suburbs and how their traditional voting patterns have changed. I wanted to use the election results we have to take a closer look at what that means. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Harris County posts updated election results

From Twitter: . That won’t affect most races, and it probably does not affect any Harris-County specific races. But if provisional ballots are like that statewide, it could affect larger, close elections. I’m particularly watching Chief Justice for the 14th … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Who gets to be on the I-45 panel?

I’m not thrilled about this. Houston will have a say in a regional response to design differences in the planned widening of Interstate 45 within the city — and so will Sugar Land, Montgomery County and Waller County. After voting … Continue reading

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Is it finally going to be Infrastructure Week?

I have three things to say about this: Lawmakers have been talking about striking a deal to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure for years. It might take a pandemic to finally get them to do it, and Texas officials are already … Continue reading

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The rest of the H-GAC region

As long as we’ve been talking about Waller County and Montgomery County, I thought I’d check in on the other members of the Houston-Galveston Area Council region. Harris County and six of its seven neighbors – Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

What’s up, Waller County?

Meet the lone holdout county in the Houston area. Waller County Judge Trey Duhon says he expected to announce a stay-at-home order for his rural county this week, following the lead of other major counties in the region. But then … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

2020 Primary Early Voting begins today

We don’t have a long primary season in Texas – the filing deadline was barely two months ago, though to be sure some candidates have been running for much longer than that – and the first part of it is … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We’re still #4

We’ll probably be that for awhile. According to the new report from the Greater Houston Partnership, the domestic population growth for the Houston region has slowed down over the last eight years. The report, which is based on population estimates … Continue reading

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The Sandra Bland cellphone video

Wow. New cellphone footage from the now infamous traffic stop of Sandra Bland shows her perspective when a Texas state trooper points a Taser and yells, “I will light you up!” Bland, 28, was found dead three days later in … Continue reading

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A step forward in Waller County

Some progress. Two days after students at Prairie View A&M University sued Waller County over allegations that the county is suppressing the voting rights of black residents, the rural county said it is expanding early voting opportunities for students at … Continue reading

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Prairie View students sue over lack of on campus EV site

The fight continues. Five students at Prairie View A&M University are suing Waller County, which is home to the historically black university, over allegations that the county is suppressing the voting rights of its black residents. In a lawsuit filed … Continue reading

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Still obstacles to voting at Prairie View

The previous problems we talked about are resolved, at least for now, but it’s still harder to vote at PVAMU than it needs to be. Denise Mattox, president of the Waller County Democratic Club, called the new rules a “treatment” … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Prairie View voting dispute resolved

Good news. Prairie View A&M University students will not have to fill out additional registration paperwork before casting their ballots, a move that allays the concerns of Democrats who worried long lines would dissuade students from voting. The news, announced … Continue reading

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What the hell is going on in Waller County?

From Josh Marshall at TPM: Here’s a troubling story out of Texas. Democrat Mike Siegel is running against Rep. Michael T. McCaul (R) in Texas’s 10th district. This evening I saw a tweet from Siegel which said: “Just learned that … Continue reading

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Hempstead landfill officially dead

Hooray! Waller County leaders and residents on Monday cheered a Georgia company’s decision to abandon plans for a 250-acre acre landfill near Hempstead, saying they look forward to moving beyond an environmental fight that has dominated public debate for seven … Continue reading

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TCEQ rejection of Hempstead landfill application upheld

Sweet. A yearslong battle over the construction of a landfill in Hempstead has come to an end for now after a judge ruled in Austin on Friday that Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s decision to return the landfill’s application should … Continue reading

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We will never stop widening our highways

Eventually, everything will be used for extra highway capacity. For people in western Harris and Fort Bend counties, now is the time to sit down with your toddler and ask what kind of Interstate 10 they’d like to have. Texas … Continue reading

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Sandra Bland Act passes

Good. The Texas House initially approved the Sandra Bland Act on Friday with a unanimous vote. The body now has to vote on the mental health bill one more time before it reaches Gov. Greg Abbott’s desk. (Update, May 20: … Continue reading

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The Sandra Bland Act

Good. State Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, on Thursday filed House Bill 2702, dubbed the Sandra Bland Act. The exhaustive piece of legislation would expand what qualifies as racial and ethnic profiling; mandate people experiencing a mental health crisis and substance … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Texas Central withdraws its land access lawsuits

Interesting. The private developer of a planned bullet train between Dallas and Houston has withdrawn more than a dozen lawsuits against Texas landowners that sought court orders allowing the company access to private property to survey land for the 240-mile … Continue reading

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Hempstead landfill application denied again

Good. A state commission has denied a new application to build a landfill in Waller County, saying ordinances adopted by the county and the city of Hempstead now prohibit a garbage dump in the area. A highly charged debate over … Continue reading

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