Off the Kuff | Knowledge Is Good

Chron overview of the District Clerk race

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Pretty comprehensive and worth the read.

Eight Democrats will battle it out in the March primaries for a chance to succeed Harris County District Clerk Marilyn Burgess, who announced in September she would not be seeking reelection. Whoever gets a majority of the vote will face off against the lone Republican candidate and presumptive nominee in the November election.

The district clerk is an administrative position primarily tasked with record-keeping operations for the county’s 67 district courts. Among the clerk’s responsibilities are managing court filings and motions, collecting court fees and fines, and ensuring judicial transparency and public access to court proceedings.

The Houston Chronicle provided each candidate with identical questionnaires. Candidates were asked why they were running, what their first-year priorities were and, considering the district clerk’s role as custodian of court records, what steps they would take to improve access to information.

There’s too much to summarize and that’s a gift link, so go read the rest. All of the candidates came across pretty well, which is a bit of a surprise given the size of the Democratic field; there’s usually a non-serious entrant or two in a contest like that. I did not do interviews with District Clerk candidates this year because there are so many of them, there’s not much time, and there are only so many interesting questions one can ask. I do plan to interview the two runoff contestants.

Outgoing Clerk Marilyn Burgess had some things to say about her experience on the way out, endorsing candidate current special projects administrator for the District Cler’s office Angellia Dozier along the way. That’s also a gift link and you can read it for yourself, I don’t know enough to evaluate her allegations. I will note that while she was critical of contributions to two candidates made by County Commissioners, one of them is a staffer of the Commissioner in question, and as noted Burgess endorsed her own staffer, so, you know. I would prefer a little less drama next year.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Adrian Garcia, Angellia Dozier, Carlis Lollie, Chris Daniel, Commissioners Court, Darrell Jordan, Democratic primary, Desiree Broadnax, District Clerk, Donna Glover, Election 2026, Harris County, Jose Maldonado, Lesley Briones, Marilyn Burgess, Pernell Davis, primaries, Rodney Ellis, Rozzy Shorter | Leave a comment

South Carolina is where the measles action is now

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I wish I didn’t feel the need to keep following these stories, but unfortunately I do.

South Carolina on Friday reported 124 new measles cases in the last three days, bringing the total number to 558 in the state’s fast-growing outbreak. Cases have nearly doubled in the last week alone.

“We have right now the largest outbreak in the U.S., and it’s going to get worse before it gets better,” Dr. Helmut Albrecht, an infectious disease physician with Prisma Health and the University of South Carolina School of Medicine, said in a briefing Friday. Hundreds of people in other parts of the state are already in quarantine or isolation, he said.

The epicenter is in Spartanburg County, in the northwest part of the state. The area has also seen a jump in students with nonmedical exemptions to required school vaccines since the pandemic. New research published this week in the journal JAMA finds these exemptions are growing in counties across the U.S. — making them vulnerable to outbreaks.

And concerns are growing that infections are spreading beyond the county. There have already been six cases in neighboring North Carolina linked to the Spartanburg outbreak. And three measles cases have been confirmed in Snohomish County, Wash., that are also connected to Spartanburg.

“We have lost our ability to contain this with the immunity that we have,” Albrecht said, urging people to get vaccinated.

The vaccination rate among students in Spartanburg County is 90% overall, which is lower than the 95% threshold needed to prevent measles. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases. A single case can infect up to 18 other people on average.

The epicenter is in Spartanburg County, in the northwest part of the state. The area has also seen a jump in students with nonmedical exemptions to required school vaccines since the pandemic. New research published this week in the journal JAMA finds these exemptions are growing in counties across the U.S. — making them vulnerable to outbreaks.

And concerns are growing that infections are spreading beyond the county. There have already been six cases in neighboring North Carolina linked to the Spartanburg outbreak. And three measles cases have been confirmed in Snohomish County, Wash., that are also connected to Spartanburg.

“We have lost our ability to contain this with the immunity that we have,” Albrecht said, urging people to get vaccinated.

The vaccination rate among students in Spartanburg County is 90% overall, which is lower than the 95% threshold needed to prevent measles. Measles is one of the most contagious diseases. A single case can infect up to 18 other people on average.

[…]

The new JAMA study found the rate of nonmedical exemptions has risen steadily in the majority of U.S. counties, and this trend has accelerated since the pandemic. The researchers examined exemption data from more than 3,000 U.S. counties and jurisdictions in 45 states plus the District of Columbia from 2010 to 2024.

In most states, even if the overall vaccination rate is high, there are pockets with higher rates of these nonmedical exemptions, says Dr. Nathan Lo, a physician-scientist with Stanford University and one of the study’s authors.

“When you think about infectious disease outbreaks, it only takes a really small pocket of under-vaccinated individuals to create and sustain an outbreak,” Lo says.

Higher exemptions tend to go hand in hand with lower vaccination rates, and there are a lot of communities vulnerable to potential outbreaks, says Michael Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. He says all they need is one spark to ignite it.

“There are a lot more South Carolinas waiting to happen,” he says.

Which is why I keep following these stories. The big Texas outbreak from earlier in 2025 saw a total of 762 cases, not that much more than what South Carolina has recorded so far despite having a much lower population. There was also a big outbreak in Utah and Arizona around the time the South Carolina one got started, and there were multiple smaller outbreaks around the country during the Texas situation. The Trump administration has made this all worse, and there’s no end in sight for that. So yeah, the locations and the under-vaxxed populations may change, but the outlook remains the same. This is the new normal for the foreseeable future. I’ve now heard more than one infectious disease expert say that they don’t expect anything to break the spell of the anti-vaxxers until the toll of measles, whooping cough, and who knows what else to get uncomfortably high. And on that happy thought, have a nice day.

Posted in National news | Tagged Arizona, Centers for Disease Control, Donald Trump, measles, North Carolina, RFK Jr, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, vaccinations | Leave a comment

No CD18 early voting on Sunday

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox:

Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth announces changes to voting operations for the Congressional District 18 (CD-18) Special Runoff Election due to severe winter weather conditions. All early vote centers will remain open today, Friday, January 23, and Saturday, January 24, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. On Sunday, January 25, all vote centers will be closed.

“The safety of employees, election workers, and voters is my top priority,” said Clerk Hudspeth. “I strongly encourage voters who are eligible to participate in this election to cast their ballots today and Saturday.”

Meteorologists predict that a powerful cold front will begin affecting the region on Saturday evening and continue into early next week.

The Harris County Clerk’s Office will continue to monitor weather conditions and follow guidance from state and local officials. Any additional closures or schedule changes will be communicated to the public as information becomes available.

Updates will be posted on harrisvotes.com and on social media @HarrisVotes.

That sucks, but given the danger that ice on the roads poses it’s completely understandable. Given that HISD and other area districts will be closed on Monday due to the potential for continued icy roads, it is possible that voting will not happen on Monday either. Go vote today if you can, or make a plan to vote on Runoff Day, January 31. And stay safe.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Amanda Edwards, CD18, Christian Menefee, Congress, early voting, Election 2026, Harris County Clerk, runoff, special election, Teneshia Hudspeth, Texas | Leave a comment

SCOTx to hear cable franchise fees appeal

Posted on January 24, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

This is a big deal, with direct impacts on the finances of multiple cities.

Texas Supreme Court justices will decide whether two state laws are giving unlawful discounts to cable and telecommunication service providers, resulting in millions in lost revenue for dozens of cities across the state.

The court granted the state’s request to review the case in which both the trial court and the Austin-based Third Court of Appeals ruled two laws passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017 and 2019 capping costs for providers are unconstitutional. Justices will hear arguments in the case March 5.

“The (Texas) Constitution says you can’t give public property away for free,” Bob Heath, one of the plaintiffs’ attorneys, told KERA News. “That’s exactly what’s going on here.”

KERA News has reached out to the Texas Attorney General’s Office for comment and will update this story with any response.

State lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1004 in 2017, allowing wireless network providers install network nodes in public rights-of-way — like roads — and cities to charge the providers an annual $250 right-of-way rate per node. The nodes are typically installed on street lights or utility poles 30-40 feet above the ground, enabling 5G wireless services.

Two years later, lawmakers passed Senate Bill 1152. Instead of requiring companies providing both cable and telecom services to pay cities to deliver both services, the law allowed companies to only pay whichever charge was higher.

Texas argued the laws incentivize technology improvements, provide uniform regulation, reduce consumer costs and eliminate “double taxation” for utility companies. The laws passed as providers started rolling out 5G wireless technology and asked federal and state officials to streamline the process.

But 59 cities — including Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, Houston and El Paso — soon sued Texas, arguing those laws violate “gift” clauses in the state constitution that ban the Legislature from authorizing political subdivisions, like cities and counties, to give public money or things of value to private corporations without sufficient consideration and public purpose.

The cities argue the $250 cap on right-of-way rates is significantly lower than market value — which they say is anywhere from $1,000 to $2,500. Along with only one set of tax revenue, they’d earn less money. Houston estimated it lost $10 million in revenue from just one telecom provider, and other cities estimated they’d lose $100 million per year altogether.

[…]

The Third Court of Appeals declared SB 1152 unconstitutional and ruled that the trial court needed to further consider whether the $250 rate cap in SB 1004 was adequate in comparison to market value for public right-of-way use.

The state argues the fact that the companies will be charged at all indicates they are not receiving a gift. The state also argues cities lack standing to bring their suits because the state doesn’t enforce the fee caps — and ultimately, the state owns public roads, not the cities.

See here, here, and here for some background. This is my first update on this story since 2020, I obviously missed news about the initial verdict and the Third Court upholding of it. This isn’t balance-the-budget money for Houston, but $10 million a year from just one provider isn’t pocket change. There’s a separate lawsuit, filed in 2022, against streaming providers over a loss of franchise fees because they haven’t been paying them even though they seem to be required to. I don’t know where that one stands, but given that the defendants are all a bunch of heavy hitters I’d expect it to take a lot of time to get resolved. A ruling in this one might come by the end of the year, and more likely than not it will kick the suit back to district court. So don’t get too impatient.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged Austin, cable, franchise fees, Houston, Kelly Hancock, lawsuit, local control, San Antonio, Supreme Court, Sylvester Turner, Texas, The Lege, Third Court of Appeals | Leave a comment

Interview with Matt Salazar

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Matt Salazar

I promised you three Democratic candidates for Harris County Judge, and I’ve got the third one for you right here. Matt Salazar is a native of Lubbock who has worked as a youth pastor and general contractor. A graduate of the University of Houston, Salazar has worked across nonprofits, government contracting, consulting, and small business ownership. Here’s the interview, which wraps us up for the County Judge race:

cakuffner · Matt Salazar Interview 122225

PREVIOUSLY:

Terry Virts – CD09
Leticia Gutierrez – CD09
Melissa McDonough – CD38
Theresa Courts – CD38
Marvalette Hunter – CD38
Annise Parker – Harris County Judge
Letitia Plummer – Harris County Judge

You can find links to all my interviews and Q&As at the world famous Erik Manning spreadsheet, which has other information about candidates and races. Next up are the interviews for County Attorney. Let me know what you think.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2026, Harris County, Harris County Judge, interviews, Matt Salazar | Leave a comment

Dallas still needs to remove its rainbow crosswalks

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They’ve tried to delay it but are probably running out of road.

The Texas Department of Transportation gave Dallas until Jan. 31 to remove its decorative crosswalks, which include LGBTQ+ rainbow and Black Lives Matter designs, according to a memo by City Manager Kimberly Tolbert.

If the crosswalk art is not removed by the end of the month, Dallas could face federal or state funding cuts and a suspension of agreements between the city and TxDOT, according to a letter TxDOT sent to Tolbert on Jan. 15.

City officials did not say whether they will comply with the order or continue to appeal, but the a Jan. 16 memo from Tolbert said staff will work with the City Attorney’s Office on a response.

The deadline comes after a federal initiative by U.S. Secretary Sean Duffy and an October executive order by Gov. Greg Abbot t requiring all cities to remove decorative crosswalks, saying they posed a safety hazard and were political.

“TxDOT did not clarify how our crosswalks impede pedestrian and vehicle safety as requested by our appeal letter,” Tolbert said her memo.

The deadline for that order was Nov. 7, but Tolbert requested an exemption on Nov. 6 for 30 crosswalk designs the city identified.

TxDOT responded to Tolbert on Dec. 4, saying the exemption request needed to be signed by a licensed traffic engineer and they had six days to remove the crosswalks. Tolbert told the department they would not be able to provide a signature, but that the crosswalks do not pose a safety risk.

Over a month later, TxDOT is again asking the city to either submit a plan for removing the designs or get a licensed traffic engineer to sign the exemption request. It also asked the city to not install any more designs before the Jan. 31 deadline and “continue to prioritize pedestrian and traffic safety.”

[…]

But it appears not all designs will be equally affected. Abby Mancini, marketing and multimedia coordinator for the City of University Park, said the Southern Methodist University mustang logo created last year at the intersection of Hillcrest and Daniel avenues is in compliance with the governor’s order, but didn’t provide any further comment as to why.

In the meantime, groups in the city are finding ways around the directive to express themselves. The Oak Lawn United Methodist Church painted its church’s steps rainbow — a move the Dallas Landmark Commission recently upheld.

See here for the San Antonio update. There’s a somewhat contentious coda to the San Antonio story, which I hope fizzles out in time. I kind of admire Dallas’ slow-walk approach on this – they have succeeded in being the last major city standing. I don’t know if that was a deliberate strategic choice or just how they roll, but in any event it does show that there’s more than one way to resist. Keep on keeping on, Dallas. As for the SMU logo, you can see a photo in the story. It’s not a crosswalk but a decoration on the street, literally the part of the intersection where the two roads overlap. I don’t know why it wouldn’t be as much of a “threat to pedestrian safety” as the crosswalks, but none of this has ever made, or was ever supposed to make, sense, so whatever. Spectrum News and the Dallas Observer have more.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged Austin, crosswalks, Dallas, Donald Trump, gay rights, Greg Abbott, Houston, San Antonio, SMU, TxDOT, US Department of Transportation | Leave a comment

Former Uvalde officer acquitted

Posted on January 23, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Wow.

A former police officer was acquitted Wednesday evening of charges he failed in his duties to confront the gunman at an Uvalde, Texas, elementary school during the critical opening minutes of what would become one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history.

Jurors deliberated for more than seven hours before finding former Uvalde schools police officer Adrian Gonzalez, 52, not guilty in the first trial over the hesitant law enforcement response to the attack that killed 19 children and two teachers at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022.

Flanked by his lawyers, Gonzales appeared to be fighting back tears after the verdict was read out in court.

The trial was a rare case in the U.S. of an officer facing criminal charges on accusations of failing to stop a crime and protect lives. Gonzales had faced the possibility of up to two years in prison if he had been convicted.

The nearly three-week trial included emotional testimony from teachers who were shot and survived. Prosecutors had argued in laying out their case that Gonzales abandoned his training and did nothing to stop or interrupt the teenage gunman before he entered the school.

[…]

During the trial, jurors heard a medical examiner describe the fatal wounds to the children, some of whom were shot more than a dozen times. Several parents of victims described sending their children to school for an awards ceremony and the panic that ensued as the attack unfolded.

Gonzales’ lawyers argued he arrived upon a chaotic scene of rifle shots echoing on school grounds and never saw the gunman before the attacker went inside the school. They also insisted that three other officers who arrived seconds later had a better chance to stop the gunman.

They argued to jurors that Gonzales risked his life when he joined a group of five officers who tried to reach the classroom before they were driven back by rifle fire. Defense attorneys also said Gonzales helped evacuate children from other classrooms before the gunman was killed.

Gonzales and former Uvalde schools Police Chief Pete Arredondo are the only two responding officers that day to face charges. Arredondo’s trial has not yet been set.

Gonzales’ trial was tightly focused on his actions in the early moments of the attack, but prosecutors also presented the graphic and emotional testimony as the result of police failures.

See here for the background. As I said before, I was not familiar with Adrian Gonzales, so I came into this with no pre-formed opinions on his actions. I mostly skimmed the coverage during the trial, and it was clear that prosecution was making a strongly emotional case against him. Which didn’t work, and the jury returned their verdict in just a few hours. That bolsters my opinion that Pete Arredondo, who always has seemed more culpable in this tragedy, may not end up going to trial. But maybe the case against him is more substantive. Texas Public Radio, the Observer, and the Current have more.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged Adrian Gonzales, Christina Busbee, Corpus Christi, DPS, guns, Pete Arredondo, Texas, The Lege, Uvalde | Leave a comment

Judicial Q&A: Judge Leah Shapiro

Posted on January 22, 2026 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. Much more information about Democratic primary candidates, including links to the interviews and judicial Q&As, can be found on Erik Manning’s spreadsheet.

Judge Leah Shapiro

1. Who are you and in which court do you preside?

Judge Leah Shapiro presiding over the 315th District Court.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

The 315th District Court is one of only three district courts in all of Harris County handling juvenile delinquency and dependency matters. With dependency matters, the 315th District Court hears cases when there are allegations of abuse and neglect of a child. With delinquency matters, the 315th District Court handles cases when a child between the ages of 10 and 17 years old is accused of committing a criminal offense. The court also hears Special Immigrant Juvenile Status matters. In addition, the 315th presides over marriages and adoptions for all families, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

The 315th District Court presides over two specialty courts in Harris County: Court 360, the juvenile mental health court, and C.A.R.E. Court, the juvenile sex trafficking court, of which I was a founding member in 2011. C.A.R.E. (Creating Acceptance Recovery Empowerment) Court serves youth identified as being actively engaged in or at risk of becoming involved in commercial sexual exploitation/sex trafficking by offering specialized supervision and therapeutic services—working to address the underlying trauma associated with each youth’s at-risk behaviors. Meanwhile, Court 360 focuses on helping diagnosed youth and their families in identifying and addressing youths’ underlying mental health concerns associated with their at-risk behaviors. The 315th District Court also has a Dual Status Docket dedicated to meet the specific needs for youth who are in the custody of the State of Texas (CPS) and involved in the juvenile justice system (additional information below).

3. What have been your main accomplishments during your time on this bench?

I am relentless in my pursuit of equity and fairness in the courtroom, a course I intend to stay if re-elected, often working against the inertia of the system. For example, shortly after taking office I immediately moved against entrenched systems and ended indiscriminate shackling of youth in the courtroom, the decades-old practice in our county in which detained youth, no matter their age or charge, appear in court in “all-fours”—with hands in cuffs, feet shackled together, both connected by a chain between. Everyone should appear before the court with the same dignity and respect, and that’s why I ended the practice for detained youth in the 315th District Court months after I took office in 2019. The 315th District Court piloted and now maintains the only Dual Status Docket in Harris County—a docket designed to meet the specific needs for youth who are in the custody of the State of Texas (CPS) and involved in the juvenile justice system. Dually involved youth are some of our most vulnerable youth, with increased likelihood of recidivism and homelessness. We dedicate a docket to their needs, hear from them directly with both teams present to ensure maximum collaboration, and guarantee that youth voices are heard and that we hold agencies accountable. This specialized Dual Status Docket eliminates duplicate services, provides individual hearings with all stakeholders, and increases overall system accountability. Since taking the bench six years ago, the court has reduced the total active case docket by over 60%.This means that not only are we efficiently handling the new cases assigned to the court, but we are also addressing the backlog inherited in 2019. We work diligently to be efficient without compromising quality of representation and due process.

As such, families are getting resolutions in a timely manner and children are more quickly connecting with their forever families. I have used my experience to reduce pre-adjudication detentions and disposed of the most felony delinquency cases amongst the three Juvenile District Courts, with the lowest percentage of dispositions to Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD). That means we are keeping kids in their homes and closer to home and integrating their families in their rehabilitation. I also understand the court system’s duty to taxpayers, which is why I responsibly stewarded Harris County tax dollars by leading all Juvenile District Courts in appointments to the Public Defender’s Office. In addition, in 2024, working with other judges, we expanded CPS specialty Courts in Harris County for the first time in over 20 years. The Child Protective Services Prevention & Rehabilitation Court (CPRC) made history, serving for the first time children suffering with substance dependency in the dependency system.

4. What do you hope to accomplish in your courtroom going forward?

The courts have seen an increase in the needs of youth and families. The future will demand that the Juvenile District Courts collaborate with community stakeholders and expand partnerships and resources with the current budget limits and reduced resources as grants expire. I will seek to find resources to expand Court 360, our mental health court, to provide opportunities for youth who are unfit to proceed and autistic persons.

I want to continue to explore expanding access to the courtroom for those it serves. The 315th District Court continues to incorporate technology and allows for remote appearances, where appropriate. This helps eliminate the cost of transportation, parking, and reduce time families spend attending court. In addition, remote appearances can reduce the negative impact system involvement has on a youth’s education. The child will no longer miss a day of school due to a court setting.

5. Why is this race important?

A better justice system creates safer and stronger communities. The decisions made in the court directly impact the individuals involved, families, and our community. We have made amazing improvements in court efficiency, access to justice, and treatment of individuals who are system involved. There is more work to be done. Children and families deserve a judge who has experience in the law and understands systems to continue to make positive changes for those the court serves.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

With over ten years in juvenile justice and almost twenty years of public service to the justice system in Harris County—as a judge, public defender, and prosecutor—I have the experience, knowledge, and legal understanding to continue to advance both delinquency and dependency issues, to positively impact system practices, and to change the approach of how we address the needs of children and families who are system-involved in Harris County. I am the only candidate in this race with extensive trial experience and who has handled both dependency and delinquency cases. It is my honor and privilege to serve in the role as Judge of the 315th, a role to which I was elected in 2018. Since then, I implemented innovative change that addresses the needs of children in the justice and child welfare systems, and applied a more community-centered approach. There is much more work to do to accomplish truly systemic change—which is why I am seeking re-election for the 315th District Court.

PREVIOUSLY:

Judge Jim Kovach, Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2
Jimmie L. J. Brown, Jr, 270th Civil District Court
Ebony Williams, Harris County Civil Court at Law No. 2
Julia Maldonado, 183rd Criminal District Court
Judge James Horwitz, Harris County Probate Court # 4
Sarah Beth Landau, Chief Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2026, Harris County, judicial races, Leah Shapiro, Q&A | Leave a comment

How’s that medicine taste?

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I laugh.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has called a special election for California’s vacant 1st Congressional District to coincide with the state’s regularly scheduled primary on June 2, with a second round of voting on Aug. 4 if needed—the latest dates allowed under the law.

The election, which became necessary after Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa unexpectedly died earlier this month, will take place under the old district lines, which heavily favored the GOP, rather than using the new, Democratic-leaning boundaries.

However, even in the likely event that Republicans prevail, Newsom’s timetable will keep LaMalfa’s seat empty for as long as possible, depriving the GOP of a key vote in the narrowly divided House.

Ordinarily, a special election must take place within 154 days of a vacancy arising, as we explained after LaMalfa’s death. Newsom, however, took advantage of a legal provision that allows a wait of up to 214 days if it’s possible to consolidate a special with an already-scheduled regular election. Candidates will likely have to file by early March, though activity is already underway.

See here for the background and here for a copy of the proclamation. Republicans are not happy about this delay. All I can say as a current resident of CD18 is that they are cordially invited to bite me. Direct all your whining to Greg Abbott, I’m sure he’ll provide a shoulder to cry on. It should be noted that if a Republican in this special election gets to 50% of the vote on June 2, then the August election will not be needed. So cheer up, y’all, you might only have to wait five months instead of eight. Or, you know, twelve.

Also from that same Downballot post:

Virginia’s Democratic-run state Senate approved a constitutional amendment in a party-line vote on Friday that would allow lawmakers to redraw the state’s congressional map, following the same action by the state House two days earlier.

Because Democrats passed the same amendment just before the state’s elections last November, the measure can now head to voters in time to impact races this fall. Democratic Gov. Abigail Spanberger has yet to call an election for the amendment, but it will likely take place in April.

Virginia’s congressional delegation is currently split, with Democrats holding six seats and Republicans five. Many Democratic leaders—most vocally state Sen. Louise Lucas—have pushed for a maximalist map that would likely elect 10 Democrats and just one Republican.

Following the landslide passage of a similar measure in California last year, Virginia Democrats widely expect success, and many are already preparing for new districts.

This has gotten a lot less attention than the California redistricting, at least so far. Between those two states, that could be nine more Democrats in Congress, and again I remind you that it’s far from guaranteed that Texas will get the five seats it’s aiming for. If the end result of the Trump-inspired mid-decade redistricting is not just a net increase in Democratic seats but potentially a significant one, that would be a truly spectacular own goal. If you’re a Republican and don’t like the sound of that, maybe you too should express your feelings to Greg Abbott. Not voting for him in November would be a nice, clear message.

(Yes, I know, Florida is getting set to do its own redistricting, and that will likely tip thing back towards the Republicans, though perhaps not enough. And one of the big goals that I and a lot of other Democrats want out of this is the passage of those two voting rights bills that passed the House under President Biden but got strangled by the filibuster in the Senate. That legislation included mandates for non-partisan redistricting commissions, which might end up forcing some of the newly-elected Dems out of their seats. I for one will thank them for their service and wish them all the best with whatever comes next.)

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged California, Congress, Doug LaMalfa, Election 2026, Gavin Newsom, Greg Abbott, Louise Lucas, redistricting, special election, Virginia | Leave a comment

Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones elected to the Hall of Fame

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations to them.

Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have gone from center field to center stage.

Beltrán and Jones were elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in results revealed Tuesday night on MLB Network. The game’s highest individual honor went to Beltrán in his fourth try on the BBWAA ballot and Jones in his ninth.

Both Beltrán and Jones will be formally welcomed into the hallowed Hall, alongside Contemporary Baseball Era Committee honoree Jeff Kent, during induction ceremonies scheduled for July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Needing at least 75% support on the BBWAA ballot, Beltrán had his name checked on 84.2% of ballots submitted, while Jones, who was selected on only 7.3% of ballots on his first try back in 2018 (the lowest debut percentage of anyone eventually elected by the BBWAA), found support on 78.4% of ballots.

Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have gone from center field to center stage.

Beltrán and Jones were elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in results revealed Tuesday night on MLB Network. The game’s highest individual honor went to Beltrán in his fourth try on the BBWAA ballot and Jones in his ninth.

2026 Hall of Fame coverage
• Carlos Beltrán, Andruw Jones earn much-coveted Hall call
• Complete 2026 Hall of Fame voting results
• 6 players trending toward Hall of Fame elections
• Beltrán, Jones join elite club of Hall of Famers born outside the U.S.
• Jones among biggest risers in HOF voting history
• Kent elected to HOF by Contemporary Era committee
• Where does Class of 2026 rank all-time?
• 4 storylines to watch on 2027 Hall of Fame ballot
• Complete Hall of Fame coverage

Both Beltrán and Jones will be formally welcomed into the hallowed Hall, alongside Contemporary Baseball Era Committee honoree Jeff Kent, during induction ceremonies scheduled for July 26 in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Needing at least 75% support on the BBWAA ballot, Beltrán had his name checked on 84.2% of ballots submitted, while Jones, who was selected on only 7.3% of ballots on his first try back in 2018 (the lowest debut percentage of anyone eventually elected by the BBWAA), found support on 78.4% of ballots.

“There’s no doubt that today my life has really changed,” said Beltrán, the sixth native of Puerto Rico to be elected. “Just to be named to the Hall of Fame, what this means to me, to Puerto Rico, to our family, to our projects in Puerto Rico promoting baseball, the Carlos Beltrán Baseball Academy. … Today I can say I’m a Hall of Famer. I’m excited about that.”

Said Jones, the first native of Curacao to reach the Hall: “You don’t play this game to be a Hall of Famer. You play to help your team win a championship. And when you go out there and be consistent and put up numbers and then your name starts popping up [as a candidate], it’s a big honor for me, and it’s a big honor for my family.”

Amazingly, two players born one day apart in 1977 (Jones on April 23, Beltrán on April 24) received the long-anticipated news on the same day.

Though Beltrán and Jones were the only two players elected, there were notable gains made by three others. In his third of 10 potential ballot tries, second baseman Chase Utley crossed over the 50% threshold with 59.1% – a 19.3% gain from last year that puts him in great position to eventually get inducted. Meanwhile, starting pitchers Andy Pettitte (48.5% on his eighth ballot) and Félix Hernández (46.1% on his second ballot) both saw gains of more than 20% from last year.

Slugger Manny Ramirez received just 38.8% support on his 10th and final ballot, while starter Cole Hamels (23.8%) was the only first-time player on the ballot to achieve the necessary 5% support to remain on the ballot in 2027.

See here for more on Jeff Kent. This was widely acknowledged to be a weak class of first-time nominees – indeed, only one will be on the ballot again next year – and that may have helped Beltrán overcome any lingering questions about his role in the Astros sign-stealing scandal. I’m encouraged by the gains made by the pitchers, as the way starting pitchers are used now is vastly different than it was before, and it’s on the Hall voters to consider the context of when these guys played in the process. This is shorthand way of saying I’d vote for Félix Hernández and Andy Pettite, with the former for his incredible peak and the latter for his long-lasting quality, and probably Cole Hamels as well. Buster Posey headlines next year’s class. Congrats to all the inductees. Fangraphs has more.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged Andruw Jones, Andy Pettite, Baseball, Carlos Beltrán, Félix Hernández, Hall of Fame, Jeff Kent, MLB | 2 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 19

Posted on January 22, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with the people of Minneapolis as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff has interviews with three Democratic candidates for CD38 – Melissa McDonough, Theresa Courts, and Marvalette Hunter.

SocraticGadfly at least in part agrees with the northern ‘burbs of Dallas about DART, but says they have the wrong ideas on fixing the problem, something that reflects stale thinking in mass transit in general.

Neil at the Houston Democracy Project said no matter what John Whitmire & Armando Walle say, access to tax dollars we send to Austin should not depend on giving up our rights and freedoms.

=====================

And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

The Dallas Observer lists Texas’ oldest legislators, two of whom it should be noted are not running for re-election.

CultureMap reports on Alamo Drafthouse’s modification to its no-phone policy.

The Texas Signal explores Ken Paxton’s war against legal aid for immigrants.

Law Dork reads the tea leaves on the SCOTUS hearing on state trans sports bans.

Houstonia celebrates the dishwashers who keep Houston restaurants running.

The Barbed Wire reminds us about Amber Hagerman, the nine-year-old girl for whom Amber Alerts were named.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged blog roundup, TPA | Leave a comment

Interview with Letitia Plummer

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Letitia Plummer

Next up for Harris County Judge is another familiar name, Letitia Plummer. Plummer stepped down from Houston City Council last year after announcing her candidacy (also before Judge Hidalgo’s announcement), where she was in her second term in At Large #4. A dentist by trade, she ran for CD22 in 2018 and lost in the primary runoff before winning her first Council race the next year. She became the first Muslim woman to serve on Houston City Council in winning that election. As I’ve said in the introduction to her previous interviews there’s not a ton of biographical information on her website, but this Reddit AMA thread that I found for the 2018 interview has some interesting stuff in it, and you can see where she gets her drive from in that. Here’s what we talked about:

cakuffner · Letitia Plummer Interview 122625

PREVIOUSLY:

Terry Virts – CD09
Leticia Gutierrez – CD09
Melissa McDonough – CD38
Theresa Courts – CD38
Marvalette Hunter – CD38
Annise Parker – Harris County Judge

You can find links to all my interviews and Q&As at the world famous Erik Manning spreadsheet, which has other information about candidates and races. I have one more interview for County Judge this week and will then have interviews for County Attorney. Let me know what you think.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2026, Harris County, Harris County Judge, interviews, Letitia Plummer | Leave a comment

Early voting for the CD18 runoff starts today

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From the County Clerk website, the first election of our busy 2026 calendar is now underway.

January 31, 2026 – Special Runoff Election for Congressional District 18

Early Vote Centers will be open from Wednesday, January 21 to Tuesday, January 27 (Mon-Sat: 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.; Sun: 12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. )

Vote Centers will accept voters from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, January 31, Election Day.

The deadline to apply for a mail ballot is January 20. Click here for the application. Please fill it out, print it, and mail it to our office before the deadline.

January 20 is today, so it’s a little late for that. Voting in person is where it’s at if you don’t already have a mail ballot. Here’s where the vote centers are, those of you in my neck of the woods will be glad to know that West Gray and the SPJST Lodge are among them.

This is the final act of this long-running production, and at the end of it we will finally have a member of Congress again for CD18. My interview with Amanda Edwards is here and my interview with Christian Menefee is here. You have till Tuesday to vote early, and then you have Saturday the 31st. Don’t miss out.

Also happening now, the SD09 runoff.

Texas Senate District 9 covers most of Tarrant County and sees candidates Taylor Rehmet, a Fort Worth Democrat, and Leigh Wambsganss, a Southlake Republican, vying for the seat. Election Day for the runoff is Jan. 31.

Here’s what you need to know.

Early voting is Jan. 21-27 at the following times:

8 a.m.-5 p.m. Jan. 21-23

7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 24

10 a.m.-4 p.m. Jan. 25

7 a.m.-7 p.m. Jan. 26-27

Early voting locations can be found here.

Tarrant County residents can check if they live in Senate District 9 here. Voter registration status and sample ballots can be found on this page.

On Election Day, voting runs 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at these locations.

The runoff election was triggered after neither Rehmet nor Wambsganss clai m ed over 50% of the vote in a three-way November race.

That election saw record-high turnout for an odd-numbered year election — a trend political experts attributed greatly to the Senate race.

Rehmet took the lead and came about 2-percentage points shy of winning outright, while Wambsganss split the GOP vote with her Republican opponent.

The winner on Jan. 31 will serve the remainder of now-acting Texas Comptroller Kelly Hancock’s term, which runs through the end of the year. Candidates have already filed for a prospective rematch for a full four-year term in the Legislature in the March primaries.

It will be at least a minor earthquake in Texas politics if Rehmet wins, just because Democrats are not supposed to win races like that. If you’re in SD09 or know someone who is, make sure you and they vote.

UPDATE: The Chron re-endorsed Christian Menefee for the runoff.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Amanda Edwards, CD18, Christian Menefee, Congress, early voting, Election 2025, Election 2026, Harris County, Leigh Wambsganss, runoff, SD09, Senate, special election, Tarrant County, Taylor Rehmet, Texas | Leave a comment

Fifth Circuit hears Ten Commandments appeal

Posted on January 21, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Brace yourselves…From the inbox:

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, heard oral arguments in two cases challenging state laws in Texas and Louisiana that require public schools to display the Ten Commandments in every classroom. The cases, Rabbi Nathan v. Alamo Heights Independent School District and Rev. Roake v. Brumley, araise fundamental questions about religious freedom and the separation of church and state guaranteed by the First Amendment.

These arguments come nearly a year after a unanimous three-judge panel of the 5th Circuit ruled that Louisiana’s House Bill 71 is “plainly unconstitutional,” finding it directly contradicted long-standing Supreme Court precedent. That decision was vacated when the full court agreed to rehear the case en banc. Federal courts in Texas have likewise issued multiple preliminary injunctions blocking enforcement of Senate Bill 10, concluding that the law violates students’ First Amendment rights by forcing government-endorsed religious scripture on public-school children.

The plaintiffs in both states are multifaith and nonreligious families who simply want their constitutional right to decide their children’s religious education respected by the government. They want their children’s public schools to remain welcoming and inclusive for their families and students of all backgrounds.

“I send my children to public school to learn math, English, science, art, and so much more — but not to be evangelized by the state into its chosen religion,” said Rev. Jeff Sims (he/him) from Louisiana. “These religious displays send a message to my children and other students that people of some religious denominations are superior to others. This is religious favoritism and it’s not only dangerous, but runs counter to my Presbyterian values of inclusion and equality.”

“No one faith should be canonized as more holy than others. Yet Texas legislators are imposing the Ten Commandments on public-school children,” said Rabbi Mara Nathan (she/her) from Texas. “Though they are a sacred text to me and many others, the Ten Commandments has no place on the walls of public-school classrooms. Children’s religious beliefs should be instilled by parents and faith communities, not politicians and public schools.”

See here, here, here, and here for some background. NBC News adds some details.

And in a highly unusual development, all 17 active judges on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans will be present to hear the Texas case, as well as a similar lawsuit filed by parents and civil liberties groups in Louisiana against that state’s Ten Commandments law.

“These issues concern core questions involving the interaction of public education with this nation’s religious history and traditions,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton argued in a petition in October requesting an en banc review, which is a legal proceeding where all the judges of an appellate court preside over a case. “They warrant en banc review.”

Not mentioned in Paxton’s petition is the fact that the 5th Circuit, which serves Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi, is dominated by conservatives. The 12 judges nominated by Republican presidents outnumber the five Democratic appointees.

“The Fifth Circuit doesn’t take up very many cases en banc at all, and the issues presented in this case seem very straightforward to me,” Dane Ciolino, a professor at the Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, told New Orleans radio station WWL. “There is a 1980 U.S. Supreme Court opinion that made very clear that states cannot mandate the posting of the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms and buildings.”

No matter the outcome, any ruling in this case is likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court and will continue to fuel the national debate over whether the Ten Commandments laws violate the First Amendment’s establishment clause, which prohibits governments from endorsing or promoting a particular religion.

[…]

U.S. District Judge Fred Biery sided with the [Texas] parents in August and issued a temporary ruling against the state’s new requirement. Texas officials quickly appealed.

That case was then paired with a legal challenge to Louisiana’s first-in-the-nation requirement, signed into law in 2024, that the Ten Commandments be displayed in every public school classroom.

U.S. District Judge John deGravelles in November 2024 issued an order blocking the Louisiana law, calling it “facially unconstitutional.”

Yeah, that this is to be heard en banc jumped out at me, making me wonder if I’d missed the usual three-judge hearing. I don’t know what to make of that, other than there will be a shorter path to the inevitable SCOTUS appeal. The law seems to be clear here. One Republican justice on the Fifth Circuit has already ruled for the plaintiffs, in the Louisiana case. I really hope this is a straightforward matter, but one can never feel confident with the Fifth Circuit. The Chron, the Trib, NOLA.com, and the Current have more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged ACLU of Texas, Alamo Heights ISD, Americans United, Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, Freedom From Religion Foundation, Greg Abbott, HISD, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Louisiana, Mara Nathan, Mike Morath, SCOTUS, ten commandments, Texas, Texas Education Agency, The Lege | Leave a comment

Judicial Q&A: Sarah Beth Landau

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Sarah Beth Landau

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

My name is Sarah Beth Landau, former Justice of the First Court of Appeals of Texas. I am running for Chief Justice of the Fourteenth Court of Appeals of Texas.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

This Court is kind of the garbage disposal of the Texas justice system. It hears everything except criminal cases involving the death penalty. The Court primarily hears civil cases, but also criminal, family, juvenile, and probate cases.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

I have a passion for justice and unique experience. I have spent nearly equal parts of my career in civil and criminal law and I am the only candidate in any court of appeals race with substantial experience in family and juvenile law as well. My experience is broad and includes state and federal practice, trial and appellate work, and private practice and public service. As an attorney, I’ve represented everyone from Fortune 500 companies to injured people and people accused of crimes who could not afford a lawyer. I spent six years as a justice, which is excellent preparation to be Chief Justice. (In my observation, trying to learn the job of justice and chief justice at the same time can be a too steep learning curve.) I have great relationships with the court staff and ideas about how to improve the court’s functioning as well as opening the court to the community.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

In addition to my previous service on the court of appeals and my broad practice experience, I am a strong legal writer and researcher. I’m also a creative thinker and problem solver. It helps to be someone who does not need to be liked — I spent 12 years as a public defender. Not having a big ego can help with leadership.

I already have court leadership experience. Both our retiring chief and our new chief trusted me to revamp and lead the student intern program, which became the best in the state. I helped hire our Chief Staff Attorney and Clerk of Court, as well as several staff attorneys.

5. Why is this race important?

In 2024, the Court lost every single Democrat due to Elon Musk’s interference in the election spreading misinformation about the Courts. If the electorate wants an independent judiciary or a balanced judiciary, we can’t sit it out or only vote a partial ballot. I’m fiercely independent and follow where the law leads, even if I personally do not like the result. All the judicial races are important, even if we only realize it when we get sued, arrested, or divorced and have to grapple with the legal system.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

I’m the most qualified, I have a strong judicial track record, and I’m a proven leader who can work across the aisle. I’m old enough to be experienced but young enough to serve at least two terms and I have a vision for the court I’d like to lead. In addition to maintaining the court clearance rate (our performance measure), I’d like to create events that teach the community about the courts and increase transparency about how the judiciary functions. I would also like to create a program where the Houston Bar Association rates judicial candidates (highly qualified, qualified, not qualified) to help people quickly make informed voting decisions.

PREVIOUSLY:

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged 14th Court of Appeals, Democratic primary, Election 2026, judicial races, Q&A, Sarah Beth Landau, Texas | Leave a comment

Of course Republicans have a big financial edge in the statewide races

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

What did you expect?

Republicans running for state-level offices in Texas vastly outraised their Democratic counterparts in the second half of 2025, raising questions about whether the minority party’s statewide nominees will have enough resources to seize on what is shaping up to be a favorable political climate this fall.

The fundraising disparity, laid bare in campaign finance reports this week, was especially stark among Texas’ gubernatorial candidates. State Rep. Gina Hinojosa of Austin, the leading Democratic contender for governor, reported raising $1.3 million in the last 10 weeks of the year, including $300,000 she lent her campaign. Gov. Greg Abbott, meanwhile, took in more than that — $1.6 million — from a single donor, Midland oil executive Javaid Anwar, contributing to a $22.7 million haul from July through December that pushed his war chest to a staggering $105.1 million.

In the lieutenant governor race, state Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D-Austin, brought in $368,000 — multiples more than she raised as an incumbent Texas House candidate in 2024, but still less than a quarter of Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick’s $3.7 million take. The three-term Republican had $37.7 million in his campaign coffers at the end of the year, 234 times the size of Goodwin’s war chest.

Democrats’ comparatively meager hauls mean they are entering 2026 with much less cash to get their message across to voters in Texas, a notoriously expensive state to run in because of its size and numerous high-dollar media markets. It also gives Republicans more latitude to use their money to support GOP candidates in down-ballot races, as with Abbott’s plan to turn Harris County red.

Still, Democrats raised more than they did during the same period in the 2018 cycle, the last midterm election with a well-funded U.S. Senate race at the top of the ticket and President Donald Trump in the White House creating headwinds for the GOP. Democrats may also be more competitive in this year’s Senate contest, having so far outpaced the Republican candidates in fundraising. State Rep. James Talarico, D-Austin, said he has raised $13 million since launching his campaign in September.

During the same reporting period in the 2018 cycle, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and eventual nominee Lupe Valdez raised just $55,250, a fraction of Hinojosa’s haul. Mike Collier, the eventual Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, raised just over a third of Goodwin’s take. Both Democrats went on to lose in the general election — and at this point in 2018, Abbott and Patrick each had less than half as much cash on hand as they do now.

Here’s the Harris County roundup. I’ve got others in the works. The bottom line is that I expect both Talarico and Crockett to be prodigious fundraisers, as they have already shown themselves to be, and more or less carry the rest of the ticket as Beto did in 2018. That said, I’m encouraged by Gina Hinojosa’s showing so far. It would be really nice to have more than one candidate be able to raise some money, for many reasons. The Republicans will continue to get plenty of support from the usual gang of billionaires. If there’s ever a year where that may come with its own cost, it will be this one. Having enough candidates with enough money to get that message out, that’s the goal.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Attorney General, Beto O'Rourke, campaign finance reports, Comptroller, Dan Patrick, Democratic primary, Election 2018, Election 2026, fundraising, Gina Hinojosa, Governor, Greg Abbott, James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett, Lite Gov, Lupe Valdez, Mike Collier, Nathan Johnson, primaries, Senate, Texas, Vikki Goodwin | Leave a comment

Angelina County may get wetter

Posted on January 20, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

They could vote on it this May.

Angelina County is a partially wet county. You can buy beer and wine throughout the county, and some restaurants may sell liquor or mixed drink. The few bars, such as The Country Club, operate as private clubs, where individuals wanting to drink must have a membership. To buy a bottle of liquor, you have to cross one of two rivers that serve as the county’s boundary lines.

Bar owners want to change those laws. In November, a coalition began collecting signatures to trigger an election. If voters agree, bar owners would be allowed to advertise more widely, membership would no longer be required to drink at a bar, and liquor could be sold countywide.

The change in those laws would only be for unincorporated areas of the county. Cities would maintain their own rules.

Following the end of prohibition, Texas left the issue of liquor sales up to individual jurisdictions rather than adopt a statewide stance. There are only three totally dry counties left in Texas: Roberts, Kent and Borden, located in the Panhandle and West Texas.

There are about 55 counties throughout the state that are considered completely wet, meaning you can purchase beer, wine or liquor at convenience stores, restaurants or bars. They don’t require a membership, and many other rules are less strict.

The laws in the rest of Texas vary depending on what county you’re in, and even what part of that county. For example, in Lufkin, the largest city in Angelina County, you can buy a can of beer or a bottle of wine from the local grocery store. In Burke, which is just a few miles south of Lufkin on Highway 59, you can’t.

The owners of Bubba T’s, a bar in Hudson, which is about 10 miles from The Country Club, launched the petition in November. Business owners across the county agreed to help, including fellow bars like The Country Club, Jim Ann’s Bar and the South First Bar & Grill.

“As a private club, we have more rules than any other open county or wet county clubs,” said Katie Self, manager of The Country Club. “We have to have memberships. Our customers are not allowed to go outside with open containers. We can’t have anything outside unless it’s fenced in. We’re taxed more on everything. And we don’t want to have to do that anymore.”

[…]

The coalition of bars has until Jan. 20 to collect about 8,600 signatures from registered Angelina County voters — 35% of the total number of votes cast in the 2022 gubernatorial election. If they are successful, voters would have the final say during the May election.

Seven years ago there were five dry counties left in Texas. Thirty years ago, in 1996, there were 53. The state in which the Austin Lounge Lizards wrote the song “A Hundred Miles of Dry” is very different today. I’ve been interested in these odd elections, including one close to home, for awhile now. What can I say? We all like what we like. There’s opposition to this of course, and the petitions haven’t been turned in yet, so who knows. As is my wont, I’ll keep an eye on this.

Posted in Election 2026, Food, glorious food | Tagged Angelina County, dry county, Election 2026, Lufkin, petitions, Texas | Leave a comment

Interview with Annise Parker

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Annise Parker

This week and next week we move into county races, starting with the primary for Harris County Judge. Our first candidate needs no introduction, and that’s Annise Parker. She served six years (the maximum allowed at the time) on Houston City Council, as Controller, and of course as Houston’s Mayor. Since then she has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer for BakerRipley and spent seven years as CEO and President of the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund and Leadership Institute. She was the first person to announce her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for County Judge, before Judge Hidalgo announced her intention to not run again. I’ve interviewed her multiple times, most recently at the end of her last term as Mayor. Here’s what we talked about this time:

cakuffner · Annise Parker Interview 121825

PREVIOUSLY:

Terry Virts – CD09
Leticia Gutierrez – CD09
Melissa McDonough – CD38
Theresa Courts – CD38
Marvalette Hunter – CD38

You can find links to all my interviews and Q&As at the world famous Erik Manning spreadsheet, which has other information about candidates and races. I have two more interviews for County Judge this week and will then have interviews for County Attorney. Let me know what you think.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Annise Parker, Democratic primary, Election 2026, Harris County, Harris County Judge, interviews | 2 Comments

Put Spring ISD on the TEA takeover watch

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t see this coming.

Dekaney High School is one failing accountability grade away from a state takeover of Spring ISD, and district leaders told trustees Tuesday that they are pursuing aggressive turnaround efforts at the north Harris County campus.

The pressure comes after Dekaney posted four consecutive years of failing academic accountability ratings. Under state law, that streak puts the district and its 33,500 students at risk of losing local control if the campus fails again.

Takeovers were once rare in Texas, but they have become more frequent under a 2015 state law that allows the Texas Education Commissioner to oust an elected board and replace them with a board of managers as well as a state-appointed superintendent if one campus has five years of failing grades. Most recently, the Texas Education Agency announced it was taking over districts in Beaumont, Connally and Lake Worth. That follows its intervention in Fort Worth ISD and its historic takeover of the Houston Independent School District, the largest in the state.

At Dekaney, administrators have rolled out tighter instructional supports such as standardized lesson plans and slide decks, increased feedback for staff, and exit tickets that require students to answer STAAR-aligned questions at the end of class.

At Tuesday’s board meeting, Dekaney Principal Connie Smith said that the campus had increased the number of weekly assessments for students, revamped how they track academic performance data, and started holding professional learning groups for teachers every school day.

“The data is showing that we’re pushing in the right direction,” Smith said. “We’re not perfect, and I don’t think anyone standing in any space would be, but our heart is in the place.”

On top of unit tests and exit tickets, Dekaney students take an additional English language arts assessment every week and a math assessment biweekly. Smith said this gives administrators more frequent data points on how students are doing in core subjects.

The school is also tracking each student’s learning using past academic performance and benchmarks such as weekly assessments.

“We utilize that triangulation of data to determine the needs not only of our students, but also our teachers,” Smith said. “We also meet with our instructional specialists as well so we can understand what our goals are as a campus, what’s going on there, identify the concerns and the gaps and create a plan of action.”

Smith said that school officials have also started to track student performance on exit tickets by individual performance rather than the whole average of the class. Smith said it keeps teachers from getting a “false sense of where students are” and shows them which students need targeted help and where to adjust curriculum.

This Chron story from October, linked in the first paragraph above, described the situation going into the 2025-26 academic year.

Dekaney has already received four consecutive years of failing academic accountability scores and, according to a Sept. 3 letter from the Texas Education Agency, “has not earned an acceptable academic accountability rating since the 2015–16 school year.”

District and campus administrators have just this school year left to improve that score, and they’re banking on its state-mandated turnaround plan.

[…]

Spring ISD leaders acknowledge that academics have flatlined at not just Dekaney High School, but all over Spring ISD over the last three years.

The percentage of students in Spring who met the grade-level standard on the reading STAAR has stayed around 38% since 2022. For math, it’s remained at 30% or lower for three years. That doesn’t include students in the “approaching” grade level standard, which is considered passing in the state’s eyes.

“We need to have exponential growth for us to exceedingly close the gap between us and the region and the state,” Superintendent Kregg Cuellar said at a work session last month.

In 2024, 49% of Dekaney students were at approaching or above grade level for reading and 54% for math.

At a Sept. 9 board meeting, district and school officials linked the school’s low rating to weak math and reading scores, poor readiness for college, career, and military and persistent gaps among students retaking tests — factors that all line up with the state’s key accountability metrics.

However, in that same meeting, Tracey Walker, assistant superintendent of high schools, said she believed preliminary data indicated that the campus could receive a C rating for last school year’s college and career preparedness.

Just over half of the school’s student population is Hispanic, and about 40% are Black. More than 79% of students are considered economically disadvantaged while about 32% are emergent bilingual students and English learners.

Toni Templeton, a senior research scientist at the University of Houston Education Research Center, said that Dekaney’s low graduation rates also stood out.

“(The accountability rating system) gives you the better of your fourth year, fifth year or sixth year graduation rates,” Templeton said. “So you have six years to graduate students, and it’s really interesting to me that the graduation rates are so low.

In 2024, Dekaney had a 76.9% graduation rate for students who finished in four years, compared with the statewide average of 90.7%. Spring ISD’s overall rate was 83.6%.

Michelle Williams, a teachers union leader recently terminated by HISD and a Spring resident for over two decades, has been trying to raise the alarm about Spring ISD’s autonomy, speaking out at board meetings and drawing parallels between Dekaney and Wheatley high schools. She said Dekaney’s first F rating should have raised a red flag.

“(The state) took over the largest school district in the state of Texas. That should have been urgency enough,” Williams said. “And the turnaround plan should have been done in year one or year two of getting an F.”

I’m rooting for them, I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone. Spring ISD has more data to work with as well as the HISD experience to guide and motivate them, so perhaps they will pull themselves out in time. They’re certainly borrowing from the Mike Miles playbook in their mitigation efforts, and if they’d like to borrow the man himself to oversee it all I’m sure we could make a deal. All that said, HISD could and arguably should have avoided this fate as well, and they didn’t. Good luck, but don’t rest easy. Until that law is changed, the threat will loom.

Posted in School days | Tagged HISD, Kregg Cuellar, Mike Miles, Mike Morath, schools, Spring ISD, Texas, Texas Education Agency, The Lege | Leave a comment

A brief note about the latest Cook Political Report House race ratings

Posted on January 19, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I was struck by what seems to be an omission as I read this Daily Kos post about the state of the 2026 election.

As Trump tries to shore up the GOP’s fragile House majority through norms-busting mid-decade redistricting, the Cook Political Report has shifted its race ratings for 18 seats toward Democrats. The new ratings, published Thursday, look tough for Republicans.

Republicans are favored to take only three Democratic-held seats (North Carolina’s 1st, Maine’s 2nd, and Texas’ 35th districts). Beyond that, Republicans have few offensive opportunities, while some of the seats they tried to steal via redistricting remain highly competitive or still lean Democratic.

The pressure is even clearer on the Republican side. One GOP-held seat has moved to “Lean Democrat” and should flip in this environment: Nebraska’s 2nd District. And in the “tossup” category, the imbalance is striking: Just four Democratic seats are considered shaky, compared with 14 Republican seats.

This follows 11 rating changes in early November—10 shifting toward Democrats—and another four Democratic shifts later in the month. Virginia’s redistricting fight is still ahead, suggesting that Republicans’ exposure may grow.

Here’s the full Cook report. What is missing from this Daily Kos post, authored by Kos himself, is that it doesn’t take into account the current seats affected by redistricting that are now considered to be solid for the opposing party. If you click on the “Solid Republican” part of the bar, that includes Texas’ CD09 and CD32. And on the “Solid Democratic” side it includes two currently red districts from California. What may yet happen in Virginia, and also maybe Florida, remains to be seen.

You may say so what, that all cancels out, and Kos’ main point remains valid. Except that as we have noted before, CD09 and the now considered to be “Likely Republican” CD35 performed vastly differently in 2018 than they did in 2024, with a big part of the difference being the Latino shift towards Trump in 2024. If all those gains have eroded, as polls say they have been, then CD09 and CD35 are better classified as tossups, with CD32 being more Likely Republican than Solid. I won’t quibble too much on that latter rating because I don’t think there’s a notable Dem candidate in that race, and if you wanted to hedge and call CDs 09 and 35 Lean Republican that’s okay too. I’m just saying, don’t forget about those seats, and the upside for Dems in a wave year adds to the disparity that Kos highlights.

Indeed, a true best case scenario for Dems this year is not only holding onto CDs 28 (Cook rating “Lean Dem”) and 34 (“Dem Tossup”) but also CDs 09 and 35, and flipping CD15 (“Likely Republican”) to make up for losing CD32. It’s not crazy to imagine given how those districts performed in 2018. I wouldn’t bet my own money on it yet – I’d like to see things get at least a little worse for Republicans nationally, and I’d like to see both non-Senate Democrats and the non-incumbent Dem candidates in these races raise some real money first – but it’s in the conversation. The SD09 runoff could stoke this fire, or it could toss some cold water on it, or we could argue it either way afterwards. All I’m saying for now is, it’s in the conversation.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged California, CD09, CD15, CD28, CD32, CD34, CD35, Congress, Election 2018, Election 2024, Election 2026, Florida, redistricting, Texas, Virginia | Leave a comment

Weekend link dump for January 18

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

“Here is a sentence I am pleased to be able to write in 2026: I like the new Amy Grant song.”

“Well, it turns out that some genius dogs can learn a brand new word, like the name of an unfamiliar toy, by just overhearing brief interactions between two people.”

“I am, I think, writing this for myself more than for anyone else, but for all of the yelling you do on Twitter at people who are nakedly wrong about things, the house always wins. You can’t meaningfully fight disgusting ideologies on a platform that has been redesigned from the ground up around amplifying said ideologies.”

“[A recent study] found that climate policies aimed at forcing lifestyle changes — such as bans on driving in urban centers — can backfire by weakening people’s existing pro-environmental values and triggering political backlash, even among those who already care about climate change. The findings suggest that how climate policy is designed may matter as much as how aggressive it is.”

“At present, there are 15 women in general manager positions across Minor League Baseball. When most fans think of the GMs in baseball, they likely assume the job is all about building a roster. Minor League GMs have nothing to do with rosters, but everything to do with a team’s financial stability and community impact, and the gameday experience of everybody — from fans to players and coaches to employees — who comes out to the ballpark.”

RIP, Bob Weir, guitarist, songwriter, founding member of the Grateful Dead.

“How IVF has led to a record number of single moms in their 40s”. I don’t know about you, but I can feel the rage emanating from certain corners of the Internet at that headline.

“Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly sued the Pentagon on Monday over attempts to punish him for his warnings about illegal orders.”

“When we think about how to understand Trumpism and what to do about it, we need to be thinking way beyond the literal and technicalities. It’s really about how we got to be like conquered territories in our own country and how we un-get there. That requires thinking beyond the narrow technicalities of civilian and military laws and life.”

“Rather than offer a traditional “how to fight book bans in 2026” guide, I’ve compiled a massive list of ideas for things you can do not only effectively to fight against book censorship but that also will increase your own knowledge, vocabulary, and fluency in the world of censorship as it is right now.”

“That heaviness you feel, that drag on your mental health, that drain on your emotional energy and lethargy in the face of world events, like [when Renee Nicole Good was murdered], is real. We are all carrying a lot of new weight in the era of Trumpism. It’s the weight of non-zero.”

Having an asteroid named after you, especially unprompted, is pretty damn cool.

“Malaysia and Indonesia have become the first countries to block Grok, the artificial intelligence chatbot developed by Elon Musk’s company xAI, as concerns grow among global authorities that it is being misused to generate sexually explicit and nonconsensual images.” I hope they’re not the last.

RIP, Scott Adams, “Dilbert” cartoonist.

RIP, Claudette Colvin, civil rights activist whose arrest for refusing to give up seat on a segregated bus preceded Rosa Parks’ by nine months. I knew there were others besides Parks who had done this but I didn’t know any of their names before now. Her arrest was finally expunged in 2021, with an African-American judge granting it to her. Rest in peace, Claudette Colvin.

“Anyway, please note that it bothers Bari Weiss when people publicly make fun of her bad decisions and utter lack of journalistic acumen, like the internet is always doing, and like Nikki Glaser did at the Golden Globes.”

“Your Data Center Is Either Closer Than You Think or Much Farther Away”.

“If you swear an oath while placing your hand on the Bible, you’re swearing an oath on a book that forbids you to do that.”

“Joe Rogan’s Harsh New Takedown of Trump ICE Raids Hands Dems a Weapon”.

“Inflation might be cooling down, but “Streamflation” is real, per new data from the U.S. government.”

“The only predicate here is winning power. And this is why I think it’s so important for both activists and politicians alike to approach the ICE challenge differently than they did in the past—with activists offering more generosity and specificity to Democrats trying to win elections, and Democrats earning that generosity by giving their voters reason to believe they won’t tuck tail.”

“I’m tempted to offer a lecture on how the 2017 Women’s March was about liberal women correctly understanding that a man accused by over a dozen women of sexual abuse was throwing up red flags about how he’ll govern, but there’s no reason to gild the lily here. What matters now is that resistance moms were the vanguard then, and they are the vanguard now.”

RIP, Professor Renfrew Christie, anti-apartheid hero who helped derail South Africa’s nuclear weapons program and was tortured in prison for that and for other acts of resistance to the apartheid regime. Read his story and be inspired by it – if you’re like me, you did not know who Renfrew Christie was before now – and remember that today’s Christian nationalists are the descendants of the men who were buying and telling others to buy krugerrands in the 70s and 80s. (Hint: One of their names rhymes with “Schmerry Schmalwell”.)

“Whether Minnesota ultimately prosecutes Ross remains to be seen, and state officials’ decisions will depend on careful legal and evidentiary analysis. Without predicting outcomes, however, it’s worth both clarifying the state of the law—especially in the face of false claims from the Trump administration—and identifying some of the key issues Minnesota prosecutors will have to consider.”

“More resignations of federal prosecutors are expected at the US Attorney’s Office in Minnesota amid ongoing frustration over the Trump administration’s response to the fatal shooting of Renée Good by an ICE officer in Minneapolis.”

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged linkdump | 1 Comment

January 2026 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

New year, new finance reports. You know the drill. This is the busiest report of the cycle, the one that shows who’s who in the primaries. I’ll be doing the usual with the other offices as well. The July 2025 reports for Harris County are here and the January reports are here.

Lina Hidalgo – Harris County Judge
Annise Parker – Harris County Judge
Letitia Plummer (Authorization for filing) – Harris County Judge
Matthew Salazar – Harris County Judge
Aliza Dutt – Harris County Judge
Oscar Gonzales – Harris County Judge
Marty Lancton – Harris County Judge
Warren Howell – Harris County Judge

Rodney Ellis – Commissioner, Precinct 1
Adrian Garcia – Commissioner, Precinct 2
Richard Vega – Precinct 2
Raquel Boujourne – Precinct 2
Tom Ramsey – Commissioner, Precinct 4
Lesley Briones – Commissioner, Precinct 4

Audrie Lawton Evans – Harris County Attorney
Abbie Kamin – Harris County Attorney
Jacqueline Lucci Smith – Harris County Attorney

Teneshia Hudspeth – Harris County Clerk
Michael Wolfe – Harris County Clerk
Lynda Sanchez – Harris County Clerk

Carla Wyatt – Harris County Treasurer
Hayley Hagan – Harris County Treasurer

Marilyn Burgess – District Clerk
Jose Maldonado – District Clerk
Darrell Jordan – District Clerk
Pernell Davis – District Clerk
Rozzy Shorter – District Clerk
Desiree Broadnax – District Clerk
Donna Glover – District Clerk
Chris Daniel SPAC – District Clerk
Chris Daniel – District Clerk
Angellia Dozier – District Clerk
Carlis Lollie – District Clerk

Sean Teare – District Attorney
Ed Gonzalez – Harris County Sheriff
Annette Ramirez – Harris County Tax Assessor


Candidate     Raised       Spent       Loan     On Hand
=======================================================
Hidalgo        1,888     284,086          0     344,873
Parker       416,172     156,657          0     332,475
Plummer
Salazar            0       2,496          0           0
Dutt          42,500     183,247    118,200     161,942
Gonzales       2,235       4,289      1,650         107
Lancton      501,628     119,658        200     362,202
Howell         4,439      82,825    173,150     106,156

Ellis        137,313     253,326          0   7,783,681
Garcia       249,110     403,620          0   2,544,776
Vega          70,380      11,480      2,000      59,395
Boujourne      4,364      70,962    140,000     139,432
Ramsey       550,800      84,056          0   2,032,612
Briones    1,322,486     477,520          0   4,058,292

L Evans      101,810       9,857          0      76,562
Kamin        587,041       7,751          0     572,019
L Smith        4,500       2,840     25,000       1,708

Hudspeth      29,285      12,654          0      17,147
Wolfe              0       1,250          0           0
Sanchez        1,000         913          0       1,000

Wyatt
Hagan            665       1,534      1,317         524

Burgess        1,025      16,087      5,207      26,240
Maldonado        578          75          0           0
Jordan        60,040      50,948     39,500       9,091
Davis         38,305       3,499          0      33,317
Shorter       21,790      14,449      2,000       7,341
Broadnax       9,755       2,298          0       1,462
Glover         2,405       2,017          0         388
Daniel SPAC   22,425       9,927     25,000      12,833
Daniel             0       3,469          0           0
Dozier         3,115       3,728      1,000           0
Lollie         2,695       4,369          0         796

Teare         71,243      70,857          0      14,291
Gonzalez       1,804      10,493          0      90,573
Ramirez        1,275       3,896          0       5,775

Outgoing Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is spending down her cash. I didn’t see any single big expenditure, but there were a number of entries totaling at least five figures each for consulting, polling (?), and travel. Annise Parker had a good but not overwhelming haul, well above her previous amount with more time to do the raising. In a continuation of the most puzzling and annoying trend in local politics, I still have no idea what Letitia Plummer’s campaign finances look like. She stopped filing city reports in 2023, and somehow only got around to filing an authorization for electronic filing on January 12. What the hell, man? I do not understand this and I do not like it.

Aliza Dutt’s fundraising dropped off considerably from July. My assumption is that it’s because Marty Lancton is the new shiny object for Republicans. About $120K of his haul, nearly a quarter of the total, came from various firefighter PACs, including $50K from the HPFFA, of which he had been the leader. Dutt and Warren Howell have enough money thanks to their loans to keep Lancton occupied. We’ll see if he can avoid a runoff.

Lesley Briones is the top dog this cycle, with Tom Ramsey the runnerup. The main difference is that Briones and Adrian Garcia are spending a lot more money. Neither Ramsey nor Rodney Ellis are on the ballot but Ellis is also spending. I suspect Ramsey will join in after March.

About $468K of Abbie Kamin’s contributions are a transfer from her City Council campaign fund, so she and Audrie Lawton Evans raised similar amounts. I’ve seen some online ads for Kamin and a couple of judges, so far that’s the bulk of campaign spending I’m seeing.

I’ve gotta say, there’s more money in the District Clerk races than I’d have expected. Former County Court Judge Darrell Jordan received $10K from Rodney Ellis, but it looks to me like he counted his loan money in with his contribution total. Pernell Davis got $5K from Adrian Garcia, so a little intra-Court competition there. He also got $2500 from State Rep. Ron Reynolds. Rozzy Shorter collected $18K from six individuals, but none of them were names I recognized. I’ve lost track of how many times Chris Daniel has run for District Clerk – he did serve two terms in that office, winning in 2010 and 2014 before being wiped out in 2018. The expenditure from his non-“Friends of” account came from personal funds. His PAC received $10K from two women with the surname Beck in Sugar Land, and another $5K from a retired person in Florida whose name was not listed in the report.

Harris County Treasurer Carla Wyatt did not have a report in the system. Candidates for that office seldom raise much money, but maybe now would be a good time for her to go out of her way to follow all the rules.

And that’s all I’ve got for now. I’ll be going through federal and city reports soon, and will do something with state candidate reports. As always, let me know what you think.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Abbie Kamin, Adrian Garcia, Aliza Dutt, Angellia Dozier, Annette Ramirez, Annise Parker, Audrie Lawton, campaign finance reports, Carla Wyatt, Carlis Lollie, Commissioners Court, Darrell Jordan, Democratic primary, Desiree Broadnax, District Attorney, District Clerk, Donna Glover, Ed Gonzalez, Election 2026, Harris County, Harris County Attorney, Harris County Clerk, Harris County Judge, Harris County Sheriff, Harris County Tax Assessor, Harris County Treasurer, Hayley Hagan, Jacqueline Lucci Smith, Jose Maldonado, Lesley Briones, Letitia Plummer, Lina Hidalgo, Lynda Sanchez, Marilyn Burgess, Marty Lancton, Matt Salazar, Michael Wolfe, Oscar Gonzales, Pernell Davis, Raquel Boujourne, Richard Vega, Rodney Ellis, Rozzy Shorter, Sean Teare, Teneshia Hudspeth, Texas, Tom Ramsey, Warren Howell | 1 Comment

Three abortion stories

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Two of them at least have the potential to be positive. That’s good, right?

Texas court clears path for Planned Parenthood lawsuit challenging state abortion law

A Texas appeals court has allowed three Texas Planned Parenthood affiliates to move forward with a lawsuit challenging the state’s “heartbeat” abortion law, rejecting an effort by Texas Right to Life to shut the case down.

The Third Court of Appeals on Friday said Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers have the right to sue over the Texas Heartbeat Act, the 2021 law that bans abortions after cardiac activity is detected and is enforced not by the state, but by private citizens through civil lawsuits.

Judges said the providers face a credible and ongoing threat of enforcement that has already chilled their work, even as they comply with the law. The court found the groups “established an imminent threat of injury traceable to the threatened conduct of Texas Right to Life,” pointing to its efforts to encourage private citizens to file lawsuits and submit tips about suspected violations.

“Stating ‘we won’t sue you as long as you obey the law’ is still a threat of litigation,” the Friday court filing read. Planned Parenthood didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Texas Right to Life could appeal to the Texas Supreme Court. The group didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.

The lawsuit was filed shortly before the law took effect in September 2021. At the time, a judge granted a restraining order blocking Texas Right to Life from suing the clinics under the new statute. Providers argued the law’s private enforcement system exposed them and their supporters to unlimited lawsuits and effectively shut down reproductive care through fear of legal retaliation.

See here for some background. I’d forgotten this was a thing, it was so long ago and as noted there are so many other issues to deal with following the Dobbs debacle. SCOTx may yet block the suit, and even if they eventually rule that it can go forward, that 2021 ruling will surely stay blocked as the case is fully litigated. You’ve seen how long it has taken to get to this point. It’s not crazy to think that if Dems have trifecta control again in 2029 they will actually pass a new national law overturning Dobbs and affirming a right to abortion, which would render all of this moot. Which is a great outcome, to be sure, just one that took an awfully long time to happen. And if the national law doesn’t happen then and this lawsuit eventually succeeds, there will still be other state laws in place to ban abortion. It’s just that the bounty hunter part of it will have been knocked down. Which would still be something.

Speaking of which…

Texas Supreme Court hears arguments in case tied to state’s bounty hunter abortion law

The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Sadie Weldon v. The Lilith Fund, a case that pertains to Senate Bill 8, the 2021 law that banned abortions after around six weeks.

The landscape of abortion law has changed since SB 8 — also called the Texas Heartbeat Act — passed, with Texas enacting more comprehensive abortion bans after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. But SB 8’s novel “bounty hunter” provision, which allows private citizens to sue anyone who “aids or abets” an abortion after cardiac activity is detected in a fetus, has continued to drive legal questions.

The Texas Supreme court’s decision in Sadie Weldon v. The Lilith Fund would not decide the constitutionality of SB 8, though challenges to the law still persist. It could, however, impact whether a challenge to the law has a path forward.

The case has wound through the courts since 2022, when Weldon, a private Texas citizen, sought to depose Neesha Davé, the deputy director of the Lilith Fund, a nonprofit that provides support to people seeking abortions. In a sworn affidavit for a separate legal proceeding, Davé acknowledged that the Lilith Fund had helped at least one Texas woman pursue an abortion, a potential violation of SB 8. Weldon filed a Rule 202 petition to try to glean more information about the potential violation without officially filing a lawsuit.

“We wanted to find out exactly who was involved, the extent of the violation and what else we could investigate,” said Jonathan Mitchell, Weldon’s attorney, in arguments presented Wednesday. Mitchell, who was a key figure in the drafting of SB 8, has represented a number of clients filing Rule 202 petitions pertaining to suspected abortion law violations.

However, the Lilith Fund countersued Weldon, asking a judge to both declare SB 8 unconstitutional and prevent Weldon from suing the organization under the statute. Weldon asked the courts to dismiss that countersuit, invoking the Texas Citizens Participation Act — a law intended to prevent retaliatory suits aimed at silencing “matters of public concern.” A Jack County court and the Second Court of Appeals ruled that the TCPA does not apply to declaratory judgment claims of this nature.

Now, the Texas Supreme Court must decide whether to uphold those rulings. If the high court rules against Weldon, it could result in the case being sent back to a lower court to decide the merits of the Lilith Fund’s request for SB 8 to be declared unconstitutional.

The Jack County district judge also denied Weldon’s 202 petition, and Weldon chose not to pursue the petition further — meaning it’s only the Lilith Fund’s countersuit and Weldon’s motion to dismiss it that remain active.

See here and here for some background, and here for a copy of the Second Court of Appeals’ ruling, which is technical and wonky but largely boils down to saying no, the Lilith Fund did not file this action “based on or in response to Weldon’s exercise of the rights of free speech, to petition, or of association”. Again, if the good guys win here then there will be another lawsuit back in the pipeline to overturn SB8, the vigilante bounty hunter law. Which, it occurs to me, if it succeeds might weaken or even kill the underpinnings of multiple other bounty hunter-style laws that the Lege has passed since then. That’s far from a guarantee, in the still seemingly unlikely event of success in the lawsuit itself, as the ruling would have to be at least somewhat broad for that to happen. But it’s in play, and that would be a good thing in so many ways. Tune in again in a few years and we’ll see where it’s at. Slate and The Center Square have more.

I hate to end on a buzz kill, but here we are: Louisiana Seeks to Extradite California Abortion Provider. Take some calming breaths before you read on.

In September, Abortion, Every Day broke the news that Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill had signed an arrest warrant for California abortion provider Dr. Remy Coeytaux, accusing him of illegally mailing abortion pills into the state. Today, the Republican AG ramped up her efforts—making a splashy social media announcement that she’s signed an extradition request for Coeytaux.

“This is not healthcare; it’s drug dealing,” she said. Coeytaux is charged with violating a Louisiana statute banning “criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs,” and faces up to 50 years of hard labor.

Coeytaux is the second abortion provider Louisiana has targeted with criminal charges and extradition. In January 2025, a grand jury indicted New York provider Dr. Maggie Carpenter on felony abortion charges, with Murrill signing an extradition order a few weeks later:

At the time, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said “there’s no way in hell” she would extradite Carpenter. We’re awaiting comment from California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office on Louisiana’s extradition request; but like New York, California has shield laws that protect abortion providers from out-of-state prosecution and extradition.

Last year, attorney Alejandra Caraballo, co-author of the 2023 CUNY law review article Extradition in Post-Roe America, told me that abortion-related extradition requests take us into uncharted territory—and could wind up at the Supreme Court:

“We haven’t really seen this kind of disparity in state laws around human rights since the Civil War, where, what constitutes a human right in one state, constitutes a capital crime in another. The federal Constitution is not set up to manage that. The last time we had this kind of disparity led to the full breakdown of calamity of the states, to the Civil War.”

There’s been a race among conservative attorneys general to get shield laws in front of SCOTUS, so this is exactly what Murrill wants. That’s why she isn’t just targeting providers: in a video posted on X today, Murrill promised that her office would “pursue actions against those states that are shielding those doctors and are illegally trying to nullify our laws.”

The timing of all of this couldn’t be better for Murrill, who’s set to testify before the Senate on Wednesday about the supposed danger of abortion pills and telehealth access.

See here and here for some background, and remember that Texas is also a player in this game, though so far only on the civil side. We could do better in the rhetoric department in pushing back against deranged sociopaths like Liz Murrill, but that’s a conversation for another day. That 2029 Dem trifecta I talked about above? It would help a lot here, too.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged abortion, Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine, Aid Access, Ashley Maxwell, Bryan Hughes, California, Gavin Newsom, Jack County, Kamyon Conner, Kathy Hochul, Ken Paxton, lawsuit, Letitia James, Lilith Fund, Liz Merrill, Louisiana, Margaret Carpenter, mifepristone, Neesha Dave, New York, Planned Parenthood, Remy Coeytaux, Sadie Weldon, SCOTUS, Second Court of Appeals, Supreme Court, telemedicine, Texas, Texas Equal Access Fund, Texas Right to Life, The Lege, Third Court of Appeals, Whole Woman’s Health Alliance | Leave a comment

We sure have a lot of mass shooting memorials

Posted on January 18, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good Lord. This is some upsetting stuff, so stop reading now if this is not something you want to face today.

On May 18, 2018, a student entered Santa Fe High School, between Houston and Galveston, and opened fire with two guns, killing eight students and two teachers.

Exactly four years later, an 18-year-old entered his former school, Robb Elementary, in Uvalde, fatally shooting 19 students and two teachers, while only yards away dozens of police milled about in a hallway for more than an hour awaiting instructions to confront him.

Just one week after that, a convicted murderer in the custody of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice took advantage of a cascade of security lapses, slipping out of his handcuffs and leg shackles, knifing a guard and hijacking a prison bus. After three weeks on the run, he entered a cabin in Centerville and murdered a man and four of his grandchildren, aged 11 to 18.

Apart from being appalling acts of mass murder, what unites the three events is that this year the Texas Legislature quietly voted to pay for separate memorials honoring the victims of each. Buried in the state’s massive 2026-2027 spending plan is $1.6 million in Gov. Greg Abbott’s budget for a memorial honoring the Collins family members killed by the escaped convict; $2.7 million in the Texas Education Agency to create the Santa Fe memorial; and $10 million for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to install a tribute to the Uvalde victims.

Experts say that for families and loved ones of the victims, survivors and members of the local communities where the crimes occurred, planning and constructing a physical monument acknowledging such tragedies can be an important part of the healing process.

“Most communities do end up having some permanent memorial,” said Alyssa Rheingold, who as director of Response, Recovery, & Resilience at the University of South Carolina’s National Mass Violence Center, has consulted on memorials at more than 20 sites of mass violence.

[…]

“There are too many victims now, and there are bound to be more in the future,” said state Rep. Joe Moody. In 2023, the El Paso Democrat introduced a bill to build a single monument to Texas mass shooting victims on the Capitol complex in Austin, where he hoped it would both honor victims and confront state lawmakers.

The measure failed to gain support, he said, because most would rather not address the obvious role of firearms: “My point was to continue to shine a light on mass shootings and gun violence.”

So individual Texas communities keep adding their own. When completed, the memorials in Uvalde, Santa Fe and Centerville will bring to at least 13 the number of permanent structures that together display the engraved names of more than 150 Texans killed. It is a tour no one wants to take.

I’m going to stop here because I’m already seething. The story lists what I think are all of the currently existing memorials, beginning with the one at the UT bell tower from the Whitman massacre in the 60s. Read on if you want but take some deep breaths first. It is wholly appropriate and worthwhile to memorialize these people that we have lost. They deserve it, their families and friends and neighbors and classmates and coworkers and everyone else affected by their loss deserve it. They also deserve a real effort to make these horrific events less frequent. That is very much not in the works.

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged gun control, guns, Joe Moody, Santa Fe, Texas, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, The Lege, Uvalde | Leave a comment

Emerson primary poll: Talarico 47, Crockett 38

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record.

Rep. James Talarico

A new poll of Texas’ Senate primaries shows state Rep. James Talarico leading U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett by 9 percentage points among likely Democratic voters, marking a significant shift from a December survey that found Crockett leading by a similar margin.

In a sample of 413 statewide voters conducted earlier this week, Talarico, D-Austin, led Crockett, D-Dallas, with 47% to 38%. Another 15% were undecided ahead of the March 3 primary.

The poll, conducted by Emerson College, comes about a month after a Texas Southern University survey found Crockett leading by an 8-point margin. The TSU poll was conducted in the days after Crockett’s last-minute entry into the Democratic primary.

In both polls, Talarico leads among Latino and white voters, while Crockett has overwhelming support among Black voters.

[…]

On the Republican side, the poll shows Attorney General Ken Paxton and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn locked in a close race that is likely to head to a runoff, with neither able to garner even 30% of the vote. If no candidate reaches 50% in the March election, the contest will be decided by a May runoff between the top two finishers.

No Senate GOP candidate has come close to majority support in recent public polls.

The Emerson survey found the two front-runners essentially in a dead heat, with Paxton at 27% and Cornyn at 26%. Houston U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt trailed with 16% support. The poll included 550 voters and has a margin of error of 4.1 percentage points.

The result is largely unchanged from when Emerson polled the Senate GOP primary in August, before Hunt entered the race, and found Cornyn leading Paxton, 30% to 29%. In between those two surveys, Cornyn allies have poured over $40 million into advertising to bolster the senior senator’s image. Paxton, meanwhile, has barely spent.

Democrats have hotly debated whether Crockett or Talarico would be better positioned to break their party’s three-decade losing streak in Texas statewide elections. The Emerson poll found Talarico performing marginally better against the Republican field.

In head-to-head matchups measured by the poll, both Cornyn and Hunt lead Crockett by 5 percentage points and Talarico by 3 points.

The Emerson poll also adds fuel to the longstanding argument, advanced by Cornyn and his allies, that Paxton would put Texas’ Senate seat in danger for Republicans — or, at the very least, force the party to spend money in Texas that would otherwise be used in traditional battleground states.

Paxton is tied with either Democrat, 46% to 46%, in hypothetical matchups polled by Emerson.

Elsewhere on the ballot, the survey found Texas Gov. Greg Abbott leading Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa, 50% to 42%, in his bid for a fourth term.

I noted that TSU poll here, but just for the gubernatorial primary. You can see the Emerson poll information here. Cornyn and Hunt both led Talarico 47-44 and Crockett 48-43. Emerson’s kind of a weird pollster, and their approval ratings for both Trump (48-46) and Abbott (47-47) are both better than what the UT-Texas Politics Project has for them, by a fair amount in Trump’s case. It’s a little hard for me to see how these races could be this close without those guys under water, but I’m not going to spend too much energy on this. I’m mostly interested in collecting a few data points so we can see how accurate or not these pollsters were for the primary.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Democratic primary, Donald Trump, Election 2026, Gina Hinojosa, Greg Abbott, James Talarico, Jasmine Crockett, Ken Paxton, polls, Senate, Texas, Wesley Hunt | Leave a comment

The effect of the Kerrville flood on the riparian areas

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The bad news is that the massive flooding on July 4 of the Guadalupe River did a lot of environmental damage to the river and its immediate surrounding area, the riparian area. The good news is that this was still a fairly normal event in terms of the river’s natural cycle, and it should recover just fine in the next few years.

Anna Neale and Lois Fields walked slowly through Flatrock Park, tossing handfuls of seed on the ground along the Guadalupe River.

At their feet, the flood-ravaged soil was mostly bare. Above their heads, there was little evidence of the thick canopy of trees that guarded the river’s banks just a few months ago.

Neale paused to examine a small mountain laurel that was determinedly rising from the ground.

“He’s beat up, but he’s trying to survive,” Neale said. “This is nature doing nature.”

Before July 4, when the Guadalupe River turned into a raging, deadly torrent, this section of the riverbank was shaded by trees, with so much dense vegetation that you couldn’t leave the paved walking path, Neale said.

The flood was catastrophic to Kerr County’s human population — killing 119 people and sweeping away homes, RVs, cars and anything else in its path — but it was also devastating to the environment.

The floodwaters damaged or destroyed thousands of trees and wiped away acres of vegetation, altering the river and its surrounding ecosystems. An analysis found that more than half the vegetation along the river’s floodway was lost, based on aerial images from before and after the flood. Those scars are easily visible along the Guadalupe. In some areas, trees are bent at 45-degree angles. In others, nothing is left behind but stumps and bare ground. The river banks were scoured clean in some spots, while mounds of gravel and other debris were deposited elsewhere.

It’s also not yet fully clear how much of an effect the flooding had on fish, mussels and other creatures that live in and around the river.

But the river — and the wildlife that depends on it — will recover, experts said, given time, patience and intentional restoration efforts.

Floods “are part of the natural climate, part of the natural hydrology,” said Steve Nelle, a retired natural resource specialist and wildlife biologist with the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service.

“It won’t look exactly like it did before; it’s going to look a little different,” he told Kerr County landowners at a recent recovery workshop. “But this river will heal.”

[…]

The riparian area refers to land along a stream or lake, where the water and land meet. It’s a key area for providing wildlife habitat and for maintaining water quality by catching sediment and creating a buffer between the land and water to filter pollutants from runoff.

The river’s riparian area helps stabilize the banks and channels, and during a flood, it can help dissipate energy, slowing the water flow down, Nelle said. It also holds water in the ground — acting as a “riparian sponge,” he said, which is helpful both for temporary flood retention in less-severe flooding and for holding water in the ground during dry times.

A functioning riparian area with vegetation, including groundcover and intermediate layers, can help slow floodwaters, Meitzen said. When those lower levels are removed, leaving only the tree canopy above — as is often seen in the Hill Country — those benefits are reduced. The same goes for other clearing and building along the riparian area.

“The less the amount of developed floodplain, the more natural flood mitigation the riparian area can provide,” she said.

That means restoring the riparian area of the Guadalupe can play a key role in not only helping it recover, but helping it be more resilient in the future.

It’s a long story and a good read. It was in the Express News (published on December 15) so I can’t give you a gift link, but I was able to view it by accessing the story link in Incognito mode in Chrome. It was in the print edition of the Chronicle – front page, in fact – on December 29.

Anyway, the bottom line is that everyone expects the river to recover; multiple people pointed to the Blanco River flood from 2015, which had similar environmental effects but which is largely unnoticeable now. The main thing people can do to help is to plant seeds for native flora, to help speed up that part of the recovery and to ensure that the river has solid natural borders and drainage. The San Antonio Botanical Garden is spearheading such an effort, to plant over 250K native seeds in the hope of growing the 50K replacement trees that are needed. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) and the Upper Guadalupe River Authority have a joint project to work with the landowners along the river – about 94% of the riparian area is privately owned – to ensure that they do their part as well. All in all, I got a good feeling from this that while the Guadalupe River has changed due to the flood, it will still be what it has always been.

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged flooding, Guadalupe River, Kerr County, Kerrville, San Antonio Botanical Garden, Texas, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, trees, Upper Guadalupe River Authority | Leave a comment

Ashby 2.0 is now open

Posted on January 17, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

And boy howdy is it expensive.

It’s how much per month?

A long-anticipated apartment tower rising on the former Ashby high-rise site is set to open next month with rents that could set a new ceiling for luxury apartments in Houston.

Residents are expected to begin moving in February into The Langley, a 20-story apartment tower in Boulevard Oaks at 1717 Bissonnet. The project sits on the same site where the Ashby high-rise was first pitched in 2007, sparking one of the biggest land-use controversies in Houston history.

After years of opposition and legal battles, the owners hired StreetLights Residential in 2022 to introduce a new, revised design with fewer units. Despite some continued neighborhood resistance, the developer secured the permits needed to break ground in 2023.

“The Langley represents the thoughtful evolution of a long-term vision — one carefully refined to align with the character and scale of its surrounding neighborhood,” said Stephen Meek, senior vice president of development at StreetLights Residential, in a statement.

Monthly rents start at $9,100, but StreetLights declined to name an upper limit. However, Meek said one unit currently listed on multiple listing services are priced at about $19,000 a month. He added that those units aren’t the most expensive in the building. Another nearly 3,400-square-foot residence is being marketed for about $17,500, according to data from the Houston Association of Realtors.

Pricing has not yet been released for the project’s eight penthouses on the top level, Meek said.

Overall, the Langley’s average asking rent is about $13,215 per month, the highest average in the metro, according to CoStar data. That figure exceeds rent averages at recently opened projects such as 1 Riva Row in The Woodlands and Hanover Buffalo Bayou in Montrose, CoStar data shows.

Yowza. See here for the previous update. It was always clear this was going to be high-end, I just had no idea how high. As a certified Old Person who attended a few parties in the cheap student apartments and duplexes that existed just a few blocks away from where this now is back in the day, my mind is boggled. You’ll get some spacious apartments with luxury fittings and a number of sweet amenities for that price, and by “you” I mean “someone who probably has a lot more money than you and definitely has a lot more money than me”. At least we have the memories and this one picture of a silly homemade sign someone tacked to a telephone pole on Shepherd just north of Bissonet that I was fortunate enough to take before it was removed. Which is almost the same thing.

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged Ashby highrise, Boulevard Oaks Civic Association, construction, density, Houston, Langley, lawsuit, Southampton Civic Club, Street Lights Residential, urbanism | 2 Comments

Interview with Marvalette Hunter

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Marvalette Hunter

We wrap up our tour of CD38 with a familiar name from Houston politics. Marvalette Hunter was the Chief of Staff for the late Sylvester Turner both for his eight years as Houston’s Mayor and his regrettably short term in Congress for CD18; she continued to serve in that role through the end of 2025. Before that, she served as Vice President of Community Lending for a Seattle-based bank that was later acquired by JPMorgan Chase, and as the Chief Development Officer for Harris County Housing Authority. She also owns a real estate development firm that builds apartment communities. Here’s what we talked about:

cakuffner · Marvalette Hunter interview 010526

PREVIOUSLY:

Terry Virts – CD09
Leticia Gutierrez – CD09
Melissa McDonough – CD38
Theresa Courts – CD38

You can find links to all my interviews and Q&As at the world famous Erik Manning spreadsheet, which has other information about candidates and races. Next up will be interviews with candidates for Harris County Judge. Let me know what you think.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged CD38, Congress, Democratic primary, Election 2026, interviews, Marvalette Hunter, Texas | Leave a comment

A Taylor Rehmet check-in

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still not sure what to expect in this runoff.

Taylor Rehmet

Even some of his most passionate supporters were surprised by the number of votes Democrat Taylor Rehmet received in the November special election for Texas Senate District 9.

His competitors, Republicans Leigh Wambsganss and John Huffman, each had mountains of cash and the backing of major PACs and political players across Texas. Even so, Rehmet, an Air Force Veteran and president of the state’s International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers chapter, won nearly 48 percent of the vote—nearly enough for an outright win.

The Tarrant County seat, which covers the suburbs of Keller, North Richland Hills, and Southlake, plus part of Fort Worth, was left open by longtime Republican state Senator Kelly Hancock, who resigned earlier this year to become the acting state comptroller. Last year, President Trump won that same district by 17 points.

“That is not something you might’ve seen as recently as two cycles ago,” said Jason Villalba, a former North Texas Republican legislator who now runs a think tank focused on Latino voters, citing the area’s growing diversity. Backlash to the right-wing Republican candidates was another reason, experts say.

Now, the January 31 runoff pits Rehmet against Wambsganss, a conservative activist and executive with Patriot Mobile, the Christian nationalist cell phone carrier in North Texas. It’s a race that encapsulates the most turbulent political storylines in Tarrant County, statewide and nationally. The special election in a solid-red district is the sort of off-cycle contest that, in the Trump era, serves as a bellwether for the national political climate. That’s especially so in this district, smack dab in the largest battleground county in Texas.

“As Tarrant County goes, so goes Texas,” former Trump consigliere Steve Bannon, who is stumping for Wambsganss, recently said on his podcast. “And as Texas goes, so goes the world.”

EJ Carrion, a progressive activist based in Fort Worth, was chilled by those words from the one-time Trump strategist. He was also motivated. “If Tarrant County is the battleground for a democracy, then Fort Worth is the front lines,” he said.

[…]

Wambsganss’ politics are part of an increasingly powerful hardline faction in Tarrant County Republican politics, which has long been a hotbed for right-wingers. In the November election, she bested Southlake Mayor John Huffman, who had backing from more establishment elements of the state GOP as well as with big-money casino interests. The True Texas Project, whose endorsement Wambsganss lists on her website, is an influential Tarrant County-based organization that once claimed there is a “war on white America.”

Brian Mayes, a local Republican strategist, said Wambsganss’ failure to best Rehmet and secure the 50 percent necessary to avoid a runoff shows that people, including some GOP voters, are fed up with the school board controversies that have dominated North Texas politics in recent years. Candidates backed by Patriot Mobile’s PAC suffered big losses in the May 2025 elections, Mayes pointed out.

“I think their policies were so extreme, they caused so much trouble on the school board, that in just a short time period, voters were like, ‘Okay, yeah, we’ve seen enough. We’re done,’” Mayes said.

That’s the main bit of analysis we get, the rest of it is pretty vibes-based. I figure we’ll get some more coverage of this runoff, perhaps with some more data or at least speculation on data, as we get closer. It really would resonate if Rehmet won, even if he subsequently lost in November and never got to cast a vote in the Senate as a result. (See Dan Barrett’s HD97 special election win in December 2007, which did presage big Democratic gains in 2008 even as he failed to retain his seat, for an analog.) And if all he can muster is a normal-sized 42 percent or so, well, we’ll need to understand what that means, too. The Texan, not my favorite news outlet but here they are, has more.

UPDATE: And now the Fort Worth Report weighs in.

The Democrat’s near-win in November is a telling indicator for Texas and the nation, said Keith Gaddie, a political professor at Texas Christian University.

Such a gain in Tarrant County, which is commonly regarded as one of the nation’s largest Republican counties, does not bode well for the GOP this November and beyond, Gaddie said.

He said Democrats hope Tarrant’s changing demographics with its fast-growth and urbanization — coupled with what they see as a fracturing Republican Party and national unrest over President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, immigration and international relations — could tip the county in their favor.

“Whoever wins will declare that it’s a bellwether, and they will declare they’ve got a mandate,” Gaddie said. “But, irrespective of who wins this runoff, if I were the Republicans, I’d be looking at what’s happened in Tarrant County, and I’d be worried.”

[…]

The runoff results will largely depend on candidates’ ability to mobilize voters, although statistically, Rehmet has the upper hand, said Gaddie, who has published studies on the science of runoff elections.

“If you get a candidate that breaks 40% and leads by 10-percentage points (in the initial election), there’s a 19 in 20 chance they’re gonna win the runoff,” he said. “Rehmet met both of these criteria — 48% of the vote, and he led by 12 points.”

The crunch point is a candidate’s ability to mobilize voters, which could prove difficult, he said. Tarrant County runoffs typically see about 20,000 fewer voters than the main election, and elections are very rarely held in January, he said.

I’ll be honest, that kind of talk makes me a little nervous, like we’re tempting fate. All I can say is that I hope this is more of a typical runoff.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Dan Barrett, Donald Trump, Election 2007, Election 2008, Election 2018, Election 2024, Election 2025, Election 2026, HD97, John Huffman, Leigh Wambsganss, runoff, SD09, Senate, special election, Taylor Rehmet, Texas, turnout | Leave a comment

From the “Do unto them as they would do to us” department

Posted on January 16, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

From The Downballot:

Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa died unexpectedly [last] Tuesday at the age of 65, a development that both narrows the House GOP’s already slim majority and will set off a special election to succeed him.

LaMalfa, who Politico reports experienced an aneurysm and a heart attack, had no known serious health problems before his death. The congressman even told NOTUS last month that he would seek an eighth term in Northern California’s 1st Congressional District, which just became dramatically bluer following the state’s adoption of a new House map in November.

Despite the major changes made to his district, LaMalfa said the revamped map “makes me more invigorated to run” and was preparing for what would have been his first competitive race since he was first elected to Congress in 2012.

[…]

Following the most recent census, LaMalfa’s district remained safe for Republicans even after California’s redistricting commission redrew the lines to account for population shifts. But the congressman’s standing shifted abruptly after Gov. Gavin Newsom and fellow Democrats began plotting an unexpectedly potent response to the new gerrymander that Texas Republicans had drawn at Donald Trump’s insistence.

Lawmakers swiftly passed a new map, which voters approved in a 64-36 landslide last fall, that dramatically overhauled LaMalfa’s constituency. While LaMalfa had easily secured his most recent term as Trump was carrying his district 61-36, Kamala Harris would have won the new-look 1st District by a 54-42 spread.

Mapmakers accomplished this transformation by shifting conservative rural communities between Chico and Sacramento that had been in the 1st into neighboring Democratic districts. In exchange, LaMalfa’s district took in portions of two deep blue counties, Mendocino and Sonoma, that are located in the state’s wine country region north of San Francisco.

[…]

Because of LaMalfa’s death, though, a special election will take place first, as required by the Constitution. Newsom has 14 days to schedule the contest, which must then be held between 126 and 140 days later. That would put the election sometime between mid-May and early June, with a primary nine weeks earlier.

Ordinarily, special elections that take place after redistricting but before the next general election use old district lines—but not always. A 2022 special election for Nebraska’s 1st District was held using the state’s new map that had been adopted the previous year, a move that did not face a legal challenge.

One legal commentator, Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern, argued that Newsom should nonetheless order that the new boundaries be deployed.

“It’s the map adopted by the people of California, and on top of being democratically defensible, it’s the kind of hardball that [Ron] DeSantis or [Greg] Abbott would obviously pull in the converse scenario,” he wrote on social media, referring to the Republican governors of Florida and Texas.

My sincere condolences to Rep. LaMalfa’s family and friends. May he rest in peace.

The effect of Rep. LaMalfa’s death plus the resignation of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, means that the Republicans now have 218 members in Congress, the smallest possible number for a majority. They also now have another member in the hospital following a car crash, and they can hardly count on the vote of Rep. Thomas Massie, one of the leaders of the push to release the Epstein files. I’d say “poor Mike Johnson”, but we’d all know I don’t mean it.

I have no idea if Gavin Newsom will go all out and say that the special election will use the new map instead of the current one. There is precedent for it, as noted, though as pointed out in the post Mark Joseph Stern was replying to, it didn’t involve a party flip. Taking this action would of course result in a lawsuit, which would surely make its way to SCOTUS, and I’m sure they’ll find some way to rule in the Republicans’ favor. I don’t think there’s any doubt about what Abbott would do in the same position. He could have scheduled the CD18 special election in May if he had really wanted to. I’m not sure I endorse this approach, but I’m happy to bandy it about. Let the rationalizing begin! Daily Kos has more.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged California, Congress, Doug LaMalfa, Election 2026, Gavin Newsom, Marjorie Taylor Greene, redistricting, special election | 1 Comment

Judicial Q&A: Judge James Horwitz

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Judge James Horwitz

1. Who are you and in which court do you preside?

Judge James Horwitz, Presiding Judge for Harris County Probate Court # 4 and current (2025) Administrative Judge for all five probate courts in Harris County, Texas

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

Jurisdictions involving (a) Probate of Wills (both contested and uncontested); (b) Heirship Determinations when one dies without a Will (both contested and uncontested); (c) Guardianships (both contested and uncontested); (d) trusts involving estates for both decedents and guardianship wards (both uncontested and contested) and (e) a special jurisdiction over mental health commitments with only one other Harris County judge.

3. What have been your main accomplishments during your time on this bench?

I have been on this bench since January 1. 2019. I have been instrumental in coordinating the same processes in all five probate courts to accomplish goals such as the probate of Wills, heirship determinations, and guardianships. Before 2019, it was common for attorneys to have to learn four different ways to accomplish the completion of their case, always depending on which court their case was in. In 2019 I saw that court reporters working in the Harris County Courthouses were vastly underpaid compared to the salaries of reporters in all the other major metropolitan areas and successfully petitioned the Harris County Commissioners to increase their salaries.

In 2020 as covid enveloped the world, as the administrative judge for all the probate courts, I oversaw the introduction of zoom to handle our dockets (Probate Courts were the first to use zoom) so that justice involving probate was never interrupted.

In 2022 I discovered that approx. 20% of the ad litem attorneys (who are the lifeblood of probate courts) were not getting paid after the completion of their respective cases. After trying in vain for almost two years to get the clerk’s office to make applicants be required to deposit a set amount of money into the court registry for the payment of ad litem fees,

I decided in Oct, 2024 to make it a requirement in my court for all applicants in cases requiring an ad litem appointment to deposit money in their own trust account and send me affidavits stating the same before they got a hearing date. Six months later the clerk’s office finally followed suit so now all the probate courts can guarantee the ad litems can get paid.

Through 2025 I have reduced our caseload by having our eleven person staff work more efficiently.

4. What do you hope to accomplish in your courtroom going forward?

In regard to this Court’s mental health jurisdiction, more intensive interactions with the staff at the Harris County psychiatric hospitals will in my opinion result in more out-patient commitments thereby freeing up bed space for more severe cases. Additionally, I would like to see Harris County require private hospitals (that receive insurance money for mental health commitments) pay filing fees for seeking such commitments from the county. This court continues to process probate cases to resolution more quickly and needs to do more. I would like to begin a training program for attorneys in mediation techniques that can assist them in helping families resolve their differences. Because this Court has so many regularly scheduled dockets on a recurring weekly basis, the scheduled trials (both bench and jury) which dominate the court’s time can be lessened through resolution.

5. Why is this race important?

A person may never need to sue anyone in civil court or be sued by someone else, or never be involved in a divorce, child custody, visitation and support issues in a family law court. That person may never be a victim of a crime or be charged as a criminal defendant in a criminal court, but everyone comes to probate court eventually as either a decedent and/or an heir. We need experienced empathic probate judges that can provide families with the proper procedures that guarantee that equitable justice can prevail.

6. Why should people vote for you in March?

Over my long career as an attorney and as a probate judge, I have demonstrated my sound judgement and wisdom in providing the proper way to help Harris County families solve their difficult family matters. I have cared deeply about public service throughout my entire career, and I do not want to see this court fall into inexperienced hands to the detriment of our community.

PREVIOUSLY:

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2026, Harris County, James Horwitz, judicial races, Q&A | Leave a comment

California redistricting map upheld

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

Good news for Democrats.

A federal court Wednesday ruled against a Republican challenge to California’s redistricting plan, rejecting the GOP claim that the state had engaged in illegal racial gerrymandering when drawing up its new congressional map.

The three-judge panel denied the GOP’s motion to block the map, finding there was no basis for a preliminary injunction.

California Democrats redrew their congressional map last year in response to President Donald Trump’s push for Republican-controlled states to conduct unprecedented mid-decade redistricting in favor of the GOP. Golden State voters overwhelmingly voted for the plan, which aimed to create five more Democratic congressional seats to balance out Trump’s efforts to pick up five seats in Texas.

But Republicans quickly challenged it, asking a federal court to block the California map because it was allegedly drawn “to favor Hispanic voters” in violation of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments. They argued that Paul Mitchell, the California mapmaker, said his work on the legislature’s plan was guided by racial considerations and that the “number one thing that [he] first started thinking about” was “drawing a replacement Latino majority/minority district in the middle of Los Angeles.”

In the ruling, the court noted that Republicans didn’t express racial gerrymandering concerns during the legislative debate on the map.

“No one on either side of that debate characterized the map as a racial gerrymander,” the court wrote, adding that Republicans repeatedly described it as a political power grab.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court greenlit partisan gerrymandering in 2019, Republicans “abandoned the argument they made to the voters” and called it a racial gerrymander instead, the court concluded.

See here, here, and here for the background. A copy of the ruling is here. The judges who sided with the plaintiffs were Obama and Biden appointees, while the one who dissented was a Trump appointee. Go figure. Because of the nature of redistricting litigation, if this is appealed it will go straight to SCOTUS, and we know what happened the last time. I do expect there will be an appeal, and I think it’s more likely than not that SCOTUS bats it away, mostly on the grounds that they don’t want to be bothered with it. I’ve been wrong before, so we’ll see. If SCOTUS does uphold the map, it should at the least cancel out the gains that Texas Republicans hope to get with their new map. Give credit to the Democratic caucus of the Texas House if that happens, because none of it would have happened without their quorum break. Politico, Mother Jones, The Hill, and KCRA have more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged California, Congress, Donald Trump, Election 2026, Gavin Newsom, Justice Department, lawsuit, redistricting, SCOTUS, Texas | Leave a comment

That’s a lot of ballot challenges

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this.

Tarrant County Republican Chairman Tim Davis wants seven Democratic judicial candidates running in the March 3 primary election removed from the ballot, saying their candidate filings had several errors.

Davis formally challenged the ballot applications and petition filings on Wednesday, asking the Tarrant County Democratic Party to review the candidates and declare them ineligible to run.

Davis also deemed Republican candidate Zee Wilcox ineligible to run for the Texas House. Late Friday, she filed a lawsuit challenging his decision.

Under state law, local parties are responsible for reviewing applications for compliance. They have the authority to reject filings that do not meet procedural requirements.

All seven judicial candidates are running unopposed in the Democratic primary, meaning if they are not removed from the ballot, they will be on the ballot in the November general elections.

However, if they are removed, the judicial seat likely will go to the Republican nominee by default.

“We are committed to reviewing (Davis’) concerns carefully and in accordance with the Texas Election Code,” read a statement from the Tarrant County Democratic Party. “Additionally, we question many of the assertions made, and in those cases, we will be standing strong to keep our candidates on the ballot.”

My initial response was that this was annoying, and possibly a sign of some concern in Tarrant County by the ruling Republican Party that they will have their hands full this fall, but I didn’t think much more about it than that. Until I saw this.

The Tarrant County Democratic Party challenged the eligibility of all 41 Republican judicial candidates and two for Texas House in the March 3 primary election, seeking to remove all 43 from the ballot.

Democrats announced they formally challenged the filings Tuesday morning, alleging that the candidates submitted applications with multiple errors. The action came roughly a week after local Republican Party chairman Tim Davis challenged seven Democratic candidates.

“These aren’t minor errors,” Allison Campolo, chair of the Tarrant County Democratic Party, said in a press release. “We’re talking about petitions that don’t meet basic legal requirements, even though it’s very clear about what is needed for a candidate to appear on the ballot.”

To run for a judicial position in Tarrant County, candidates must collect at least 250 voters’ signatures on a petition in support of their candidacy. In lieu of paying a filing fee, candidates can collect a total of 750 signatures.

Campolo alleged some GOP election applications had altered candidate information, incomplete or missing voter signature information and missing details as well as redacted public information such as signers’ birthdays.

Davis, the GOP chair, said in a statement that Republicans received the challenges and are beginning their review.

“From the first pass, it appears the Democrats were about as sloppy with their challenge as they were with their original filings,” Davis wrote, adding that he noticed several typos, formatting issues and legal errors in the Democrats’ challenges.

The majority of the challenged candidates are running for the 39 judicial and justice of the peace positions in Tarrant County up for grabs in November. One seat has multiple Republican candidates contending, and all but three of those positions are held by Republican incumbents. Democrats have 17 candidates running for those spots.

If any of either party’s candidates are removed from the March ballot, leaving them without a November nomination, the parties’ executive committees can select replacement nominees.

Those wishing to appear on the November ballot can file as a write-in candidate in races that saw candidates declared ineligible.

The Tarrant Dems didn’t mess around here. We had our own judicial petition issues here, but on a much smaller scale. Given that the parties could replace disqualified nominees on the ballot, it’s not clear to me how big a deal any of these challenges might be if they’re successful. Probably a bigger deal for the Republicans in that many of the challenged candidates are incumbents, but it might be harder for Dems to find suitable replacements who could get up to speed on fundraising quickly. It’s all hypothetical for now. I can’t recall seeing anything quite as big as this before, so I will definitely keep an eye on what happens. Lone Star Left has more.

Posted in Election 2026 | Tagged Democratic primary, Election 2026, HD92, HD94, HD98, judicial races, petitions, primaries, Salman Bhojani, Tarrant County, Texas, The Lege, Tony Tinderholt, Zee Wilcox | Leave a comment

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 12

Posted on January 15, 2026 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance mourns the murder of Renee Nicole Good and urges everyone to join in the fight against fascism as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff published interviews with CD09 candidates Terry Virts and Leticia Gutierrez.

SocraticGadfly talked about how Leqaa Kordia remains a political prisoner here in Texas over Palestine, even as some progressives ignore her.

Neil at Houston Democracy Project noted the strong crowd for the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest on the 5th anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection attempt. We must have the capacity to organize ourselves.

=======================

And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Steve Vladeck asks five questions about the Maduro arrest process.

The Dallas Observer lists Texas’ eleven worst serial killers.

Evil MoPac thinks some people need to chill about the Stranger Things finale.

Your Local Epidemiologist breaks down the latest anti-vaxx madness from RFK Jr.

The Barbed Wire asks why only two of the hundreds of officers who responded to the Uvalde shooting and then did nothing are being criminally charged.

The Current reports that MAGA Congressperson Monica de la Cruz is in her “finding out” era.

The TPA bids a sad farewell to Reform Austin, which made the decision to cease operations.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged blog roundup, TPA | Leave a comment

January 31, 2026 – Special Runoff Election for Congressional District 18

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