Monthly Archives: September 2015

Neugebauer to step down in CD19

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

At least one Congressional seat will have a new person sitting in it next year. U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, announced Thursday that he would not seek re-election in 2016. Neugebauer, who has represented his West Texas district in Congress … Continue reading →

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Interview with Eva Loredo

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Of all the downballot races in odd numbered years, HCC Trustee elections have the greatest disparity between their importance and the amount of attention paid to them. The farce of Dave Wilson getting elected in 2013 is the lesson we … Continue reading →

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Chron Mayoral profile: Bill King

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is the fifth in a series of profiles on the top candidates running for mayor in Houston. A fiscal conservative concerned with shoring up the city’s finances, [Bill] King would be Houston’s first Republican mayor in more than 30 … Continue reading →

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Craft beer lawsuit

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to be interesting. On the same day merger talk surfaced regarding the world’s two biggest beer companies, a small Dallas brewery announced its own effort to shake up the industry in Texas. Deep Ellum Brewing Co. launched the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Seeing the big picture

Posted on September 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like the Chron is going through the At Large races first, which means we’re up to At Large #2, and a repeat endorsement of David Robinson. You might as well pull out the popcorn when City Hall gets to … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM David Robinson

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I know I said before that I was done with Council interviews, but you know what? It’s my blog, and my prerogative to change my mind. Honestly, I had always intended to schedule an interview with first term Council Member … Continue reading →

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We’re (about to be) Number 3!

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In population. By the year 2025. Suck it, Chicago! Hidden in the haze of the petrochemical plants and beyond the seemingly endless traffic jams, a Texas city has grown so large that it is poised to pass Chicago as the … Continue reading →

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Still more on Paxton

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Observer takes a deeper dive into the dirty life and times of Ken Paxton. When Paxton was elected to the Texas House in 2002, his yearly personal financial disclosure form was essentially a blank slate, listing little more than … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: What needs to be said

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s endorsement of HERO is both the most obvious call they’ll make and a pleasant surprise in terms of how they did it. Let’s be frank: The organized opposition to Houston’s proposed equal rights ordinance is mendacious, deceitful and … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for September 20

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe it’s not that the voters are angry but the the politicians are angry, and the mood is catching. “The surge in [student loan] defaults was largely concentrated among relatively older, lower-income students who attended for-profit colleges.” Your Internet-connected baby … Continue reading →

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$8 million and counting for voter ID litigation

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ka-ching. Republicans used their majority in 2011 to muscle through the Legislature a controversial voter ID law and new redistricting maps — and Texas taxpayers haven’t stopped picking up the bill for the state to defend those measures in courts … Continue reading →

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When might we get a Supreme Court ruling on school finance?

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

When they’re damn good and ready is the usual answer for Supreme Court rulings, but in the case of school finance lawsuits they usually act with some measure of speed. Given past rulings and politics — three justices on the … Continue reading →

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BGTX 2.0

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They will have a lot to prove, let’s just leave it at that. Battleground Texas, nearly a year after it and Wendy Davis were crushed in an uphill governor’s race, officially has launched an effort to re-brand itself in light … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Off to a good start, predictions-wise

Posted on September 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

First Chron endorsement of the season, and it’s one I called. When government is broken, who do you hire to fix it? For the Harris County Housing Authority, the answer was Tom McCasland. Plenty of candidates can tout their ideas … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: Helter Skelter

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Beatles classic gets a funky a capella treatment from The Bobs: I missed an opportunity to see The Bobs at a small club here (the Mucky Duck) some years ago, and I’ve regretted it ever since. A group that … Continue reading →

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Business groups get into the HERO campaign

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to the table, fellas. Three major local business and hospitality groups are warning voters that the city’s economy could take a hit if Houston’s embattled equal rights ordinance is repealed in November, boosting supporters’ attempts to cast the law … Continue reading →

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Paxton the political advisor

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. The former CEO of the technology firm tied to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s securities fraud indictment told investigators he paid the then-lawmaker to provide information on how to market his product to government agencies, according to a new … Continue reading →

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Hickman’s “plan” for an LGBT policy

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s sort of something, I guess. Lou Weaver grew up respecting the badge. His father was a cop. His father’s friends were cops. And so Weaver never feared the police. That changed when Weaver, who is transgender, was pulled over … Continue reading →

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The MetroLab Network

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox. Rice University and the city of Houston will join forces with 20 other cities and 25 other universities from across the country to create MetroLab Network, a network of universities and city governments charged with collaborating on … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Revisiting the Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Songs list, part 13

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s their list. 1. Papa Was A Rolling Stone – The Temptations (#169; also a cover by Andrew Rothman) 2. Let’s Get It On – Marvin Gaye (#168) 3. Fast Car – Tracy Chapman (#167) 4. Bohemian Rhapsody – Queen … Continue reading →

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Interview with Juliet Stipeche

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up our week of HISD candidate interviews with another incumbent. Juliet Stipeche is finishing up her first full term in District 8; she won a special election in 2010 to fill a vacancy left when then-Trustee Diana Davila … Continue reading →

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Paxton loses again on same sex marriage

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Turning aside objections from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Travis County judge approved an out-of-court settlement Tuesday that recognizes the eight-year relationship of two Austin women as a common-law marriage. The settlement accepted by Travis County Probate Judge … Continue reading →

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No decision on interim Superintendent

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The HISD Board of Trustees is still deciding how to proceed in the wake of Superintendent Terry Grier’s resignation. Trustee Anna Eastman said after [Tuesday’s board] meeting that she continues to have a lot of questions about how the job-order … Continue reading →

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Perry’s pathetic pity party

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There isn’t a violin small enough. Rick Perry blamed his criminal indictment and exclusion from the Republican debate mainstage for his failed presidential bid in his first interview since suspending his presidential campaign on Friday. “The indictment by the Travis … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ann McCoy

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I have one more interview to bring you in HISD District 4, which is being vacated by Paula Harris. Today’s candidate is Dr. Ann McCoy, making her first run for elected office. Dr. McCoy serves as Director of Data Services … Continue reading →

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I stand with Ahmed

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jesus H. Christ on a cracker. Ahmed Mohamed — who makes his own radios and repairs his own go-kart — hoped to impress his teachers when he brought a homemade clock to MacArthur High on Monday. Instead, the school phoned … Continue reading →

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Rangers finish Stickland report

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Rulebreaking but not lawbreaking is the conclusion. A Texas Rangers investigation released Tuesday found that the staff of state Rep. Jonathan Stickland, R-Bedford, filled out witness registration forms for people who were not in the Capitol but that no one … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of September 14

Posted on September 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance knows that no one has a constitutional right to be a County Clerk as it brings you this week’s roundup.

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Interview with Jolanda Jones

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We move on to District 4, which is being vacated by incumbent Paula Harris. I trust that Jolanda Jones is a familiar name to everyone reading this. Attorney, activist, former Alief Elsik and UH track star, Olympic trials qualifier, Survivor … Continue reading →

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Still working out Paxton prosecution costs

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Collin County is still hoping to do this on the cheap. Collin County officials expect to budget $100,000 to prosecute Attorney General Ken Paxton, but hope to eventually slash that amount by two-thirds. The county Commissioners Court on Monday evening … Continue reading →

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Packing heat at the zoo

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, this won’t cause any controversy. Houston Zoo officials have been forced to remove long-standing “no guns” signage from the city-owned property after a prominent gun rights attorney filed a complaint, marking the first visible local example of a new … Continue reading →

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Checking in on Texas Central

Posted on September 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s still going. The private firm hoping to build a high-speed rail line between Dallas and Houston has been celebrating a summer of successes: completing a successful round of fundraising, seeing a key federal study move forward, surviving the legislative … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ramiro Fonseca

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Trustee District 3 is a rematch of one of the uglier elections from 2011. Ramiro Fonseca is back to challenge incumbent Manuel Rodriguez again. The College Success Coordinator for Project GRAD Houston, Fonseca has a long history of service. … Continue reading →

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A broader overview of the Mayor’s race

Posted on September 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The TL;dr version of this is basically “meh, not much happening”. With a bevy of candidates and midyear fundraising that collectively topped $7 million, Houston’s 2015 mayoral race has been poised to be a blockbuster. Yet, just five weeks before … Continue reading →

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