Judicial Q&A: Jim Evans

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

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

Jim Evans

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

My name is Jim Evans, and I am running for the position of Judge in the 308th Family District Court.

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

This court, like each of the nine Harris County family district courts, hears family law matters such as divorces, child custody disputes, child support cases, child support enforcement actions, name changes, and adoptions.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

I am running for this bench because I am qualified to do the work required of a judge and because I am passionate about doing that work with integrity and with an understanding of the enormous consequences of my decisions.

Furthermore, I am running for this bench because it belongs to the people of Harris County, and it should not be used as a means to provide financial benefits to my political benefactors and cohorts. The presiding judge in this court has the ability to appoint ad litem attorneys, amicus attorneys, and receivers in hundreds of cases each year. The current Republican presiding judge, James Lombardino, appoints almost exclusively people who have donated to his campaign. Additionally, in the three years that he has been on the bench, he has appointed Jared Woodfill, the Harris County Republican Party chairman, numerous times (and more than any other family judge in Harris County). This sort of favor is inappropriate and not in the best interest of the children who are the subjects of the cases before the court.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

I understand Texas family law, the culture of Harris County, and the legal environment in Harris County. I am a Harris County native, a graduate of Houston Baptist University, and the University of Houston Law Center. I have practiced law for over 10 years. For the last five years, I have practiced family law almost exclusively. I know the family judges in Harris County, the family attorneys in Harris County, and the statutory and common law bases for family law decision-making in Texas. I currently maintain my law practice in downtown Houston.

While in law school, I graded onto and served as the Research Editor on the Houston Law Review, which shows that I am diligent and a hard worker. At the beginning of my legal career, I practiced chapter 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcy law, so I have a necessary understanding of the complicated property issues that sometimes arise in divorces. In 2009, I obtained certification as a family law mediator, and I understand the value and the limitations of mediation as a tool that can be used to resolve family law disputes.

Prior to attending law school, I taught in Louisiana public schools and worked as a Baptist minister for a number of years serving churches in Texas, Maryland, and Louisiana. These prior careers gave me an appreciation of the enormity of the pressures that people face with regard to their family lives and decision-making. This appreciation will inform my rulings on the bench as I strive for fairness and justice.

I have a life outside of the practice of law, and I believe that this will help me make decisions that are practical and that have good long-term results. I am a parent, divorced parent, step-parent, and adoptive parent. I married my husband, William Flowers, in Connecticut in 2010. I teach Sunday School at Deer Park United Methodist Church, and I serve on the church’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee.

5. Why is this race important?

If elected, I will be the first openly gay family judge in Texas (and probably the first in the South). While this, in and of itself, does not qualify me to be a family judge, it will be significant to have an openly gay person on the bench. Currently, the family courts in Harris County negatively discriminate against gay and lesbian people. For example, none of the family judges, all of whom are Republican, will grant an adoption in a case where the prospective adoptive parent is an “out” gay or lesbian. If I am elected, I believe it will create a moral imperative for the other judges to do the right thing and either grant or deny an adoption based on the best interest of the child instead of the sexual orientation of the prospective adoptive parent. Moreover, my promise, if I am elected, is that I will do nothing for the gay community except that I will not discriminate based upon a litigant’s sexual orientation.

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

People should vote for me in the primary because I am energetic and a hard worker as evidenced by my successful campaign efforts collecting almost 1300 signatures on my petition to be placed on the ballot; and I intend, if I win the Democratic primary election, to work hard and run a winning general election campaign.

Additionally, I believe that my candidacy in the general election will inspire greater volunteerism and voter turnout for me and other Democratic candidates among members of the Houston GLBT community. This is particularly so because, if I am elected, I will be the first openly gay family district judge in Texas. I have already personally spoken to over one thousand GLBT people in Houston about this possibility; and their response is universally positive and enthusiastic.

Democrats in Harris County know that our county is fairly evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. Moving even a few thousand voters from the Republican column to the Democratic column could have a significant impact on election night. I am a native of and a current resident of Deer Park, generally considered to be a Republican stronghold. I have already done block walking in parts of Deer Park and have found many Democrats who are discouraged because they believe that they are the only Democrats in town; I have also found Republicans who are excited about the possibility of voting for a Deer Park “local boy.” If I win the primary, I will consider it my job to get Deer Park Democrats to vote and to get Deer Park Republicans to cross the aisle and vote for me and other Democrats on the ballot. I believe that my intentional efforts to engage with Deer Park people will yield those successful results.

Finally, while my opponent is a good man and a good attorney, between the two of us, I am the only strong Democrat.

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Falkenberg on Dave Wilson’s residency

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Lisa Falkenberg has another chat with Dave Wilson to try and solve the mystery of where he really lives.

Dave Wilson

Dave Wilson

No bathtub. No refrigerator. No TV.

If 67-year-old small businessman Dave Wilson really lives in a warehouse apartment on West 34th Street, and not with his wife, as he claims, it’s a pretty Spartan existence. And not a particularly clean, well-fed or entertaining one.

An inspection this week by City of Houston code enforcement didn’t help the Houston Community College trustee-elect in his quest to prove he meets district residency requirements for the job. The city ended up slapping a bright orange sticker to the glass door of the warehouse, indicating he doesn’t have permission to use it as a residence.

“Change of occupancy to reflecting living quarters on 2nd floor. Plans required,” it reads, warning that failure to comply may result in citations with minimum fines of $500-$2,000 per incident.

Photos from the city inspection, provided to me by Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan’s office, depict sparsely furnished rooms with mostly bare walls, tabletops and counters.

“If you look at these photographs, it does not look like he’s been living there for two years,” said Ryan, who sued Wilson to try and prove the trustee-elect didn’t live in the district he ran to represent.

Ryan, whose office had requested its own tour of the residence but never got one, said he wasn’t surprised by the city’s findings.

“We believe it’s very clear cut,” Ryan said. “Every piece of evidence we see indicates he does not have his address at West 34th Street.”

Too bad Wilson didn’t take my advice and have Falkenberg drop by for a visit, a courtesy he did apparently extend to the local Fox affiliate. Instead, she only got to see the County Attorney’s evidence, which needless to say isn’t favorable to Dave. Wilson is free to show or not show whatever he wants to anyone – other than the judge, of course – but it seems to me he could have advanced his PR if he’d given Falkenberg a tour. Assuming the place does resemble an actual residence, that is. If it is what he says it is, then he prevails in court, his critics look like fools, and the issue is settled forevermore. For a guy who claims, not without some justification, that everyone is out to get him, you’d think he might want to shove the evidence of his righteousness in their faces, but instead he’s playing it close to the vest. Which might lead to a Perry Mason moment in the courthouse, but which also raises a question that Falkenberg brings up:

He’s probably right that some people are scared to death to get him on that board. Wilson has vowed to bring transparency to the often opaque operations of the HCC board and to request independent audits of finances. Heads could roll.

It would be a welcome change. But candidates promising open, honest leadership should walk the walk. Playing fast and loose with election laws and ignoring a temporary restraining order aren’t good ways to start out. Districts exist for a reason: to give citizens a better chance at electing someone who represents them and their interests.

This latest episode, added to the list of Wilson’s other antics, makes me wonder if he’d be a breath of fresh air on that board, or a disaster.

Yes, for a guy who claims to be all about openness and ethics and all that, he sure is less than forthcoming about his own business. As for the matter of districts, I’ve said my piece on that. What I’m going to say now is that the reason we are where we are is because the residency requirements we have on the books are basically a polite fiction for which no effective enforcement mechanism exists. We should either fix that or acknowledge that we just don’t really care. We’re in this debate now because we don’t have an agreed-upon standard of what it means to be a “resident” of a political subdivision, and because even if we did there was no way to objectively validate Dave Wilson’s residency before the election; remember, HCC’s Board and general counsel said it wasn’t their job to vet his application. Not having a standard and a means of validating someone’s candidacy serves no one, and that includes Wilson. Either we do something about this, or we ditch the whole idea and let people file for whatever they want, and leave it to the voters to sort out who represents them and who doesn’t.

I thought the case of Sen. Brian Birdwell in 2010 was as clear a violation of residency requirements you’re likely to see, with Birdwell casting a vote in Virginia at a time when he would have needed to be a resident of Texas to be eligible to run for the Senate. The challenge to his candidacy failed, not on the merits but on technicalities of jurisdiction and documentation provenance. I thought at the time that was telling us that the requirements we had were basically meaningless and that we should act accordingly. This is another test of that hypothesis. If Wilson prevails, then let’s agree that anyone with the wherewithal to declare himself or herself a resident of a given location – a relative, a second home, an office, a warehouse, what have you – is one for the purposes of the law and get on with our lives. Even if Wilson is found to be ineligible, we really owe it to ourselves and every future candidate to clarify the requirements up and down the ballot, one way or another. That’s something the Legislature could address in 2015. If it means a bunch of current incumbents have to scramble to buy a new house between now and their next filing deadline, that’s fine by me. If it means that residency is little more than a state of mind in the eyes of the law, then so be that. Let’s just pick one and stick with it. That has to be better than what we have now, which are winks and nods and the occasional lawsuit.

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

No BGO for HOF

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Missed it by one vote.

One of the most majestic induction classes in the history of the National Baseball Hall of Fame was set on Wednesday with the announcement that Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were elected by eligible writers of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America, all of them by big margins.

On the ballot for the second time, Craig Biggio, who had 3,060 hits in 20 seasons, all with the Astros, did not get the necessary 75 percent, falling two votes shy of induction.

Already to be inducted in July are three of the greatest managers of all time — Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa, all selected by the Expansion Era Committee last month.

That means six living members are heading toward one of the grandest Induction Weekends from July 26-27 in Cooperstown, N.Y. The results of this year’s BBWAA vote were in stark contrast to that of last year, when the writers didn’t elect anyone.

Maddux and Glavine, a pair of 300-game winners who pitched the bulk of their careers for the Braves, were the favorites, but the 571 voters outdid themselves by also adding Thomas. It was the first time since 1999, when Robin Yount, Nolan Ryan and George Brett were elected, that the writers put three first-time eligibles into the Hall.

Maddux, who won 355 games, the eighth-highest figure in Major League history, saw his name appear on 97.2 percent of the ballots, falling short of the all-time mark still held by Tom Seaver, who was elected on 98.84 percent of the vote in 1992. Glavine, who won 305 games, fourth-most among left-handers, was at 91.9 percent, and Thomas, a first baseman and designated hitter, who batted .301, hit 521 homers and amassed 1,704 RBIs in 19 seasons, 16 of them with the White Sox, finished at 83.7.

I’m going to take a break from all the ranting and airing of grievances about the deserving candidates that didn’t get elected and the idiocy of the voters, for this year at least. Biggio becomes the first player to miss being inducted by a single vote, which at least bodes well for his future. You aggrieved Astros fans, go vent your spleen at Ken Gurnick, you’ll feel better. How much better off we’d all be if he had given his vote to Deadspin instead. Congratulations to the three supremely qualified new members, and better luck next year, Bidge. Hardball Talk has more.

Posted in Baseball | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Texas blog roundup for the week of January 6

Posted on January 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance is off to a roaring start to 2014 as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

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Interview with Damian LaCroix

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner
Damian LaCroix

Damian LaCroix

Challenging Sen. John Whitmire in SD15 is attorney Damian LaCroix, who as noted before had been a candidate for judge in 2010. LaCroix is a Houston native and graduate of Texas A&M and SMU law school. As Sen. Whitmire touted his experience in his interview, LaCroix advocates for a change and for new leadership. I suspect that factor will be critical to the decisionmaking for SD15 voters.

I had originally intended to use SoundCloud only for Sen. Whitmire’s interview, pending feedback on it. In the interest of fairness and uniformity, I decided to use it for LaCroix’s interview as well. I’ll decide about using it or not going forward later this week. Please note that for each interview, there’s a Download link on the Soundcloud widget if you’d rather listen to the MP3 file via your own player. Let me know if you have any problems with that. Here’s the interview:

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

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Rick Perry doesn’t want people to get health insurance

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s really no other viable explanation.

It's constitutional - deal with it

It’s constitutional – deal with it

On a White House conference call on Monday, Texas Democrats criticized Gov. Rick Perry and other Republican state leaders for “getting in the way” of implementing federal health care reform.

During the call, which was organized by the White House to tout the impact of the Affordable Care Act in Texas, state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer, D-San Antonio, and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins accused state leadership of creating obstacles to keep Texans from obtaining health insurance, as required by the health care law, also known as Obamacare. The two Democrats cited Texas’ decision not to expand Medicaid, the lack of a state-based insurance marketplace and proposed additional rules for federal navigators.

Martinez Fischer called Texas the “poster child” for the uninsured, adding that the state’s rate of residents without health insurance — the highest in the nation at about 25 percent — had received “no relief from state leadership.”

“I wish we would use our energy and momentum in Texas with our statewide elected officials to actually embrace and work cooperatively with the administration to expand ACA opportunities in Texas rather than the trail of roadblocks,” Martinez Fischer said.

Jenkins questioned Perry’s request for additional regulations on federal navigators, who are charged with helping individuals sign up for health insurance.

“If they won’t help citizens gain access to coverage, they ought to stand down and stay out of the way for those of us who are willing to work to do the job for Texas,” Jenkins said.

Perry first requested the rules in September, citing consumer privacy concerns. Other Republican state leaders, including Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst and Attorney General Greg Abbott, followed suit.

Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed called the conference call an attempt to distract from the Affordable Care Act’s “continued failures.” She cited the technical problems of the federal online insurance marketplace, concerns surrounding the training of navigators and delayed enrollment deadlines.

“Texas families and businesses don’t need more empty rhetoric from the Obama administration to know that Obamacare is a failure,” Nashed said.

It takes a certain level of sociopathy to say something like that when you are the Governor of the state with by far the highest number of uninsured people, and you’ve been Governor for thirteen years without doing a single thing about it. Except for all the things you’ve done to deny health insurance to people, such as the CHIP cuts and our famously stingy Medicaid eligibility requirements and onerous enrollment processes. Hey, remember when we spent a couple hundred million dollars outsourcing our Health and Human Services Commission and gave the money to a private firm that didn’t know its ass from a pencil eraser? Those were the days, my friend.

The antipathy towards health insurance comes through in everything Rick Perry – and David Dewhurst and Greg Abbott and the rest of the sorry lot – does, from imposing needless burdens on navigators to refusing to expand Medicaid to refusing to implement an exchange, and on and on. If there were some honest ongoing effort over the past decade-plus to do something about the millions of uninsured in Texas, that would be one thing. But the record, and the inactivity, speak for themselves. There’s really no other way to characterize it. Millions of people have become insured around the country, but all we get here is rage and denial.

Oh, and bad journalism, no doubt influenced by the lying and obfuscation. Do make sure you click those two links and read the stories, which have now coaxed an apology for the half-assed job they did from the Star-Telegram. Senators Sylvia Garcia and Rodney Ellis have more.

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End of year B-Cycle report

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

B-Cycle has been in Houston for nine months, having launched in early April. So far, it’s done pretty well.

The B-Cycle system’s 29th station was christened earlier this month in front of Clayton Homes. Officials said they hoped to provide new customers for bike-sharing and new opportunities for low-income families.

“The more you use the bikes, the more excited you become,” said Tory Gunsolley, president of the Houston Housing Authority.

In many U.S. cities, bike-sharing has become popular mainly among people who choose to bike for recreation. Critics say bike-sharing hasn’t reached low-income neighborhoods, however.

Houston’s build-out didn’t push into poorer neighborhoods, but it didn’t start in wealthy enclaves either. From three downtown stations, the system pushed south and west into Midtown, Montrose and the Museum District. It subsequently spread to the Heights, Eado and the Northside.

Houston will put B-Cycle kiosks where it can, when it can, as corporate partnerships and funding allow, said Houston Sustainability Director Laura Spanjian. She said having stations at the University of Houston, Rice University and Texas Southern University will be the next important steps.

“We want to double and triple this program and I know that we can do that,” Spanjian said.

Connecting the bikes with communities that need transportation is part of the strategy, Gunsolley and Houston B-Cycle director Will Rub said. The bikes could be an asset for people who need to travel a few blocks and don’t want to wait for a bus or ask someone for a ride.

[…]

Use of a kiosk near Project Row Houses, a Third Ward arts group, has been brisk, said Assata Richards, community liaison for the group.

“They use it to go to the grocery store, they use it to get around the neighborhood,” Richards said.

Looks to me like the Project Row kiosk is a short ride away from the planned Southeast Line station at Elgin and Scott. That will be an excellent location for future kiosk, since it will make the Southeast Line more accessible to these folks. If the Universities Line ever gets built, a kiosk by the TSU station, at the west end of campus, would serve a similar purpose, just on a much farther out timeline. You know me, I’m all about linking bikes to transit. Two connected networks are better than two separate networks. There’s already a kiosk near the Dynamo Stadium light rail stop, which is the nearest neighbor to the Runnels location, so it’s already networked.

Ridership of Houston’s bike-sharing system, Texas’ first, continues to grow. After a quick expansion from three to 27 kiosks in less than a year, ridership jumped. Use peaked in July with 7,225 checkouts but fell to 4,053 the following month before rebounding slightly.

“The heat in August had an impact on the leisure riders primarily and the cold and wet weather in late November had a similar impact,” Rub said in an email.

I have not used my B-Cycle membership as much as I would have liked. My plan was mostly to use it during lunchtime to expand my dining options and also possibly for certain types of errands. I have done those things, just not very often. One obstacle that I haven’t figured out how to overcome is the helmet. I don’t like riding without one, so I have to plan to bring my helmet with me to the office if I plan to ride later. That has its own logistical issues, as I’m sure you can imagine. I do want to ride more as the weather warms up, so I need to get that sorted out.

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How Greg Abbott enabled the payday lenders

Posted on January 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Lone Star Project kicks it off:

Abbott’s Green Light to Predatory Lenders

Key AG document provided payday lenders a loophole to bilk Texans

Greg Abbott’s office issued the key document that has allowed payday lenders to operate outside of Texas usury laws and exploit Texans across our state. A letter issued from the office of the Attorney General carefully lays out that payday lenders in Texas can take advantage of a loophole used by credit service organizations to avoid Texas laws preventing unscrupulous lending. It is essentially a “how-to guide” for payday lenders to expand and grow their predatory lending businesses.

Payday lenders had been nervous about expanding their operations in Texas, but Abbott’s letter gave them the go-ahead they needed. The respected financial industry publicationAmerican Banker reported how payday lender Ace reacted to the Abbott letter:

“The Irving, Tex., company originally saw too much legal risk in the CSO setup, in which payday specialists can collect as much as 20% in fees for arranging a short-term loan from a third-party lender. But this month Texas’ attorney general, Greg Abbott, sent a letter to the state’s Office of Consumer Credit Commissioner saying that CSOs are permissible. So on an earnings conference call last week Ace said it will begin brokering loans as a credit service organization sometime in the next two quarters.” (American Banker, February 1, 2006)

Attorneys general in many states act aggressively to reign in abuse by predatory lenders like Cash America and ACE, but not Greg Abbott. In fact, Greg Abbott has been the payday lender industry’s facilitator and protector.

Abbott gave the green light, and pay day lenders hit the gas. Payday lender outlets have proliferated all across Texas during the Perry/Abbott era. In 2004, there were approximately 300 payday lenders in Texas. By 2011, there were over 3,000. Right now, there are more payday lending establishments in Texas than there are McDonald’s and Whataburger locations combined.

So, don’t look for Greg Abbott to jump on the bandwagon to get rid of William J. White or impose any more restrictions on predatory lenders, unless of course the payday lenders themselves or other Austin insiders give him the green light.

Background

Recent news reports have detailed that William J. White, the chairman of the Texas Finance Commission – the state agency intended to protect Texas consumers – attacked Texas consumers and defended predatory lenders over outrageous payday loans that result in borrowers being saddled with loan costs of sometimes more than 500 percent of the principal. White’s bottom line is that any Texan gouged by an unscrupulous payday lender is on their own and should blame themselves for their predicament.

State Senator Wendy Davis quickly and decisively called for White’s resignation.

Who is William J. White?

White is not just the chairman of the Texas Finance Commission, he is also vice president of Cash America, one of the largest and most notorious predatory lenders in the country. Cash America has hundreds of payday lending storefronts all across Texas, many of them right outside military bases where military families, who are often under financial pressure, are exploited. Earlier this year, Cash America was fined for abusive lending, and exploitation of military personnel was cited specifically. During the last legislative session, Cash America and other payday lenders spent over $4 million dollars lobbying the GOP-controlled Texas legislature.

Soaking Soldiers

A key target for predatory lenders is active-duty military personnel. It is no coincidence that payday lender storefronts proliferate around active-duty military bases and other installations. Holly Petraeus, head of the Office of Servicemembers Affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, recently said that payday lenders congregate outside bases “like bears on a trout stream.” Current federal law is not sufficient to protect against predatory lenders, especially when state AGs like Abbott are predatory lender allies.

The El Paso Times fielded the ball:

Abbott’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Monday. It also has not responded when asked for more than a week whether Abbott believes the Texas payday lending industry needs to be reformed.

The El Paso City Council [debated on Tuesday] whether to enforce local limits on payday and auto-title lenders that in some cases charge annual interest at rates greater than 700 percent.

It and most other major Texas cities have passed ordinances in the face of unwillingness by the Legislature to place stricter limits on the industry.

Religious and charitable groups also have called for reforms of an industry they say traps poor people in a cycle of debt.

[…]

The concept of usury — unconscionably high interest rates — goes at least as far back as the Old Testament.

It’s also part of the Texas Constitution, which says that in the absence of legislation, interest rates in the state are limited to 10 percent a year.

Lenders that are licensed and regulated under Texas law face caps of their own. Commercial loans in most instances can’t exceed 18 percent except when the loan is greater than $250,000, when they can’t exceed 28 percent.

Auto loans can’t exceed 27 percent. Short-term loans by licensed lenders can’t exceed 150 percent and pawn loans can’t exceed 240 percent.

But the letter by the attorney general that was released Monday said fees associated with payday and title loans have no limits.

Emphasis mine. As PDiddie notes, the El Paso Times has led the way on this story. He also notes that recent Peggy Fikac column about Davis’ “oops” moment, in which her campaign got some campaign contribution figures confused. Abbott attacked her for that, and also for her vote to confirm William White in 2009. The difference between Davis and Abbott, as epitomized by Abbott’s snivelly refusal to answer a simple question, is that Davis recognizes that her initial action was in error, and is now willing to do something concrete about it. Abbott is just hiding behind a wall of “no comments”. That’s some kind of bold leadership right there. Meanwhile, also in the “let’s do something to fix what’s obviously broken” camp are Sens. John Whitmire, Rodney Ellis, and Sylvia Garcia, who joined the call for White to resign. Which won’t happen until Abbott and/or Rick Perry see that he’s a problem, too. Anyone want to bet on when that might happen?

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Judicial Q&A: Sandra Peake

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

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

Sandra Peake

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

My name is Sandra Peake, and I am running for the 246th Family District Court

2. What kind of cases does this court hear?

This Court hears family law related cases: divorce, child custody disputes, child support establishment, enforcement and modification, adoptions, name changes, post divorce property disputes, etc.

3. Why are you running for this particular bench?

I am running for this particular bench because the Judge York is not seeking re-election. I wanted to have the experience of running for an open bench.

4. What are your qualifications for this job?

I have practiced before these Courts for the past 30 years and am sensitive to the unique issues that arise in family law cases, particularly giving consideration to the culturally and religiously diverse families who make up a significant proportion of the population in Harris County. The citizens of this county deserve consistent application of the law, courtesy and fairness. I am up to the challenge of ensuring judicial excellence by ruling decisively with impartiality; and, by respecting the time constraints of the litigants and their lawyers.

5. Why is this race important?

All of the races on the ballot are important. However, those races which are more likely to impact an average family, it is more likely than not that the average person will have occasion to have a case pending in family court because of the high rate of divorce and the number of children being raised in single parent households. Children will primarily reside with a parent or extended family member. Parents will get divorced, need post divorce changed circumstance modifications, enforcement of their existing orders. The definition of the family is constantly evolving and the statutes defining the family relationship will eventually evolve as well.

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

I think people should vote for me in the primary because I am an experienced family lawyer with over 30 years of experience handling the type of typically handled by family court judges. I have also mediated and number of cases and endorse alternate dispute resolution as a means of opening up the lines of communication between disputing family members. I believe I have run a principled practice with focus on not only the client being represented, but with goal toward how this particular family can be salvaged so that going forward, there is a working relationship if at all possible, for the children’s sake.

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Fifth Circuit pretends to hear HB2 appeal

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

We’re all sure what their decision will be, right?

Appellate judges on Monday challenged lawyers over provisions of Texas’ new abortion law and whether they have unduly caused the closure of about a dozen abortion clinics.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals bore down in particular on the shuttering of the only two abortion clinics in the Rio Grande Valley.

The lack of facilities is now requiring women seeking the procedure to travel about 150 miles to a Corpus Christi clinic.

State Solicitor General Jonathan Mitchell defended the state law, saying the state has a right to regulate medical practices as a way to promote women’s health.

“The law does not impose an undue burden,” he told the court.

[…]

Judge Edith Jones was openly skeptical of the abortion rights arguments, saying 150 miles to Corpus Christi did not seem to raise a high hurdle.

Jones said the speed limit along the highway was 75 mph, and it was a particularly uncongested roadway.

She also pointed out that while abortion rights groups argued more than one-third of the doctors would have to quit practicing because of the new law, some of those doctors have been able to obtain admitting privileges.

Clearly, any woman who doesn’t have access to a car or who doesn’t have an extra four-plus hours to spare on top of everything else doesn’t count. And hey, there’s at least one doctor and one clinic left – for now, anyway. What more do you complainers need? Really, the only question is whether Jones wrote her decision before oral arguments were made or not. She surely didn’t need to hear them to know what she was going to say.

Not that it would budge her set-in-stone mind, but it would do Edith Jones some good to read Lindsay Beyerstein’s report on what HB2 has meant to many women.

The Valley used to have two abortion providers — Whole Woman’s Health McAllen (WWHM) and Reproductive Services of Harlingen — but now it has none that currently offer abortions, because their doctors lack admitting privileges. (Emergency rooms are required to provide the same care to all patients, regardless of whether their doctors have admitting privileges there. While the doctors at WWHM are applying for privileges at local hospitals, Reproductive Services of Harlingen’s physician has already been turned down by all the hospitals in his area.) Even if Planned Parenthood wins its lawsuit, abortions will still have to be performed in ambulatory surgical centers by this time next year, which means that neither clinic can continue to operate in its current facility.

WWHM is the only abortion clinic in this border city of 134,000. Right now, according to WWHM’s Fatimah Gifford, if a woman in the Rio Grande Valley needs an abortion, she has to travel 240 miles north to San Antonio. Though Texas’ standard 24-hour waiting period is waived for women who live more than 100 miles from the nearest clinic, that allowance applies only to surgical abortions. To reach San Antonio via Highway 281, a woman has to pass through the Falfurrias border checkpoint, where the Texas Border Patrol will likely grill her about her immigration status, a daunting prospect for an undocumented woman seeking abortion care. Gifford says most of her undocumented patients won’t risk the trip.

A woman seeking a medication abortion must make three trips to San Antonio. A medication abortion, also known as a pill abortion, uses two drugs to induce a miscarriage in the first trimester. Under the new law, the first trip is for the ultrasound, consultation and the first pill, then she must return to the clinic 48 hours later for her second pill. Doctors who offer pill abortions in other states routinely give patients the second dose of pills to take home, but Texas law doesn’t allow it. Finally, she has to go back to the clinic 14 days later for a follow-up visit so that the same doctor can check to make sure that the drugs worked. Many abortion providers travel to clinics across the state or the country, which makes it difficult to ensure that the same doctor will be available for all three steps.

Planned Parenthood argued in court that this provision makes it so difficult for women to obtain abortions that it is equivalent to a ban, which has serious implications for the rights and health of women with existing conditions that make drug-induced abortion the only safe option.

Some women resort to self-induced medication abortions with the ulcer drug misoprostol, widely used in Latin America to terminate early pregnancies. Though it is available only by prescription in the United States, misoprostol can easily be purchased at pharmacies across the border in Mexico or at flea markets in the Valley. WWHM saw about one failed misoprostol self-induced abortion a day.

Andrea Ferrigno, WWHM’s vice president, said that if a woman arrives at the clinic after taking the pills for weeks and is still bleeding, doctors will typically complete the abortion if she’s still pregnant or clean out any residual tissue, as they would for a spontaneous miscarriage. Misoprostol is 85 percent effective, if administered properly, which suggests that many more women self-terminate and don’t need further medical attention.

I’ve noted the Misoprostol option before. You know what that’s going to mean: More calls for tightened border security. Because the Republicans who pushed HB2 care so much about women’s health. Irin Carmon, RH Reality Check, BOR, Texpatriate, and Texas Politics have more.

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Kinky and pot

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib talks to Kinky Friedman, making another run for Ag Commissioner as a Democrat, and his new signature issue.

Bi-polar and tri-partisan

Friedman, 69 — a singer, humorist, novelist and hawker of tequila — has tried, frequently, to add “elected official” to his résumé. But his celebrity status and unique charm have not translated into success at the ballot box, and that seems to be an itch he cannot help but scratch. He has tossed his iconic black cowboy hat into the ring for the race for agriculture commissioner with what he calls a clearer focus.

The campaign is his third run for statewide office in three cycles. A 1986 bid for justice of the peace in Kerrville is his fourth overall. In 2006, running as an independent, he placed fourth in a six-way race for governor. Four years later, he came up short in his first bid for the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner.

This time, he said, his campaign has a sense of mission that he lacked in 2010. Its central issue will be the legalization of marijuana, which he predicted could be the state’s biggest cash crop, financing solutions to a variety of the state’s problems.

“It’s a nonbinding referendum,” he said of his candidacy. “It’s bigger than just another conniving politician trying to worm his way into office. That’s not what’s happening here. What’s happening is, if I actually win this thing, the heat on this issue on the Legislature and whoever the governor is will be enormous.”

His two primary opponents are not taking the bait.

“I’m interested in grass, but it’s not that kind,” said Hugh Fitzsimons, a Democratic contender who raises grass-fed bison in Carrizo Springs. “To me, we have some serious, serious problems, and it’s primarily centered around water.”

Jim Hogan, a Cleburne farmer, responded similarly. “I don’t smoke it,” he said. “I don’t have anything to do with it. That’s the last I want to talk about it. I want to talk about raising cattle, trees, goats, tomatoes and peppers.”

No Democrat has won a statewide race in two decades, so whoever emerges from the primary will be considered an underdog against the winner of the Republican primary, which has five candidates. Two Libertarians are currently locked in a primary of their own.

Friedman speculated that having two primary opponents might aid his prospects by splitting the anti-Kinky vote — the existence of which he is aware.

“Politicians like the word gadfly,” he said. “They use it as a negative. They use it with me sometimes — usually Democrats who don’t take me seriously. But if you had a gadfly buzzing around some of this, it wouldn’t hurt a thing. It might help.”

As you know, I have been a member of the anti-Kinky caucus. This year, as you also know, I’m somewhat more willing to hear what he has to say. Back in November, the Houston Press had a cover story on Friedman and his pot-centered candidacy for Ag Commissioner. Reading it at the time, I had to admit that so far at least he’s saying the right things.

Of course, Friedman’s sincerity was immediately questioned. The day of his official announcement, Republican candidate Eric Opiela quickly issued a press release that characterized Friedman’s candidacy as a joke, saying, “The issues facing Texas are serious. Our Agriculture Commissioner should be too.”

“We need an agriculture commissioner,” added Opiela, “who will focus on jobs, not jokes; drought, not drama and water lines, not punch lines.”

Yes, it was that scripted and wooden.

Eye roll from Friedman, who says he expected GOP candidates would take a dismissive tack in responding to his candidacy.

“But if they really weren’t worried about me, I don’t think they’d have started attacking me immediately.”

“Look, I’m 69, I don’t have time for stunts,” the musician, novelist, cigar and salsa salesman, tequila distiller, former Peace Corps volunteer and maverick politician explains as he walks up the Drag in Austin puffing his trademark cigar. “I’m dead serious about this run and about pushing for legalization. Marijuana is at the heart of a crucial matrix that, if we can get it straightened out and in motion, will become a great economic engine we can use to solve some of the biggest problems we face as a state.

“It’s time Texans asked themselves: Are we going to secede or are we going to lead?”

As long as he’s using his one-liner power for good and not for self-aggrandizement, it’s a win. I would also point out that marijuana has more to do with the office of Ag Commissioner than abortion has to do with the office of Railroad Commissioner. And if there’s anyone on the statewide ticket that I’d be okay with talking about pot, it would be Kinky. Again, he’s saying the right things.

“The governor and his cronies want to talk about reducing the size of government?” says Friedman. “Well, why are they all for these for-profit prison operations? How does putting 70,000 people in those private jails help us? Keeping pot illegal and jailing users for profit, this doesn’t help the people of Texas; this helps the outlaws who operate the illegal drug business and don’t pay taxes. How smart is that?”

“Look at history, look at what happened when Prohibition was lifted,” he continues. “The turf wars were over because the criminals lost their source of revenue. The legitimate liquor companies got stronger, and that’s a vigorous, profitable industry today that results in significant tax revenues. I think the same thing will happen when we legalize marijuana.”

As for how it plays out if he actually wins the election, Friedman sees a fairly quick move by the legislature to legalize the drug.

“Politicians move with the voters,” he observes. “If I win this running on legalizing marijuana, I think you’ll see a lot of position-shifting on the issue and a scramble to see who gets a bill onto the Governor’s desk first.”

I’m not sure about that, but I am sure that a larger push to at least decriminalize pot is coming, and it’s just a matter of time before the politicians realize they need to get on board with it. That could be a long time from now, of course. If you listened to my interview with Sen. John Whitmire, he thinks legalization won’t happen during his lifetime, and he’s a few years younger than Friedman. I personally think Sen. Whitmire is a bit too pessimistic – I mean, back in 2005 when we were enshrining a ban on same sex marriage in the state constitution, who thought we’d be where we are on that issue now? – and Friedman is a bit too optimistic. Where the truth is between those two, I don’t know. And again, credit where it is due, Kinky is saying the right things.

The rest of Friedman’s economic engine involves farming hemp (a non-potent form of marijuana) for industrial use and export while realizing significant water conservation gains due to hemp’s low water requirement vis-à-vis cotton; reducing insecticide use — hemp is essentially a weed and insects aren’t interested; and opening casinos so Texas money stays in Texas.

“I’ve never understood why we give all this money to other states,” Friedman shakes his head. “We’re just waving good-bye to the money for school improvements and roads, for mass transit, money we can put into drought remediation, into water-conservation projects, stuff this state is crying out for. What are we thinking?”

Friedman says the last couple of years, all the governor and attorney general have done “is rant about Obama” and spend hundreds of millions of dollars in state money challenging federal laws to appeal to their right-wing voting base.

“They can call my campaign a joke, but if the Republicans have any answers to the great problems this state faces, why haven’t they implemented them instead of obsessing about women’s reproductive systems or gay marriage?” he notes. “They’ve had total control of this state almost 20 years now, but nothing is getting fixed.”

I’m a realist. I haven’t forgotten 2006, and I haven’t forgotten the many instances of Kinky Friedman saying ugly things. He’s a risk to go off at any time, and if he does so as a Democratic nominee, you can be sure the Republicans will use that against the rest of the ticket. Given the racial nature of some of his past comments, I’d be very concerned about Friedman turning off voters of color, who Dems need to turn out in droves this fall. If he sticks his foot in his mouth the Republicans will be all over it, and will force Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte to renounce him in a way that Greg Abbott will never do with his more controversial supporters. It’s a risk putting him on the same ballot with Davis and LVdP. By the same token, Friedman will have vastly more name ID and potentially more crossover appeal than whichever low-wattage Republican wins that primary. He’ll generate news like that Trib story by virtue of who he is and the under-rated support for the issue he’s flogging. If Davis were a solid favorite to win in November, I wouldn’t touch him with a ten foot pole. But underdogs need to take risks, and Kinky has enough upside to at least be worth considering. Hugh Fitzsimons is clearly a serious candidate that’s worth a good look, but as of today I am leaning towards a vote for Kinky Friedman, which is not something I would have said four years ago or eight years ago. That could change tomorrow, so check with me again before early voting begins.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

SCOTUS halts same sex marriages in Utah, for now

Posted on January 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Bummer.

RedEquality

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday put same-sex marriages in Utah on hold, granting the state’s request for a stay while it appeals a ruling that laws banning such marriages are unconstitutional.

The court said the stay would be in place until the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver makes a decision on Utah’s appeal.

The state’s stay application was filed with Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who referred it to the whole court, according to the order issued Monday. Sotomayor is assigned to the 10th Circuit Court, which rejected Utah’s request for a stay three times.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert J. Shelby also denied the state’s request that he stay his Dec. 20 order overturning Amendment 3 while Utah appealed.

The order from the U.S. Supreme Court means clerks in Utah no longer will be allowed to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. It is not immediately clear what the order means for couples who have already married.

Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who met briefly with reporters Monday, said that this was the “uncertainty” the state hoped to avoid with a stay.

“We don’t know the answer yet as to marriages already performed,” Reyes said, adding that the state wants to carefully evaluate the implications. “There is not clear legal precedent for this particular situation.”

[…]

At least 1,000 same sex couples have wed since Shelby’s ruling. Though it isn’t clear how the stay might affect those unions, making them no longer legal would be unprecedented, said Clifford Rosky, a University of Utah law professor and Equality Utah board chairman.

“Ultimately, the courts will decide what happens to those marriages,” said Rosky, but “never in the history of this country has a court retroactively invalidated a marriage that was legal when it was entered.”

Well, we’ll see if there’s a first time for everything. Lyle Denniston provides some more information.

The Court’s order reinstates the state ban and will keep it intact until after a federal appeals court has ruled on it.

The order appeared to have the support of the full Court, since there were no noted dissents. The ruling can be interpreted as an indication that the Court wants to have further exploration in lower courts of the basic constitutional question of state power to limit marriage to a man and a woman. Had it refused the state’s request for delay, that would have left at least the impression that the Court was comfortable allowing same-sex marriages to go forward in the thirty-three states where they are still not permitted by state law.

The order, however, cannot be interpreted as a dependable indication of how the Court will rule on the issue when it finally decides to do so directly.

[…]

As a result of the new order, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, based in Denver, will go forward with an expedited review of Judge Shelby’s decision. The appeals court has ordered briefing to begin on January 27 and to be completed by February 25. It has indicated it is not likely to grant any extensions of time to file those documents. It has not yet set a hearing date.

With the Justices’ order in the case, it now appears almost certain that the question of state power to bar same-sex marriages will not be before the Justices during the current Term. A case on that issue would have to be granted this month to be reviewed before the Court is expected to finish this Term in late June.

So now the Texas case will be heard with Utah back in the no-same-sex-marriage column. Again, we’ll just have to see what effect that will have. I was cynical at first thanks to the inevitable involvement of the Fifth Circuit, then I was ebullient, and now I’m disappointed but still hopeful. Sorry for the whiplash. While I remain guardedly optimistic, here’s a reminder from TPM that we may yet be a long way away from a favorable resolution. SCOTUS will do what it wants to do, as anyone familiar with Bush v Gore can attest. In the meantime, keep the faith and keep fighting.

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Interview with Sen. John Whitmire

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner
Sen. John Whitmire

Sen. John Whitmire

There’s never much of an offseason for campaigns. The city elections are finally behind us, and believe it or not we’re six weeks out from the start of early voting for the 2014 primary elections in Texas. I was busy over the holidays getting started with interviews for various contested primaries, and while I don’t know how many I’ll wind up doing when all is said and done, there are some races that I definitely plan to target. None are bigger or more closely connected to me than the primary in my Senate district, SD15, which pits longtime Sen. John Whitmire against challenger Damian LaCroix. I trust everyone is familiar with Sen. Whitmire, who has served in the Legislature since 1973, served in the Senate since 1983, and who has chaired the Criminal Justice committee since 1993. Sen. Whitmire had a lot to say in the interview, so much so that I hardly had to ask any questions. He just got on a roll and went places that I wouldn’t have known to ask about if I’d been directing things. The interview was long enough – 68 minutes all told – that the resultant MP3 file was too large to upload to my webhost. Rather than do surgery on it and risk messing it up, I went and created an account on SoundCloud and uploaded it there. Here’s the interview:

Greg had pointed me to SoundCloud after the last web-based audio player I used went extinct, but this is the first time I’ve tried it. Let me know what you think, if you like this better than what I’d been doing I’ll keep using it. If not, then I’ll just save it for future extra-long interviews.

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

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Stockman and Bitcoin

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Somehow, this doesn’t surprise me.

U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman, a Friendswood Republican with a history of flouting campaign finance laws, entered a new legal gray area this week when he announced his campaign can now accept donations in Bitcoin, a private virtual currency.

Stockman, who is challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn of Texas in this year’s Republican primary, was attending an event promoting the NYC Bitcoin Center in New York’s financial district earlier this week when he told a reporter with Business Insider that his campaign could now accept Bitcoin donations. Stockman appeared to confirm the report by posting it on Facebook and Twitter.

Stockman isn’t the first politician to embrace Bitcoin, though he may be the first elected official to do so. Among the legal concerns about Bitcoin campaign donations is that the virtual currency makes it easier to make donations anonymously; federal campaign finance laws require candidates to reveal the names of their contributions. Few businesses currently accept Bitcoin though acceptance has been growing over the last year.

A spokesman with the Federal Elections Commission could not say whether Bitcoin donations are legal. In November, the FEC considered whether to explicitly allow federal candidates and political action committees to accept Bitcoin donations as in-kind donations. The committee deadlocked, 3-3. The commission has not taken up the issue since the November vote, a spokesman said.

Whether Stockman has actually received any Bitcoin donations is unclear. As of Friday morning, his campaign website’s donation page made no mention of Bitcoin. However, in a photo that has circulated online since Tuesday, Stockman is seen at the NYC Bitcoin Center event holding a poster with a scannable QR code on it. The code is a link to a Bitcoin account, but it is not clear if the account is Stockman’s campaign fund. Since Tuesday, the account has received Bitcoin payments worth more than $200.

When asked about the QR code in the photo in an email, NYC Bitcoin Center spokesman Hamdan Azhar wrote back, “Congressman Stockman’s office would probably be best suited to address your question.” A Stockman spokesman has not responded to inquiries about the QR code or whether the campaign has received any Bitcoin donations.

Fine by me if he wants to do that. He can collect Bitcoins, gold bullion, or live chickens as far as I’m concerned, as long as he meets the disclosure requirements. Given that this is Steve Stockman we’re talking about, I don’t have a whole lot of faith in that. But as a matter of philosophy I have no problems with this. As with contributing via text messages, I welcome these innovations as long as proper disclosure is made and all other relevant campaign finance laws are followed. I doubt Bitcoin donations will make any difference to Stockman’s campaign, but hey, a guy can dream if he wants to.

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Would he be “Mayor Bun B”, or just “Mayor B”?

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Rocks Off looks at the field of Mayoral candidates for 2015 and asks “Why not Bun B?”

Bun B and some lady

So to whom might the Bayou City turn for leadership through the latter half of this decade? The field is literally wide open, with only the usual allotment of ambitious policy wonks and green City Council members jockeying to move up in the municipal ranks at the moment. It might even be time to consider an outsider — in fact, someone whose nickname is already “Houston’s unofficial mayor.”

How does Mayor Bun B sound?

Laughable, according to the popular Houston rapper, whose latest album Trill O.G.: “The Epilogue” came out Tuesday and who performs at the Houston Symphony’s “Houston In Concert Against Hate” Anti-Defamation League gala Thursday night at Jones Hall.

“Too many skeletons in the closet, lol,” Bun told Rocks Off recently via email.

But what about those skeletons? Certainly Houston voters have proved they can be a tolerant lot, and Bun B the OG rapper now has plenty of company in his bio, with Bun B the Rice University comparative-religion professor, Houston Symphony collaborator and trusted friend/adviser to Houston’s existing mayor, who asked Bun to sit on her task force to combat texting and driving in April of this year. People have certainly run for mayor with fewer credentials than that.

UGK’s lyrics frequently criticized the guns and drugs that were rife in their hardscrabble neighborhood, while Bun and late partner Pimp C were never shy about celebrating the psychotropic indulgences that temporarily removed them from their grim surroundings. But they also never backed down from a fight, and never, ever rolled fake. Surely many voters would flock to a candidate like that, not to mention someone who understands the finer points of grippin’ grain and switchin’ lanes.

One of Houston’s leading political analysts says that kind of street cred could be invaluable in a mayoral campaign.

“I think one way for him to embrace the image is to use that as a way to create a real, visible narrative of what’s happening out there, and letting people know that these problems need to be addressed, and he is a good person to do it,” says Dr. Brandon Rottinghaus, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston. “A traditional politician may talk about those issues, but maybe hasn’t lived it, where in his case he has lived it and it gives him some credibility in a way doesn’t give credibility to a traditional politician.”

Rottinghaus likens Bun’s hypothetical campaign to that of someone like former Minnesota Gov. Jesse “The Body” Ventura, who in ran as the same kind of brash, outspoken maverick he was for years as a popular WWF wrestler, where he often played the “heel.” Ventura’s straight-shooting message connected with Minnesota voters, and he served four years in the state’s highest electoral office.

“The campaign ads he ran were all about how he was gonna wrestle the opposition, and it was time for a change in Minnesota, and he had kids with little Jesse Ventura action figures who were pummeling the competition,” says Rottinghaus “So they made that image work for them.”

One of the commenters on this story suggested a campaign slogan: “Vote Bun B For Mayor And Keep Houston Trill As F**k”. You’d hardly have to campaign with a slogan as awesome as that.

On a more serious note, the main problem with the Jesse Ventura analogy is that while one can certainly imagine getting a decent share of the vote running as an anti-establishment celebrity candidate, especially if one is blessed with opponents who are colorless or laden with baggage, that’s not enough to win. Ventura himself won with 37% of the vote in his three-way race. Thirty-seven percent won’t get you elected Mayor of Houston, however. It can only get you into a runoff. You need an actual majority to win, and that’s a much harder thing to do, especially if one’s primary appeal is to youth and one is running in an election where the average voter’s age is north of 50.

(Note to everyone who is now saying to themselves “Wait, didn’t Rick Perry get elected Governor in 2006 with 39% of the vote?”: The law in Texas is basically that only in partisan races, which is to say November races in even numbered years, is a plurality enough to win. In other elections – primaries, special elections, non-partisan elections like Houston city elections – a majority is necessary and if no one gets a majority, a runoff follows. There are some exceptions to this, but the bottom line is that Rick Perry’s non-majority election in 2006 has no bearing on City of Houston elections and the need for 50% plus one.)

Now, there is another model that Bun B could follow, and it’s a model demonstrated by another successful celebrity politician from Minnesota: Sen. Al Franken. There’s no reason why Bun B couldn’t do like Franken did and turn himself into a policy wonk, and thus broaden his appeal beyond his fanbase and the usual anti-establishment types to include the kind of voter who tends to participate in Houston city races. As the story notes, Bun B is already a man of many talents who has a history of getting involved in political matters. It wouldn’t be that much of a stretch. Obviously, I don’t expect Bun B to announce a candidacy (though I must say, I’d enjoy interviewing him if he did run). This is the sort of fun thing we political types like to chatter about during the slow times. But if he does have a hankering for public service in him, there’s no reason why he couldn’t do it.

(Yes, I know, some serious people are making serious guesses about who may or may not run for Mayor and other city offices in 2015. I thought about doing one of those myself, but got caught up in too many other things during the holidays. There will be plenty of time for such discussions later. For now, this was way more fun to talk about.)

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It’s now officially OK to be gay in the Boy Scouts

Posted on January 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Progress. Slow and incremental, but progress nonetheless.

The Boy Scouts of America will accept openly gay youths starting on New Year’s Day, a historic change that has prompted the BSA to ponder a host of potential complications — ranging from policies on tentmates and showers to whether Scouts can march in gay pride parades.

Yet despite their be-prepared approach, BSA leaders are rooting for the change to be a non-event, comparable to another New Year’s Day in 2000 when widespread fears of digital-clock chaos to start the new millennium proved unfounded.

“My hope is there will be the same effect this Jan. 1 as the Y2K scare,” said Brad Haddock, a BSA national executive board member who chairs the policy implementation committee. “It’s business as usual, nothing happens and we move forward.”

Some churches are dropping their sponsorship of Scout units because of the new policy and some families are switching to a new conservative alternative called Trail Life USA. But massive defections haven’t materialized and most major sponsors, including the Roman Catholic and Mormon churches, are maintaining ties.

“There hasn’t been a whole lot of fallout,” said Haddock, a lawyer from Wichita, Kan. “If a church said they wouldn’t work with us, we’d have a church right down the street say, ‘We’ll take the troop.'”

The new policy was approved in May, with support from 60 percent of the 1,400 voting members of the BSA’s National Council. The vote followed bitter nationwide debate, and was accompanied by an announcement that the BSA would continue to exclude openly gay adults from leadership positions.

Under the new membership policy, youths can no longer be barred from the Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts or coed Venturers program solely on the basis of sexual orientation.

[…]

The membership debate was closely followed by local Scouts on both sides; some carried signs and held rallies outside the meeting place. But in subsequent months, the debate has quieted.

Bill Helfand, scoutmaster of Troop 55 in Houston, said membership in his troop has remained steady at about 225 boys.

“We never considered sexual orientation, and I don’t think many troops really did,” Helfand said. “I don’t know whether we had Scouts who are homosexual. I don’t inquire … It’s not a matter of concern.”

Helfand said the membership debate, while closely covered in the media, did not extend into his meetings with leaders and parents, besides occasional discussion of the policy at camp-outs. He says he hasn’t talked to any Scout about his sexual orientation and doesn’t intend to.

“I know that this is something that people felt was a momentous turning point for Scouting,” Helfand said. “Everybody I know has made Scouting available to every boy who wants it, and that’s what we continue to do.”

See here and here for previous blogging. I have to say, this less-than-full change has been less contentious than I thought it would be. That said, it’s also the case that the Sam Houston Area Council is not going along with the change, so the effect is is somewhat limited locally. And there’s still that ban on gay adults affiliating with the BSA, the justification for which eludes me, so there’s still work to be done. But credit where credit is due, this is a step forward and it does matter.

And on a related note:

However, some Texas parents and leaders have decided to switch to Trail Life USA, an alternative which declares itself “a Christian adventure, character, and leadership program for young men.” Among them is Ron Orr, a business consultant from the Fort Worth area who is signing up local units for the group.

So far, he said he has 25 groups “pre-chartered” for a Jan. 1 launch date in the territory covered by the BSA’s Circle Ten and Longhorn councils. That’s modest compared to the 39,000 Scouts served by the Circle Ten council alone.

Orr is part of a family with four generations of Eagle Scouts. His older son recently earned his Eagle rank and his younger son was on the verge of doing likewise. But Orr said he could not stand by after the policy change.

“As Christians, from a scriptural basis, we love all folks, but the scripture is very clear that being homosexual is a sin,” Orr said. “We’ve got to be able to hold a strong line and set a consistent example for our young men.”

Mr. Orr is quite wrong about what scripture says. I’m sure that he has been told that about scripture all his life, and clearly he is now passing that bit of folklore along, but it’s wrong. It’s true that there are a handful of clobber verses, which I’m sure Mr. Orr would point to if challenged on this. It’s also true that there are vastly more verses about wealth, possessions and the poor, including some strict prohibitions against lending money at interest, which folks like Mr. Orr tend to overlook. If you’re going to cite scripture as a rulebook, then it’s on you to follow all of the rules, not just the ones you like. If you’re going to pick and choose, I see no reason to take you seriously about it.

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Weekend link dump for January 5

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Anyone know how to quit bringing auld acquaintance to mind?

Anonymizing data is pretty much an oxymoron.

We may yet have Anthony Weiner to kick around again.

The Jon Swift Memorial Roundup for 2013.

Would six Californias be better than one? Spoiler alert: Probably not.

Spectacular photos of abandoned places around the world.

Ah, Louie, Louie, if only you would go now.

Now we learn that Phil Robertson thinks girls should get married when they’re “fifteen or sixteen”. Who wants to ask Ted Cruz what he thinks about that?

“It seems that no one has actually been injured or attacked by any of these clown impostors, although some of the incidents have clearly frightened people and there was at least one unconfirmed report of a quasi-clown brandishing a knife. Which is in no way funny. Probably.”

Whoa there.

2013 was another bad year for psychics. Not that that will stop them in 2014, of course.

“Pay-as-you-go” is a bad idea that leads to bad public policy. Extending emergency unemployment benefits will be worth far more than any “deficit reduction” achieved by not extending them.

“Add all these up and you get a number between 9 and 10 million people who now have health care coverage because of the Affordable Care Act.”

One hundred things we didn’t know last year. Somewhat British-oriented, but fascinating nonetheless.

“So, all in all, an estimated 4.9 million workers will lose out on EUC compensation by the end of 2014.”

Some engagement photos you’re unlikely to see in your local society pages.

Isaac Asimov’s future wasn’t all that different than anyone else’s. Actually, Ladies’ Home Journal made some pretty decent guesses in 1900 about what life would be like in a hundred years’ time.

Five rules for talking about Obamacare now that it’s a thing and not just an abstraction.

If the media were as transparent as they want the government to be.

The two Americas will likely be with us for a lot longer.

“The Reformation helped to undermine Catholic traditions of all kinds, including its centuries of speculation on the provenance and status of Christ’s foreskin.”

“The 10th anniversary of the [Puppy Bowl] will feature guest appearances by two YouTube sensations — classic Internet fave Keyboard Cat and youthful millennial sensation Lil Bub.”

Rep. Clay Aiken (D, NC)? It could happen.

“It’s that time of year again, when the Citizens of Santa Royale, and anyone else who wants to help, vote on their favorite Mary Worth moments of the year.”

Raising the minimum wage reduces poverty, with very few negative effects. The evidence is quite strong.

RIP, Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers. Kathleen Geier has a great roundup of Everly Brothers songs from YouTube.

Posted in Blog stuff | Tagged | 2 Comments

Who are these people on our ballot?

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The filing deadline is long past, and campaigning for the primary and general election is well underway. Democrats in Harris County have a fairly full complement of legislative candidates this fall, some of whom are better known than others. I thought I’d take a moment to look over the primary ballot list and see what I can find about the candidates who are challenging incumbents of either party. In particular, I’m looking to see if I can find a campaign webpage and/or Facebook page, plus whatever Google can tell me. I’m limiting this to Harris County and to legislative races not counting the US Senate. I may do more of these later if I have the time and the inclination. For now, let’s get started.

Congress

CD02 – Niko Letsos: No webpage or Facebook page that I can find so far. Google tells me nothing.

CD07 – James Cargas and Lissa Squiers – Both ran for this office in 2012. Their links from that year still work.

CD10 – Tawana Cadien: Another repeat candidate from 2012. Her old website and Facebook page are still available. Interviews for all three of these candidates can be found on my 2012 Primary Election – Harris County page.

CD22 – Frank Briscoe and Mark Gibson: Neither appears to have a webpage or a Facebook page yet. Briscoe is a candidate with some pedigree. He ran for CD22 in 2002, losing by a hair in the primary to Tim Riley. He’s the son of the late District Attorney and two-time Houston Mayoral candidate Frank Briscoe, Senior, and apparently a relative in some fashion of former Texas Governor Dolph Briscoe. Here’s an interesting Q&A with him in Architectural Record, which isn’t dated but based on context appears to be from not too long after his unsuccessful run in 2002. As for Mark Gibson, Google tells me there’s a Mark Gibson that was an independent candidate for Congress in Virginia in 2012. I rather doubt this is the same Mark Gibson – it’s not that unusual a name – but that’s what I could find in Google.

CD36 – Michael Cole. Cole was the Libertarian candidate for CD36 in 2012 before announcing in August that he would run again as a Democrat. Here’s an interview he did with a Daily Kos member shortly thereafter, which includes links to all his relevant web and social media pages.

State Senate

SD07 – Jim Davis: Google tells me nothing.

SD15 – Sen. John Whitmire and Damian LaCroix: Sen. Whitmire has served in the Senate for many years, but is new to the internets; his Facebook page was created on November 19. I’ve written about LaCroix before and will have an interview with him, and one with Sen. Whitmire, soon.

SD17 – Rita Lucido: Lucido is a longtime activist and volunteer, and is the highest-profile challenger to a Republican incumbent among the legislative candidates. Her campaign Facebook page is quite active.

State House

HD129 – John Gay: No webpage or Facebook presence yet, but Google tells me that John Gay ran for CD14 as a Republican in 2012; he finished seventh in the field of nine. His campaign webpage domain (johngay.org) has expired, but via here I found his personal Facebook page, and while I consider myself to be open and welcoming to party-switchers, it’s safe to say that this guy is a problem. Here’s a screenshot from his Facebook page, so you can see what I mean. Barring a major and convincing change of heart from this guy, my advice is to not waste any time or effort on him. There’s plenty of other good candidates to support.

UPDATE: Upon further investigation, it appears there are two John Gays, the one who ran as an R in 2012 in CD14, and the one who is running in HD129 as a Dem. The latter one does not have any web presence that I found at a cursory search, hence the confusion. I’ve got a business phone number for the HD129 John Gay and will try to reach him tomorrow to discuss. My apologies for the confusion.

HD131 – Rep. Alma Allen and Azuwuike Okorafor: Rep. Allen has a primary challenge for the second straight cycle. Okorafor is a newcomer on the scene but looks like a good candidate. I intend to interview them both for the primary.

HD132 – Luis Lopez: No web presence yet, and the name is too common for Google to be reliable. This may be his personal Facebook page.

HD133 – Laura Nicol: No campaign webpage yet, but her campaign Facebook page is active. She and I have been Facebook friends for awhile, and I met her in person at an HCDP event a couple of weeks ago.

HD134 – Alison Ruff: No web presence as yet. I’ve mentioned her on my blog a couple of times, and met her at HCDP headquarters a couple of weeks back. This is her personal Facebook page.

HD135 – Moiz Abbas: I got nothing.

HD138 – Fred Vernon: Another blank, though this may be him.

HD145 – Rep. Carol Alvarado and Susan Delgado: Rep. Alvarado is my State Rep, and I consider her a friend. Delgado is a realtor, a multiple-time candidate, and the former mistress of the late Sen. Mario Gallegos. Based on comments she has left here and on her personal Facebook page, I think it’s fair to say mud will be flung in this race. For the record, I’ll be voting for Rep. Alvarado.

HD150 – Amy Perez: The full complement – webpage, Facebook page, and Twitter account. Well done.

That’s it for now. I may do a similar exercise for judicial candidates if I find myself with a few spare hours. You can also check out my new 2014 Election page, where I’ll be tracking contested primaries mostly but not exclusively in Harris County. If you think I’ve misrepresented anyone here, or if I’ve missed anything relevant, please let me know. Thanks.

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Center Street recycling facility is closed

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So says Swamplot. Multiple emails to a couple of Heights neighorhood mailing lists sounded the alarm as well. This has been a long time coming. Originally, it was supposed to have been closed at the end of 2012, but I guess that extension got extended. With the planned expansion of single stream recycling, locations like Center Street are increasingly redundant, though for folks like some of my panic-stricken neighbors who don’t have their 96-gallon recycling bins yet, there’s still a gap in the short term. And with the continued demand for real estate in this part of town, it’s hard to claim that the highest and best use for that property was a recycling dropoff site. Those of you that are still waiting for the wheely bins, I feel your pain, but you can still lug your glass to Westpark, where at least there will be workers to haul it out of your car for you. I look forward to seeing what becomes of this site. There are still a lot of other warehouse/industrial properties along Center Street between Heights Boulevard and Houston Avenue, with some townhomes mixed in between. This could be the start of a wave.

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

A brief history of gay marriage legislation in Texas

Posted on January 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From TM Daily Post.

RedEquality

Gay marriage supporters have made massive strides in a very short amount of time. Less than ten years ago, gay couples couldn’t get married anywhere in the United States. While the progress they did achieve shortly thereafter involved victories, they were handed down by judges—rather than their fellow voters—and the term “marriage” still didn’t apply—they could only have separate-but-equal “civil unions.”

Now, though, nearly a third of the states (containing nearly forty percent of the population) have legalized gay marriage, and in most cases, that’s been through the actions of elected legislatures or voters at the ballot box.

In Texas, meanwhile, if the status of gay marriage is going to change—at least in the short term—it’ll likely have to be in the courts. And there are four lawsuits pending that are challenging the various restrictions in the state that outlaw gay marriage. As we take a look at them, let’s also take a moment to trace the history of gay marriage bans in Texas.

Most of what’s in there will be familiar to you, though I at least didn’t realize that the first shot in this branch of the culture war was fired in 1997. The most recent developments in the state are the lawsuits, one about divorce and the other about marriage, that are likely to have a profound effect on the status quo going forward. Assuming that the federal lawsuit doesn’t make it all moot in the wake of the Utah decision, of course. In an ideal world, the existing laws would be repealed by the Legislature, but we may never get to a point where there’s a sufficient majority to repeal that awful constitutional amendment; a one-third minority in either chamber would be enough to block any such attempt. So I’m happy for the courts to do what needs to be done, but as I’ve been saying I just wonder how big and insane the freakout will be when it happens. We may get a good idea of that soon.

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Saturday video break: For old times’ sake

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Have you ever wondered what the lyrics of “Auld Lang Syne” mean? Well, wonder no more:

More than one verse, too. Hope 2014 is off to great start for you.

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City benefits for same sex spouses back on

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

For now, at least.

RedEquality

A federal judge ruled Thursday that same-sex couples legally married in other states can keep health and life insurance benefits that were extended to spouses of city of Houston employees in November.

[…]

[Noel] Freeman’s husband’s benefits, and those of spouses of four other city employees, were temporarily halted in December after two Harris County Republicans, led by Jared Woodfill, the county’s GOP chairman, sued the city.

The lawsuit claims Mayor Annise Parker’s policy violates Houston’s city charter, the state’s Defense of Marriage Act and the Texas Constitution.

After the lawsuit was filed in family court, state District Judge Lisa Millard signed a temporary restraining order putting the brakes on the administration of the benefits.

Days later, lawyers for the city of Houston had the case moved to federal court. At Thursday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Lee Rosenthal declined to grant the GOP’s request for a restraining order.

It was a difference Woodfill seized on after the hearing.

“Judge Millard’s position was that the Mayor’s actions were illegal and unlawful and she immediately restrained the Mayor from going forward,” Woodfill said. “This judge has not decided whether the Mayor’s actions were illegal, so she gave us more time to do additional briefing.”

Woodfill will next try to convince Rosenthal that the case should be moved back to state court. Only after Rosenthal decides if it will stay in her court or be sent back will both sides start to argue over the substance of the case.

See here, here, and here for the background. The next hearing will likely be sometime in February – the story doesn’t specify a date, just that it’s “more than a month away” – so that’s that for the immediate future. But look, does anyone believe that regardless of the outcome of this case that Woodfill is going to prevail in the end? The demise of DOMA and the court rulings in Utah and Ohio have shown that the dam is busted. It’s just a matter of time, and that time is sooner, not later. Jared Woodfill can try to build a wall of sand against the tide, but the tide is going to win. The only question is how much harm he will inflict on people like Noel Freeman and Brad Pritchett, and on the Harris County GOP, before he is forced to accept the inevitable. Texpatriate has more.

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Wilson swears himself in

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does.

Dave Wilson

Dave Wilson

Days after a Harris County judge signed a temporary restraining order barring Houston Community College trustee-elect Dave Wilson from taking the oath of office, the perennial candidate submitted notarized documents to the state showing he has been sworn in.

Wilson, 67, a small-business owner and anti-gay activist whose eligibility to serve on the HCC board is being challenged in court, filed oath-of-office papers with the secretary of state’s office on Thursday, the office confirmed.

Spokeswoman Alicia Pierce said it is not legally required for local elected officials to file oath-of-office papers with the state, as it is for statewide elected officials.

HCC lawyer Gene Locke said the college – not the state – is the proper filing authority and also received the documents via fax on Thursday. Locke said Wilson completed the appropriate paperwork newly elected officials must file to be legally sworn in, but whether it must be honored will be decided in court.

“The legal issue is whether or not the temporary restraining order prohibited him from taking the oath of office and, therefore, if the oath of office, the swearing in, is valid,” Locke said. “We’re kind of a bystander waiting to see how this thing plays out.”

[…]

Wilson’s lawyer, Keith Gross, said he did not tell his client to submit the oath-of-office papers because it would be unethical for an attorney to advise his client to violate a court order. Gross also said he did not know Wilson was planning to do so.

“This is something I decided all on my own,” Wilson said. Asked why he did not wait for an official swearing-in ceremony, Wilson said, “I wanted to take that position just as soon as I could.”

Wilson said he figured out what documents needed to be filed at the swearing-in ceremony of two other board trustees just after the Dec. 14 runoff election.

“I was amazed at how simple it was, quite frankly,” he said. “It doesn’t take a legal mind.”

You kind of have to admire the utter disregard for protocol. Dave Wilson just doesn’t care, and he doesn’t care if you care. Who even knew you could self-administer an oath of office? The question is whether anyone besides Wilson and his buddies will take his do-it-yourself oath job seriously. If the TRO is still in effect at the time of the next board meeting on January 16, what do the other Board members do when Wilson shows up and demands to take his seat at the table? I don’t know, but it might make for the most interesting board meeting in the history of forever. My advice to Gene Locke is to be thoroughly read up on all the relevant statutes and case law and be prepared to quote them from memory, because I bet Wilson will have a few cites to throw at you. And a little extra security, just in case, wouldn’t hurt, either. Campos has more.

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Murder by numbers 2013

Posted on January 4, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The beginning of the new year means a look back at the homicide count for the previous year.

Homicides are up in unincorporated Harris County, where the Sheriff’s Office is reporting a nearly 20 percent uptick in 2013, preliminary year-end statistics show.

Killings in 2013 totaled 91 as of Tuesday – the second-highest tally in the past five years, and about a 19.7 percent increase from 2012, according to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities said the 2013 figure appears to have been driven by a cluster of cases involving multiple victims.

Sheriff Adrian Garcia cited a Nov. 9 case at a Cypress house party where two high school students were fatally shot and 19 others were wounded. He also recalled an incident Nov. 20 in which a gunman shot five people at a northwest Harris County apartment complex. Three died.

“We don’t see that as a particular pattern,” Garcia said of the multi-victim cases. “These are just circumstances that have occurred this year and we hope they never repeat themselves.”

In Houston, preliminary data showed the homicide count was down from 2012, which ended with 217.

As of Dec. 20, the Houston Police Department recorded 199 slayings compared with 207 for the same time last year, according to Homicide Division Capt. Dwayne Ready. HPD’s latest reports show about a 3.8 percent decrease.

If the 2013 total remains below 217, it would be the second lowest since 1965, when 139 people were killed, HPD officials said. The lowest since that date was in 2011, which had 198.

[…]

Violent crime overall has been trending down for several years, both nationally and locally. By and large, crime experts say that violent crime has been experiencing slight fluctuations rather than sharp increases and decreases.

Phillip Lyons, a criminal justice professor at Sam Houston State University, said those decreasing figures may now be leveling off, showing some stabilization in crime statistics.

“We are at that point, where it seems as though there is overall stability, and that obviously means there are going to be some places that are reporting higher numbers than last year and other places that are reporting lower numbers than last year,” Lyons noted. “It all essentially averages out to not much change.”

See here and here for the previous installments of this story. I basically agree with Prof. Lyons, there really isn’t much happening here. The uptick in unincorporated Harris County is likely just statistical noise. If it goes up for a few years in a row, that may be something. A one year bump that isn’t that big in absolute terms and even smaller in per capita terms is not.

Here’s the sidebar to the story with numbers from the past five years:

Annual number of homicides in Houston and unincorporated Harris County in recent years:

City of Houston:

2009: 287

2010: 269

2011: 198

2012: 217

2013: 199 (As of Dec. 20, 2013)

Unincorporated Harris County

2009: 93

2010: 74

2011: 69

2012: 76

2013: 91 (As of Dec. 31, 2013)

If unincorporated Harris is up over 100 for the next couple of years that may be worrisome, but again keep in mind that the overall population there is rising, too. This chart would be a lot more meaningful if it included the number of homicides per 100,000 residents, as that is a number that will be better to compare over time. Consider the statement above about how 199 murders in Houston would be the second lowest since 1965 when there had been 139. Well, the population in Houston in 1965 would have been less than half what it is today, so 199 murders in 2013 is therefore significantly less – back of the envelope, it would have been about 14 per 100,000 in 1965 (I’m assuming a population halfway between the 1960 and 1970 Census numbers, which would be about one million) but only about 9.5 per 100,000 in 2013 (assuming a population of 2.1 million). Putting it that way, the total number of homicides in Houston was probably as low as it has ever been in a much longer time frame. When was the last time you heard someone say that?

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Friday random ten: All is quiet on New Year’s Day

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I’m pretty sure I’ve done a list of “New” songs for the new year, but it’s another new year and I’ve got no better ideas, so.

1. New Blood – Robert Cray
2. New Blues – Joe Satriani
3. New Constellation – Toad the Wet Spocket
4. New Dreams – Stanley Smith
5. New Jazz Fiddle – Asylum Street Spankers
6. New Kid In Town – Trisha Yearwood
7. New Math – Tom Lehrer
8. New Romeo – Southside Johnny and the Jukes
9. New Sensation – INXS
10. New Year’s Day – U2

At least one of these songs is new to my collection, so at most I’m only partially repeating myself. Hope the end of your holiday season is going well.

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Parker 2018

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It seems pretty certain that a statewide candidacy is in Mayor Parker’s future.

Mayor Annise Parker

Mayor Annise Parker

LSQ: What’s next for you after your term expires at the end of 2015? There’s been a lot of talk that you will run for statewide office as a Democrat in 2016 or 2018.

AP: I don’t intend to run for anything until I’m done as mayor. Unfortunately, in 2016, there’s not a lot out there, so I probably will need to go back into the private sector for a while, but I hope that while mayor of Houston is the best political job I would ever have, I hope it’s not my last political job. … I would certainly be interested in looking statewide. [I’m] not trying to be coy. People talked to me about running in 2014 as a Democrat for one of the statewide positions. I’ve had a lot of conversations with folks about that, but I made the commitment to serve as mayor of Houston and to do my best for the city for as long as I could. I just wasn’t in that place. I’ve also been fairly public that what I’m most interested in in terms of a future political position is something where I’m in an administrative or an executive position. [With] due respect to my members of Congress down here, I’ve been the CEO of a $5 billion corporation. I like to get things done, and the idea of, say, running for Congress, doesn’t excite me. … [It will be] a statewide executive position.

I know the inauguration was just yesterday, but hey, it’s never too early to speculate, right? So let’s consider the possibilities for Mayor Parker’s future as a statewide candidate.

US Senate: I’m sure there will be no shortage of people willing to take a shot at Ted Cruz in his first run for re-election, assuming he isn’t elected President in 2016 or named Beloved Leader For Life following a coup. However, if we are to take the Mayor at her word when she talks about preferring a “statewide executive position”, then it seems safe to say that she will not be among those queuing up for the opportunity.

Governor: The obvious choice, for all the obvious reasons. However, there are two obstacles here. One is the possibility that in 2018 Governor Wendy Davis will be running for re-election. One presumes that the Mayor would not be anxious to primary her. Two is the possibility that her mayoral colleague from San Antonio, Mayor Julian Castro, will be ready to throw his own hat in the ring for this race. That’s not the same as primarying an incumbent Governor, but while we are miles away from anyone having a claim to that nomination, it would not be ridiculous to decide that one’s odds are better in another race. Putting it another way, I can imagine one of Mayors Parker and Castro running for Governor in 2018, but I cannot imagine both of them doing so. If I were Mayor Parker and I had my hopes pinned to a Governor’s race in 2018 (assuming Wendy Davis doesn’t win or chooses to serve only one term, of course), I’d probably make a point of whispering about the prestige of the US Senate and the joy of serving in the upper chamber while his brother makes his mark in the House in Mayor Castro’s ear at any opportunity that presented itself.

Lt. Governor: At first glance, this doesn’t feel like a fit, since unlike the Governor, the Lite Guv is heavily involved in legislative activities as the presiding officer of the Senate. However, Mayor Parker presides over Council meetings and is directly involved in crafting legislation for the city, so it’s really not that much different. I doubt she has this in mind, but it’s not out of the question.

Comptroller: Probably the first office that comes to mind for some people, given the Mayor’s background in finance and her tenure as City Controller. My guess is that this is the office she was encouraged to file for in 2014. A good fit, and a good landing place if Mayor Castro doesn’t take her advice about running for the Senate.

Attorney General, Ag Commissioner, Land Commissioner: Mayor Parker is not an attorney, and is thoroughly urban, so neither of the first two are plausible. Land Commish is at least a remote possibility – former El Paso Mayor John Cook is running this year, so it’s unremarkable for an urban Mayor to compete for this post – but highly unlikely. If she’s not running for Governor, I can’t see her choosing anything other then Comptroller.

Railroad Commissioner: The one office she could run for in 2016, if she hadn’t already ruled out running in 2016. Again, this would be a good fit given the Mayor’s background in energy back in her private sector days plus the fact that if any city is associated with energy in Texas, it’s Houston, but again, at best a remote possibility. It’s Governor, Comptroller, or bust.

One last office to consider, if Mayor Parker decides that running statewide is too much trouble and she’d just rather serve in an office that allowed her to live in her own house, and that’s County Judge. This assumes that Judge Emmett decides to call it quits – assuming he is re-elected, of course – and if that happens, then given the historically good relations the city has had with Harris County during her tenure, Mayor Parker would be a logical and sensible successor. I’m just throwing this out there because crazy speculation is one of the perks of being a blogger, but you have to admit there’s something to it. If she changes her mind about running statewide, which I am not encouraging her to do. (PDiddie thinks this CultureMap story suggests ambivalence on her part, but I think she’s just saying she has no plans for 2016, as she has said all along.) What do you think Mayor Parker might do down the line? Leave your own crazy speculation in the comments.

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Time to talk term limits again

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The subject keeps coming up, though it never seems to get anywhere.

calvin-on-term-limits-for-dads

As the inauguration of Houston’s elected leaders begins Thursday morning, supporters and spectators gathered at the Wortham Center downtown will see six new City Council members walk across the stage.

Observers at the ceremony two years ago saw seven new members sworn in, and those present two years before that saw five new faces cross the stage. That’s 18 position turnovers in four years around a horseshoe that seats 17, including the mayor, as Councilman C.O. Bradford pointed out at the council’s final meeting of the year two weeks ago.

With this churn in mind, Mayor Annise Parker, Bradford and others are calling for changes to the city’s term limits structure, which allows three two-year terms for the mayor, city controller and council members.

“That’s simply too frequent. When I came to council, there were council members in the process of leaving … and they were just well-seasoned, they were just at the point where they were really ready to dig in and serve the city,” said Bradford, who is starting his third and final term. “As we go forward in efforts to move our city forward, look at 18 turnovers in a four-year period and look at the challenge that presents.”

Parker, herself term-limited out of office at the end of 2016, said she will ask council to present voters with a shift to two four-year terms, adding that any proposal will not apply to her.

We all know how I feel about term limits, right? OK, with that out of the way, let me say that I don’t care for four-year terms on Council. For those of you who think Council will be a better place minus Helena Brown and/or Andrew Burks, they would both be beginning the second half of their first term if we had four-year terms in place now. I think having two year terms helps keep Council members accountable, and better enables us to correct mistakes in a timely fashion as needed. I understand that many Council members dislike having to transition into campaign mode so soon after being elected, and I get that the grind of fundraising sucks. That’s why I believe a better solution to address these issues is changing the nature of our system of financing campaigns. To my mind, if we can level the playing field between incumbents and challengers, we can better address the problem that term limits was supposed to solve. I’m very open to the idea of publicly financing campaigns, at least at the municipal level to begin with. There are big problems to solve in such a system, how to finance it and how to regulate private contributions in a constitutional way being the two main ones, but I see it as a worthwhile goal that actually has a chance of solving the underlying problem. You could take the approach that no one should be allowed to run for re-election, but that still doesn’t address the question of how campaigns are financed, and I personally see value in giving good public servants a chance to keep doing what they’re good at doing. All I ask about the forthcoming debate over our current and highly sub-optimal term limits system is that we start by pledging to review the whole thing and to consider options that have been left out of previous discussions. We’ll see if this effort makes it any farther than the last one did.

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Raising the minimum wage in Texas

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all the rage elsewhere, but so far I’ve not heard anything about a movement to raise the minimum wage in Texas.

While most of the increases amount to less than 15 cents per hour, workers in places like New Jersey, Connecticut, New York and Rhode Island will see a bigger bump.

Earlier this year, New Jersey residents voted to raise the state’s minimum wage by $1 to $8.25 per hour. And lawmakers voted to hike the wage by between 25 cents and 75 cents per hour, to $8.70 in Connecticut and $8 in Rhode Island and New York.

Residents in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Missouri, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, Vermont and Washington will see a higher wage floor due to annual cost of living adjustments.

The Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, used Census data to estimate that the increases will boost the incomes of 2.5 million low-wage American workers next year.

Currently, 19 states have minimum wages set higher than the federal level of $7.25 per hour. Once the changes take effect on Jan. 1, the number rises to 21.

[…]

President Obama has been throwing his weight behind the issue. Earlier this month, the President said in a speech that it’s “well past the time to raise the minimum wage that in real terms right now is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office.”

But such legislation has a bleaker outlook if it reaches the Republican-led House of Representatives. House Speaker John Boehner has said that raising the minimum wage leads to a pullback in hiring.

Several recent polls, however, show that the vast majority of Americans are in favor of a federal minimum wage hike. A new ABC/Washington Post poll out last week shows that two-thirds of Americans support raising the minimum wage. More than one-third of respondents said they supported an increase to $9 per hour, while a quarter more were in favor of a boost to $10.

A CBS poll conducted last month found nearly identical results.

For obvious reasons, I don’t expect anything to happen in Texas, even as it is an issue nationally. What I would like to see is for it to at least be in the conversation. I got that link from Sen. Rodney Ellis’ Facebook page, so that’s a start. I’m sure that when the issue does arise, we will hear a cacaphony of caterwauling about how increasing the minimum wage will destroy jobs and only go to the benefit of teenagers. Putting aside the fact that all of that is a load of bull, I welcome the debate. Let’s talk about how many of the jobs that have been created during Rick Perry’s reign have been crappy, minimum wage jobs. Let’s talk about what we need to do to ensure that Texas is creating quality jobs that pay living wages. Let’s talk about the millions of Texans who work fulltime yet live in poverty because their jobs pay so little. One ironic benefit of raising the minimum wage in Texas is that it might make a whole bunch of people that now fall into what Ed Kilgore calls the “wingnut hole” – not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid in a state like Texas that refused to expand it but below the minimum income level to qualify for insurance exchange subsidies, precisely because they were supposed to get enrolled in Medicaid – might suddenly qualify for insurance subsidies and get coverage, possibly for the first time in their adult lives. I’ll be delighted to talk about that. Raising the minimum wage polls well nationally, including among Republicans, though I haven’t seen (and couldn’t find) any Texas-specific polling on the subject. Regardless, this is an issue that Democrats need to engage on, and it’s one I think they can gain on. But we’ve got to start talking about it first. Texas Leftist has more.

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The fox has always guarded the henhouse

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

News item: Rick Perry appointee says something obnoxious and privileged about the people his company fleeces for his fortune.

The official who oversees Texas’ consumer watchdog says payday-loan customers — not the lenders — are responsible when the loans trap them in a cycle of debt.

William J. White says it’s out of line to even question an industry that has had its practices called exploitative by many critics, including the Catholic Church.

White was appointed by Gov. Rick Perry to chair the state agency that oversees the Office of the Consumer Credit Commissioner, which is responsible for protecting consumers from predatory lending practices.

White also is vice president of Cash America, a major payday lender that the new U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau last month socked with its first sanctions for abusive practices.

White didn’t return calls earlier this month for a story about his dual roles as payday lender and consumer defender. But, on Dec. 12, as the Finance Commission wrapped up its monthly meeting in Austin, he agreed to answer a few questions.

“What you’re doing is totally out of line,” White said, as the interview wound down. “This fox-in-the-henhouse stuff is totally political.”

His company and others in the industry have been accused of making payday loans to desperate people in amounts they can’t afford to repay. Customers become trapped in a cycle in which all of their disposable income — and some non-disposable income — goes to payday lenders, critics say.

Former El Paso city Rep. Susie Byrd spearheaded a payday-lending ordinance early this year that is on hold until the city council debates it on Jan. 7.

White was asked to respond to Byrd’s claim that payday lenders in Texas profit by making people poor.

“That’s really is not worth responding to,” White said. “People make decisions. There’s nobody out there that forces anybody to take any kind of loan. People are responsible for their decisions, just like in my life and in your life. When I make a wrong decision, I pay the consequences.”

Ha ha ha ha ha. Dude, you’re rich and politically connected. You don’t pay consequences for anything. You have people for that.

Anyway. Sen. Wendy Davis took exception to White’s offensive remarks.

Democratic governor contender Wendy Davis is calling on William J. White to step down as chairman of the Finance Commission of Texas for saying people who take out payday loans are responsible for their own situations.

White, vice president of Cash America, should be an advocate for consumers on the state board but instead makes excuses for his own predatory industry, Davis said.

“William White can’t protect Texas consumers while he represents a predatory lending company on the side,” she said.

That’s a feature, not a bug. I’ll get back to that point in a minute. In the meantime, Lisa Falkenberg presses the point.

In April 2012, [White] signed the commission’s resolution complaining of the “complexity” and “confusion” of local payday regulations. He asked the Legislature “to more clearly articulate its intent for uniform laws and rules to govern credit access businesses in Texas.”

In other words, he asked lawmakers to bigfoot (or, pre-empt) local protections, forcing cities to conform to the state’s do-nothing regulation.

[…]

“There’s nobody out there that forces anybody to take any kind of loan. People are responsible for their decisions … ,” White told the Times reporter. “When I make a wrong decision, I pay the consequences.”

There’s nobody out there who makes you buy gas after a hurricane, either, or book a hotel room because your flood-prone house flooded. Yet the state, through Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, still protects people against price gouging and profiteering on misery after such an event. I guess the misery of the working poor is another matter.

[…]

Earlier this week, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Wendy Davis, of Fort Worth, declared White’s comments a “blatant conflict of interest,” and called on Perry to remove White from the state post.

Perry – no surprises here – isn’t budging. And what from Abbott, the Republican candidate hoping to succeed Perry? As of deadline Tuesday, silence.

The attorney general’s spokesman didn’t respond to a phone message or to a list of questions asking, among other things, whether he would have appointed a payday loan executive to watch over the payday loan industry. Abbott himself has taken more than $21,000 from Cash America’s PAC, according to campaign finance records. He also has promised a fresh perspective and transparency in government.

Here’s a chance to prove it. Abbott should follow Davis’ lead and call for White’s ouster, condemn the commissioner’s comments and show he’s prepared to lead differently, to cast aside old ways, and to replace cronies with competent, fair appointees.

Oh, Lisa. You’re such a kidder. Of course Greg Abbott will never do this. In fact, he’s already defending White. (Sen. Sylvia Garcia, on the other hand, is with Wendy.) Hell, the only reason he goes after gasoline price gougers is because they directly affect everyone, including suburban Republican voters, who scream bloody murder when it happens. The people whose lives are being wrecked by payday lenders don’t have voices that Greg Abbott hears. To him, that’s just the free market. And if it has to be regulated at all, best to have someone at the helm that really, truly understands the needs of the businesses that are being regulated. Anyone besides me remember the Texas Residential Construction Commission, or TRCC? Remember who Rick Perry appointed to be the first head of that commission? Here, let’s take a stroll down memory lane.

Consider how the Residential Construction Commission came to be created and how it was appointed.

According to a report released earlier this year by public advocacy groups, Texas homebuilders donated $5 million to executive and legislative candidates, political parties and political action committees during the 2002 election cycle, which completed the Republican takeover of the statehouse.

Houston homebuilder Bob Perry, a major contributor to Gov. Rick Perry and Republican causes, gave $3.7 million of the total.

Bob Perry (who isn’t related to the governor but obviously shares his political philosophy) and other homebuilders were a driving force behind creation of the new commission. The new law established some construction and warranty standards for the new agency to regulate, but its primary purpose was to offer homebuilders protection against lawsuits brought by unhappy customers.

Homeowners now have to go through an expensive, commission-run dispute resolution process before pursuing any legal action over construction complaints. This is more bureaucratic and potentially more intimidating than the mandatory arbitration process that most builders already required in new home contracts.

The law also limits the damages that homeowners can recover, and the makeup of the commission has consumers justifiably concerned.

The law requires four of the nine commissioners to represent builders. State regulatory boards typically include some members of the industries being regulated.

The argument is that technical, industry input is necessary for effective regulation, but the fox-and-henhouse practice also is a testament to the lobby’s influence.

Two of the “public” members appointed to the Residential Construction Commission by the governor also have strong ties to the homebuilding industry. And, even more troubling for consumers, one of the industry representatives, John Krugh, an executive of Bob Perry’s homebuilding company, was appointed to the commission by Rick Perry less than a month after the governor had received a $100,000 political donation from Bob Perry.

The governor’s office denied any connection between the contribution and the appointment, but skeptical consumers should be forgiven.

The TRCC was such a crony-tastic debacle that it finally got sunsetted in 2009. But the philosophy is ever with us. William White is just John Krugh in another context. Same story, different chapter. And it’s always been fine by Greg Abbott. If Greg Abbott had ever had an inkling to put the interest of consumers over the interest of business, he’d have shown it before now. If you want that to happen, you don’t want Greg Abbott as Governor, because he’ll keep doing what he and Rick Perry have always done. It’s nothing new, and it’s not a secret.

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Judge grants TRO halting Dave Wilson’s inauguration to HCC

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox:

A state district judge has ordered David Wilson to refrain from taking an oath of office to serve as trustee of Houston Community College System District II until a court can determine the issue of his residency.

Judge Elaine Palmer granted the application filed by Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan asking that David Buren Wilson be prohibited from being sworn in until a court can hear evidence about where Wilson actually resides.

Harris County Attorney Ryan filed suit last week in the 151st District Court questioning whether Wilson was a resident of Houston Community College District II at the time he was elected.

The judge set a hearing for January 10th at 3 pm.

See here for the background, and here for a copy of the restraining order. Here’s the Chron story:

Dave Wilson

Dave Wilson

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan said it is unclear if Wilson resides at 5600 West 34th Street., which is the address he used in order to be eligible to run for the college district’s Place II position.

Wilson’s attorney, Keith Gross, questioned what is motivating the probe, including whether other board members fear Wilson will uncover corruption in their ranks.

He said his client, a 67-year-old small businessman, lives in an apartment inside the building, gets his mail there and has the address on his driver’s license.

“We are going to fight this all the way,” Gross said. “As long as I have known David Wilson, he does not roll over, ever.”

I believe that. I believe Dave Wilson will appeal this to the end of the earth and back again. I hope you know what you’re in for, Vince Ryan. Because Dave Wilson can’t be bargained with. He can’t be reasoned with. He doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And he absolutely will not stop, ever.

Wilson did not return requests for comment, including an opportunity to let a Houston Chronicle reporter inside the metallic two-story building to see his quarters.

County appraisal district records describe it as a commercial building with 11,340 square feet of space. It appears to hold at least one classroom and a warehouse area.

[…]

Ryan, the county attorney, said the building does not appear to have an occupancy permit required for it to be a residence, and might not have undergone proper inspections.

Let’s talk about the residency requirements to run for office for a minute. I personally draw a distinction between residency in a district and residency in a taxing entity such as a county, city, school district, or community college district. District lines are drawn on sand. For districts determined by our Legislature, we’re lucky to have two consecutive elections where they’re all the same. As we learned in 2003, they can be changed at any time if the Governor wants them to be changed. People are regularly drawn into and out of various districts for political purposes. I’m in a different State Rep district and a different State Senate district than I was in 2011, and it’s not because I’ve moved. It happens all the time, and while I think it’s a perfectly valid campaign issue, I am comfortable with there being a very loose definition of who “lives” in what district for eligibility purposes.

It’s very different for taxes, ordinances, regulations, and other things may apply based on whether or not you live within that entity. If you’re running for a Harris County office, you better damn well live in Harris County. Same for Houston and other cities, HISD and other school districts, HCC and other community college districts. We just had a Mayor’s race where that was a salient issue, as it should have been. I don’t need anyone to be a native of these places, or even to be a longtime resident. I just need you to have the same skin in the game I do, and for this I don’t tolerate shenanigans.

That’s why this matters for Dave Wilson. The key point of contention is that Wilson actually lives outside of HCC’s territory, in a house on 7370 Lake Lane that is listed on the property tax rolls in the name of his wife, Connie. That house, which is in the taxing region for Lone Star Community College, has a homestead exemption on it, as you would expect for a primary residence. If that is where Wilson really lives, then he has no skin in the game by my lights and thus has no business running for HCC Trustee at all.

It would have been best to deal with this before the election, but the fact that Bruce Austin was too incompetent a candidate to raise the issue in time shouldn’t mean that Wilson gets a free pass. Permits and inspections are one piece of evidence, but we all know that there are plenty of homes in Houston for which that paperwork isn’t in order. So show me that 5600 W 34th St is really someplace someone would live. Show me that it’s got a bed, a shower, a fridge, a microwave oven, and a hookup for cable, satellite, or the Internet. Actually, show me that it has at least three beds, because if you do a voter registration search by address for “5600 w 34th”, you get three registrations, one each for David Buren Wilson, Cameron Hunter Wilson, and Taylor Renee Wilson. Are there really three people living there? If so, I will withdraw all my objections and will urge County Attorney Ryan to drop the lawsuit. Maybe Wilson will let Lisa Falkenberg drop by and see what she thinks. For what it’s worth, I found no registrations at 7370 Lake Lane.

One more thing. As I noted before, up until at least 2011, Dave Wilson had been using a different warehouse as his “home” for voter registration purposes. That warehouse was at 1512 W 34th, which is down the street a little less than three miles away. Why would he “move” from one warehouse to another? There’s one obvious answer to that question. To check that answer, I went searching for voter registrations at nearby addresses. I found one that’s just around the block from Wilson’s old digs. Here’s a Google map of the area, and a screenshot of the two together; A is the neighbor and B is 1512 W 34th. Lo and behold, Wilson’s near neighbor is in HCC District 1, not HCC District 2. That’s why he changed his registration from one warehouse to the other. He had to so he could target the HCC District 2 seat. If that were the only issue, as stated above I wouldn’t care. But if Dave Wilson really lives in the house on Lake Lane, he’s not eligible to run for any HCC Trustee seat, and it very much does matter to me. We know this isn’t the first time Wilson’s residency has been questioned. Let’s get this sorted out once and for all.

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , | 15 Comments

The Marshall legacy

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a story that looks back on the long career of outgoing HISD Trustee Larry Marshall. No question, Marshall was a star as an educator, and left an indelible mark on HISD thanks to the well-regarded magnet school program that he helped create. He should be riding off into the sunset amid hosannas and praise. The reason he’s not is captured here.

Larry Marshall

Larry Marshall

Questions about his consulting work surfaced early in his board tenure, when a former HISD administrator, Frank Watson, filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the district in 2000.

Watson, who oversaw employee benefits, alleged he lost his job because he refused to do a favor for one of Marshall’s health-care clients. The district ultimately settled the case with Watson.

Marshall’s past consulting work for Community Education Partners also has drawn scrutiny. HISD contracted with the company to run its alternative schools.

Marshall has said in court records that he stopped consulting for Community Education Partners after the school board passed a strict ethics policy in 2004. The new rules banned the district from doing business with companies that had financial ties to trustees and close relatives.

At a board meeting in June 2010, Marshall defended his past consulting work amid criticism from community activists.

“Since I have been on this board, I have sacrificed over $500,000 of income that could have been generated, to put something back into a system that I got something from,” Marshall said, before voting with the board majority to renew HISD’s contract with Community Education Partners.

Emphasis mine. If the reason you stopped doing something is because a “strict ethics policy” was put in place that forbade from doing what you had been doing, you might want to take a moment and reflect on the nature of your past actions. Similarly, if you are upset that being in public service is preventing you from earning a wad of money, you really ought to consider resigning so you can go ahead and collect that payday you so obviously want. Unless, of course, the only reason that treasure trove exists is because of your power and connections as a public servant, in which case it just sucks to be you. But seriously, if you’d be rolling in the dough if it weren’t for you meddling kids those pesky ethics rules, then do everyone – including yourself – a favor and step down from your position so you can become a lobbyist. You’ll have all the earnings potential and far fewer enforceable ethical constraints.

Anyway. Perhaps this story was unfairly slanted against Larry Marshall – he refused to comment on it, so we don’t know what his side of the story would be. I’m sure I have a skewed impression of Larry Marshall because almost all of what I know about him stems from his ethical issues. I knew basically nothing about his early career as an educator, which really was stellar. But whose fault is that? Larry Marshall chose his path. For all the good work he did earlier in life, HISD is better off now that he is exiting from service to them. I wish him well in retirement, and I hope I never see his name in a news story relating to HISD purchasing or contracting processes again.

Posted in School days | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Utah appeals to SCOTUS

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This was inevitable.

RedEquality

Utah took its fight against gay marriage to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, asking the high court to suspend same-sex unions that became legal when a judge struck down the state’s voter-approved ban.

The heavily Mormon state wants the marriages to stop while it appeals a judge’s decision, which said banninggay couples from marrying violates their right to equal treatment under the law.

In papers filed Tuesday, the state asked Justice Sonia Sotomayor to overturn a decision that has led to more than 900 gay marriages in Utah. Sotomayor handles emergency requests from Utah and other Rocky Mountain states.

Sotomayor responded by setting a deadline of by noon Friday for legal briefs from same-sex couples. She can act by herself or get the rest of the court involved.

[…]

In the papers filed Tuesday, Utah argues that children are best raised by a mother and father in a good relationship.

“On average children navigate developmental stages more easily, perform better academically, have fewer emotional disorders and become better functioning adults when reared in that environment,” it says.

I see Utah is making the thoroughly discredited argument about “responsible procreation” that other courts have torn apart. I’d say “good luck with that” but this is one of those times when mere sarcasm is inadequate. I hope SCOTUS crams that piece of baloney right down your throat, Utah. It’s nothing less than what you deserve. Their request for a stay can be found here if you’re interested.

Meanwhile, back in Texas, a new movement has been launched to increase support for marriage equality here.

Equality Texas is partnering with the national group Freedom to Marry to launch a new project called Why Marriage Matters Texas, which will focus on storytelling as a way of changing hearts and minds.

“For the first time in a long time, marriage in Texas is moveable,” said Daniel Williams, field organizer for Equality Texas. “The public opinion is shifting our way. This is something we can actually dedicate resources to and have a realistic expectation of having results. We’re gearing up to work in a concrete way to bring the freedom to marry to Texas.”

Williams said while recent polls show a steady increase in support for marriage equality among Texas voters, much of the shift has been due to an increase in the number of young people, non-native Texans and Hispanics.

“If we’re going to be able to push the changes in public opinion beyond demographic shifts, we’re going to have to go and talk to people about why our marriages matter, in the language of emotion and the language of human relationships,” Williams said. “You can spit statistics to people all day long, but what changes people’s hearts and minds are personal stories of people affected by the issues.”

The website is here, though it’s still under construction. Again, the federal court hearing to decide on an injunction against Texas’ Double Secret Illegal Anti-Gay Marriage constitutional amendment is February 12. A whole lot more than I would have ever expected has happened since that court date was set. Assuming SCOTUS denies Utah’s appeal, one has to ask what grounds exist now to not grant that injunction? Six weeks from now we could be in for a very big change for the better. BOR has more.

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Texas blog roundup for the week of December 30

Posted on January 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance bids farewell to 2013 and wishes everyone a happy and healthy 2014 as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Continue reading →

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Twelve years

Posted on January 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Twelve years ago today, I started this blog. That was on blogspot – believe it or not, it still exists; truly, the Internet is forever – and a few months later I had my own domain. I don’t do retrospectives, I don’t have a list of favorite or “most popular” posts readily available, and sometimes I don’t even remember to mark my blogging anniversaries, but I figured I ought to mention it this time, as I enter my baker’s dozenth year at it.

I tend to be a creature of habit, and when I find something I like that works for me, I just keep doing it. That’s the basic answer to the question of why I do this and how long I plan to keep doing it. It’s fun, I get something out of it, I’d miss it if I weren’t doing it, so I have no plans to stop. The day when those things are no longer true will come, but it’s not on my radar just yet.

One of the things I have enjoyed getting from this blog is a long list of friendships and acquaintances from across the political spectrum and in media, traditional and otherwise. I’ve gotten to meet a whole lot more people in real life because of this Internet thing than I could have without it. I’ve gotten to be on TV – I’ll be doing another episode of Red, White, and Blue to be aired on January 17 – and on radio – I’m doing another segment of “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly” for Houston Matters for this Friday, the 3rd – and discovered that I enjoy doing those things as well. More recently, I discovered that I have achieved the pinnacle of Internet fame when I stumbled across a Wikipedia page for this blog. I swear on whatever you have handy that I had nothing to do with that, and that I have no idea who created it.

Most of all, I enjoy the feedback I get from you, my readers. It still amazes me that there are people who read this blog. Thank you for doing so, thank you for commenting, and especially thank you for letting me know when I’ve got something wrong, and when I’ve got something right. I’d probably still write this thing if all my words were going into a big void, but it’s a lot more fun this way. As a reminder, there are multiple ways you can be notified about new posts on this blog. There’s good old fashioned RSS, there’s the Off the Kuff Twitter feed, and there’s the Off the Kuff Facebook page, which has 422 followers and which I’d dearly love to get to 500, if you’re so inclined. But however you access this blog, thank you for doing so, and thank you for coming back. Here’s to another fun year.

Posted in Administrivia | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments