Tag Archives: District Attorney

Dems boot Oliver

Posted on August 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The Harris County Democratic Party worked Wednesday to take district attorney nominee Lloyd Oliver’s name off the ballot, deciding to go forward without a candidate in November’s general election. Whether they can actually take the outspoken and … Continue reading →

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Birnberg files complaint to force Oliver off the ballot

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m far from thrilled to have Lloyd Oliver as the Democratic nominee for District Attorney, but this seems a bit much to me. Gerry Birnberg, the former party chair, filed a complaint earlier this month to have Oliver removed from … Continue reading →

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July campaign finance reports for Harris County candidates

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill by now. Office Candidate Raised Spent Cash Loans ============================================================ Sheriff A Garcia 47,025 41,900 357,818 0 Sheriff L Guthrie 70,176 75,646 33,075 157,000 Sheriff C Pittman 11,309 11,566 5,217 24,000 DA M Anderson 73,888 60,980 33,371 … Continue reading →

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CM Brown alleged to have altered time cards

Posted on July 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, my. Houston City Councilwoman Helena Brown subtracted hours from employees’ timecards in apparent violation of federal law, according to records obtained by the Houston Chronicle. The first-term councilwoman shorted an employee by more than three hours in a day … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: That mysterious Democratic DA primary

Posted on June 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We return to Democratic primary results and to the Harris County canvass as we take a look at the race everyone is trying to understand, the Democratic DA primary. Here’s what the numbers look like: Dist Oliver Fertitta Oliver % … Continue reading →

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The Oliver problem

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

sigh Lloyd Oliver had run for office at least five times – likely more, he said; he’s lost count – and been beaten each time, falling short of judgeships and congressional seats, getting trounced as both a Republican and a … Continue reading →

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Beating Bradley

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman writes about the aftermath of the GOP primary for District Attorney in Williamseon County where voters resoundingly threw out John Bradley. Michael Morton wasn’t on the ballot, didn’t campaign and didn’t back a candidate, but the recently exonerated … Continue reading →

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Democratic results, Harris County

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The good: – Lane Lewis won a full term as HCDP Chair by a 55-45 margin. If you heard a whizzing noise this evening, it was the bullet we all dodged in this race. – Sheriff Adrian Garcia easily won … Continue reading →

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GOP results, Harris County

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bullet points for all these result posts, I was up way too late last night. See the numbers here and the chat transcript from last night here. – You could have sold me on any result in the GOP DA … Continue reading →

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Races I’ll be watching for tonight

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As noted this morning, I will be participating in a live chat tonight beginning at 7 PM at the Chron election blog. I hope you’ll come by and ask some questions about what happened today. There are many races to … Continue reading →

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Final early vote totals

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The pattern remained consistent till the end. Nearly 116,000 Harris County residents have made their selections in next week’s primaries through early voting and returns from a record batch of mail-in ballots. In all, 90,489 people voted in person at … Continue reading →

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Recap of all my interviews so far this cycle

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

To say the least, there was a lot of uncertainty at the beginning of the year when I was planning out my interview schedule for the primary election. There were no maps for the State House, State Senate, and Congress. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Fertitta and Lykos

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes its endorsements in the two primary races for District Attorney. On the Democratic side, they make the easy and obvious call for Zack Fertitta. Zack Fertitta represents a new generation at the Harris County courthouse, and deserves … Continue reading →

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30 day financial reports, Harris County offices

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Candidates for county offices who are in contested primaries are also required to submit 30 day campaign finance reports. I’ve been going through the County Clerk’s campaign finance reports page to collect what’s there; ones for Democratic races are on … Continue reading →

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The Democrats have a DA race, too

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For which the Chron has an overview. A political newcomer with a famous family name, Houston attorney Zack Fertitta, 36, hopes to succeed Lykos – if, that is, he gets past a perennial candidate in the Democratic primary and if … Continue reading →

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The battle for Williamson County DA

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Outside of the Congressional races, the hottest primaries this year are District Attorney races. We’ve got them in Harris County, in Travis County, and of course in Williamson County. An 11-year Republican incumbent who hasn’t faced an opponent since 2002, … Continue reading →

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Chron profiles of Lykos and Anderson

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already had an overview of the GOP DA primary, but that race is apparently too big for just one story, so now we have profiles of the two candidates, Pat Lykos and Mike Anderson. I figure if you’re following … Continue reading →

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Nasty yet nice

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s characterization of the GOP primary race for District Attorney as a nasty fight between polite people strikes me as apt. Complaints about Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos buzz through Houston’s criminal courthouse. Assistant district attorneys, police officers … Continue reading →

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Who not to vote for 2012

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There are a number of interesting and exciting Democratic primary races on this year’s ballot. You can see a bunch of them here and here. There are many good candidates, and many races in which you may have a difficult … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mike Anderson

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Challenging Pat Lykos in the GOP primary for District Attorney is another person who has spent years as a judge, Mike Anderson. Anderson started out in the DA’s office after completing law school and spent 17 years as a prosecutor, … Continue reading →

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Interview with DA Pat Lykos

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For my interviews this week, I’m going to take a brief detour from the Democratic primaries to converse with the two candidates in the highest profile Republican primary in Harris County. That would be the District Attorney race, and we … Continue reading →

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FBI looking into DA’s office over grand jury “investigation”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, boy. Eyewitness News learned from people interviewed that the FBI and Texas Rangers are asking questions inside the DA’s office. The questions aren’t about BAT vans, but about the DA and her team and how they reacted once the … Continue reading →

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What is an investigation?

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Remember when I said that the grand jury saga wasn’t over yet? After denying any investigation into the grand jurors who for six months investigated her office, Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos disclosed that she directed her chief investigator … Continue reading →

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Grand jury no-bills DA’s office

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Thus endeth one of the most fascinating local stories in recent memory. A Harris County grand jury ended its session Tuesday, ending a months-long investigation into the district attorney’s office and the Houston Police Department’s DWI testing vehicles with a … Continue reading →

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Interview with Zack Fertitta

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We move on this week to the two top of the ticket races for Harris County, DA and Sheriff, starting today with Zack Fertitta, who is running for the Democratic nomination for District Attorney. Fertitta spent several years in the … Continue reading →

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January finance reports: Harris County

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

January is a very busy month for campaign finance reports, since they are due for all levels of government. I’ve been busy updating the 2012 Primary Election pages for Harris County and elsewhere in Texas with reports as I can … Continue reading →

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Lykos appears before the grand jury

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

And that’s all we know about it. Harris County District Attorney Pat Lykos testified Tuesday in a grand jury investigation of the Houston Police Department’s controversial mobile DWI testing vehicles. Because grand jury subpoenas and testimony are secret, it is … Continue reading →

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Lykos subpoenaed

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That grand jury keeps stirring things up. A grand jury investigating possible wrongdoing within the DA’s Office has officially subpoenaed DA Pat Lykos. The probe centers around problems with the Houston Police Department’s DWI testing vans. The DA’s Office will … Continue reading →

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Inmate outsourcing on the way out

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is unequivocally good news. Dropping inmate numbers at the Harris County Jail will let the county end its nearly 5-year-old practice of shipping overflow inmates to Louisiana and other Texas counties within days, Sheriff Adrian Garcia said this week. … Continue reading →

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Lykos v Anderson

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I obviously don’t have a dog in the Republican District Attorney primary fight, but I like a good high-profile political battle as much as the next junkie, so stories about it are interesting to me. [DA Pat] Lykos argues she … Continue reading →

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“It’s all politics!”

Posted on December 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The grand jury investigation of the District Attorney’s office over DWI evidence and policies continues to be the most compelling local story right now. A prosecutor who last week refused to answer questions from a grand jury said Monday she … Continue reading →

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Investigations all around

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a second grand jury looking into Harris County DA Pat Lykos. Sources close to the investigation said a special prosecutor was appointed last week to look into claims by Shirley Cornelius, a 27-year-veteran of the office, that she was … Continue reading →

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More on Lykos versus the cops

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s another Chron story about the recent dust-up between Harris County DA Pat Lykos and six Harris County police groups that don’t like her policy that trace amounts of crack will not be prosecuted as felonies. Two points that are … Continue reading →

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Lykos versus the cops

Posted on December 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Various law enforcement unions are not happy with Harris County DA Pat Lykos. Leaders of six Harris County police organizations Tuesday announced a vote of no confidence in District Attorney Pat Lykos, saying she has “shirked her duty” and has … Continue reading →

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