Tag Archives: Election 2018

Same sex employee benefits lawsuit tossed again

Posted on February 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is great, but as always that’s not the end of it. The lawsuit dates back to 2013, when pastor Jack Pidgeon and accountant Larry Hicks sued the city to end the policy. In 2015, after the U.S. Supreme Court … Continue reading →

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Another reason David Whitley has to go

Posted on February 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

County elections officials feel like they can’t trust him or his office right now. That’s a big deal. As the Texas secretary of state’s office rolled out its botched effort to review the citizenship of nearly 100,000 voters, Betsy Schonhoff … Continue reading →

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City proposes partial pay raise to firefighters

Posted on February 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Progress, of a sort. Houston officials have offered to raise firefighters’ base salaries, but not sufficiently to establish pay parity with police officers as approved by voters, city and firefighter union officials said Wednesday. “In my mind, the proposal makes … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

There is no longer a ban on federal funds for rail on Richmond

Posted on February 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This is about as bittersweet as it gets. There are no plans to build light rail on Richmond, but for the first time in a long time there is nothing stopping Metro from asking for federal funds to help pay … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

Elisa Cardnell

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Meet your first official candidate for CD02. A naval battle just might be on the horizon in one of Houston’s most competitive Congressional districts. On Thursday Navy veteran and science teacher Elisa Cardnell, a Democrat, filed papers with the Federal … Continue reading →

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Back to court for Prop B

Posted on February 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Lawyers for Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner filed a motion Friday afternoon seeking to declare Proposition B invalid, contending the voter-approved referendum supporting pay parity for firefighters violates Texas law. The move is the latest in an … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 10 Comments

More looking forward to 2020

Posted on February 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna have some more of that sweet Congressional election action. Smelling blood after picking up two Texas congressional seats in November – along with Beto O’Rourke’s narrow loss in the U.S. Senate race – House Democrats [recently] announced six new … Continue reading →

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Beto may yet be a Senate candidate in 2020

Posted on February 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He’s at least talking about the possibility. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke last week to discuss a possible 2020 Senate campaign against GOP Sen. John Cornyn, according to a source familiar with the … Continue reading →

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MJ Hegar considers a Senate run

Posted on February 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Now we’re getting somewhere. Military veteran MJ Hegar, a former U.S. House candidate, is seriously considering a run for the Democratic nomination to take on U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in 2020. Hegar, who served in the Air Force in Afghanistan, … Continue reading →

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On to the runoff in HD125

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We could still have a recount, given how close the race for second place was. A Republican and a Democrat are moving on to a runoff in the race to replace ex-state Rep. Justin Rodriguez, D-San Antonio, in a traditionally … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court rejects Ogg’s request for more prosecutors

Posted on February 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I fully expected that Commissioners Court going from 4-1 Republican to 3-2 Democratic after the last election would signal big changes in how business was done in Harris County, but I didn’t expect this to be the first milestone on … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

January 2019 finance reports: HISD

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Odd-numbered years mean three types of elections in Houston – city, HISD, and HCC. We’ve looked at the finance reports for city candidates, now let’s have a look at the reports for HISD trustees, which I’ve separated into those up … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

RIP, Cassandra Hollemon

Posted on February 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sad news. Cassandra Hollemon took the bench in a sweep of Black Girl Magic, becoming part of the historic moment when 19 African-American women in Harris County won spots overseeing some of the busiest courtrooms in Texas. In the weeks … Continue reading →

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Time again to talk judicial elections

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again, like it or not. In the wake of a midterm election that swept some 20 Republican appellate judges out of office, Texas Supreme Court Chief Justice Nathan Hecht called on the Texas Legislature to reform a … Continue reading →

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From the “Elections have consequences”, Metro referendum edition

Posted on February 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes, consequences are good things. METRO will get more federal support for public transportation projects if Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher has anything to say about it. The freshman lawmaker wants to use her new seat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure … Continue reading →

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Let’s check in on the HCDE

Posted on February 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

How are things with the new Board? Within an hour and 37 minutes of his first meeting as a trustee on the Harris County Department of Education’s board of trustees, Josh Flynn had a new role: President. The former Harris … Continue reading →

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We’ll know soon enough if Beto is running for President

Posted on February 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Oprah. Beto O’Rourke said Tuesday he will decide whether to run for president by the end of the month, signaling his closely watched deliberations over a 2020 run are entering their final stages. The former Democratic congressman from El … Continue reading →

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Cornyn’s 2020 strategy

Posted on February 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. As the Texas GOP Party chairman from 2010 to 2015, Steve Munisteri warned that Republicans could no longer take the Lone Star State for granted and that the party needed to reach … Continue reading →

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The state of the state 2019

Posted on February 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes it’s what you don’t say that gets noticed. Gov. Greg Abbott, in his biennial State of the State address Tuesday, stayed on message about schools and taxes, continuing state leaders’ so far unified focus on bread-and-butter policy reforms in … Continue reading →

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Bail reform settlement looks to be a go

Posted on February 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Excellent news. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal on Friday offered initial support for new bail rules proposed by Harris County, signaling the three-year lawsuit challenging the county’s cash bond system soon may reach its conclusion. The settlement … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 40 Comments

There sure was a lot of money spent on Congressional races in Texas

Posted on February 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

If we’re lucky, it will be the start of a trend. Never has Texas seen as much money spent on Congressional campaigns as it did in 2018. New campaign finance data shows that the state didn’t just beat its old … Continue reading →

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Eh, what’s a few thousand mis-identified non-citizens among friends?

Posted on February 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No biggie. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott downplayed concerns Thursday about the voter citizenship review initiated last week by his secretary of state, even though it has since become clear that the state’s list of flagged voters swept up thousands of … Continue reading →

Posted in Show Business for Ugly People | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Cornyn is not waiting on 2020

Posted on January 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what I’d do if I were Big John Cornyn. John Cornyn and other politicians say an incumbent should run in one of two ways: scared or unopposed. Given that philosophy, Texas’s senior senator is having nightmares about his 2020 … Continue reading →

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The Fort Worth Mayor’s race

Posted on January 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Worth keeping an eye on. Mayor Betsy Price has competition. Democrat Deborah Peoples announced Tuesday night she is running for mayor in Fort Worth. As Peoples addressed a crowd of several hundred people at 6 p.m., the back room of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The first targets for 2020

Posted on January 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already agreed that the 2020 election season has begun, so a little attack advertising over the shutdown seems like a good play National Democrats have five Texas Republican congressmen in their crosshairs as they begin the 2020 election cycle … Continue reading →

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Dick and Wolfe turn on each other

Posted on January 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Pass the popcorn. A trustee on the Harris County Department of Education board who lent money to a fellow trustee’s campaign for justice of the peace has lodged a complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission accusing him of failing to … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Fort Bend

Posted on January 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Did you know that Fort Bend County went blue in 2018 as well? Of course you did. Let’s take a closer look at how that happened. Dist Cruz Beto Dikeman Cruz% Beto% Dike% ====================================================== HD26 32,451 33,532 406 48.88% 50.51% … Continue reading →

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Slow going so far in HD145 special election

Posted on January 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Still a week of early voting to go, but so far just a handful of ballots have been cast. Voters in Texas’ 145th House District are trickling to the polls for the first week of early voting in a sluggish … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We really are about to do away with the old cash bail system

Posted on January 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have four things to say about this. The new slate of Democratic judges has approved a drastic revision to Harris County’s bail system that could serve as a model for a settlement in the historic lawsuit in which a … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Firefighters go back to court

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I dunno, man. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association sought a court order Tuesday aiming to force the city to pay firefighters the same as police officers of corresponding rank and seniority, one day before Mayor Sylvester Turner and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Trying to make “pay for play” an issue

Posted on January 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. With more than nine months to go until Houston’s municipal elections, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s first two opponents turned their attention this week to limiting political donors’ influence at City Hall. Both challengers, millionaire lawyer and Texas A&M University … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Trying again to primary Cuellar

Posted on January 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck. It’s not going to be easy. A grass-roots Democratic group that helped power the upset victory of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has identified a Texas Democrat as its first target ahead of the 2020 congressional primaries — but … Continue reading →

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A switch to cider

Posted on January 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Some craft brewing news of note. The taps, they are a-changin’ at Town in City Brewery, where owner Justin Engle has decided to pause beer brewing and focus instead on creating hard cider. The folks at Town in City began … Continue reading →

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2020 is starting early

Posted on January 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Example One: The calendar just turned to 2019, but the 2020 race for Congressional seats in Texas is already on. A few days after Christmas, San Antonio resident Liz Wahl, 33, a former cable television news anchor, filed papers in … Continue reading →

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