Tag Archives: Election 2018

Speaker Bonnen

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official. Talking about dreams, honesty and courage, the members of the Texas House unanimously elected Rep. Dennis Bonnen House speaker, making him one of the most powerful Republicans in the state. Members of the House voted 147-0 in favor … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Now we talk about vote centers

Posted on January 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good. New Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman on Tuesday [proposed] to Commissioners Court a non-precinct based countywide polling system, where voters can cast ballots at the locations most convenient to them. “Life gets in the way; you’ve got to pick … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Appeal of bail injunction dropped

Posted on January 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Elections have consequences, and thank goodness for it. Less than a week after the new jurists were sworn into office, Harris County’s misdemeanor judges on Monday withdrew their appeal in the landmark lawsuit over local bail practices that a federal … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Crashing the Legislative Ladies Club

Posted on January 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t know there was such a thing as a Legislative Ladies Club, but now that I do I’m glad to hear that it’s adapting with the times. Julie Johnson knew she’d made history in November as one of the … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Crashing the Legislative Ladies Club

Meet KP George

Posted on January 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He’s the new Fort Bend County Judge. In December, that strange suspended-in-motion month between his election and taking office, K.P. George was checking out the quaint old domed Fort Bend County Courthouse, soon to be his domain. In November, to … Continue reading →

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

Our freshman legislators

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Good luck, y’all. When the Legislature convenes in Austin on Jan. 8, Harris County’s House delegation will include two new Democrats who flipped seats long held by Republican lawmakers. Last month, state Rep.-elects Gina Calanni, D-Katy, and Jon Rosenthal, D-Houston, … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Lina Hidalgo officially sworn in

Posted on January 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s Judge Hidalgo now, thank you very much. Ushering in a new era of Democratic rule, Lina Hidalgo took the oath of office as Harris County judge early Tuesday, becoming the first Latina and first woman to lead the nation’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , | 8 Comments

Precinct analysis: The county candidates

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s just dive right in and have a look at the countywide candidates, shall we? Dist Emmett Hidalgo Gatlin Under Emmett% Hidalgo% Gatlin% ============================================================== CD02 150,630 103,625 5,842 5,005 57.91% 39.84% 2.25% CD07 135,016 100,412 4,967 4,819 56.16% 41.77% 2.07% … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Precinct analysis: The county candidates

Trying again with online voter registration

Posted on January 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Fingers crossed. Texas voter registration might be heading to the internet if any of several bills filed for the upcoming legislative session finds its way to the governor’s desk. Five bills, all filed by Democratic legislators, would require the state … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The losers of 2018

Posted on December 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Allow me to point you to the Observer’s list of six Texas political players who lost power in 2018. I’d call it five-sixths of a good list, plus one entry I don’t quite understand. 3) Bexar County Democrats Want to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The losers of 2018

Here come the new judges

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

They’re going to be fine. Seriously, everyone chill out. [Frank] Aguilar said some of his Democratic colleagues may not have a lot of judicial experience, but most have had long careers as lawyers and have the experience they need to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 7 Comments

Orlando Sanchez’s bizarre press conference

Posted on December 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

What a weird thing. It was an absolutely wild afternoon for Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez. He planned to have a news conference across the street from the HISD administration building, but things didn’t go as planned. Protestors showed up … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Another straight-ticket truther

Posted on December 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Hello, outgoing Fort Bend DA John Healey! When John Healey began his career as a young prosecutor in Fort Bend County in the early 1980s, Ronald Reagan was president, MTV had just gone on the air and the then-rural county … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

From the “If at first you don’t succeed” department

Posted on December 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Three Dem Congressional candidates from 2018 may try again in 2020. Among the typically deep-red districts that came down to single digits were three races around Harris County. Incumbent Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, and Pete Olson, R-Sugar Land, won by … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Harris County GOP has not hit bottom yet

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have four thing to say about this. Drubbed. Shellacked. Whooped. Walloped. Routed. However you want to describe November’s midterm election, it was disastrous for Harris County Republicans. They were swept from the remaining countywide posts they held — the other shoe … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

More Congressional retirement speculation

Posted on December 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From Roll Call: Life in the minority will be a new experience for most House Republicans next year. And many of them may not remember what happened the last time the GOP lost the House. After the 2006 Democratic wave, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Recruiting more women for 2020

Posted on December 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We made a lot of progress towards better gender balance in our various legislative bodies this year. If we want to make more progress in 2020, it starts with finding and recruiting more female candidates. Even on a rainy Thursday … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Pete Sessions’ fine whine

Posted on December 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

There ain’t enough cheese in the entire state of Wisconsin to accompany this. Rep. Pete Sessions’ campaign might be over. But he isn’t over it. The Dallas Republican is still smoldering about the circumstances that led to his decisive loss … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, General snarkiness | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HD145 and HD79 special elections set

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another sprint. Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday set a Jan. 29 special election to fill state Sen. Carol Alvarado’s seat in the Texas House, hours after she was sworn in to the upper chamber. Alvarado, D-Houston, won a special election … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Asking the unanswered questions

Posted on December 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey goes there on Sen. Charles Schwertner. The problem is that the investigation at UT didn’t reach any final conclusions. The investigator couldn’t prove Schwertner was at fault, but also couldn’t prove he was not. There is no evidence … Continue reading →

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: Collier versus Beto

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib looks at some numbers. Mike Collier, the Democrat who ran for and lost the race for lieutenant governor last month, wasn’t the star of his party’s ticket. But by some measures, Collier did better in this year’s general … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

And now we move forward with Prop B

Posted on December 20, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

No other option. Mayor Sylvester Turner said Wednesday his administration is moving forward to implement the voter-approved charter amendment granting Houston firefighters equal pay to police of corresponding rank and seniority, though the city has not yet determined when firefighters … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 75 Comments

Restraining order lifted on firefighter pay referendum

Posted on December 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Back to the planning stage. A state district judge on Tuesday dissolved a temporary restraining order blocking implementation of the voter-approved charter amendment granting pay parity to Houston firefighters and denied further attempts by the city and police union to … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Beto v Julian?

Posted on December 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It could happen. The presidential race could force Texas Democrats to choose between two of their brightest rising stars, in El Paso’s O’Rourke, 46, and San Antonio’s Julián Castro, 44. Castro, like O’Rourke, has never won a statewide race in … Continue reading →

Posted in The making of the President | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Precinct analysis: Beto in the city

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Last week I got an email from Christopher Busby, who is a regular commenter here. He had previously asked about doing an analysis of Beto O’Rourke’s performance in Houston by City Council district. I told him that the canvass data … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Rep. Joe Pickett to resign

Posted on December 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We will now need two special House elections to get to full membership. State Rep. Joe Pickett of El Paso will leave his post effective Jan. 4. Pickett, a Democrat, made the announcement Saturday morning that he will step down … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Election 2019, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Alvarado wins SD06 special election

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

No runoff! Hurray! State Rep. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, won the Senate District 6 special election Tuesday, finishing far ahead of a four-candidate field and grabbing a narrow majority of the votes needed to avoid a runoff. She received 50.4 percent … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Cagle and Garcia hire Morman and Shaw

Posted on December 12, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. Jack Morman, who was defeated for re-election as Harris County Precinct 2 commissioner in November, will remain on the county’s payroll in January as an employee of Precinct 4 Commissioner Jack Cagle, a fellow Republican. Morman, who … Continue reading →

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

Precinct analysis: The two types of statewide candidates

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

When we look at the precinct data in Harris County, we can separate the statewide candidates into two groups. Here’s the first group: Dist Abbott Valdez Tipp Abbott% Valdez% Trump% Clinton% =============================================================== CD02 146,399 112,272 4,345 55.66% 43.40% 52.38% 43.05% … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

From the “It’s never too early to make candidate announcements” department

Posted on December 11, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Three sitting District Judges from Dallas County plan to run for the Fifth District Court of Appeals in 2020. Judge Bonnie Goldstein of the 44th Civil District Court will campaign for Place 3. Judge Craig Smith of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2020 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early voting concludes in SD06

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow is Election Day. Early voting concluded Friday in the special election to replace Sylvia Garcia in Senate District 6, and the low turnout is about what the Harris County clerk expected. More than 1,097 voters cast ballots Friday either … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Early voting concludes in SD06

Yolanda Ford

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

History is made in Missouri City. Missouri City voters Saturday elected Yolanda Ford as their next mayor, the first woman and African American ever selected for the city’s highest office. Ford narrowly defeated incumbent Allen Owen, who has been Missouri … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Emmett to teach at Rice

Posted on December 10, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Fitting. Outgoing Harris County judge Ed Emmett said Tuesday he will teach at Rice University, his alma mater, starting in January. Emmett made the impromptu announcement after a Rice University undergraduate spoke during the public comment portion of Commissioners Court, … Continue reading →

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

From the “Needlessly overstated answers to simple questions” department

Posted on December 9, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this: Tony Buzbee, a Houston lawyer who recently announced his plan to run for mayor next year, has offered to “mediate” a long-running pay dispute between the city and firefighters, one week after … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 21 Comments