Tag Archives: redistricting

Traci Jensen’s challenge

Posted on September 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I got the following from the Traci Jensen campaign the other day: This past Wednesday morning, Traci and her Republican opponent Donna Bahorich participated in the Greater Houston Partnership’s “Meet the Candidates: State Board of Education” forum. This was the … Continue reading →

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More on Texas proving the need for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the DMN: “There have been growing arguments that the Voting Rights Act is obsolete and should be struck down,” says University of Michigan law professor Ellen Katz, a nationally recognized expert on the Voting Rights Act. “But [Gov.] Rick … Continue reading →

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A look at HD136

Posted on September 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman takes a look at the new State Rep. district in Williamson County. All county and state elected officeholders from Williamson County are Republicans. The party has long dominated the area. But Democrats are eyeing the new district as … Continue reading →

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HCDE election lawsuit dismissed

Posted on September 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The lineup for the fall elections is now officially set. The disputed election results for the trustee runoff between two Democratic candidates will stand after a federal judge on Thursday dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Harris County Department of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Tawana Cadien

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

CD10 remains the strange barbell-like district that stretches from Austin to Houston that it has been since the DeLay re-redistricting of 2003; it was part of the Republicans’ previous failed strategy of defenestrating Rep. Lloyd Doggett. Originally seen as too … Continue reading →

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The state of Texas has already proven the case for the Voting Rights Act

Posted on September 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So as you know, the state of Texas had its rear end handed to it in both the redistricting and voter ID preclearance lawsuits. Both of these rulings will be appealed to the Supreme Court, with the ultimate goal being … Continue reading →

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No changes to interim maps

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I noted this Friday afternoon, but in case you missed it the San Antonio court has ruled that the interim maps will be used as is for the November election. Texas will use its current district maps for the upcoming … Continue reading →

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Challenging the interim maps

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One of the questions that came out of Tuesday’s redistricting preclearance ruling was whether or not it would affect the interim maps for this year. Some of the intervenors have asked the San Antonio judges about that. Several key minority … Continue reading →

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Federal court denies preclearance on all redistricting maps

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The long-awaited ruling in the preclearance lawsuit by the DC Court

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Interview with Max Martin

Posted on August 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The one new Congressional district to reach into Harris County is CD36, which stretches from Clear Lake and eastern Harris County up to Polk, Tyler, Jasper, and Newton Counties. Max Martin is the Democratic candidate running in this new district … Continue reading →

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Back to Blue

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas House Democratic Campaign Committee has announced its list of targeted districts for 2012. From their press release: The list of nine includes five former House members — Abel Herrero (HD 34), Yvonne Gonzales Toureilles (HD 43), Carol Kent … Continue reading →

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Who wants to sue over the HCDE election?

Posted on August 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Depends who you ask. At a court hearing July 30, the county, both political parties and an attorney for [runoff winner Erica] Lee all said they wanted the department of education’s suit dismissed (the school board wanted it to continue). … Continue reading →

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No settlement deal for HCDE election screwup

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Just as well, because this wasn’t a good deal. A proposed settlement hashed out Thursday evening would have seen the Republican race – a blowout victory – stand, and the Democratic race – for which a runoff is under way … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Rick (and Greg, and David)

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey breaks out his crystal ball and looks ahead to the 2014 election. Remember this: In his long history in state politics — closing in on three decades — [Rick] Perry has run for everything he said he was … Continue reading →

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HCDE sues for new election

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) today filed suit in federal court seeking new elections for Trustees whose district boundaries were wrong in the May 29th primary. HCDE officials learned earlier this week that outdated boundaries … Continue reading →

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Boundary screwup could affect HCDE race

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is just freakin’ great. Because of a mix-up with the new district boundaries, not everyone who was qualified to vote in a school trustee race was able to and some voters who weren’t supposed to, were allowed to cast … Continue reading →

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Looking back at Romo versus Doggett

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Former CD35 candidate Sylvia Romo does a post-mortem on her unsuccessful run for Congress. “Texas is ready for a qualified Latina congresswoman,” she said. “If I wasn’t the first one, then I hope I opened the door for another woman … Continue reading →

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Rey Guerra: Latinos in Houston 2012

Posted on July 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. White, Black, Asian, or other, if you live in Houston, you’ve more than likely adopted aspects of Latino culture into your … Continue reading →

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Culberson’s Univesity Line attack makes it through the House

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Great. Advocates of federally subsidized expansion of the Houston Metro light rail system lost a crucial round to Houston Congressman John Culberson on Friday, leaving dwindling opportunities to overturn spending restrictions on the Richmond Avenue project. The House adopted a … Continue reading →

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California-style primaries

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’m deeply skeptical of this. In 2010, California voters approved getting rid of party-based primaries and adopting a “top-two” set-up, sometimes called a jungle primary. This month, the state tried the new primary model in which candidates of all parties … Continue reading →

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Interview with State Sen. Wendy Davis

Posted on June 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t have the room in my schedule during the TDP convention to contemplate trying to arrange a bunch of interviews, but if there was one person I hadn’t spoken to this cycle that I really wanted to it was … Continue reading →

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How about those new Latino Congressional districts?

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In the end, not so much. Originally hailed by Latino leaders as a way to boost opportunities for their community, the newly redrawn Texas congressional map has led to a pair of white Democrats claiming the nominations in districts that … Continue reading →

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Four Congressional stories

Posted on May 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

CD27: It’s a relatively unknown field of hopefuls trying to unseat incumbent Republican Blake Farenthold in the newly configured U.S. House District 27, an area that stretches from Bastrop County south to Nueces County. The field includes former Bastrop County … Continue reading →

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Three primary stories

Posted on May 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

TX Trib: 4 Democrats Vying to Replace Hochberg in HD-137 Observers say the winner of the contest for HD-137 is likely to be decided in the Democratic primary, whose four candidates are former Capitol staffers Joseph Carlos Madden and Jamaal … Continue reading →

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A small overview of a large field

Posted on May 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a partial overview of the cattle call in CD14. [State Rep. Randy] Weber, 58, is one of nine Republicans vying for the party’s nomination in Paul’s congressional district, which includes Lake Jackson, where the 76-year-old Paul delivered … Continue reading →

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The unhelpful SBOE overview

Posted on May 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The premise of this story is good and useful. Unfortunately, the execution falls short. Conservatives and moderates get a rare opportunity this year to try to stack the State Board of Education with members who will help shape public education … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Two for Doggett

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The San Antonio Express News did most of its endorsements before the start of Early Voting, but took its time on the Congressional races. In the end, they did all their endorsements in one editorial, and at the end of … Continue reading →

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Express-News overview of Romo versus Doggett

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting tidbits in here. Despite the minority makeup of a newly drawn congressional district, a San Antonio Latina candidate faces a steep uphill climb against a white Austin liberal with a long tenure in the nation’s capital. Sylvia Romo, … 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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Interview with Domingo Garcia

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My last interview for this primary cycle is with another one of the leading contenders in the crowded CD33 primary, Domingo Garcia. Garcia is an attorney and activist who served for eight years on the Democratic National Committee beginning in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ronnie McDonald

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One of the more interesting candidates in a race that isn’t currently considered top tier is Ronnie McDonald, who is running in the redrawn CD27 against first term Republican Rep. Blake Farenthold. McDonald has been a trailblazer for much of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sylvia Romo

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One of the most closely watched Congressional primaries this cycle will be in the new CD35, the district to which Rep. Lloyd Doggett moved after redistricting and the second interim map made his CD25 hostile territory. In this Austin-to-San Antonio … Continue reading →

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Interview with Joaquin Castro

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas will elect at least six new members of Congress this year, as there are four new seats and two members have retired. Contested primaries may produce other new members, but for sure there will be six new faces. We … Continue reading →

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Delay in voter ID trial requested

Posted on April 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From Michael Li: Intervenors in the Texas voter ID case asked the court today to delay the scheduled July 9 start of trial in the case, citing discovery delays by the State of Texas.  The intervenors said the delays had … Continue reading →

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