Tag Archives: redistricting

Interview with Anthony Troiani

Posted on April 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have one more interview in CD34 today, and will be back next week with three more interviews. I’m still working on getting more lined up. Today’s subject is Anthony Troiani, who is currently serving as City Commissioner At Large … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ramiro Garza

Posted on April 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Next I have two interviews from a seat that’s new in number but not really in composition. CD34 is the updated version of what was CD27, now with no incumbent, and as an open seat it has attracted a large … Continue reading →

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Interview with Marc Veasey

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In Week 2 of my contested Congressional tour of Texas, I have one interview from the most heavily populated primary, and two from the second most heavily populated. First up is State Rep. Marc Veasey, who is running in the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ciro Rodriguez

Posted on April 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Also running to reclaim CD23 for the Democrats is the man who last held it for the Dems, Ciro Rodriguez. Rodriguez served five terms in the State House before being elected to CD28 in 1996, where he served until being … Continue reading →

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Interview with Pete Gallego

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There are two Congressional districts in Texas that are on the national radar as November battlefields. One is CD14 thanks mostly to the candidacy of Nick Lampson, and the other is CD23, which flipped to the Democrats in 2006 after … Continue reading →

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More on the size of the SBOE and its districts

Posted on April 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The House Redistricting Committee is holding its hearing today on whether the 15-member State Board of Education and its ginormous districts are appropriately sized. A House Redistricting committee will study the merits of expanding the board to creating smaller districts, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rep. Silvestre Reyes

Posted on April 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As discussed last week, we now enter a period in which I will be publishing some number of interviews with Congressional candidates in contested Democratic primaries around Texas. There’s a lot of interesting and high-profile races and I’d love to … Continue reading →

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Are SBOE districts too big?

Posted on April 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a question that the House Redistricting Committee will be studying next week. The Committee will meet in a public hearing to hear testimony on the following interim charge: “Study State Board of Education districts to determine whether the size … Continue reading →

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The home stretch for interviews

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Barring anything unusual, I’ve done all of the Harris County interviews I’m going to do at this point. You can see who I’ve spoken to and listen to them all on the Harris County primary page. You may have noticed … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mary Ann Perez

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We come now to my final interview for Harris County and for the State House. Next week I will start running interviews with Congressional candidates from elsewhere in Texas. Today’s candidate for HD144 is Mary Ann Perez. Perez was elected … Continue reading →

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So long, Santorum

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That sound you hear is Texas Republicans crying in their beer. Rick Santorum’s withdrawal today from the 2012 presidential contest makes Texas Republicans, once again, all but irrelevant in their party’s nomination process. The drawn-out nature of the race had … Continue reading →

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Interview with Kevin Risner

Posted on April 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My second interview in HD144 is with Kevin Risner. Risner is a Pasadena native who is employed with CBS Radio as a Senior Account Manager for all marketing and public relations campaigns for State agencies. He previously worked for then-Congressman … Continue reading →

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Interview with Ornaldo Ybarra

Posted on April 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This week we return to the State House and wrap up the Harris County interviews for the primary cycle. HD144, which mostly covers the city of Pasadena, is one of the stronger pickup opportunities for Democrats this fall, having been … Continue reading →

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Interview with Nick Lampson

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I still have one more State House primary to cover, that being the one in HD144, but the way things worked out I wound up doing interviews with local Congressional candidates first, so I’m going to run those this week. … Continue reading →

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Voter ID lawsuit action this week

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow, the DC Court will hear “oral argument on the State of Texas’ request to block the depositions of 12 Republican legislators who were involved with the voter ID bill, including State Sen. Dan Patrick and state representatives Debbie Riddle … Continue reading →

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If it were good for Travis it would be good elsewhere as well

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This article asks if Travis County is better off being split into five different Congressional districts. Seems to me that’s a question that answers itself, but I’ll play along. The voters and geography of Travis County are split among five … Continue reading →

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The Congressional shuffle

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Pending any further news, I think I’ve got my 2012 Democratic primaries, non-Harris County page updated. Most of the action was in Congressional races. Here are a few highlights from these filings. – David Alameel switched from CD06 to CD33, … Continue reading →

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Re-Filing deadline roundup

Posted on March 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The re-filing deadline was Friday, and as expected there was a flurry of activity on the final day. I’m going to do a news roundup to highlight what went on and who’s now running for what. You can find a … Continue reading →

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DOJ denies Galveston County redistricting

Posted on March 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that there’s more to redistricting than the state level. The U.S. Department of Justice late Monday rejected Galveston County’s proposed redistricting maps for county commissioner precincts, justices of the peace and constables. The rejection could put at … Continue reading →

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Filings and un-filings

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow is the re-filing deadline, the last day that candidates have to jump into a district that now looks good to them, or to withdraw from one that no longer does. There is still a possibility of further map changes, … Continue reading →

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May 29 election date and re-filing period officially set

Posted on March 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the court order, and here’s the revised election calendar. The main things you need to know are that candidates who had filed for office in the prior period are automatically in unless they withdraw. The new filing period runs … Continue reading →

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Lampson saddles up

Posted on February 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s good to have him back. On Monday, former U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson told a crowd of about 40 supporters gathered at Texas City’s city hall that he was running in the newly drawn 14th District “because Congress is too … Continue reading →

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We have maps

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From The Trib: Federal judges in San Antonio unveiled maps for the state’s congressional delegation and for the state House this afternoon, and they did it in time to allow the state to hold its delayed political primaries on May … Continue reading →

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Still no voter registration cards yet

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written about this before, but apparently there are some rumors running around regarding voter registration cards. Central Texas elections officials are warning against a rash of emails spreading false information about voter registration — an already confusing issue for … Continue reading →

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Weekend redistricting update

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

One more plaintiff has signed on to the Abbott map deal. The Mexican American Legislative Caucus is now joining the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund in saying that the state-backed Congressional District 35, a proposed new district that … Continue reading →

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State agrees to leave SD10 unchanged

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is big. Negotiators in San Antonio — trying to find common ground on state legislative and congressional districts so a primary date in Texas that can stick may finally be set — agreed to leave unchanged state Senate District … Continue reading →

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The plaintiffs’ proposal for the Lege

Posted on February 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I know it will break your heart to hear that Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill is a little peeved at Greg Abbott and Steve Munisteri because he thinks the Abbott map makes Harris County too Democratic. What got Woodfill … Continue reading →

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They want to be relevant

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Republicans are looking longingly at the utter depraved insanity excitement of the apparently competitive GOP Presidential primary and hoping that they will still have a voice in picking the winner. Texas may be “the conservative epicenter of this country,” … Continue reading →

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Interim map hearing tomorrow

Posted on February 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Big day in San Antonio tomorrow. Groups involved in the state’s redistricting fight were ordered by a San Antonio federal court Friday to continue negotiations through the weekend over interim redistricting maps for the 2012 election. The court order comes … Continue reading →

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While we wait for another deal, if there is one

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Michael Li reminds us what comes next. The San Antonio court has scheduled a hearing on interim maps and the election schedule for next Wednesday, February 15, with briefs on a broad range of issues due this Friday. That gives … Continue reading →

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The numbers in the “deal”

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As I start to type this I have no idea if the “deal” that was announced earlier today will be in effect or on the trash heap. I think it’s instructive to look at the numbers in the proposed maps … Continue reading →

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Abbott proposes redistricting deal

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We may yet have a deadline deal on interim maps, though it is as yet unclear which plaintiffs have agreed to this deal and which have not. For now, you can see what the fuss is about here: Congress Map … Continue reading →

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January finance reports: Congress and Senate

Posted on February 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The last batch of finance reports to come in are the federal reports, which for the most part don’t get posted till a full month after they’re due, which in this case was February 1. I’ve created a Google spreadsheet … Continue reading →

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DC court will take its time

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At least a month. A panel of federal judges told parties in a Texas redistricting case Wednesday not to expect a ruling within 30 days, throwing the date of the state’s political primaries further in doubt. A ruling by the … Continue reading →

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