Tag Archives: Election 2018

Interview with Penny Shaw

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have one more interview for County Commissioner in Precinct 4, where Jack Cagle has been the incumbent since being appointed to replace the scandal-riddled Jerry Eversole. This is the most Republican of the four Commissioner precincts, but as noted … Continue reading →

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Voter registration deadline is Monday

Posted on February 1, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Check your registration status. Houston-area voters are registering to vote in record numbers just in time for the March 6 primaries, and the two major political parties are bracing for yet another wave of newcomers over the next few days. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jeff Stauber

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

From the not-so-powerful office of County Treasurer we move on to County Commissioner, easily the most powerful county office anywhere in Texas. Commissioners get a lot of control over their budgets, and at least in Harris County tend to operate … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Shampa Mukerji

Posted on January 31, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Nile Copeland

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I have one more interview for County Treasurer. There are three candidates, but Cosme Garcia did not return my email asking to schedule something, so two is all I have. As before, if Garcia gets back to me now I … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Michael Galligan

Posted on January 30, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Dylan Osborne

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

We move on now to Harris County races. There are races for county courts and Justice of the Peace, which I am covering via the judicial Q&As. Lina Hidalgo is unopposed in the primary for Harris County Judge. In the … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Natalia Oakes

Posted on January 29, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Project Orange

Posted on January 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is a good thing. This past Friday, January 12th, Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez held a press conference along with Houston Justice representative Charnelle Thompson and Harris County Tax Office Communication and Media Relations Director Tracy Baskin, to announce … Continue reading →

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

PPP poll: Cruz 45, O’Rourke 37

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Our second poll in the Senate race, this one more favorable than the last one. Democrat Beto O’Rourke trails Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz by single digits — 45-37 percent — according to new internal polling released by a Democratic … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , | 13 Comments

Microbreweries organize again

Posted on January 27, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Craft brewers are asking beer fans to put their money where their thirst is. Six weeks before state primary elections, the Texas Craft Brewers Guild on Monday launched a political action committee to raise money and awareness to … Continue reading →

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Interview with HP Parvizian

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I start scheduling interviews well in advance of when I start publishing them, for a variety of reasons. These things take time, people have schedules that need to be accommodated, myself included, and stuff happens that you can’t foresee. Sometimes … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Jim Peacock

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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HISD working on a bond issue

Posted on January 26, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s going to be quite the year for HISD. Voters living in Houston ISD could be asked to approve a new school bond totaling at least $1.2 billion as early as November, according to a recently unveiled district financial plan. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Dayna Steele

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Though I often find the task I set for myself of interviewing candidates every year daunting, I do enjoy it. I’ve met a lot of good and interesting people this way, and I always find it energizing to hear their … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Two more benches

Posted on January 25, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Bench One: Judge, 313th Judicial District: Natalia Oakes Natalia Oakes, 66, earns our support in this primary contest against a qualified opponent, John Stephen Liles. Although Liles has spent nearly twice as long as a member of the bar, Oakes … Continue reading →

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Interview with Allison Lami Sawyer

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve done probably a couple hundred interviews since I first got the idea to talk to candidates as a way of doing this blog. Many of them have been for primaries and odd year races, where I may or may … Continue reading →

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

Judicial Q&A: Linda Dunson

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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Dallas County GOP sues to knock basically all Dallas Democrats off the ballot

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Well, that escalated quickly. Dallas County Republicans have filed a lawsuit to have 128 Democrats kicked off the March 6 primary ballot. The lawsuit, filed in Dallas County late Friday, contends that Dallas County Democratic Party Chairman Carol Donovan didn’t … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Endorsement watch: 14th Court of Appeals

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

More judicial races. We have a long way to go with these. Justice, 14th Court of Appeals District, Place 3: Jerry Zimmerer This primary race presents voters with a choice between two candidates who each offer different strengths. Jerry Zimmerer, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rita Lucido

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

One reason why I’m combining multiple races into individual weeks – aside from the too-many-contested-races, not-enough-weeks issue – is that unlike the Congressional free-for-alls, most of the other contested races have a more normal-sized field of two or three. There … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Tracy Good

Posted on January 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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

Interview with Fran Watson

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As I might have mentioned once or twice before, there are a lot of contested primaries this year. In a less active year, I’d publish interviews from the same race in a given week. This year, between the large number … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Judicial Q&A: Audrie Lawton

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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

Tahir Javed

Posted on January 22, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

So who is this guy in CD29? He’s an outsider in the 29th congressional district. He’s not Latino. He’s never lived in the congressional district he is running in until now. And he’s never run for office in his life. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

More on the national wave of female candidates

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

As the second Women’s March was taking place yesterday, there were stories in two national publications about the plethora of women running for office this year. Here’s TIME Magazine: Erin Zwiener returned to Texas to settle down. At 32, she … Continue reading →

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So is there a residency standard now?

Posted on January 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

This is curious. State Rep. Dan Huberty’s only primary challenger was on Friday declared ineligible to run to represent House District 127. In a summary judgment, Harris County District Court Judge Bill Burke declared Reginald C. Grant Jr. did not … Continue reading →

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Judicial Q&A: Lucia Bates

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: As I have done in past elections, I am running a series of Q&As for judicial candidates in contested Democratic primaries. This is intended to help introduce the candidates and their experiences to those who plan to vote in … Continue reading →

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HuffPo on Gina Ortiz Jones

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I do love national stories about our Congressional candidates. Gina Ortiz Jones thought she could work for President Donald Trump. When he won the presidency in November 2016, Jones, a career civil servant who served in the Air Force in … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Fast out of the gate

Posted on January 19, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Another thing that has no doubt been affected by the tons of candidates running for office this year: The Chron’s endorsement process, which got off to a necessarily early start yesterday as they recommended candidates in a couple of open-seat … Continue reading →

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Interview with Silky Malik

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

And so we come to the end of our journey through CD02. There are as noted five candidates in the Democratic primary, but candidate HP Parvizian did not reply to my email asking to schedule an interview. If that happens … Continue reading →

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Don’t hold your breath waiting for Harvey aid

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Your Republican Congress, ladies and gentlemen. Republican lawmakers were hammering out a stop-gap deal Wednesday to avert a weekend government shutdown of the federal government this weekend, setting aside a long-sought disaster aid package for the victims of Hurricane Harvey … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, National news | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Republicans “against” Dan Patrick

Posted on January 18, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

RG Ratcliffe reports on a “loose coalition” of business and education interests who are seeking to clip Dan Patrick’s wings. [FBSID Board President Kristin] Tassin is now running for a seat in the state Senate, and she is just one … Continue reading →

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Interview with Todd Litton

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

CD02 hasn’t drawn quite as much attention as CD07 has – it has fewer Democratic candidates, and the district is more Republican-leaning – but one thing it had in common with CD07 was a Democratic challenger that had outraised the … Continue reading →

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