Tag Archives: Congress

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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Amazon settles up with Texas

Posted on April 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Amazon.com will start collecting sales taxes from Texas customers this summer and agreed to make capital investments of $200 million and create 2,500 jobs in the state over the next four years, Comptroller Susan Combs announced this morning. In … Continue reading →

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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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March fundraising reports for Congressional candidates

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a roundup of campaign finance reports for Congressional races and candidates of interest. I’ve been collecting links to the reports for contested Democratic races on my 2012 primary pages. Area races Nick Lampson had a typically strong fundraising report, … 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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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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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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Campaign for Primary Accountability aims at Republicans

Posted on April 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Interesting. A Houston-based super PAC aiming to unseat long-time congressional incumbents added Reps. Joe Barton of Arlington and Ralph Hall of Rockwall to its hit list [last week]. The two Republicans join Democrats Eddie Bernice Johnson of Dallas and Silvestre … Continue reading →

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Interview with Lissa Squiers

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My next interview for CD07 is with Lissa Squiers. Squiers was a write-in candidate for this office in 2010 after deciding that incumbent Rep. John Culberson should not go unchallenged by a progressive. Squiers has been active with Occupy Houston, … Continue reading →

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Interview with James Cargas

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We come now to the three-way race for the nomination in CD07. The first candidate in this diverse primary is James Cargas. Cargas is an attorney with a background in environmental and energy law who has done two stints in … Continue reading →

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Interview with KP George

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There are many contested Democratic Congressional primaries around the state this year, but in a sense the most important one is for a race that’s not on any national list of races to watch. I’m talking about the CD22 primary, … 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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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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There’s only one Democrat running in CD22

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We all need to be clear about that. Both candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the congressional seat famously held for two decades by Tom DeLay, the former House majority leader, are unusual. K.P. George’s background makes him an improbable … Continue reading →

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The Congressional Geezer Caucus

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The DMN notices that a sizable portion of Texas’ Congressional delegation is, um, old. Of the most populous states, Texas has the oldest congressional delegation, averaging nearly 63 years old, while the average for Congress as a whole is about … Continue reading →

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And then they went right back to not caring about women

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Such a delightfully cynical little stunt. Thirteen Republican members of the Texas congressional delegation wrote a letter to President Obama protesting the administration’s decision to phase out funding for the Texas Women’s Health Program. The administration took the action after … Continue reading →

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Who not to vote for 2012

Posted on March 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There are a number of interesting and exciting Democratic primary races on this year’s ballot. You can see a bunch of them here and here. There are many good candidates, and many races in which you may have a difficult … 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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West Texas wind

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The wind energy business in Texas is going strong. BP and other energy companies are funneling millions of dollars into building and operating wind farms in West Texas, helping to transform the oil country into one of the nation’s leading … Continue reading →

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Making a profit coming and going

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t comment very often on the business world, but I thought this Loren Steffy column from Friday about the El Paso/Kinder Morgan deal was noteworthy. Chancellor Leo Strine questioned the role of Goldman Sachs, which advised both El Paso … 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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It’s Williams on Williams time again

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I would not call it a good thing to come out of the updated interim maps since there’s a good chance one of these jokers will get elected, but for those of you with a morbid fascination with sideshows, the … 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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Good news and bad news

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. Big news today: Bastrop County Judge Ronnie McDonald is stepping down from his position. At a press conference today, he announced today that he will either run for the 17th Legislative District, anchored in Bastrop and currently held … Continue reading →

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Mighty pricey Main Street you’ve got there

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

My Irony-O-Meter goes to eleven. A Houston-based super PAC is targeting a dozen Democratic and Republican incumbents to reshape the political landscape in five states, including Texas where critics say an election law loophole is being used by a wealthy … 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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Two modest campaign finance reform suggestions

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

What to do about this? As indicted ex-constable Jack Abercia fights federal corruption and bribery charges brought against him last month, a lack of money for his legal defense isn’t one of his problems. The former Precinct 1 Harris County … Continue reading →

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The feds will run Texas’ health insurance exchange

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

That seems to be where we’re headed. Texas is almost alone among the nation’s largest states in failing to start work on a key piece of the Affordable Care Act, as legislators and state agencies follow Gov. Rick Perry’s wish … 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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