Tag Archives: The Lege

Texas Central and Lone Star Rail

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Noted for the record. In South Central Texas, 20 state legislators have revived talk of a San Antonio to Austin passenger rail line. Area lawmakers signed a letter in August asking Transportation Committee chair and state Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg) to study … Continue reading →

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Second mobile voting locations lawsuit filed

Posted on November 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Same claims, different plaintiffs. The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas in Austin. It is led by former Austin Assistant City Manager Terrell Blodgett, Texas Young Democrats (TYD) and Texas College … Continue reading →

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Texas GOP accidentally releases its 2020 strategy

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. In a bizarre political blunder, a document laying out the Republican Party of Texas’s election strategy for the 2020 elections has ended up in the hands of Texas Democrats. Attacking Democratic candidates through websites and mitigating “the polarizing nature” … Continue reading →

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Another District B update

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This whole situation is so unfortunate, and more than a little infuriating. The two candidates who qualified for a stalled runoff in Houston City Council’s District B joined hands in unity on the steps of City Hall Friday, condemning the … Continue reading →

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Legislative runoff elections set for January 28

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This came out to basically no fanfare on Friday: Just in: @GovAbbott sets Jan. 28 as date for special election runoffs in #HD28, #HD100 and #HD148 #txlege — Patrick Svitek (@PatrickSvitek) 5:30 PM – 16 November 2019 Here’s the announcement: … Continue reading →

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State Rep. Poncho Nevarez busted for cocaine possession

Posted on November 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a week, hasn’t it? I have three things to say about this. Authorities issued a warrant Thursday for the arrest of state Rep. Poncho Nevárez, an Eagle Pass Democrat, on felony drug possession charges. A state special investigator … Continue reading →

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Filing period preview: SBOE, Senate, House

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Previously: Congress, and Statewide. As before, I am using the Patrick Svitek spreadsheet as my primary reference. Buckle up, there’s a lot to talk about here. I’m going to limit my discussion of State House races to the greater Houston … Continue reading →

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So when will the HD148 runoff be?

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The TL;dr of this is “we may have two different runoff dates, one for the city of Houston and one for the special legislative elections”. If you’re confused, I understand. Let’s walk through it together. First, there’s this: Jumped ahead … Continue reading →

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Let this finally be the end of the Heidi Group’s grift

Posted on November 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

And you should all be thoroughly appalled at the waste, fraud, and abuse committed in the name of screwing Planned Parenthood. An anti-abortion group that came under fire for failing to provide services to thousands of Texas women must repay … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts on Election 2019

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

All bullet points, all the time… – Here’s my opening statement on the election returns debacle. We have more information about this now, but we still need more before we can go anywhere else with it. – All incumbents want … Continue reading →

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Final results are in

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are. Refer to my previous post for the initial recap, I’m going to be very minimalist. Let’s do this PowerPoint-style, it’s already been a long day: Mayor – Turner fell short of 50%, landing up a bit below … Continue reading →

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2019 election results: Houston and Metro

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunately, we have to start with this: Results of Tuesday’s election could take until 2 a.m. Wednesday after the Texas Secretary of State issued a new regulation that upended plans by the Harris County Clerk’s Office to speed vote counting. … Continue reading →

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2019 election results: State

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Nine out of ten Constitutional amendments are on their way to passing. Amendments to the state constitution that would make it harder to enact a state income tax, stabilize funding for state parks and allow retired law enforcement animals to … Continue reading →

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Expecting a runoff in HD28

Posted on November 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like the probable outcome. Six figures of outside money, warnings of socialism, Donald Trump and Nancy Pelosi — and it likely will not end Tuesday. Both sides in the critical special election to replace state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick’s budget destruction

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not what you think it is, but it’s still bad. Tucked away in a quiet corner of Texas state government, an arcane team of 100 or so budget nerds has led a private, if stressful, life — running financial … Continue reading →

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Every Speaker’s race is unique

Posted on November 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The one to come has a more uncertain outcome than the last few we’ve seen. The current party mix is 83 Republicans and 67 Democrats. Republicans hope to hold their advantage after the 2020 elections, while Democrats, encouraged by their … Continue reading →

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The next bathroom bill

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

You can see it coming from here. The Texas House LGBTQ Caucus is counting on Democrats flipping the Republican-held House to keep another possible ‘bathroom bill’ off the table during the 2021 legislative session. Texas Republicans last week rallied around … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over bill banning temporary voting locations

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Of interest. Worried about the suppression of young voters in 2020, national and Texas Democrats are suing the state over a newly implemented election measure that’s triggered the shuttering of early voting places, including on college campuses, in various parts … Continue reading →

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8 Day Finance Reports: Special legislative elections

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As I said yesterday, I’m not going to go through all of the city of Houston 8 day finance reports. I will however present the 8 day reports from the two area legislative special elections, as those races had such … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the HD28 special election

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As they did with HD148, the Chron does brief profiles of the candidates in the HD28 special election. I think we have a pretty good impression of Democrat Eliz Markowitz, who has consolidated support from the various establishment groups, so … Continue reading →

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Warren’s interest in boosting Texas Dems

Posted on October 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I heartily approve of this. As Elizabeth Warren climbs the polls — threatening Joe Biden’s lead in the Democratic primary — her campaign is turning its attention to Texas, a state she called home for a decade and a place … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of HD148

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

So many candidates, so little time to get to campaign. Voters in the reliably blue, Houston-area Texas House District 148 will have plenty of candidates to choose from to replace the recently retired Democratic incumbent. After longtime State Rep. Jessica … Continue reading →

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No charges against Bonnen

Posted on October 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen will not be criminally prosecuted for the things he said during a secretly recorded June meeting with a hardline conservative activist, the district attorney in his hometown announced Thursday. “As repugnant as Speaker … Continue reading →

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Still more Bonnen business

Posted on October 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how much longer we’re going to be obsessing over the Bonnen implosion, but we’re not done yet. Today’s topic is What It All Means for 2020. “The quarterback and coach have been taken off the field,” said … Continue reading →

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Bye bye, Bonnen

Posted on October 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Wow. First-term Texas House Speaker Dennis Bonnen on Tuesday announced he will not seek reelection to the lower chamber in 2020 — completing a stunning fall for the Angleton Republican who enjoyed near unanimous support in the House just months … Continue reading →

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The Chron on Boykins and Lovell

Posted on October 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Time for more profiles of Mayoral candidates. Here’s the Chron piece on Dwight Boykins. “My goal is to use this position as mayor to let people know that there is hope,” [CM Dwight Boykins] said. “I’m trying to help the … Continue reading →

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So now what with Bonnen?

Posted on October 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Democrats will wait and see. On Thursday night, as Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s political fate continued to hang in the balance, some of the most influential Democrats were in El Paso for a town hall and were split on … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Miscellania

Posted on October 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We cover three endorsements today: HD148 (I presume the Chron is not endorsing in HD28), HISD IV, and City Council District C. Endorsements for the constitutional amendments were in the print edition on Saturday, I’ll run them on Tuesday. That … Continue reading →

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More on the Constitutional amendments

Posted on October 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I found this while answering a question from a reader, and figured it was worth publicizing to a wider audience. Ten proposed constitutional amendments will be on the November ballot. The Texas League of Women Voters has compiled a nice … Continue reading →

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Interview with Carol Denson

Posted on October 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of things go into my interview schedules each cycle, as there’s only one of me and usually way more candidates than I could possibly have time for. The large field in the HD148 special election was a particular challenge, … Continue reading →

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So are there any legal consequences to the Bonnen tape?

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Probably not, but maybe a little. Does that help? It was, according to his critics, “hurtful,” “vindictive” and “unbefitting of the high office he holds.” But was House Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s June 12 meeting with conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan … Continue reading →

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How other states are handling the Census

Posted on October 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Better than we’re handling it. So cities and states with big immigrant populations — like California and New York City — are supplementing the Census Bureau’s efforts like never before, allocating money to outreach groups that can go to communities … Continue reading →

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The Bonnen tape is out

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a doozy. During a June conversation at the Texas Capitol, Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen urged hardline conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan to target members of their own party in the 2020 primaries and suggested he could get Sullivan’s … Continue reading →

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On the air in HD28

Posted on October 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The HD28 special may be the hottest race going right now. The first TV ads are set to air in the special election to replace state Rep. John Zerwas, R-Richmond, as Democrats rev up their homestretch push to flip the … Continue reading →

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