Tag Archives: Constable

Fall interview season begins tomorrow

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I know that we just finished the primary runoffs, but we’re also now more than halfway through August, so it’s time to start doing interviews with candidates for the fall. I’ll be up candid, I don’t know exactly how many … Continue reading →

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Guinn seeks recount

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t say I blame him. Democratic Precinct 2 constable candidate Zerick Guinn has requested a recount in his primary runoff against Chris Diaz, who won by 16 votes after incorrect election results posted online showed Guinn with a commanding lead … Continue reading →

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Diaz has larger lead in Constable Precinct 2 race

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Sixteen votes. Hey, it counts. After provisional ballots were tallied Tuesday, [Chris] Diaz’s tally stands at 2,078, while [Zerick] Guinn’s is at 2,062, said Jill Moffitt, Democratic judge of the central count. “I’m glad that they’ve finally come up with … Continue reading →

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Now you see those votes, now you don’t

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tuesday was not a good day for the County Clerk. Zerick Guinn went to bed late Tuesday, believing he had won the Democratic nomination for Precinct 2 constable by a comfortable margin. By morning, he had lost the race by … Continue reading →

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2012 Democratic primary runoffs

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

All state results here. Best news of the night was Paul Sadler‘s easy win. Can we please raise some money for this guy? Congressional results: James Cargas in CD07, Pete Gallego in CD23, Rose Meza Harrison in CD27, Marc Veasey … Continue reading →

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Election night returns

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For your convenience: Statewide Democratic results Looks good for Paul Sadler. Going to be a long night in CDs 23 and 33. Statewide Republican results Ted Cruz has a modest early lead. Wackjob John Devine is leading Supreme Court Justice … Continue reading →

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Precinct 1 Constable runoff overview

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview of the Democratic runoff for Constable in Precinct 1 between Alan Rosen and Cindy Vara-Leija. Rosen is an investor and a reserve major with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, who has been a certified peace officer … Continue reading →

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July campaign finance reports for Harris County candidates

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill by now. Office Candidate Raised Spent Cash Loans ============================================================ Sheriff A Garcia 47,025 41,900 357,818 0 Sheriff L Guthrie 70,176 75,646 33,075 157,000 Sheriff C Pittman 11,309 11,566 5,217 24,000 DA M Anderson 73,888 60,980 33,371 … Continue reading →

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Precinct 2 Constable runoff overview

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron does an overview on one of the two Democratic Constable runoffs. The Democratic runoff for Harris County Precinct 2 constable asks voters to decide which type of experience they value more: law enforcement chops or time as a … Continue reading →

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Cindy Vara-Leija: Political Activism, Great-Grandma Style

Posted on July 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. In the late 1950’s and early 1960’s, a mother of six would take her youngest children along as she set up … Continue reading →

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Alan Rosen: A Call To Protect Our Children

Posted on June 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. Every day, the internet opens up new doors for communication, commerce, and the betterment of all our lives. But, with great … Continue reading →

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Democratic results, Harris County

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The good: – Lane Lewis won a full term as HCDP Chair by a 55-45 margin. If you heard a whizzing noise this evening, it was the bullet we all dodged in this race. – Sheriff Adrian Garcia easily won … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: One more down, still many more to do

Posted on May 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

After a three-day hiatus, the Chron gets back on the endorsement track by recommending Cindy Vara-Leija for Constable in Precinct 1. We believe Cindy Vara-Leija, who retired last October from a 32-year career in law enforcement, is the strongest candidate … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The list so far

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron printed their list of primary endorsements so far yesterday. It’s more impressive for what they haven’t done yet as early voting starts. After a couple of years of getting most of their business done before actual voters started … Continue reading →

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County Attorney report on Constables

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

County Attorney Vince Ryan has completed a report his office began in December to examine some of the practices in the Constables’ offices. At that time, the FBI was investigating and was on the verge of arresting now-former Constable Jack … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Three’s company

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not uncommon to see dual endorsements in multi-candidate races. Even the Chron did one for the 2009 Mayor’s race. But this is the first time I can ever recall seeing a three-way endorsement. The creation of District 36 has … 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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30 day financial reports, Harris County offices

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Candidates for county offices who are in contested primaries are also required to submit 30 day campaign finance reports. I’ve been going through the County Clerk’s campaign finance reports page to collect what’s there; ones for Democratic races are on … Continue reading →

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Constables and eviction notices

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is just wrong. With the help of their taxpayer-funded offices, five Harris County constables have been using a little-known eviction fee to add thousands of dollars a year to their base $120,000 annual salaries. State law allows a constable … 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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Interview with Alan Rosen

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Concluding my series of Precinct 1 Constable candidate interviews is Alan Rosen. Rosen has worked in law enforcement for 21 years and is currently a Major and Commander of the Special Operation Bureau for the Harris County Sheriff’s Office. Here’s … Continue reading →

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Interview with Quincy Whitaker

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing on with the Constable interviews in Precinct 1, today I present Quincy Whitaker. Whitaker is a native of Nacogdoches who has lived in Houston for 21 years, after being discharged from the army where he was a military policeman. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Cindy Vara-Leija

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Next up for Precinct 1 Constable is Cindy Vara-Leija. She is the only one of the four candidates to have worked as a Constable deputy, spending 35 years in the Precinct 1 office before retiring last year. She started out … Continue reading →

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Interview with Grady Castleberry

Posted on February 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This week I will be covering Constable candidates. I am limiting myself to Constable Precinct 1, partly because that’s my Constable precinct and I need to figure out who I’m going to vote for, and partly because there are just … Continue reading →

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Non-filers in Harris County races

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As of today, the following candidates for county offices in Harris County have not filed campaign finance reports with the County Clerk: Candidates for Sheriff Charles Massey El (D) Guy Clark (R, formerly D) Daniel Lemkuil (R) Candidates for HCDE … Continue reading →

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January finance reports: Harris County

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

January is a very busy month for campaign finance reports, since they are due for all levels of government. I’ve been busy updating the 2012 Primary Election pages for Harris County and elsewhere in Texas with reports as I can … Continue reading →

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New Constable Berry sworn in

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Interim Precinct 1 Constable Ken Berry wasn’t supposed to be sworn in until January 31, but recent events forced Commissioners Court to move up the timetable. Harris County Commissioners Court on Friday held an emergency meeting to replace Precinct 1 … Continue reading →

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Abercia arrested

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this explains a lot. Longtime Harris County Precinct One Constable Jack Abercia and two of his staffers were arrested Thursday morning on suspicion of violating several federal laws, including conspiring to accept bribes and using the county office for … Continue reading →

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Abercia resigns, replacement named

Posted on January 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, longtime Precinct 1 Constable Jack Abercia announced that he would not be running for re-election. On Monday, he announced that he would resign, effective January 31. On Tuesday, Commissioners Court named a replacement for him to fill … Continue reading →

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2012 Democratic primary overview – Harris County

Posted on January 9, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So with the start of the new year, we turn our attention to the primary elections, whenever they may turn out to be. I’ve added a new page to the site, for 2012 contested Democratic primaries in Harris County. It … Continue reading →

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Constable Abercia to step down

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I wish him well. Longtime Harris County Constable Jack Abercia, citing health concerns, said Wednesday he will not seek re-election next year. Abercia, 78, has served as Precinct 1 Constable since 1991, when he was appointed to fill the unexpired … Continue reading →

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Investigations all around

Posted on December 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a second grand jury looking into Harris County DA Pat Lykos. Sources close to the investigation said a special prosecutor was appointed last week to look into claims by Shirley Cornelius, a 27-year-veteran of the office, that she was … Continue reading →

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The filings keep coming

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Prior to the SCOTUS stay, yesterday was the filing deadline for the 2012 primaries. That has now been pushed back to Monday, with the likelihood of another window after we get some kind of ruling about what the maps will … Continue reading →

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Cancelling constables

Posted on April 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Like Grits, I see this as an opportunity, not a loss. Budget cuts have led two Harris County constables to cancel their security contracts with several area school districts, leaving the districts scrambling for a fix to cover the end … Continue reading →

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