Tag Archives: Railroad Commission

A theory about third parties

Posted on November 15, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Before I get to that theory, have you ever wondered about the people who vote straight ticket Libertarian or Green in Harris County? I got to wondering about them, because that’s the sort of thing that I think about at … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A Libertarian moment

Posted on September 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron thinks outside the box in endorsing for the Railroad Commission. Our editorial board interviews scores of candidates for political office every election year, but seldom do we find ourselves wholeheartedly endorsing a nominee from the Libertarian Party. Then … Continue reading →

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It’s not crazy to think that a downballot Democrat could win statewide this year

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll get to that headline in a minute. I’ve got some reading to sort through first. We’ll start with the most pessimistic, or perhaps the least blue-sky, story of how things are likely to go. Arizona. Georgia. Utah. Indiana. Is … Continue reading →

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Want to know how close you live to a polluter?

Posted on July 31, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

There’s an app for that. More than two million Texans live within a half-mile of an oil and gas facility, putting them at risk of exposure to toxic fumes, according to a new app released Wednesday by national environmental groups. … Continue reading →

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Democratic primary runoff results

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County results Fort Bend County results Statewide results Trib liveblog Just for the record, we didn’t get any precinct results until 8:34, at which time only 8% of precincts had reported. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t because of overwhelming … Continue reading →

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Republican primary runoff results

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County results Statewide results Trib liveblog Your new State Senators are Bryan Hughes, who defeated his former House colleague David Simpson, and Dawn Buckingham, who defeated former Rep. Susan King. Hughes is a Dan Patrick buddy, who will fit … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Remember the runoffs

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes their endorsements for the primary runoffs, which will happen on May 24, with early voting from the 16th to the 20th. Let me sum up: Republican Member, Railroad Commissioner: Gary Gates Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place … Continue reading →

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Earthquake!

Posted on April 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a real risk in Dallas now. The Dallas-Fort Worth area has a 1 to 5 percent chance of experiencing an earthquake strong enough to damage buildings in the next year, the U.S. Geological Survey said Monday. That risk has … Continue reading →

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Runoff watch: Railroad Commissioner

Posted on March 21, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

So yeah, the Railroad Commissioner runoff is a bit of a mess, on both sides. I’m going to let the Trib summarize the problem. In his campaign for a seat on the Texas Railroad Commission, former state Rep. Wayne Christian … Continue reading →

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2016 primaries: State races

Posted on March 2, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s start with the Democratic race for Railroad Commissioner, and a few words from Forrest Wilder: The Gene Kelly Effect: Texas Democrats are almost perennially embarrassed by what you might call the Gene Kelly Effect — the depressing tendency of … Continue reading →

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The stars at night are slightly less bright

Posted on February 28, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

But we’re trying to fix that. Texas regulators are asking West Texas oil and gas producers to help preserve the region’s famously starry skies. In a notice issued Wednesday, the Texas Railroad Commission called on Permian Basin operators to curb … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: RRC

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses former State Rep. Lon Burnam in the Democratic primary for Railroad Commissioner. Our recommendation for the Democratic primary is former state Rep. Lon Burnam. Burnam, who served in the House for 18 years, including time spent on … Continue reading →

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2016 Election page is up

Posted on December 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. A few notes: – This is for races that will appear on the Harris County ballot only. Our ballot is big enough, with enough contested primary races, that I didn’t have the time or the energy to … Continue reading →

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Filing deadline highlights

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I’m taking a look at interesting bits from the state and Harris County Democratic Party filings. You can see the latter here; there isn’t a page dedicated to this on the TDP webpage (why?) but via this press release we … Continue reading →

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David Porter not running for re-election to RRC

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another open seat. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter will not be running for re-election after all. Thursday’s surprise announcement from Porter, who was first elected in 2010, unleashed a flood of interest from Republicans pondering bids for his seat. … Continue reading →

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Steve Brown to run in HD27

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to shake things up a bit. The bad week for state Rep. Ron Reynolds is getting worse. Steve Brown, the former chairman of the Fort Bend County Democrats, wrote on Twitter Wednesday that he will challenge Reynolds in … Continue reading →

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Somewhat watered down fracking bill advances in House

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

By “fracking bill”, I mean a bill to limit how cities can regulate fracking, because that’s how things are these days. In a 10-1 vote, the House Committee on Energy Resources approved an updated version of House Bill 40, among … Continue reading →

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On playing small ball

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Campos reacts to Mayor Parker’s future statewide plans. And here again is my small ball take from a few weeks ago: It is time for small ball instead of the big inning. In baseball, small ball is a strategy where … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker keeps looking forward

Posted on January 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Always in motion is the future, at least for Mayor Parker. Mayor Annise Parker left open the idea on Sunday that she would endorse one of the dozen candidates positioning to possibly succeed her, though she said she hoped to … Continue reading →

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A Denton fracking overview

Posted on December 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Trib has a long piece on the Denton fracking fight, also published in Politico to help non-Texans understand what this was about. It’s a good read that goes over all the main points if you need a refresher on … Continue reading →

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Other towns consider fracking bans

Posted on December 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

If Denton can do it… A Texas hamlet shaken by its first recorded earthquake last year and hundreds since then is among communities now taking steps to challenge the oil and gas industry’s traditional supremacy over the right to frack. … Continue reading →

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More on the initial bill filings

Posted on November 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib, a sampling: As of Monday afternoon, a bill repealing the Texas Dream Act, which allows undocumented immigrant students to pay in-state college tuition rates, had yet to emerge. Lt. Gov.-elect Dan Patrick promised while campaigning that he would work … Continue reading →

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Interview index

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

For your convenience, here is a list of all my interviews and judicial Q&As for the November election. This includes ones I did for the primary and runoff. Interviews US Senate – David Alameel Attorney General – Sam Houston Comptroller … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Probate courts

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes its endorsements for Probate Courts, and as they have done recently stayed mostly with incumbents while having nice things to say about the challengers. The one Democrat they recommended out of the four races was as follows: … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: One for Steve Brown

Posted on September 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Express News makes a nice call. In this year’s contest, Democrat Steve Brown is the best candidate. A former party chairman of Fort Bend County, Brown has not worked in the oil-and-gas industry and can bring a much-needed outsider’s … Continue reading →

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More on the Denton fracking referendum

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I think everyone agrees the Denton anti-fracking referendum will wind up in court if it passes. It’s just a question of how wired the courts will be for the plaintiffs. Voters will decide whether the city will become the state’s … Continue reading →

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Who watches the fox while he guards the henhouse?

Posted on July 24, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The Railroad Commission needs an ethics upgrade. The race for Texas railroad commissioner has revived — at least in the short term — debate around a series of thwarted legislative proposals to overhaul the state’s curiously named oil and gas … Continue reading →

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Fracking ban on the ballot in Denton

Posted on July 17, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

This has the potential to be even bigger than the HERO repeal referendum. Voters will decide whether this North Texas college town will become the state’s first city to ban hydraulic fracturing. After a public hearing Tuesday night that stretched … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker discusses her possible political future again

Posted on July 1, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

After making a rousing speech at the TDP convention, Mayor Annise Parker talked about some possible paths she could take for a future statewide campaign. Parker said she would be interested in running for any number of statewide positions when … Continue reading →

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Convention coverage

Posted on June 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Wendy and Leticia and a whole host of others rally the crowd in Dallas. Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte shared the spotlight at the Texas Democratic Party convention on Friday night, promising to change the direction of the … Continue reading →

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Probably the last thing I’ll write about Jim Hogan

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

At least, I hope it’s the last thing, because there ain’t much to say. Texas Democrats are not holding their breaths for a win for the office held by Republicans since Perry ousted Jim Hightower in 1992. Democratic consultant Jason … Continue reading →

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Primary runoff results

Posted on May 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

So long, Dave. Riding a wave of conservative sentiment that Texas Republicans were not being led with a hard enough edge, state Sen. Dan Patrick crushed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst in Tuesday’s Republican primary runoff election for lieutenant governor, ending … Continue reading →

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Who’s afraid of the Republican slate?

Posted on April 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I was reading this story about a kerfuffle in the Republican runoff for Railroad Commissioner when a thought struck me. A Republican candidate seeking a post that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry said he won’t cut ties to … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Democratic primary elections

Posted on March 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

I finally got around to asking for the canvass reports for the primaries in Harris County. I didn’t have any specific agenda in looking at the data from each, I just wanted to see what I could learn. Let’s start … Continue reading →

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