Democ-RAT Texas State Representative Ron Reynolds, the disgrace of Sienna Plantation and Missouri City, is in hot water again. He faces disciplinary action by a committee of the State Bar of Texas relating to his solicitation of clients in violation of six Texas Disciplinary Rules of Professional Conduct. Additionally, Reynolds faces a charge of breach of fiduciary duty for failure to segregate client funds from his personal monies (sound like former Democ-RAT Governor Jon Corzine & MF Global?).
Archives for March 2014
Paul Simpson at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club
It was a nice break but all good things must come to an end. And what better way to get back into the groove than at a Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club weekly meeting? Especially one featuring the new Chair-elect of the Harris County Republican Party, Paul Simpson?
Even with Spring Break in full swing, there was an almost full house to hear Paul’s plans for the party. The title of his presentation was Restore and Rebuild – I won’t get into detail about it because he will be presenting it to the Senatorial convention on Saturday. He reiterated some of his campaign themes about the deterioration of the party in Harris County, emphasized how large and important Harris County is for Republicans in Texas and nationally, discussed his plans to bring high-dollar donors to the party, and briefly outlined his transition focus as follows:
- Financial – shouldn’t need money from activists or candidates
- Facilities – current headquarters is not convenient and is old, need to find a new location, continue to look for satellite offices
- Technology – stressed the need to be on par with the Democratic Party in this area
- Staffing / appointments – the Chair has between 30 and 40 appointments, he wants to be transparent and let anyone apply for the appointments, hopefully via an online application
A couple of things stood out. First is that former City of Houston Controller candidate Bill Frazer is heading the financial transition. That is very good news and Bill should be able to build enough confidence in the party so that the high-dollar donors will come on board. It should also allow Bill to gain the confidence of Republican voters should he choose to run again. A disappointment was that Phil Owens is not in line to be on the professional staff – heck, I’ve campaigned for about four years now for him to be the executive director but I suppose Phil is finally going to get his just dues in the private consulting business. Good for him and as long as he remains available to help with strategy, good for the party.
Like I said, I’m not going to comment much on the actual presentation but I did extract three questions that I thought would give you a flavor of what is to come from a Simpson administration.
First, a question from me about the Party’s traditional Joint Judicial Campaign:
Second, a question from a college student about outreach to traditional Democratic strongholds:
Last, a question about the infamous Vacancy Committee:
I think that if you take a few minutes to listen to those three questions, you’ll get a good feel for the meeting and the direction the party is headed. Other than that, it was good to be at my favorite club. You might notice that Club President Sophia Mafrige is not in the picture – she is recovering from surgery. We missed you Sophia! And we wish you a speedy recovery.
Chris Carmona's Campaign Kick-Off
By Vladimir Davidiuk
A campaign to retake Texas House District 148 began Wednesday, March 12, in a quiet, unassuming restaurant on Houston’s north side. With the huge sign out front announcing the campaign kick-off reception, Chris Carmona’s effort to wrest the district from decades of neglect was formally launched. The largest private event room at Fiesta Guadalajara filled quickly with enthusiastic supporters as Carmona began the undertaking of a mission to bring people power back to the legislative table.
Fresh off a primary race win, Harris County Treasurer, Orlando Sanchez, gave the crowd a heartfelt, humorous, rousing introduction of Chris. Sanchez didn’t do the normal, “I’m Republican, he’s Republican, so let’s go vote!” spiel you normally find at these gatherings. Instead, this was a specific, detailed and issue-driven endorsement of a candidate. Not only does Sanchez thoroughly understand the campaign issues he addressed when introducing Carmona – especially with relation to House District 148; he knows that Chris Carmona is exactly the leader the district needs.
Now, I have known Chris for a while. We have worked together with both the Houston Young Republicans and the Harris County Republican Outreach Committee while Chris was chairman. But, when he took the microphone to a standing ovation, the Chris Carmona I saw on Wednesday night was not one I’d ever seen. I’ve been to lots of campaign events, whether they were forums or rallies, meet and greets or press conferences. But the Chris I heard speak on Wednesday night was different. This was no typical, run-of-the-mill Republican red meat speech; this was a passionate embrace of a compelling cause:
“With this campaign, it is not enough to just say our goal is to win, but we have to be worthy of winning. As the late Jack Kemp used to state, our party has always been the party of optimism, always been the party of the future. The purpose of a truly great party is to provide superior ideas, principled leadership and a compelling cause.”
Chris addressed issues such as parental choice in education, opportunity scholarships, economic opportunity districts, empowering communities, and fighting for women victims to have greater access to justice. The issues Carmona is running on are specific, detailed, and very timely, and anyone in the room could see and hear that Chris feels deeply and passionately about the issues driving his campaign. These issues are at the forefront of the minds of the constituency he could soon represent, and vague platitudes like the ones they’ve gotten for the last twenty years just won’t cut it.
Talking with people around the room before and after the speech, I noticed that the crowd was extraordinarily diverse: young, old, black, white, Hispanic. Some made the drive from Montgomery County, and even as far as Dallas. While the campaign kick-off event was supposed to last about an hour and a half, as people stayed and visited with one another, it ended up lasting over three hours, with people seemingly reluctant to leave, and many holding or wearing a “Carmona for 148” t-shirt.
In Chris Carmona, the voters in House District 148 finally have an excellent opportunity to have a voice in Austin. Republicans who seek to grow the party by embracing youth and diversity have an ideal, passionate and motivated candidate in Chris. Those who seek soldiers for the front line against Battleground Texas can find a compelling cause in the candidacy of Chris Carmona.
He has my full support. He deserves yours, as well.
Vladimir Davidiuk is a local Republican political activist, writer, blogger extraordinaire and sometime campaign operative, and currently a member of the Houston Young Republicans.
South Belt Area Republicans Judicial Forum
As I noted earlier, the South Belt Area Republicans held a forum for three of the judicial races that went to a runoff after the primary election. Being a relatively new club, I wasn’t sure what to expect but was impressed with the turnout and professionalism of the club. Plus, they had free food!
Cllub Vice President Angelina Gooden was the MC for the forum and board member Chris McDonald was the timekeeper. Each candidate for the two family courts was given three minutes for an opening statement, then three questions were asked with a response from each candidate, and finally a 30 second closing statement. In the criminal court race, a fourth question was added.
247th Family Court
This race features front runner John Schmude vs the associate judge of the court, Judge M. L. Walker.
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For more on the candidates, visit their websites:
311th Family Court
This race features incumbent and primary election vote leader Judge Denise Pratt vs Alicia Franklin.
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For more on the candidates, visit their websites:
Harris County Criminal Court 10
This race features frontrunner Dan Spjut vs Tonya McLaughlin.
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For more on the candidates, visit their websites:
Commentary
Obviously the “hot” race here is the 311th because of Judge Denise Pratt’s very poor rating from the Houston bar and the volume of complaints coming from attorneys practicing in her court and from families that have been affected by her rulings. If you went into this forum “blind”, i.e., not knowing anything about Judge Pratt’s problems, it is likely that you came away with a good impression of her. Her opponent, Alicia Franklin, needs to remember that this is a political contest and needs to sharply contrast her abilities with Judge Pratt’s, as well as pointing out the shortcomings of Judge Pratt. One of the problems that any candidate has is remembering that the public doesn’t know what you know and you must inform them.
In the 247th, John Schmude is a very good candidate – he understands that he cannot compete with Judge Walker in the areas of overall experience or judicial qualifications, so he focuses on the things that appeal to voters. He is a family man, she is single without children. He was denied adoption because he listed his faith on a form. He thinks it is unconstitutional for a judge to require that a mother or father complete a parenting class before they can visit their children. Judge Walker needs to stress her experience more and focus on her expertise of the law.
As for CC10, this was one of the races that I had to decide on without interviewing the candidates on the ballot. After talking to different people, looking at the slate cards, and watching all of the candidates at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club, I voted for McLaughlin. At this particular forum, she was very confident and projected that well. Dan Spjut needs to hone his speaking skills but he has a very interesting background and story to tell. A former undercover cop isn’t going to be fooled easily by a defendant in front of his bench. I am going to be able to interview both of them for the runoff so that we’ll have a better idea of their candidacies.
It was good to see a full house for this forum, including Cypress Texas Tea Party founder David Wilson – that’s quite a drive for him but underscores how committed he is to informing his members. The more we inform ourselves, the more we can inform and influence others. I think that if you take the time to watch each of the videos above, you’ll have a much better understanding of the candidates than 90{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of primary voters have.
South Belt Area Republicans Judicial Runoff Forum tonight
And the beat goes on. The South Belt Area Republicans will be hosting a judicial candidates forum tonight for the runoff election.
Location: HEP Bookstore, 11665 Fuqua, Suite A100, Houston, Texas 77034 (map)
Time: Social, 6:30 pm, Meeting, 7:00 pm
Confirmed candidates:
247th Family Court – John Schmude and Judge M. L. Walker
311th Family Court – Judge Denise Pratt and Alicia Franklin
County Criminal Court 10 – Dan Spjut and Tonya McLaughlin
One word of caution for those that are thinking of attending solely to harass Judge Denise Pratt. I went to a Cypress Texas Tea Party meeting Saturday and we did discuss Judge Pratt’s placement in the runoff. After the meeting, a middle-aged couple approached me and wanted to talk about her. They told me that she had been at one of their forums and that there were several people that insisted on interrupting her throughout her speaking time. They told me that one lady in particular stood at the door and yelled “Liar” continually. Because of the behavior of these people, this couple voted FOR Judge Pratt. You have to be careful how you approach negative campaigning because it often backfires and has the opposite effect, as in this case. People generally do not like boorish behavior.
This will be the first meeting of South Belt that I’ve been able to attend and I’m looking forward to it. Hope to see you there!
American Petroleum Institute 3 gun competition
On Monday, I participated in the 13th Annual American Petroleum Institute (API) three-gun competition at the American Shooting Center. My friends from Continental Production Services invited me to join their team – thank you Craig Corbell and Grant Richardson. This was my first three-gun competition and, I must admit, I was nervous. While my team of five shooters had a variety of experience with firearms, everyone was new to three-gun.
My nervousness was due to expectations of my ability and those that I was shooting with. Our team of five had the gambit of very experienced to novice shooters. I don’t think anyone had shot a 3 gun competition event before so we were all new. Three gun competition involves the use of three different types of firearms: pistol, rifle, and shotgun. The contestant scores points by shooting targets. You shoot both paper and steel targets with pistol and rifle, some with a hostage scenario. A shooter loses points for striking a hostage. The shotgun portion includes stationery clay targets, a moving star target, and various other heavy stationery targets designed to fall when struck. The pistol and rifle paper targets require you to shoot them twice also known as a double tap. The steel targets are just a single shot. The steel targets are typically smaller or at greater distances. The rifle targets were similar but at a greater distance although nothing is over 52 yards. The shotgun targets are very simple with all being stationery except for the shooting star, as it is called. You shoot the top target first and work your way down creating little movement. Shooting a side target first causes greater movement.
Click here to view PDF of stations in the competition
I am a shotgun shooter born and bred and my grandfather owned and operated the Houston Trap and Skeet Range. He also built and operated the Greater Houston Gun Club, which is still in operation today. I was raised on a gun club and was involved in the shooting community at an early age.
The Texas Gulf Coast has produced some of the finest shooters in the world. Glenn Eller, a member of the USA Shooting Team, is from the Houston area, and a US Olympic gold medalist in Beijing. His longtime coach is Dan Carlisle, a local prodigy and another Olympic medalist I have great memories of Clarence Stansberry, Ed Doolan, Eric Hilton, Bob Brister, and many others who shot regularly, if not daily, at my grandfather’s place – great shots all. Bill Poole served as the general manager of the Houston Trap and Skeet range and is now the managing director of the NRA’s educational and training division.
While the event was a fun executive shoot rather than a true, sanctioned three-gun competition, I still wanted to abide by the rules. Last year, I won a Kel-Tec KSG at an NRA fundraiser and I really wanted to use this gun during the competition; but, with a fifteen round capacity, it was not really appropriate.
In this competition, I used an AR-15/223 that was custom built by James Hillin at Full Armor Firearms. I liked it so much that James is currently building a left-handed version for me – yes, I am a lefty.
I also shot a Beretta 1301 Competition shotgun, which is a great shotgun for three-gun. The Berretta sights are similar to those I am used to shooting skeet, trap, and sporting clays. My shotgun thinking has always been more along the lines of the Perazzi and Krieghoff. This made me skeptical of tactical shotguns and shooters. It is a different type of shooting altogether and I now have a different perspective on both guns and shooters.
The pistol I used during the competition was a Glock 34. Unfortunately, I am just not a Glock guy (mostly because of their triggers). Firearms are very individualistic and mastery comes after lots of practice. While I fired a few hundred rounds through the Glock pre-competition, I was never quite comfortable with the gun. I have always been a 1911 guy but I do love the new Sig Sauer X-Five. My friend, Grant, shot the X-Five and killed it on the pistol course. Three-gun pistol shooting is all about muzzle rise on the second shot. The pistol paper targets require a double tap or two shots. The X-Five is great because it is designed to not rise after the first shot so it is more akin to shooting a .22.
If you remember Monday’s weather, it was sunny and cold. The temperature was around 36 degrees for most of the event. The ground was covered in mud from the previous day’s rain. Nonetheless, I had a lot of fun. The shooting community is full of a great group of conservatives who share my belief in the right to bear arms. Shooting is always a great way to relieve stress, get outside, and get some exercise. I know there are a lot of three-gun shooters out there and feel free to post comments. I am no expert here and happy to learn from others.
You can find me most Saturdays shooting at the American Shooting Center with Dwight, Robert, Pete, other Robert, Chris and a few more down on six or seven. I promise that I will train harder for the next event because I was truly humbled by all the great shooters. Shooting is always a great way to relieve stress, get outside, and move your body. I cannot thank the American Shooting Center employees who worked really hard to make this a great event in very inclement weather enough. I would also like to thank the American Petroleum Institute for putting on the event. And, yes I won a Glock 19 as a door prize for participating! Next weekend, pick up a gun or get adventurous. Get outside of your comfort zone and try something different and have fun!