Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Downtown Pachyderms host 4 candidates

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Doug Smith, Sophia Mafrige, Tom Zakes, Mark Ramsey, Brett Guillory, Dan McKaughan, James White, Dale Gibble

The Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club hosted four Republican Party Primary candidates at their weekly meeting January 20, 2022. The four candidates were: James White for Texas Agriculture Commissioner; Dan McKaughan for TX CD-8; Mark Ramsey and Brett Guillory for TX CD-38.

James White

James White concentrated his remarks on the ethics (or lack thereof) of incumbent Sid Miller. He repeatedly referred to Sid Miller’s campaign consultant Todd Smith, who was recently indicted by the Democratic District Attorney of Travis County. Used to be that Republicans would dismiss political indictments out of Travis County but a campaign is a campaign I guess.

White also mentioned a few things that he thinks are relevant to the office, such as border security, economic security and food security. I sort of understand how those issues are tangentially related to the office but I wish that he had talked more about the issues that the office directly affects. White’s website has no policy issue section.

I think that James White is a great candidate and he would be a very good commissioner. I also think that it is unfortunate that he is basing his campaign upon negative personal attacks on Sid Miller. There are a number of things that White could focus on regarding Miller’s performance. And he did mention some in passing, namely Miller’s huge budget request and then subsequent steep increases in fees to farmers and ranchers, but mostly focused on Miller’s ties to Smith. When I asked him if he had any direct evidence that Miller was corrupt, he couldn’t provide any.

James White is the Houston Chronicle’s choice for this position.

Dan McKaughan

Dan McKaughan is running for the district that Kevin Brady used to represent. I was impressed by his passion for conservative issues, particularly in the question/answer portion of the meeting.

I’m pretty sure but not certain that he said that he wasn’t using a campaign manager but I didn’t write it down. Whether he did or didn’t, whomever wrote his bio on his website is one heck of a writer. I urge you to go and read the whole thing if you want to be inspired and pumped up like I am after reading it. Here’s a snippet:

But while these East Texas values—these truly AMERICAN values—these basic fundamentals of a moral people—are still alive here and in most parts of this Union, they seem to be daily under attack by forces that want to see them destroyed and purged from the country.  These forces are not content to live and let live, not content to let Americans be Americans.

And a complicit government only aids their cause.

Brett Guillory

Brett Guillory is running in the new district that was drawn for establishment choice Wesley Hunt. Brett is a teacher who stressed that he is not running for a job (unlike Wesley Hunt) but is passionate about serving the people of the district. His teacher background show up on his issues page, where he has this interesting bullet point:

Critical Race Theory (CRT) is infecting our education system at every level. The indoctrination of our youth with this radical, Marxist agenda must be stopped. I will work to ban this ideology from our schools. 

During his remarks he said that he would do away with the Department of Education if he could. That’s certainly a good position from my point of view.

Mark Ramsey

Mark Ramsey is also running in the new district that was drawn for Wesley Hunt. Or, as Mark called him, Washington Wesley. Mark is familiar to anyone that has been involved in the Republican Party in Harris County and the Republican Party of Texas. He has represented Senate District 7 as the SREC rep, he chaired the platform committee for the RPT and he created and chaired the legislative priorities committee for the RPT. He also was a representative in the electoral college and cast his vote for Donald Trump. In other words, he is the antithesis of Washington Wesley.

Mark’s issues are standard fare for any solid conservative Republican. His issues page is boilerplate bullet points on those issues. Where Mark stands out from any of the candidates on the ballot is on what he called his references page. If you take a look at that page you’ll see a long list of precinct chairs that are supporting him. These leaders are the backbone of the Republican Party and know the work that Mark has done and how solid of a candidate he is.

Mark stressed that there are three things that voters need to consider when hiring someone to be their representative.

  1. Experience
  2. References
  3. Integrity

Without question, Mark has the most experience of the candidates in Republican Party politics. Without question, his “references” are the backbone of the Republican Party. I’ve known Mark for many years now and I’ve never heard a single person question Mark’s integrity.

If I were a voter in CD-38, I’d vote for Mark Ramsey in a heartbeat. I damn sure wouldn’t vote for Washington Wesley.

It feels good to get out and be with other Republican activists and leaders. It’d be great to meet you if you have an opportunity to attend a meeting of the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club.

You Bastards

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A farewell message for the zealots who are destroying our cities, and the shortsighted, sanctimonious voters who keep them in power, making the departure from D.C. a necessity rather than a choice.

By Elihu Grant

December 27, 2021

My status as a second-class citizen was brought home to me on a beautiful May afternoon, while working on my laptop at a local coffee shop. With that discovery came the recognition that I would have to move out of the city I had called home for nearly two decades. 

Eighteen years ago, I arrived in Washington, D.C. as a Republican political appointee, and fell in love with the capital’s cultural and historic attractions—often playing tour guide over the years for visiting friends and relatives. I moved out this summer in disgust, dismay, and anger. 

The café near my condo where I liked to sit outside on nice days lost in charm what it gained in trash and rodents when several derelicts installed themselves as a permanent feature of the adjacent sidewalk last year. The squatters become the de facto owners of that public space—a phenomenon that now extends throughout most of the city. 

My epiphany came this spring when I looked up from my Macbook and Americano to find a homeless man, sucking a bottle of cheap brandy and blaring music at top volume from his Bluetooth speaker, obviously delighted that he was disturbing the café customers and knowing that no one—least of all the enlightened coffee shop owners—would confront him. 

As I was deciding whether to leave, another homeless person farther away, a large and obviously mentally ill woman, took off her pants and began to wipe down her private parts with a newspaper, just steps from the curb with cars and buses rushing by. The police arrived shortly thereafter, conferred with the woman performing her toilette al fresco, and then departed after doing precisely nothing. Well, most likely they filled out some forms and filed some reports, which is what passes nowadays for doing something.

Washington, D.C. was not then, nor it is now, a completely lawless town. If I had invited some friends to enjoy a bottle of wine with me while sprawled on the sidewalk, the police would surely have threatened us with a ticket, at least, if we didn’t shut down our party. The cops know perfectly well that confronting middle-class white people won’t result in getting screamed at, spit on, or stabbed. So they are happy to pluck low-hanging fruit by enforcing the law against compliant people with jobs. The net effect is that the overlapping network of drug-addicts, schizophrenics and psychotics, petty criminals, and street people enjoy rights and privileges that are rigorously denied to the rest of us.

​​Laziness is not the only factor at work here. The radical leftists who run most of America’s cities want folks like me to get out, so they can populate their fiefdoms entirely with their two preferred types of citizens (or rather, clients): the uncivilized underclass, and an overcivilized cohort of submissive woke hipsters who provide reliable votes for the most left-wing candidates. Both types are willing to put up with filth and disorder in exchange for the particular benefits the ruling class confers on them. 

In the first case, Washington, D.C., like other leftist enclaves, subsidizes the underclass with generous social services (including jail) along with broad immunity for indolence, violence, petty larceny, and scams. The other category, the ostentatiously obedient weaklings, get the psychic thrill of living in fashionably rundown neighborhoods, while slavishly following every new diktat—from recycling and paper straws to vaccine boosters and mask mandates. 

This robotic obedience makes them feel morally superior, believe it or not. Other law-abiding taxpayers, despite their contributions to feeding the city’s rapacious appetite for revenue, are not welcome if they display any political independence, or impatience with street crime, aggressive panhandling, and dilapidated infrastructure.

In response to my decision to move to a deep-red town about 90 minutes outside the city, many on the Right would urge me to bid good riddance to bad rubbish. And, yes, for most part I’m happy with my decision. Yet there is one massive fact that should not be overlooked: Washington, D.C.—including its monuments, museums, parks, and public architecture—belongs to us, the American people. It’s wrong, and it makes me angry, that while I loved being a local resident and amateur expert on the city’s many attractions, I could no longer tolerate living there. 

The great sorting now under way, with Republicans fleeing the blue coasts and major metropolises, doesn’t just mean giving up easy access to boutique shopping and fine dining. It also means relinquishing some of our nation’s great cultural institutions (many of which were bequeathed to the American people by philanthropists such as the Mellons, Carnegies, and Rockefellers). Allowing these landmarks to fall into the hands of people who despise America’s heritage is a crime that should not pass unremarked. 

From the New York Metropolitan curator who wants to “destabilize” the Western canon to the San Francisco museum official who was forced to resign after saying his organization would “definitely still continue to collect white artists,” America’s cultural institutions are almost uniformly controlled by fanatics pushing a political agenda.

Of course, D.C. still hosts Shakespearean theater and classical music, and the Smithsonian complex features world-class exhibitions of traditional paintings and sculptures. But more and more America’s major libraries, concert halls, and museums have fallen to what Roger Kimball calls “timid ideological subservience” that celebrates the “aggressively repellent.” Nor is this relentless politicization limited to private institutions. The National Archives has added a trigger warning to the Declaration of Independence. With no local pushback, this will only get worse. 

I’m not sure what can be done at this point. Many conservative Republicans would not live in New York City even if you gave them the penthouse at Trump Tower. But for the zealots who are destroying our cities, and the short-sighted, sanctimonious voters who keep them in power—for those who made my departure from D.C. a necessity rather than a choice—I do have a farewell message: You bastards. 

This post appeared first on American Greatness.

Want Conservatives on the Cy-Fair ISD School Board? Vote Blasingame, Henry, and Scanlon

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mark mccaig
Mark McCaig

By Mark McCaig

The national debates over mask mandates, Critical Race Theory, and other issues involving public education have caused many conservatives to start asking questions about their local school boards. This is a welcome development, as most school board elections have historically received very little attention outside of those most actively engaged in politics or those with a particular interest in the public education system.

In Cy-Fair ISD, where I reside, a record number of challengers have filed to run against the three longtime incumbents seeking re-election. As these positions in Cy-Fair ISD are elected on a plurality basis, meaning that there is not a runoff and the top vote getter for each position wins, conservatives seeking to make an impact in this election must unite around a slate of challengers. Failure for conservatives to unify will result in a split conservative vote, which will only benefit the incumbents seeking re-election.

A consensus conservative slate for the Cy-Fair ISD school board has emerged consisting of Dr. Natalie Blasingame(Position 5), Scott Henry (Position 6), and Lucas Scanlon (Position 7). These candidates have been endorsed by the Harris County Republican Party, the Conservative Coalition of Harris County, and many grassroots conservative leaders and precinct chairs across Cy-Fair ISD.

Of the three positions on the ballot, the race for Position 5 is perhaps the most important. The 17-year incumbent, Dr. John Ogletree, is an active and vocal liberal Democrat who is running for re-election with the support of the AFL-CIO and the American Federation of Teachers. He has a long history of making offensive and racially charged social media posts, many of which have been documented at https://ogletreeisaracist.com. Replacing Dr. Ogletree with a conservative should be a top priority for voters.

The controversies surrounding Dr. Ogletree have resulted in five challengers signing up to run against him. Of these five challengers, three (Dr. Natalie Blasingame, Courtney Spradley, and Dr. Grace Horner) are running active campaigns as conservatives and are seeking conservative support.

While I applaud Ms. Spradley and Dr. Horner for stepping up and wanting to make a positive impact in Cy-Fair ISD, I believe that Dr. Blasingame is the strongest challenger and is best positioned to defeat Dr. Ogletree. Dr. Blasingame is a rare conservative who has worked in administrative roles in the public education system and knows how to most effectively make positive changes that are needed to improve Cy-Fair ISD.

In addition to her superior command of the issues facing Cy-Fair ISD, Dr. Blasingame has run for the board previously, giving her valuable experience as a candidate that she has built upon to run an even stronger campaign during this current election. With three conservative candidates challenging Dr. Ogletree, the risk of a split conservative vote resulting in his re-election is very real. Those wanting to replace the most radical liberal member of the Cy-Fair ISD school board must vote for Dr. Natalie Blasingame for Position 5.

For Position 6, 21-year incumbent Don Ryan faces three challengers. Of these three, Scott Henry is the only challenger actively seeking conservative support. Another of Ryan’s challengers, Ryan Irving, is an active Democrat who is running with union support.

For Position 7, 16-year incumbent Bob Covey also faces three challengers, Of these challengers, Lucan Scanlon is the only one running on a conservative platform.

Those seeking to learn more about the candidate for the Cy-Fair ISD school board should visit the candidates’ websites, as well as review questionnaires from the candidates. I personally found the questionnaires published by the Conservative Coalition of Harris County very helpful in learning more about these candidates.

The last day of early voting for these races is Friday, October 29th, and election day is Tuesday, November 2nd. If you live in Cy-Fair ISD, please get out and vote for conservatives Dr. Natalie Blasingame, Scott Henry, and Lucas Scanlon.

Mark McCaig is an attorney and Republican Precinct Chairman in Harris County.

Harris County Commissioners propose increase in property taxes

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All five members of the Harris County Commissioners Court, Democrats and Republicans alike, are proposing a property tax increase for the fiscal year 2021/2022.

Yes, you read that correctly, Republicans and Democrats. Of course, you won’t find that anywhere in the media. It’s incredible how poorly the media’s reporting is on local issues.

Here is the Houston Chronicle’s headline on Zack Despart’s report:

Democrats pitch Harris County property tax cut but Republicans want to go deeper

Complete and utter nonsense. Don’t believe me? Cool, but first take a look at the title of the Special Meeting of the Harris County Commissioners Court’s agenda:

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON TAX INCREASE

Mr. Despart’s report is fatally flawed. Here is his recap of the cost of the proposed tax increase:

Each year, Harris County sets the tax rate for the county government, flood control district, hospital district and Port of Houston; the first three together comprise an overall rate that is used to calculate each property owner’s annual tax bill.

Berry proposed an overall rate of 58.6 cents per $100 of assessed property value. This would save the owner of a home valued at $200,000 with the standard 20 percent homestead exemption $27 since their last tax bill.

The three Democrats on Commissioners Court have expressed support for that rate.

Cagle’s pitch of 57.5 cents per $100 of assessed value, which included lower county and hospital district rates, would save this same homeowner $48.

Wait a minute. A home valued at $200,000 is going to see a $27 (Democrat) or a $48 (Republican) DECREASE in taxes? Huh? Doesn’t the Public Hearing Notice state that there will be an INCREASE?

Yes it does. Because there will be. Mr. Despart conveniently ignores the increase in appraisals. The Public Hearing Notice does not ignore this. The average taxable value of a home in Harris County increased by 5.89%, so the taxable value of that formerly $200,000 home is now $211,780, which after a 20% homestead exemption leaves a taxable value of $169,424. The taxes owed on this amount will be $992.82 versus the old tax of $942.86, an increase of $49.96 or 5.3%.

Why did Mr. Despart say that there would be a tax decrease of $27 on the Democrat’s proposed rate?

The Republican increase would be $974.19 versus the old tax of $942.86, an increase of $31.33 or 3.3%.

Why did Mr. Despart say that there would be a tax decrease of $48 on the Republican’s proposed rate?

Why does no other media outlet report on the proposed tax increase?

Your guess is as good or better than mine.

More importantly, with the Republicans championing a proposed tax increase, it would be hypocritical of them to break quorum at the vote for a tax increase, as I suggested they do in 2019. Which they did and prevented a much larger tax increase. After all, now that we know they want a tax increase, it’s just a negotiation on how big it will be.

Even more importantly for anyone wanting a change in the balance of Commissioners Court, what does that do to the Republican campaign slogan next year of no new taxes? So much for that one.

Good luck guys. Hey, at least you have the Houston Chronicle on your side, right? Yeah sure, check back with me during next year’s elections.

Jerry Mouton visits the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club

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Jerry Mouton
Doug Smith, Tom Zakes, Mayor Jerry Mouton, Sophia Mafrige at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm September 2, 2021

Candidate in the Republican primary for Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner, Jerry Mouton, Mayor of Deer Park, visited the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club on Thursday, September 2, 2021.

Mayor Mouton focused on three issues in the race:

  • Quality of Life
  • Infrastructure
  • Financial Management

Quality of Life

Mayor Mouton posed the question “What does quality of life mean to you?” He proceeded to talk about the crime rate in Harris County being at a 50 year high and the fact that when criminals are released by Democrat Judges, they don’t go into River Oaks, they go back into the neighborhoods they are from. Which of course means that those communities suffer even more crime.

Mayor Mouton noted that in his city of Deer Park, crime has been reduced by 15% since he took office and that he has increased funding for police, fire and EMS. He asked “when you get home, do you feel safe?” Then he talked about how in Houston it is better to call the Fire Dept than the Police because you will get a faster response time. He also said that Deer Park has been named the best place in which to have a heart attack.

Bringing it back to the county, he said that the county needs to be heavily invested in our first responders but instead the court, under the liberal leadership of Adrian Garcia, was taking funds away from public safety.

Infrastructure

Mayor Mouton talked about investing in what he termed touch, taste and feel. He said that Deer Park had just invested in a new soccer complex to keep kids out of trouble. He also wants to focus on transportation infrastructure to improve traffic flow and stop sitting in traffic.

Financial Management

Mayor Mouton said that as mayor he benefited from from decades of good financial management in Deer Park. He has continued those principles and maintained the city’s AAA bond rating. He also claimed that the city of Deer Park has more cash reserves than the county. He said that there are two kinds of catastrophe, man-made and natural. The government should not be mandating health care (masks, vaccines) and exacerbating a natural catastrophe.

Mayor Jerry Mouton speaks to the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club September 2, 2021

There was ample time for questions. One of the questions that Mayor Mouton could not answer was how many people in Precinct 2 live in unincorporated areas very incorporated. Hopefully he will be able to answer that one soon.

Another question asked how quick would he roll back the county manager position, the elections administrator position, raiding the toll road fees, etc. He said that during the first few meetings he would try to get those rolled back.

Mayor Mouton will be a strong candidate in one of the hottest contested races on the primary ballot this year.

For more information:

Website: https://www.jerrymouton.org

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JerryMoutonForCommissioner

Primary season cranking up, four events for Harris County Republicans tomorrow

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It might not be after Labor Day, but primary season is cranking up and Harris County Republicans have four opportunities tomorrow to get out there and learn not only about candidates, but about process and finding unbiased journalism.

First up, the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club will be hosting Harris County Precinct 2 Commissioner candidate Jerry Mouton. I know Jerry because he is the Mayor of Deer Park and both of our cities are in Precinct 2. Jerry runs a good shop and would be a good commissioner. I’ll be at this one because it is the most directly related to my community. And for those of you that know Phillip Owens, he’ll be there as well.

Club: Downtown Houston Pachyderm
Time: 12:00 noon to 1:00 pm
Location: China Garden, 1602 Leeland St. Houston TX 77003

For those out west in Katy, the Republican Women’s Club of Katy is hosting Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick. I would call Commissioner Craddick a rising star in Texas politics but truth is she’s just a star now. Solid elected official.

Club: Republican Women’s Club of Katy
Time: 11:00 am to 1:00 pm
Location:Palacio Maria, 21728 Highland Knolls, Katy, TX 77450

Northeast? Gotcha covered. The Kingwood Tea Party is hosting Konni Burton. Konni is a former Texas State Senator who founded The Texan, an online news publication with a conservative leaning perspective. Conservative leaning perspective does not equal partisan politics. They do not endorse candidates, push political parties and have no editorial board. Their reporters simply report. Go ahead and click over to The Texan and purchase a subscription before you meet her.

Club: Kingwood Tea Party
Time: 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
Location: Spring Creek Barbecue, 5613 FM 1960, Humble, TX 77346

And the last one that I know about is over here on the East side in Baytown. The Baytown Republican Women are hosting Harris County Republican Party Ballot Security Chair Alan Vera. I’m sure that Mr. Vera will be able to outline the new Voting Rights Bill that the Texas Legislature just passed and is sitting on Gov. Abbott’s desk. As they say, the bill makes it Easy to Vote and Hard to Cheat.

Club: Baytown Republican Women
Time: 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
Location: Johnny Carino’s Restaurant, 7017 Garth Road (off I-10 East), Baytown, Texas 77521

That’s a pretty good selection of political meetings for you. As the primary starts heating up, hopefully we’ll see more people and candidates coming out and getting excited about the possibility of taking Harris County back next year. Crime is completely out of control and the increase lies directly at the feet of the Democrats in control of the county and the courts.

If Republican candidates can’t get excited about 2022 in Harris County, well folks, they just can’t get excited.