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 29^th, and election day is Tuesday, November 2^nd. 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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Dolcefino Consulting has filed a lawsuit against Galena Park Mayor Esmeralda Moya, City Secretary Mayra Gonzales and City Attorney Robert Collins for alleged violations of the Texas Public Information Act (PIA)and the Texas Open Meetings Act. Wayne Dolcefino, President of Dolcefino Consulting, held a press conference outside the Harris County Courthouse Wednesday, August 18, 2021 to highlight the lawsuit. Also attending were Galena Park Commissioner Maricela Serna and the attorney for Dolcefino Consulting, Jeff Diamant.

The specific allegations contained in the lawsuit are from four separate Public Information Requests and two meetings of City Council in which Mr. Dolcefino alleges that he was not allowed to speak. Here are the alleged PIA violations:

First Request March 17, 2021:

1. 1. financial records relating to federal grants received by Galena Park for any natural disasters since January 1, 2017, including Hurricane Harvey;
   2. minutes from Galena Park City Council meetings since January 1, 2017;
   3. accounts payable for Galena Park since January 1, 2019;
   4. expenditures for certain budget accounts since January 1, 2018;
   5. information relating to Galena Park water customers; and
   6. information relating to Galena Park’s employees.

Second Request March 19, 2021:

1. 1. invoices submitted by the City Attorney since January 1, 2017;
   2. past due invoices received from Galena Park’s vendors since January 1, 2020;
   3. internal audits or financial reports prepared for the Galena Park City Council since January 1, 2017;
   4. information relating to employees of Galena Park, including the names, job titles, and annual salaries of city employees and information relating to city employees who resigned or were fired since January 1, 2017;
   5. invoices paid to Moya and Primo’s Auto Service by Galena Park since January 1, 2017; and
   6. information concerning water bills issued by Galena Park since January 1, 2017.

Third Request April 1, 2021:

1. 1. itemized expenditures from any grant received by Galena Park since January 1, 2017;
   2. the titles of Galena Park employees identified in an attachment to the request;
   3. the general ledger for Galena Park detailing expenditures since January 1, 2019;
   4. video and audio recordings from Galena Park City Council meetings since January 1, 2020;
   5. invoices received from the City of Houston for the use of water by Galena Park residents; and
   6. the publicly releasable portions of the personnel file for Jorge Flores, an employee of Galena Park.

Fourth Request April 12, 2021:

1. 1. a copy of all bids for the pool contract; and
   2. documents reflecting pool employee attendance.

In addition, Mr. Dolcefino alleges that he was muted during the council’s online Zoom meetings held July 6, 2021 and August 3, 2021 and therefore was not allowed to speak to council as required by the Texas Open Meetings Act.

Much of this stuff should be on the city’s website. The problem is that the city’s website is woefully out of date. For instance, it does not show that Maricela Serna is in fact a City Commissioner even though I was able to find the city’s election results on Click2Houston that shows her winning election in 2020. I was unable to find election results on the city’s website and most of the information about city elections was from 2018. Council meeting agendas seem to be up to date but the meeting minutes stop at April 6, 2021.

As a small town mayor, I can relate to the city’s reluctance to provide the information because it is very time consuming. However, it is the law and it has to be done. The governor allowed PIA’s to be delayed because of COVID-19 but that order is lapsed and the timelines are back to normal. It is also normal to sometimes ask the Attorney General for guidance on whether or not certain documents need to be released but we try to err on the side of the requestor, with any personal identifying information redacted. If the allegations in the lawsuit are correct, then it appears that the city simply doesn’t want this stuff released for whatever reason. Dolcefino claims corruption but it could be embarrassment or something else. Regardless, if I were the Mayor of Galena Park, I would release the information.

As for being muted on Zoom calls, no way I would do that. Ask anyone that goes to our meetings and they’ll tell you that I allow everyone to speak, sometimes making my council members upset because the meetings can drag out. And it is especially hard to put up with when it isn’t residents of your city talking and spewing but outsiders like Dolcefino. But again, it is the law and you need to follow it. Even when you don’t like it. Even worse, Commissioner Serna alleged during the press conference that Mayor Moya also muted her during the call and refused to let her participate in council discussions. No possible way I would do that and my council wouldn’t let me mute any of their peers. That is bizarre, if true.

You might ask yourself, why haven’t I seen anything about this in the ‘news’? Well, primarily because we don’t have much in the way of local journalism these days. As Dolcefino told me after the press conference, the media was over at the Rusty Hardin press conference relating to Deshaun Watson. That pretty much sums up the press in Harris County.

You can watch the full press conference here if you choose: