This is going to be a fun week at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club! None other than master investigator, communicator, and all around fun guy Wayne Dolcefino will be the speaker at the weekly lunch meeting! Here’s a short bio:
Wayne Dolcefino
Wayne Dolcefino is one of the nation’s most decorated journalists. Thirty Emmy Awards from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, Five Charles Green Awards, an Edward R. Murrow award, a Jack Howard Award for investigative reporting, numerous honors from the Associated Press and Texas Association of Broadcasters, and an unprecedented three medals from the international journalism organization Investigative Reporters and Editors.
For nearly 27 years Dolcefino headed up the 13 Undercover Unit at KTRK TV. This investigative unit specialized in exposing public corruption, wasted taxpayer money, government malfeasance and fraud. As head of the unit, Dolcefino managed the investigative process, and was involved in the marketing and advertising of KTRK TV’s investigative news product.
Between 1985 and 1979 Dolcefino was an investigative reporter and radio talk show host at KTRH Radio. Prior to that he worked at KLBJ Radio in Austin , Texas.
In December 2012 Dolcefino created Dolcefino Consulting. This firm consults on crisis management, ethics reviews , informational marketing and media relations and provides production , investigative services and expert testimony in litigation. Dolcefino has significant experience in courtroom litigation relating to first amendment issues.
In early 2013 the Association for Certified Fraud Examiners gave Dolcefino the Fraud Impact of the Year Award for his painstaking investigation of a lawman’s charity.
What that bio doesn’t tell you is how good of a storyteller Dolcefino is. It is going to be a fun, fun meeting!
In case you’ve forgotten, the club meets every Thursday from noon until 1 pm at the Spaghetti Warehouse in downtown Houston. Get there a little early to network and meet people. A flat $8 buys a great lunch including drink and bread. Oh, my, that bread!
Yea! A Saturday meeting. Instead of rushing halfway across Texas in the middle of traffic on a Monday night, the Harris County Republican Party Executive Committee will meet on a Saturday morning. This is a great change, even if it is for only one of the quarterly meetings.
Several items of note on the HCRP Executive Committee agenda. There are two items put forth by grassroots committees that Chairman Paul Simpson is against – apparently because they didn’t talk to him and get his permission to put them forth. You should have received an email from the Chair yesterday outlining his objections. Funny, I thought that the grassroots were supposed to have a bigger voice in his administration and wouldn’t need his prior approval. Oh well.
There are also three resolutions from precinct chairs. The first one seems to only have one sponsor, Clint Moore, and basically lays out State Rep. Debbie Riddle’s arguments against low income housing and the input that a state representative should have. I thought that a resolution needed at least ten precinct chairs to support it before being placed before the HCRP Executive Committee but I admit I don’t know the rules all that well.
The second resolution is against online voter registration. I’ll guarantee I’m in the minority on this one but I’ll be voting against it. If I can fill out a mortgage application online, buy a car online, and renew my Texas Concealed Handgun License online, why the heck can’t I register to vote online? This is yet another example, in my opinion, of a backwards Republican Party. We have to use the technology available to us to increase participation in the political arena.
The third and last resolution is a no-brainer, which is why I signed on as a co-sponsor. Thanks to John Baucum for pushing it. Here it is in full:
Honoring and Remembering the life of Bob Lee
WHEREAS, Robert Crayford Lee, 90, passed away peacefully on February 12, 2015 at the home he built in Houston, Texas surrounded by his family. He was born August 12, 1924 in Austin, Texas to Robert E. and Georgia Lee.
WHEREAS, Bob graduated from Waco High School, he then served in the United States Navy and graduated from the University of Texas in 1950.
WHEREAS, Robert devoted a long and full life to his family, his country, and God:
those things which he most loved. Bob was a lifelong Republican, activist, and co-founder of Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition.
WHEREAS, He is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, activist and Precinct Chair, Ann Edwards Lee, of Ponchatoula, LA; He is also survived by sons, James Lee, Michael Lee, Robert Lee, Richard Lee, Donald and his wife Susan Lee; four granddaughters; 2 great-grandchildren; sister, Georgiabeth Mercier; and brother, James E. Lee.
BE IT RESOLVED THAT, the Harris County Republican Party honors and remembers the life of Bob Lee. We appreciate his commitment to activism and service to our great country.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT, a copy of this resolution be awarded to Ann Lee in remembrance of Bob Lee.
This should be a fascinating discussion. Hooper has extensive experience with TIRZ’s and their murky finances. Add in special guest Don Sumners, former Harris County Tax Assessor Collector, and you will learn more about this subject in an hour than most people have learned in years.
I know it is short notice but it is a good group to hang out with so if you don’t already have plans, why not head over there? Beautiful location too!
Harris County DA Devon Anderson was elected barely three months ago to fill out the remaining two years of the current term. On Sunday, she started the 2016 campaign with an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle titled “Let’s rethink how grand juries are selected“.
I support the efforts in the Texas Legislature to abolish the jury commissioner system. Whatever concerns the remaining district court judges have about using jury pools should have been assuaged long ago – other district courts have been using the jury pool system successfully for long enough that its viability cannot be questioned.
The same can no longer be said about the jury commissioner system. It is time to retire this historical anachronism and see where the jury pool system takes us. I am confident that it will result in decisions that are not only correct, but that will also have the confidence of the community as a whole.
Anderson, who called the current system “a historical anachronism,” joins a chorus of calls for reform in the midst of fierce national debate over the diversity of the people picked to be grand jurors, an issue that has been spotlighted by several high-profile cases across the country.
In November, riots broke out in Ferguson, Mo., after a grand jury decided not to indict a white police officer in the shooting of an unarmed black teenager. A month later, protesters took to the streets in New York City when a grand jury decided not enough evidence existed to go forward with charges against a white police officer whose chokehold, which was captured on video, led to the death of an unarmed black man.
A Houston Chronicle analysis in 2013 showed that Houston police officers shot 121 civilians – 25 percent of them unarmed – between 2008 and 2012 without a single officer being indicted.
This is a good start by Anderson to try and hold onto the job for Republicans next year. She’s also started cleaning up the house a bit, as noted by Murray Newman over at Life at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center and Mark Bennett at Defending People. Read the comments on those posts, they are funny and interesting.
Anderson needs to do more though. Her attempts at drug policy changes have been sloppy and unworkable. In the 2014 campaign, she was always a step behind her Democratic opponent. I doubt that will work during the 2016 campaign with the Presidency at the top of the ticket: Democrats are going to turn out strong and Anderson can’t afford to be a follower if she wants to move them to crossover and vote for a Republican.
One of the things she can start with is by supporting HB507 in the Texas Legislature. You can click on the link to read the text of the bill but a quick synopsis is that it changes 0-1 ounce marijuana possession from a class B misdemeanor (arrest, <180 days in jail, <$2,000 fine) to a civil penalty (fine up to $100 or community service or a treatment class). Republicans Against Marijuana Prohibition (RAMP) are heading up to the capital next week to lobby for passage of HB507. It would be great if Ms. Anderson took the time to go with them and understand why they are supporting the bill.
One of the rumors you’ll see in the comments on Murray’s piece about Ms. Anderson’s housecleaning (When the Ax Falls) is speculation and hope that former candidate for DA Kelly Siegler will challenge Ms. Anderson in the primary next year. I don’t see Siegler having a prayer in that primary if Ms. Anderson continues to move the office towards common sense changes. Besides that, Ms. Anderson’s consultant, Allen Blakemore, would have a field day with Siegler’s comments under oath in the David Temple hearing in December 2014. She comes across as a bit of a conspiracy kook, saying, among other things, that Dick DeGuerin was directing special prosecutor Brad Beers. Here, read it for yourself:
No, I think we can safely say that Siegler is going to remain in Hollywood for the time being. The more interesting question about Siegler is this: Could it be that David Temple is an innocent man and he was convicted on the basis of her courtroom theatrics?
A very special treat this week for those who are able to attend the weekly meeting of the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club. Leif Olson will be the featured speaker and present an update on same-sex marriage litigation in Houston. From the Facebook Event page:
Leif Olson
Leif Olson is a trial and appellate lawyer. He founded his solo law practice after a federal clerkship and ten years with international and boutique trial firms. He is board-certified in Civil Appellate Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has handled many cases of first impression before the Texas and federal courts of appeals.
Leif regularly advocates on behalf of conservative and Republican causes before federal and state courts. Most recently, he is lead appellate counsel in Pidgeon v. Parker, the lawsuit in which a state court blocked Mayor Parker’s executive order that the City of Houston recognize same-sex marriages performed outside of Texas, an order that is barred by the Texas Family Code and the Texas Constitution.
Leif received his economics degree with honors from Trinity University and his law degree from the University of Chicago. He is a regular speaker on appellate law, appellate and trial procedure, legal writing, and legal ethics. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Houston Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society since 2003. He and his wife, Johanna, live in Humble with their four children.
What all of that means is that Leif is a really good guy and a really smart attorney. I’m very much looking forward to hearing his update on this issue.
In case you’ve forgotten, the DHPC meets every Thursday at noon at the Spaghetti Warehouse in Downtown Houston.
The City of Jersey Village, Texas published the required legal notice of intent on January 20th—a vote on the passage of an ordinance to issue $8 million in debt will take place March 16th, 2015.
As explained yesterday, according to Texas Local Government Code this is perfectly legal:
“NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Jersey Village, Texas (the “City”) will meet at its regular meeting place at City Hall, Jersey Village, Texas at 7:00 p.m. on the 16th day of March, 2015, which is the time and place tentatively set for the passage of an ordinance and such other action as may be deemed necessary to authorize the issuance of the City’s certificates of obligation in one or more series, payable from ad valorem taxation and a surplus pledge of certain revenues of the water and sewer system of the City, in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $8,000,000, bearing interest at any rate or rates, not to exceed the maximum interest rate now or hereafter authorized by law, as shall be determined within the discretion of the City Council at the time of issuance and maturing over a period of years not to exceed forty (40) years from the date thereof, for the purpose of evidencing the indebtedness of the City to pay all or any part of the contractual obligations to be incurred for the construction of public works and the purchase of materials, supplies, equipment, machinery, buildings, land and rights-of-way for authorized needs and purposes and for the payment of contractual obligations for professional services, to wit: (i) water and wastewater projects, including the acquisition of water and sewer line easements associated with the construction of U.S. 290 in the City and related water and sewer line construction, improvement and repair; and (ii) professional services rendered in connection with the above listed projects.”
According to 2010 census data, the 3.5 square mile municipality has a population of 7,620.
