Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Budget deal demands decrease in military pensions

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Let me be perfectly clear. I expect Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn plus every single Senate Republican to vote AGAINST this budget agreement. According to Breitbart News, the “bi-partisan” budget compromise that passed the US House of Representatives calls for a 1{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} cut in the cost-of-living adjustment for veterans pensions (emphasis mine):

 “After winning approval in the House, the Ryan-Murray budget deal now          moves to the Senate. Democrats will need support from at least five GOP Senators to pass the deal. While Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D- NV) can normally count on a handful of GOP moderates, as of Friday, no Republican in the Senate has voiced support for the budget deal.

The deal may fall apart over one of its smaller line-items; a 1{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} cut in cost of living adjustments for veteran’s pensions.”

Cutting military retiree pensions to cover spending increases under this bill is simply unconscionable.

But WAIT! There’s more!

From the Washington Free Beacon (emphasis mine):

“Military personnel that enlisted after 1980 currently have the choice between two retirement plans. The majority of the military prefers the “High Three” plan, which offers a full COLA equal to inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

An alternative plan, the “Redux,” provides a lump sum of $30,000 upon retirement, but the cost-of-living adjustment is equal to inflation minus 1 percent. If the budget agreement is adopted, all military retirees will be forced into a plan similar to the Redux plan, but they will not receive a lump sum upon retirement.”

Apparently, if you like your military pension plan, Paul Ryan and Patty Murray don’t want you to keep your military pension plan.

I’d like to publicly commend and report the names of the Texas Congressmen in the US House of Representatives who did not vote to cut military retiree pensions and refused to support forcing military retirees off the military pension plan they liked:

Joe Barton, Michael Burgess, Louis Gohmert, Ralph Hall, Sam Johnson, Kenny Marchant, Randy Neugebauer, Pete Olson, Ted Poe, Steve Stockman and Randy Weber.

Be sure to call these guys and thank them for their vote.

As for the rest of the Texas Congressional delegation who thought cutting military retiree pensions would be a great idea going into a re-election and arrogantly thought no one would notice or call them out; maybe you guys should have read the bill before you passed it.

Looking at one of Judge Denise Pratt's cases

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Denise Pratt
Denise Pratt

The other day I received an email from Burt Levine, a sort of shadow paid campaign surrogate for various candidates, admonishing me for writing that Judge Denise Pratt needed to remove her name from the ballot. I called him and asked what that was about and he said that his client, Denise Pratt, told him to email me. So I said, earn your money and post it as a comment. Which he did, so now the whole world can see what you get for your money when you pay Burt Levine. Just click here.

Pratt’s campaign sent an email to precinct chairs and other Republicans defending her time on the court:

Dear Friends,

Thank you for your work as a precinct chair. Having been a precinct chair in Baytown, I know the time, work and effort it requires, as well as the responsibility that comes with such an important grassroots position.

I’m sure you have heard the rumors that are being spread by the Democrats and the liberal media. I wanted to take this time to let you know that the allegations brought against me by the Democratic faction are false. I am a conservative Judge and because of my principles I am being attacked. I have already filed to run for re-election as judge of the 311th Family District Court, and will not let the underhanded political tactics by the Democrats keep me from doing my job.

I was uniquely qualified to take this bench in 2011 and have furthered my training, as set out in my current pushcard and soon-to-air website.

I have been a Republican my entire life, having been one of the few members of the original Young Conservatives of Texas started by Steve Munisteri as far back as 1980 at the University of Texas. I can assure you that my commitment to conservative values are unwavering, despite personal and professional attack.

I want to thank you for your support in the past, and hope that I can count on your support through this upcoming election process.

I would be happy to discuss any concerns you might have.

Denise Pratt
Judge, 311th Family District Court
cell 832-892-9023

Now that is rich. “Democrats” and “liberal media” are spreading these lies, eh? Look, when Jared Woodfill and Gary Polland try to distance themselves from you, it ain’t a whole bunch of “Democrats” and “liberal media” spreading lies, okay?

Her “unique qualifications” were that she bought the right endorsements.

Let’s take a look at a just one of the mishandled cases in Pratt’s court.

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals case # 14-13-00347-CV.

The trial court has a reasonable time within which to perform its ministerial duty to rule on a pending motion.

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The necessity for a prompt ruling is important in cases such as this that concern parental rights and the best interest of children. We conclude that the delay in this case is unreasonable. A parent’s right to visitation with his child is at issue. Relator’s motion has been pending a decision for over ten months.

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According to the record before us, it appears that relator has not had regular visits with his oldest child in over a year. It is the public policy of this state to assure that children have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in their best interest, and to encourage parents to share in the rights and duties of raising their children after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage.

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A parent’s right to access to his child is a fundamental liberty interest more precious than property rights.

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A parent’s entitlement to periodic visitation with his child “cannot be denied except in extreme circumstances.”

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We hold that respondent has abused her discretion in failing to timely render a decision on relator’s pending motion for enforcement of his right to possession or access to his child.

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Accordingly, we conditionally grant the petition for a writ of mandamus and direct the trial court to rule on relator’s pending motion within fifteen days of the date of this opinion.

How would you like to not see your child for over a year simply because the judge in the case hasn’t gotten around to making a ruling?

But in paid surrogate Burt Levine’s email, as he was directed to write by Judge Denise Pratt, the Appeals Court’s order “she was asked to hurry up with a deicison” (sic).

No, she was ordered to render a decision because the court recognized that the excessive delay was hurting a family.

There are many, many other instances that will be brought out in the campaign in which Judge Pratt needed to “hurry up” because children couldn’t see their parents for months at a time.

As I said earlier, Denise is a fine person with many admirable qualities. Being a judge isn’t one of them.

 

Jack Morman does not have a primary opponent

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Well, it was fun while it lasted. I’m guessing that Harris County Commissioner for Precinct 2 Jack Morman wasn’t too worried about Glorice McPherson but it is always best to be unopposed.

Harris County Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill confirmed that Ms. McPherson did not have enough valid signatures on her filing petition and that he has removed her from the ballot.

Glorice seems like a very nice person and I hope that she decides to stay involved in Harris County Republican Party politics in an area for which she is qualified. There are plenty of precinct chair positions open and the many Republican clubs around town can alway use some help getting out the vote.

Good luck Glorice!

Glorice McPherson
Glorice McPherson

More Kubosh v Morales mailer madness

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Warning: inside baseball stuff here on Harris County Republicans – you’ve been advised.

So I get this email last Friday from a Republican activist that I like and admire, Carmen Cuneo.

Dear Friends of Liberty,

So we have a run-off election. Today I received a mailer from the Michael Kubosh campaign. It is attached for your viewing pleasure (or disgust). It appears to me he is very proud of his democrat roots. I am willing to bet nobody in a conservative precinct received this mailer. My precinct is over 95{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} black and democrat. This piece only serves to criticize Roy Morales for being a conservative.

I always watch candidates to see if they talk the same way to different groups. Apparently Michael will say whatever he thinks he needs to say changing the message accordingly to appease those present . This is dishonest and it stinks! In my opinion. How could you ever trust what this man says?

Anyway, interested in your thoughts on this race. Needless to say, I voted for Roy Morales for At Large Position 3.

Carmen Evelyn Cuneo
Harris County Republican Party
Precinct 0210

So I look at the mailer and think, what? Nothing Carmen says makes sense to me. So I email her and ask about it:

Hi, Carmen,

I’m going to write about this because I respect your opinion. I don’t see the problem with it but that could be because I support Mike and perhaps I’m blind to it.

Why do you think this criticizes Roy for being conservative? The way I see it, it criticizes Roy for saying that Republicans and conservatives should not reach out to various groups of voters.

This is an interesting race because it pits two Republicans against each other in a supposedly non-partisan race. Are you saying that Republicans and conservatives should only reach out to groups that are traditionally Republican even in this situation?

David

To which she replies:

Hi David,

I absolutely believe we should reach out to minority communities. But, when I speak to Republicans, I will tell them I am a Republican. When I speak to Democrats, I tell them I’m a Republican. Same story. I believe in honesty.

I know this is a nonpartisan race but Mr. Kubbosh appears to be very proud of his Democrat affiliation otherwise he would not have mailed this piece. I’d say he is bragging rather than complaining. He certainly does not dispute his Democrat roots because he wants to capitalise on them.

I also believe he only participated in the Republican party for political expedience.

Yours in Party Service, Carmen

When Carmen says “yours in party service”, she backs that up with action. I first met her in 2010 when she was helping Ed Hubbard try to defeat Jared Woodfill. Since then, I’ve seen her at dozens and dozens of events, plus poll watching, party outreach, etc.

And she closes with this:

I have lived in my predominately black community for 7 years, I have been active here in community service projects. If I were going to run for office and reach out to the black community. Quanell X would be the last person I would go to for support. There are wonderful honest people of good moral character in this community. Now, if you like Quannell X and his tactics you might not be offended by the Kubosh mailer. If, like me, you know others who you believe of good moral character and great people to reach out to, you might be deeply insulted and offended by this flyer. I would not want people to think that we, Republicans, find QX to be the role model to seek for outreach in the black community. I am embarrassed by this.

And then former mayoral candidate Jack O’Connor jumped into the conversation with this comment on BJP:

I just received an email with a cc of the mailer from the Kubosh campaign. It indicated that it was sent to David Jennings as well. I remain neutral in this race, but it appears that Big Jolly is cleary in the Kubosh camp. Up until now I understand why. The Kubosh mailer will make it much more difficult for Republicans and conservatives to gain support in the city and county. Wittingly or unwittingly, the Kubosh campaign is unfairly creating problems for Republicans in the Black, Hispanic, and Asian Communities within the city and county.

If the Kubosh mailer that Mr. Jennings has in his possession does not make it clear to him and others that the mailer hurts the Republicans then the Party is in trouble. Mr. Kubosh has great success in building up support among Republicans while gaining the support of unions and other more liberal groups. That maybe acceptable to some but it should not be at the expense of the Republican Party. More minorities are moving right and we would like to see that continue. It is also not irregular or racist to be concerned by the courtship of Quannell X and the concern is diverse.

As usual with anything Jack says, it is hard to comprehend. But I suppose we can recap it by saying he doesn’t like me much and thinks I’m helping bring down the HCRP. Such is life. It took me a while to determine that Jack was talking about the same email because the email I rec’d from Carmen was blind and didn’t have my name on it anywhere.

Okay, now that you have Carmen and Jack’s views, let’s take a look at the mailer that started this:

Kubosh mailer kubosh mailer

You can click on those two images to get a better look. In a nutshell, Mike Kubosh took a Roy Morales mailer that Roy sent to Republicans, added some text to it that says this is not the way to campaign, and mailed it out to Democrats. Although Carmen said in her email that Kubosh only mailed it to her “black” precinct, the truth is that he mailed it to other demographic groups, including Latinos. But, I’ll accept Carmen’s point that he didn’t send it to predominately Republican areas because Mike told me he didn’t. Roy did that for him.

The thing is, so what? I’m having a hard time understanding why this mailer, in Jack O’Connor’s words, “is unfairly creating problems for Republicans in the Black, Hispanic, and Asian Communities within the city and county.” Every single attack in that mailer was generated by Roy Morales, not Mike Kubosh. Let’s take a look:

  • Roy attacked J. Brad Batteau for his criminal record.
  • Roy attacked Michael Kubosh for running as a Democrat in 2006 and listing Quannel X as a supporter.
  • Roy attacked Jenifer Rene Poole for being president of a LGBT group and receiving their endorsement. Notice how he made sure to spell out “Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Bisexual” in this mailer to conservative Republicans.
  • Roy attacked Roland Chavez for being a former union president and receiving the endorsement of Tejano Democrats.
  • Roy attacked Rogene Calvert for being president of 80/20 Asian American PAC, being endorsed by Sheila Jackson Lee, and being endorsed by the LGBT group The Houston Stonewall Young Democrats.

Those attacks, according to Roy in the mailer, “prove” he is the “only conservative” in the race.

Mike Kubosh simply said that is not the way he is going to run a campaign. He then listed a bunch of Democratic groups that he has reached out to and received their endorsement.

And for that he is admonished for being a Democrat? And ruining Republican chances in the future?

Like I said, I respect Carmen a whole bunch but I don’t understand her line of thinking. Mike reached out to many black leaders, not only Quannel X. And most of those leaders meet her requirement of being “wonderful honest people of good moral character in this community”. As I told her upfront, I am a Kubosh supporter and perhaps am blinded to understanding what she is saying. But I wanted to let you know her thoughts on this race because she is a great Republican activist.

As for Jack’s line of reasoning, well, he’s Jack. I’ll leave it to you to decipher.

What is even more perplexing to me is that Roy has received the endorsement of Noel Freeman, President of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, after Roy attacked Jenifer Rene Poole for in essence being a transgendered person and Rogene Calvert for accepting the endorsement of a gay group.  In his endorsement of Roy, he states:

As the president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, the oldest GLBT civil rights organization in the South, it is my job to strongly represent the interests of Houston’s LGBT community on issues of great importance to us that affect our daily lives.

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Aside from the fact that I think Roy Morales will be a more reasonable and tempered Council member than Kubosh, I have to consider where they stand on LGBT issues.

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Kubosh has also declared his staunch opposition to implementation of an inclusive non-discrimination ordinance that would keep people from being fired or denied housing or public accommodation just because they are LGBT. I’ve been fired for being gay and I’ve tried to rent at apartment complexes that don’t rent to gay people, so that’s kind of a big issue for me.

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Morales isn’t where I would like him to be on our issues, but two days after the November election he called me to talk specifically about LGBT issues. He expressed his willingness to work with Mayor Parker and the Caucus on a non-discrimination ordinance that meets the needs of the community but balances them with other city and community needs he feels deserve consideration. We chalk that up in politics as a “soft yes.” His support of even the most minimal of protections is better than the “hard no” we get from Kubosh.

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The best choice for the LGBT community for Houston City Council At-Large Position 3 isRoy Morales.

Noel’s endorsement is long and worth a read. I agree with him that Roy would most likely be friendly to GLBT causes. But as one of the very few people actively encouraging GLBT participation in Harris County Republican politics, I would much rather have a solid “no” from someone like Kubosh than the answers Roy has given about a NDO – vague, hinting that he’s against, hinting that he’s for – just tell us what you think. At least with Kubosh I know I need to focus on someone else’s vote – with Roy, he’ll switch at the very end. But I suppose a fat, old, redneck from Pasadena can’t understand the nuances of being gay in today’s society. The worst thing I can imagine is having to hide who you really are from the society you live in. I’ll keep pushing the HCRP for inclusion and try to learn from Noel in hopes that it will help me.

If you search this website, you’ll find more positive information on Roy than negative. I supported him in his run for mayor. I supported him in his run for Congress. I defended him time and time again. But the best indicator of future performance is past performance. And after watching Roy’s performance in his only successful election, which was for the Harris County Department of Education, I would never vote for or support him again. His attendance at board meetings was horrible, making roughly 50{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the meetings. He mostly ran for other offices during his six year term. He voted to sue a fellow Republican to try and force him off the board. And I’ll never forget him pushing for a tax increase, holding up those crackers to “prove” it was a very small amount, and then voting against his own proposal when it became clear that I and other conservatives in the room would talk about it.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Roy Morales and his whole grain cheese crackers.
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Roy Morales and his whole grain cheese crackers.

Give me a person with true convictions any day of the week.

I urge all Republicans and Democrats to vote for Mike Kubosh.

 

HCCS Board of Trustees, Trustee, District 5 – Robert Glaser

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In the runoff for Houston Community College System Board of Trustees, District 5, the clear choice is Robert Glaser.

Yeah, yeah, I get it. He’s a “Democrat” and the other guy is a “Republican”, so I should automatically support the self-proclaimed “Republican”, right?

Well, no, I shouldn’t. And if you are a Republican like me, you shouldn’t either. Here’s why.

The HCCS is a non-partisan board. Claiming to be a Republican is fine but results should matter more. And when you factor that in, Glaser is the clear choice.

I don’t know the other guy, except that he started coming to Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club meetings during the  summer and introducing himself as the only Republican candidate in the race. Perhaps he is.

But Robert Glaser has been there in the thick of the fight for conservative fiscal issues in Houston. Here is a picture I took of him at a meeting when we were trying to defeat the “rain tax” in Houston:

Robert Glaser at Prop 1 meeting
Robert Glaser at Prop 1 meeting

So you can believe all the nonsense coming from the paid operatives in the other camp if you choose. But I know for a fact that this Democrat is a fiscal conservative. And I highly recommend him and think that he would add a lot to the HCCS board.

 

Shoreacres Interim Police Chief resigns

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City of Shoreacres graphic

Just when you think things can’t get stranger in our little City of Shoreacres, they do. I started to title this post “Shoreacres police follies” but the police aren’t the problem. The governance of the city is the problem, including the city administrator.

After Monday’s council meeting, I received a tip that the interim police chief, Michael R. Massey, had let his peace officer license lapse and was not eligible to serve as a police officer, much less chief. I get these “tips” all the time and most of them turn out not to be true, so I really didn’t put much stock into this one. I mean, seriously?

So I called Massey at City Hall Tuesday morning and left him a voice mail explaining that I needed to ask him a question about it. When I didn’t receive a call back after a few hours, I filed a Texas Public Information Act (TXPIA) request with City Administrator David Stall for a copy of Massey’s employment application and license. I figured that would be a simple task and Stall would scan it in and forward it to me in a matter of minutes. I filed that request 12/10 at 1:49 pm.

Yesterday morning, I knew there must be a problem because I had not received a response from either Massey or Stall. So, I filed a TXPIA with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) in Austin. I received a very quick response and it turns out that this time, the “tip” was true. Here is the relevant part of the TCOLE response:

Mr. Massey’s TCOLE license is not currently active.

Late yesterday afternoon, I got word that Massey had resigned. I can’t wait to hear the spin from City Hall.

The witch hunt to force former Chief David Newman out started by hiring a guy that was not licensed to be a police officer to “assess” the department and serve as police chief until a permanent replacement was hired. Unbelievable.

Talk about a nightmare. If you attended the city council meetings since Massey has been “chief”, you know that he presented himself as a working officer. If you didn’t attend, you can go back and listen to the recordings. Even at this week’s meeting, he talked about how the city is not unprotected between the hours of 3 pm and 11 pm because he was on duty. He was even interviewed by ABC13 after the debacle where La Porte fire refused to respond to a drowning. Now the city is going to have to go back and review every piece of paperwork that he generated in his “official” capacity. What a mess.

Don’t expect any charges to be filed against him by the Public Integrity Unit of the Harris County District Attorney’s office. Current DA Devon Anderson is a good friend of Massey’s – remember, Massey spoke at the funeral of her husband Mike. Mike Anderson was elected only after running a corrupt campaign involving a corrupt grand jury. That’s just who these people are.

I don’t even blame Massey – heck, he saw an opportunity to make some easy money ($15,000 to start, then monthly pay) and took it. The buck in this case stops with Mayor Matthew Webber and to a lesser extent, city council. Council passed a resolution on August 22nd giving Webber the authority to hire an interim chief. The minutes of that meeting show that Alderman Bo Bunker made the motion to pass it and Alderman Rick Moses seconded it before it was passed unanimously.

Did Webber not perform a routine background check? Who recommended Massey to Webber? Why would anyone hire a guy that got booted out of Pasadena in 2008 and hadn’t worked as an officer since? Why did no one on council object?

At Monday’s council meeting, Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia made a proposal to outsource our police department. Massey stood in front of Sheriff Garcia and Council and said he didn’t agree with it and council sucked in his every word. Now that we know he doesn’t have a license, perhaps council will take this proposal seriously – a minimum savings of $125k per year is something to take seriously.

But wait!

Mayor Webber don’t need no stinking council to take anything seriously. He’s already decided and this matter is closed. Don’t believe me? Here is his response to a citizen about the proposal:

I appreciate your interest as well as your passion for the finaicial situation of our city. Our Police Department is dearly loved by me and many other citizens. They are at the heart of what makes this city great and I can’t place a price tag on that. I will be performing a Top to Bottom assesment of all city services to determine necessity, priority, importance and cost. From this assessment, I will propose to counciil my plan for living within our means. Be looking for my announcement in the next newsletter and thank you for your efforts in making us a community of choice.

With that being said,I have reviewed your proposal and determined that the City of Shoreacres is not interested in outsourcing our police department.

Matt Webber
Mayor, City of Shoreacres

Who needs a council? Heck, why bother to have meetings? Just let Webber handle it. Note that he will be using the city’s water bills to put out more propaganda to help himself in the May election. Too bad he didn’t “assess” the city’s needs before submitting a budget proposal to spend almost a million dollars more per year than we bring in. Where was his “living within our means” attitude during the budget process? For all practical purposes we are now 25{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} through this fiscal year and no further cost cutting has taken place.

Anyone care to apologize to Chief David Newman? At least he has a license to serve.