Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Meeting With Kyle Scott for County Treasurer

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Kyle Scott was kind enough to agree to meet and discuss his campaign for County Treasurer.  He has a good feel for the election and what it will take to win, but the biggest take away from the meeting was his sincerity and how he wants to use the office in a non-traditional manner to help the common Joe rather than simply keep the office rigid into the traditional and statutory boundaries.  That makes him a great candidate and ensures he will be a great County Treasurer.

It’s Not Crime and Taxes

HCRP, rightly, is focusing on crime and taxes this cycle.  That’s the hot button issues that will help with the County Judge, criminal courts, and Commissioner Court races.  However, that drumbeat doesn’t have much impact on the other county wide races this cycle.  Kyle knows this, and is making talking points that push a narrative other than crime and taxes.  He states his goals are:

1. Transparency: The two biggest issues in the county are crime and infrastructure. But we can’t get those two issues right if we don’t get the money right. We’ve seen county officials disagree about how much money is being spent to address these issues, and where that money is being spent, and residents can’t get a straight answer. What compounds this confusion is that the county budget is difficult to find, certain items are inaccessible, and the budget lingo is often misleading or difficult to understand. The county treasurer should make the budget accessible and easy to follow and be proactive in engaging the community with regard to how the money is spent and where. The county treasurer should be the eyes and ears of the taxpayer.

2. Waste: County government awards contracts not on a low bid basis. Many times they award single source, no-bid contracts—at one commissioner’s court there were 66 awarded. In April there was a $125,000 no-bid contract awarded followed by a $300,000 no-bid contract awarded for personal security services—both contracts exceeded the statutory limit on no-bid contracts. If we reduce wasteful spending and reign in no-bid contracts, we can reduce overall spending and lower the tax burden on Harris County residents.

3. Corruption: The $11 million contract awarded to Elevate Strategies was subsequently recalled after accusations of impropriety that eventually led to the indictment of three county employees. The county has paid $1.4 million on this contract with more than $800,000 paid after the contract was canceled. The county treasurer should never have released these funds. Moreover, the county treasurer has the authority to retrieve all debts owed to the county. The county has not tried to retrieve these erroneously paid funds. This is taxpayer money that could be, and should be, put towards serving the community.

 

Expanding the Office

One aspect of his campaign that stands out is the idea to expand the narrow function of the office to help ordinary citizens in Harris County.  His stated goal is:

Community Service: 23% of Harris County residents are unbanked or underbanked. This means they do not utilize, or have access to, traditional banking services. Without access to a checking or savings account it is more time-consuming and expensive to handle daily transactions like paying bills. It is also more dangerous as they have to transact on a cash basis or be subjected to predatory lenders. Additionally, without access to banks, there is no opportunity for upward economic mobility as there is no chance to secure a home loan, small business loan, or student loan. If we pull the resources of our banking community, churches, and schools we can address this problem and help the unbanked and underbanked gain access to the resources they need to advance financially. 

This expanded public involvement aspect opens up another opportunity that may not otherwise be available – mediator between opposing factions on Commissioner’s Court.  After the election the Commissioner’s Court is probably going to have two Republican and two Democratic commissioners, and the County Judge race will decide control of the court.  If the county re-elects Judge Hidalgo then breaking the democrat stronghold on action will require an outside voice who has enough public support to cause the democrat majority to stop and consider the outside opinion.  A popular county wide official who is actively doing good fits that build, especially with programs like he mentioned that will serve what is otherwise a democrat constituency. This model could be expanded and bring ever increasing amounts of public good increasing the public trust in Kyle.

Endorsements

Obviously, in a county wide race the races are going to have typical partisan endorsements.  Kyle has been reaching out to try and get some less “instantly divisive” endorsements.  These include: former Harris County Treasurers Orlando Sanchez and Don Sumners; Constables Tead Heap, Mark Herman, and Phil Sandlin; HPOU PAC; Houston City Council District G Councilwoman Mary Nan Huffman; Houston Councilman at Large Mike Knox; Houston City Councilman District E and Mayor Pro Term Dave Martin, and Pasadena Mayor Jeff Wagner.

We have to focus on County Judge and the criminal benches.  Those are the most important local positions on the ballot this cycle.  To the extent that anyone wants to focus on other races, this is the one to focus on.  Kyle has the sincerity and vision to be a difference maker.  His vision to expand the office into a help the common man type of office gives him the opportunity to make significant inroads into traditional democrat voters. That’s something we need as a party to try and keep any momentum we gain as a result of the democrats policies creating this opportunity for us.

A prism for candidate evaluation

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As many readers know my wife is from the Philippines.  They just had their Presidential election. Their politics are obviously very different than what we have in the upcoming runoff a rampant social media post about candidate evaluation seemed meritorious, and is a good guide to try and evaluate candidates for the upcoming election.  That post suggested evaluating candidates as follows:

  • Why is the candidate running?
  • What do you think the candidate will do if elected? How did you reach this conclusion?
  • How will they accomplish their campaign promises? Is what they are promising even possible?
  • What is their legislative record? Are their campaign promises in line with their past behavior?

This seems like a good starting point to evaluate the candidates for the upcoming election.  To that list I would add the following:

  • Is the candidate electable in the general election?
  • For county wide races, how will they reach independents and moderate democrats to obtain enough votes to overcome the baseline +10 democratic status in Harris County?
  • Will the candidate be a good messenger for our beliefs?

We have a great opportunity to flip some county wide seats, and Judge Hidalgo seems vulnerable.  However, we have to take a moment and do a cold analysis on the candidates to see who is the better candidate for the election regardless of if they are the closest to our beliefs.  Ideological purity is great if it isn’t a determent to being elected.  We have too much at stake this cycle to let the opportunity pass us by.

I don’t hold strong opinions in the races, other than against Wayne Christian. He steadfastly engages in pass the buck speeches regarding the power fiasco last year.  A true leader has a the buck stops here mentality.  I will vote for Paxton over Bush.  Paxton has his ethical situation, but he has been an effective Attorney General, and other than the Bush name – which is double edged in November – Bush is an especially weak candidate.

I’m also still undecided on the county judge race.  Ideologically Alexandria del Moral Mealer  is the better choice, but Vidal Martinez seems far more electable.  Glad to hear anyone’s pitch for either candidate.  The best way to reach me is [email protected].

Primary season can get emotions high, and it’s easy to become pot invested in a candidate.  The heat of the primary can skew our thoughts.  Given the importance of this cycle to the county, please take the time to look at the criteria above and make sure the candidate you support is the best choice from a cold analytical standpoint.  That’s what swing voters will do in November.

Where is HCRP on Family Values and Election Integrity?

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As Republicans we pride ourselves of being the party of family values.  Lately we also have been repeatedly beating the drum of election integrity.  Both are laudable positions  to take and deserve to be championed with zeal.  However, taking those positions places a duty upon us to act in a manner in accordance with those beliefs.  Two events in the past 60 days raise great concern regarding the manner HCRP is acting in regards to these two issues.

Family Values

Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.  That presumption doesn’t always apply outside of court.  Some matters are so heinous that prudence dictates acting with caution.  Child pornography is one of those instances.  Sadly, Harris County Republican Party has a current precinct chair – an active one at that – who is currently a defendant in Montgomery County for promotion of child pornography.

 

The case number is 21-12-16965, defendant Alex Hargrave.  I certainly hope that if Mr. Hargrave is not guilty he zealously fights the charge and prevails.  A charge is not a finding of guilt.  However, this is promotion of child pornography.  Regardless of political affiliation, people of common decency should find the matter repugnant, and the party of family values should be concerned one of their active precinct chairs has this specter hanging over them.  Although HCRP requires credentialed login on the county party web page to access the precinct chair list an internet search found a list of the 2020-2022 precinct chairs, and is displayed at the end of the article.  This means anyone can cross reference the picture above to the precinct chair list and make the connection.

Giving benefit of the doubt is, at a minimum, asking him to temporarily step back from any committee assignments while the matter is pending.  We are a society that believes in the rule of law and a finding of not guilty is a finding of redemption against a charge.  Should that occur, by all means carry on.

However, despite the information being out since 12/14/2021 HCRP hasn’t said anything regarding the matter.  Is this the behavior of the party of family values?  This is the type of incident that permanently alienates a segment of the voting population.  It’s not difficult to release an official statement to the effect of we are aware and shocked by the allegations, and if true condemn the behavior in the strongest terms possible.

Election Integrity

Election integrity is another important value for HCRP to champion.  If we cannot trust our elections how can we trust our government?  Yet, here, too, HCRP is beset with unsettling news that is public record.  A jury trial just wrapped up on a fraud case regarding the upcoming Republican primary election.  Again, this is a jury trial where the dirty laundry is being aired out in public before a jury.

The cause number is 202201417, styled Ketterman, Julie versus Harris County Republican Party.  You can enter in the case number and find the case here.  The short version of the fact pattern is Julie Ketterman and Rachel Leal-Hudson are, now were, both candidates for judge  of the 313th family law court.  It was alleged, and a jury found, that Leal-Hudson committed fraud in regards to the requisite 250 signatures to appear on the ballot.  Julie Ketterman timely challenged the matter with Cindy and HCRP and the challenge was declined.  Litigation ensued, and in a jury trial the jury found that Leal-Hudson committed 10 counts of fraud relating to the signatures.  This finding lead to a court order enjoining HCRP from certifying her position on the ballot.

With election integrity a hot button issue optics are important.  When the challenge was presented to HCRP they had to make a decision whether to accept or deny the challenge.  What’s so disturbing, from an election integrity standpoint, is Cindy’s statement, “Determining if your allegations of perjury and fraud by Ms. Leal-Hudson is beyond the scope of my authority as County Chairman.  In fact my review is limited to the face of the candidate’s application and attached petitions.”  Either we believe in election integrity or we do not.  If the challenge had been accepted, the only significant difference in the trial is the burden of proof would lie with Ms. Leal-Hudosn.  With the matter heading to court, optics are important.

Final Thoughts

As a general matter Republicans are in a difficult spot in Harris County; with this cycle presenting us an opportunity to make some inroads.  The crime situation being out of control, and Houston assuming a position as the murder capitol of the nation tilts the sentiment, at least in the criminal court judicial races, towards the Republicans.  However, by not acting prudently regarding the two matters noted herein it undermines any benefit the generalized dislike for crime has on the electorate.

People make mistakes and everyone deserves forgiveness if they ask to be forgiven, especially if their actions testify to a change in behavior.  If Mr. Hargrave is not guilty, then I certainly hope he puts on a strong defense and that a jury sides with him.  However, HCRP has to make decisions in near real time.  That requires making hard decisions with the ability to correct after the fact.

If we are the party of family values and election integrity we need to act like it.  The democrats will gladly point out when we do not.

 

 

EDIT:

After the comments below HCRP did send me a copy of a resignation letter dated November 7, 2021.  Although the Texas Secretary of State still lists Mr. Hargrave as a precinct chair it appears he did effectively resign on November 7, 2021 and that simply has not been communicated to the Secretary of State.  The letter contains a significant amount of private information unrelated to the post here.  If I were to post the letter it would be very heavily redacted, and I am not going to publish the screenshot.

Why I Didn’t Endorse Kendall Baker

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On November 3 I was out of the election for Houston ISD. It was my intention to simply sit out the runoff. Other than a statement thanking my supporters and answering questions sent to my I didn’t say anything until Kendall’s campaign started altering images to look like he had community support when it was just stock photos. We deserve better than that. After Kendall saw fit to attack/disparage me on the Freedom Matters Action Group video this weekend I’m going to take the time to explain why I didn’t endorse him.

When I first filed for election I had planned on endorsing Kendall if I didn’t make the runoff. As a matter of due diligence I did extensive opposition research on both my opponents. The research revealed very disturbing information on Kendall. During the campaign I sat on the information for a couple of different reasons. First, as is my wont I tried to run a positive campaign with a big-tent philosophy. The party is strong when we welcome all like minded individuals, and weakened by RINO allegations. Second, I didn’t want to release this information because it could have hurt Bridget and Caroline in their campaigns. I also didn’t communicate with Cindy since she is HCRP Chair and appointed Kendall as sergeant-at-arms. I wanted to make sure to do no harm.

I’m aware that some of the opposition research has been released in the runoff. Not by my hand, but I see it following the race. Rather than address it in the manner it was released, here’s an organized review of what I found. Once you see what’s out there hopefully it is clear why I didn’t endorse him.

From the outset let me be clear: I’m not seeking to do harm with this post. If I was intending on causing Kendall or HCRP harm I would have emailed this information to Cindy and given her 10 days to act before going public with this information. I didn’t do so because it’s not my nature to do harm, and I didn’t want to hurt Bridget or Caroline in their races given the high likelihood this could be used as a blunt force attack against all Republican candidates. However, since he didn’t respect my decision to stay out of the runoff and brought me up in the video this weekend I’m going to set the record straight:

I didn’t endorse him because of the weight of the disturbing evidence I found in my opposition research.

Suit Against the City

I’m not going to rehash the allegations of sexual harassment that caused his indefinite suspension from the City. Rather, his claim that he sued the City and won is what’s important to address. He has produced a finding from an unemployment claim that went his way to support his allegation he sued the City and won. However, he did sue the City of Houston regarding the incident in the Southern District of Texas District Court. Don’t take my word for it. Look up the information yourself the cause of action is Civil Action No. 4:16-CV-03100.

In his suit against the City he did not prevail with the Court finding he provided insufficient evidence to substantiate his claim. However, that’s not what’s concerning about his suit against the City. The Court noted, “Baker makes one statement that “females and white workers have their claims of sexual harassment taken serious [sic]”.

HISD is already beset with racial tensions. This type of mentality is not something that will help reduce the racial tensions in the district. Just at troubling, this defeat in the courts shows that he is willing to misrepresent the occurrences surrounding his actions against the City following his termination. If he wanted to say I contested the firing and the unemployment commission found for me, great. That’s what happened. Rather, he is saying he sued the City and won, when his case was dismissed on the City’s Motion to Dismiss. He knows this, but misrepresents what happened. Both the racial elements of his suit and the willingness to misrepresent what happened raised significant concern.

However, that was a long time ago. Everyone deserves a chance to show what happened was a one off, or that the alleged behavior is remote and they have changed their ways. Looking at current happenings raises different areas of concern.

2D Consulting Fraud Judgment

Looking at his 30 day campaign finance report raised suspicions. Specifically he had an inordinate amount of debt incurred to his campaign consulting company. This raised suspicion, so I plugged their name into the Harris County District Court as defendant. It came up with a hit for the company in a fraud case. Again, don’t just take my word for it. Look it up, the case number is: 202026601.

The Court has listed the case type as fraud. After a bench trial the Court found in place of the plaintiffs against all parties including 2D Development LLC. Since 2D Development is a business I went to the Secretary of State and looked up who the directors are, and it shows that James Dunn, his campaign treasurer is a director of 2D Development. So now we have a fraud judgment against the campaign consulting company, and the campaign treasurer who is the de facto campaign manager, as director of the entity with a fraud judgment.

Now, we have both the misrepresentation regarding what happened after his termination by the city as well as using a consulting company with a fraud judgment. That’s now both remote and recent activities showing some level of dishonesty. The altering stock photograph suddenly doesn’t seem nearly as surprising. With both remote and recent questionable judgment it creates more concern. However, that wasn’t enough to keep me from endorsing. The circumstances surrounding his divorce are especially disturbing and why I didn’t endorse him.

Withholding his 19 Month old Daughter and Writ of Attachment Application

People get divorced. It happens. I don’t hold that against anyone, and it should not be fair game for judging a person’s character. However, looking at the court records for the divorce revealed very disturbing information. Again, don’t just take my word for it. Look up the information yourself; the cause number is: 201731542. The divorce has numerous documents. What concerns me is the Counter Petitioner’s Supporting Affidavit. The Court Reporter’s Exhibit List shows pictures as an exhibit, so I went back and looked for an associated file, and found cause number 201731542A. Here’s where things get disturbing. In this case, there is a handwritten affidavit that is slightly different from the typed affidavit in the main divorce action.

This hand written affidavit makes very specific allegations of things that can only be described as temper control issues and constitute domestic abuse. Go read it yourself. The document called Exhibit A is pictures submitted in support of the affidavit. Unfortunately, they suffer from the technological limitations of the court system and are of poor quality. However, even with the poor quality making some of the pictures incomprehensible the ones that can be seen do show photographic evidence of some of what’s alleged in the affidavit. The specific allegations regarding damage to the dwelling are supported by the pictures.  I could be more descriptive, but everyone should go and see the pictures for themselves and make their own judgment.

Now, and I want to be clear here, I do not believe the allegations in the typed affidavit that are not present in the written affidavit. The new allegations in the typed allegations are the type that could be proved by photographic evidence (or medical records) and no such evidence is presented. As such, I do not believe the allegations in the typed affidavit that are missing in the written affidavit. They may be true. However, I am only willing to believe allegations supported by evidence.

It’s unfortunate that what the affidavit calls exhibit B is not found. The allegedly recorded call would be very interesting to hear to see if the allegation of verbal abuse is supported. However, I’m prone to believe that some questionable behavior existed since a call was recorded and submitted as evidence to the court. With Exhibit A supporting some of the allegations in the hand written affidavit it seem reasonable that the evidence submitted in Exhibit B lends some more support to the allegations. To me this is credible evidence of domestic abuse.

Endorse or Not Endorse

With both remote and recent evidence of misrepresenting the truth and what is, to me, credible allegations of domestic abuse based on photographic support it was an easy decision not to endorse. As mentioned earlier, I intentionally did not release this information during the campaign. With him holding an appointed position in Harris County Republican Party this is something that could have blown up and hurt every Republican candidate on the ballot.

Again, I wasn’t going to say anything and continue to sit on this information until the election was over. However, after he decided to bring me up in the Freedom Matters Action Group I’m setting the record straight. I’m not a RINO, and not refusing to endorse because of differing views or an attempt to harm him.

As noted at the beginning of this post if I was out to do harm, I would have emailed all of this to Cindy early in the campaign and given her 10 days to act before publicizing the information. My intention never is to do harm, and that’s why I refuse to write hit pieces here even though I’ve been asked to do so. However, I am going to defend my good name. While I don’t like disclosing this information I also believe in setting the record straight, especially in light that I’ve been sitting on this information and not involved in the runoff.

What’s Next?

I neither know nor want to know what’s been going on in the background. I see some of the opposition research has made its way into the public, and so am addressing those points. I have more information and documentation in support of the information, but since it hasn’t made its way into the public I’m not going to expose the information. Again, my intention is to set the record straight on why I didn’t endorse and answer the cry of RINO rather than do harm. I wish he had respected my decision to stay out of the race and not interject me back into the discussion. No one benefits when politics gets ugly.

Now that this information is out everyone who has endorsed Kendall has a decision to make. Will they continue to endorse him, or will they retract their endorsement.

Log Cabin Republican Holiday Soiree – Chadwick Moore Guest Speaker

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This is a press release by the Log Cabin Republicans.

The Log Cabin Republicans of Houston are pleased to host an evening with dynamic conservative activist, Chadwick Moore, at their holiday gathering December 8, 2021. Chadwick is the editor-in-chief of OUTspoken, a Spectator columnist and contributing editor, has appeared on Fox News, NPR and other news outlets, and is a popular speaker nationally. As a former Socialist he provides a fresh vision of modern conservativism in America. Tickets for this event are available at www.LogCabinHouston.org/calendar.

Log Cabin Republicans is the nation’s original and largest organization representing gay conservatives and allies who support fairness, freedom, and equality for all Americans. Log Cabin Republicans has state and local chapters nationwide, full-time staff in Washington, DC, a federal political action committee, and state political action committees.  Log Cabin Republicans of Houston strives to be an advocate for legal and political equality for all Houstonians, regardless of sexual orientation or status, under the framework of the Republican principles of limited government, individual liberty, and personal responsibility.

Looking Beyond Todays Disgraceful Riot in DC

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The scene at the Capitol is disgraceful.

The scene at the Capitol should not be a surprise to anyone.

This type of lawlessness has become distasteful, but tolerated, behavior. Just yesterday some were saying that boarding up ahead of the announcement on whether charges would be filed for the officers involved with Jacob Blake is “hurtful” and “incitement.” They, a vast majority the left, were building excuses to riot based on their whims.  Until it became a threat to the left it was going to continue to be permitted. Today’s disgraceful rioting at the Capitol is the fruit of the past tolerance of violence and rioting.

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