If you were at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club’s weekly meeting yesterday, you heard a couple of remarkable claims. I’ve already written about one, so let’s talk about the other one.
During the question and answer session for Houston City Council At-Large 3 candidates, the issue of supporters of Michael Kubosh was brought up. Unfortunately, I didn’t record the meeting and can’t remember if it was a question from the audience or if Roy Morales brought it up. What I do know is that Michael’s answer was very misleading, at least without the context I describe below.
What I do recall of his answer is that Mike said that Quanell X wasn’t a supporter. I was stunned when I heard him say that because the plain fact of the matter is that Quanell X IS a supporter of Mike’s and Mike and I have discussed it many times. In a positive way. I think it is awesome that Michael Kubosh is able to reach out to all communities in Houston.
So I called Mike this morning and told him that I was going to smack him upside the head for his answer and did he have a reason for saying that? Perhaps he misspoke, ya know?
Mike told me that Roy has been out on the campaign trail saying that Quanell X was a financial supporter and that is what he was responding to. Mike told me that Quanell X hasn’t given him any financial support but that yes, Quanell X likes him. Upon recollection, Mike did mention that Quanell X had not given him any money later in his answer. But honestly, I didn’t interpret his answer that way.
Interestingly, Mike’s brother Paul left a comment on my friend Karen Townsend’s Pondering Penguin blog about this:
Think about it Mike Kubosh’s biggest supporter Quanell X? Please.
Well, that muddies the water a little bit more, doesn’t it?
Here’s the deal, I guess. The DHPC is not only my favorite club, it is Mike’s. And I’d bet that 90{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the attendees on Thursday had the same reaction I did because we all know that Mike reached out to Quanell X and had him at his campaign announcement:
That is a picture I took at Mike’s announcement. It isn’t a secret.
Look, I’m positive that Quanell X isn’t a financial supporter of Mike’s. Very few people are because Mike refuses to solicit campaign funds – he is for the most part self-funded because, as he told me earlier this year, how can he ask hard working people for money when he has enough to fund his own campaign?
As to his brother Paul’s comment that Quanell X isn’t Mike’s “biggest supporter”, I have no doubt about that because the line of supporters for Mike is pretty long and includes me. That said, Quannell X is a supporter of Mike’s.
Here’s the deal. Either you believe Mike’s answer that he thought the question was about Roy’s claims of financial support or you don’t.
I believe him because I’m a supporter and he would be foolish to try and get away with telling the DHPC that Quanell X didn’t support him in any other context. I mean, I was sitting 10 feet away – is it realistic to think that I wouldn’t notice this? On the other hand, I can understand anyone that supports Roy being perplexed by Mike’s statement that day because without the context of Roy’s alleged other statements, it doesn’t ring true.
The decision, as they say, is yours.
On another topic, mark your calendar to be sure you attend the DHPC’s December 5th meeting. They will be having their annual Christmas party and collecting donations for Toys for Tots. You will not want to miss this one because the featured speaker is none other than our next governor, Greg Abbott! Don’t forget to bring a toy – they will have a representative from Toys for Tots there to accept your gift. And be early – I don’t think that you will be able to get in if you arrive at noon. Club President Sophia Mafrige worked hard to make this happen, so be there, and bring a toy or three! Or, I suppose you could pay a hundred bucks to go hear Jared Woodfill’s Chairman’s Analysis on the 2014 Issues Facing Local Republicans. Heh, I know where I’ll be!