Still catching up after a nice vacation on the emerald coast. A few things caught my eye.
First is the “investigation” into Judge Alicia Franklin’s billing practices by local attorney Greg Enos. I’m not certain what Enos is trying to accomplish in this one. He did well in helping to expose Judge Denise Pratt’s incompetence behind the bench. But this one puzzles me – he initially was going to go after former HCRP Chair Gary Polland for his billing practices but is now honed in on Judge Franklin.
It appears to me that Enos wants to change the way attorneys bill Harris County for their CPS appointments. Which is A-okay with me if they are over-billing or fraudulently billing. Thus far, he hasn’t proven his case, focusing instead on total hours billed daily. Look, clearly no lawyer can bill 32 hours in a 24 hour day. Duh. The practice has been for lawyers to bill for the time their firms spend on cases, i.e., sure, Franklin billed 32 hours for xxx date but a large portion of that time was for the associates in her firm. If Enos is right and this practice is illegal, it will affect most all of the attorneys that have been appointed for these cases.
If his goal is to eliminate the practice of billing for associate hours, that’s good if it is indeed what the state legislature wants. If he finds actual wrongdoing on the part of Judge Franklin or anyone else, kudos to him and hopefully the full force of the law will be applied. If he wants sympathy from me, well, I can give him some because Franklin refuses to talk to me about the issue and instead has hired a PR firm, Begala/McGrath, to speak for her. Funny how she was willing to meet with me when she was looking for votes. Go figure.
About Enos’ request for an independent prosecutor, I hope he isn’t holding his breath. Current Harris County DA Devon Anderson showed how she can circumvent that system by her handling of HPD detective Ryan Chandler’s case. We’ll have a separate article about that on BJP but just remember this – she gave Chandler’s case to a former HPOU Union rep. Well, actually she didn’t, she had her friend Judge Susan Brown do that. Like I said, more to come on this one.
Speaking of DA Anderson, it looks like she threw respected Family Law Judge Lynn Bradshaw-Hull under the bus in this article by Kiah Collier in the Houston Chronicle. That article is so one-sided bad that I had to look three times at the byline – Collier is a good reporter and most of the time plays it straight. But this one, wow. We’ll definitely respond to the article as it relates to Judge Bradshaw-Hull but why on earth would the DA throw a respected family law judge under the bus? I mean, we already have a weak slate of candidates, why help the Democrats?
Of course, I can’t really complain about that, being a Republican office holder of sorts (Precinct Chair) and publicly supporting Anderson’s Democratic opponent. On that note, I received a call today from a high profile Harris County Republican wanting to help Anderson’s opponent, Kim Ogg, behind the scenes. Seems like a lot of Harris County Republicans are waking up to the fact that the current DA is…well, let’s just say that some people don’t like corruption. Is that cool?
But perhaps the weirdest (funniest?) (most ironic?) thing I’ve read about the local Republican party is that Carl Pittman is making another run for Sheriff in 2016. This is especially weird (funny?) (ironic?) during a news cycle that features wife beating Ray Rice, formerly an NFL player of note. First, I see on my friend Karen Townsend’s Pondering Penguin that Pittman is running in 2016 and that of all the Republican groups out there, a Republican Women’s club had him as a speaker. Wow.
Then I see this advertisement for him when I log on to Facebook:
Geez freaking Louise!!!! Right is right and wrong is wrong, no matter who does it???? Are you kidding me??? I’d suggest that you read up on Mr. Pittman before you think he should be Sheriff. Sheesh.
I think I’ll hang around town this week. Too much happens when I’m gone!
Foolish Memo says
I remember the slogan: “you meet the nicest people on a Honda”
.
You can also meet the looniest people in politics!
Why on earth the political parties have, choose, support and elect those that they do……… well it’s because they can, and do.
Karen Townsend says
Carl Pittman was invited to speak to Memorial West Republican Women about his recently published book, “ The Personal Journey of a Black Common Sense Conservative.” If one reads my blog post it is clear that the mention of his candidacy for the upcoming race for Harris County Sheriff in 2016 is only mentioned as the very last sentence in his biography. He was there to promote his book and offered it for sale to our members and guests. His is a truly American success story and he is uniquely positioned to speak about breaking the cycle of black voters supporting the Democrat Party.
Mr. Pittman and the football player referenced in your criticism of his visit to Memorial West RW are two completely separate stories. I am not here to defend him or recite the stories you referenced, nor am I here to judge his wife or ex-wife, both of whom completely and publicly supported Carl in his last campaign for Harris County Sheriff. The only common denominator I see is that both men in your comparison are black men.
I wrote about Mr. Pittman’s speech because I am a member of Memorial West RW – a past President and currently VP of Programs for the club. Our mission is to educate voters on issues relevant to the Republican Party and politics, as well as supporting Republican candidates. Republican Women are the strength of the Republican Party. No one doubts the intelligence or grit of a Republican Woman in Texas. Mr. Pittman was met with warm applause as I introduced him before his speech and after his speech. Many members purchased a book, too, which he personalized for them.
Mr. Pittman’s speech was not funny, ironic or an endorsement of his candidacy in a 2016 election. It was an appearance by an author promoting a very relevant and timely book.
Concerned Voter says
Pittman was cleared and the allegations were recanted. Thats a fact.
The stuff you wrote is, at best, misinformed rhetoric. I am concerned that your motives may not be as innocent as a simple mistake of fact.
If you expect or hope to influence people’s political opinions, take the time to learn the facts.
The body politic needs less mud slinging and more truth telling.
I wish you the best and I hope you can see the truth in this.
David Jennings says
Concerned Voter,
Read the transcripts, listen to the interviews, read the internal investigation reports.
Truth. Facts.
Thank you.