There is only one county wide race on the Republican primary ballot in Harris County. That is for the 295th Civil District Court between primary front-runner Richard Risinger and Michelle Fraga. I doubt the majority of Republican voters are going to be rushing to the polls for either one, even though it is an important position. Such is the state of electing judges in a partisan manner.
So what’s going to drive turnout? Glad you asked. That would be the turnout in the runoff in CD2 between primary front-runner Kevin Roberts and Dan Crenshaw. On primary day, March 6th, a total of 47,428 ballots were cast in CD2, with 46,245 choosing to vote in this race. Given its high profile, a fair number of those voters will return to vote in the runoff. But it probably won’t be as high as your gut tells you. Let’s take a look at a few historical instances in Harris County.
Given the high profile and amount of money being thrown around in the CD2 runoff, let’s say that the turnout will be 70%, close enough to the last three high profile races. The problem is that drop off in the 2008 Harris County DA’s race, a very high profile race that was county wide. If only 23.7% of voters returned for that race, the drop off for a single judicial race is going to be huge.
Of course, there is one more race on to consider, that being the JP 5, Place 2 runoff between incumbent Jeff Williams and Mike Wolfe. There is a good bit of overlap between CD2 and JP5, so I don’t think that it is going to affect turnout one way or the other.
As you know, all three of the major slates in Harris County Republican Party politics “endorsed” Kevin Roberts. They split on the judicial race, with Hotze and Polland choosing Risinger, Lowry choosing Fraga. And then they were unanimous again in “endorsing” Wolfe.
Looked at in this way, you begin to see the mountain that Dan Crenshaw and Jeff Williams have to climb. Richard Risinger is a little better off because of Hotze’s mail ballot expertise with older voters but he is going to have to overcome the money behind Roberts, which is spewing dishonest trash against Crenshaw and Williams. Of course, Risinger was in a runoff in 2008 and Lowry attacked his family – Risinger lost. Lowry is not an honorable man.
Take a look at Terry Lowry’s Link Letter. Little fella has never been particularly honest but this year, he stoops to a whole new level of disgusting.
(click here to download the pdf)
I don’t know how many of Lowry’s acolytes are going to believe this trash and vote because of it but there will be some. Crenshaw is a newbie to politics and the consultants he is now using are new to Harris County politics, so the chances of offsetting this trash are not high. And if Lowry’s “good Christian” voters follow his lead, this trash might rule the day.
How then can Crenshaw, Williams and Risinger overcome this type of blatant dishonesty? With your help and only with your help. There is a guy I know that has a little line that he uses before meetings and it goes something like this: “When you say someone needs to do something, remember this: you are someone! So do something!”
That guy’s name is Tom Zakes, a long time Harris County Republican activist and Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club board member. Tom sent this out using the DHPC maillist:
It pains me to write this, because a good number of the people involved have been friends of mine for decades.
I have never been one to refer to the mail out slates in Harris County as “pay-to-play.” It could be that a candidate who buys advertising then gets an endorsement that he wouldn’t have had otherwise. But I have never seen that definitively in the Texas Conservative Review (Gary Polland & Marc Cowart), Link Letter (Terry Lowry) or Conservative Republicans of Harris County (Steve Hotze & Jared Woodfill). I have been approached by other groups that put out slates, asking me if I could “help them get the word out” about their endorsements if they backed me when I was running for city council in 1989 and for JP in 2016.
I grew up with bare knuckle politics, and I have never shied away from a political fight. I learned at an early age to read between the lines in political advertising. And I have seen how candidates and their operatives will often stretch the truth.
Though I expect negative campaigning, what I refuse to participate in is false advertising. And the runoff edition of the Link Letter has crossed that line. In addition to attacking former Navy Seal Dan Crenshaw, Lowry also draws a bead on Justice of the Peace Jeff Williams.
The basis of his ire is that Williams performs same sex marriages. But that is misplaced. After the 2015 Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell, same sex weddings came to Texas, whether we liked it or not. After that, the Democrat County Attorney, Vince Ryan, issued an opinion letter to all the judges in Harris County: If you are going to perform any weddings, you MUST perform same sex weddings. Refusal to do so could result in action being brought to remove them from office. And we’ve seen how willing Vince Ryan is to waste county resources to remove public officials like Dave Wilson who he doesn’t like.
Williams and his counterpart judge in Precinct 5, Hon. Russ Ridgway, both stopped performing weddings in response to that directive. However, their constituents kept coming, wanting a simple wedding in front of a JP instead of a big expensive wedding at a church or rented hall. Ridgway and Williams had to decide: do we inconvenience more than 90% of our constituents because of a ruling we disagree with, or do we follow the directive from the County Attorney? They decided to go back to performing weddings. And remember, weddings performed by a Justice of the Peace are a civil ceremony, not a religious one. And as a side note, all 16 of the JPs in Harris County, including the 6 Republicans, perform weddings. Will Lowry go after the others, next?
Even more disturbing than what Lowry wrote is the “Guest Editorial” by my friend Eric Dick. Even the headline is a lie. It says “I’m voting for Mike Wolfe and You Should Too.” The problem with that sentence is that Eric and his wife (and two lovely daughters) live in Precinct 1, where they are registered to vote. So unless he commits vote fraud, Eric is NOT voting for Wolfe for JP.
He follows up with descriptions about how Williams allegedly acts in his court. The problem is, in the decade that Eric has been an attorney, he has appeared as attorney of record in a grand total of three cases in that court. And all three of those were filed when Bill Yeoman was the judge. Dick complains about an unnamed woman who was forced to stay in Court from 7 am to 7 pm three days in a row. But Williams’ Court has its earliest docket at 8 am, and the staff opens the doors at 7:30.
Wolfe has been invited to speak at our Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club about his race for JP. Both times, he accepted, and was scheduled to speak. Both times, he cancelled, the second time when he was the only scheduled speaker, leaving us to scramble to find a replacement in order to have a program.
I would have no problem with Eric Dick saying “I am on the Board of HCDE with Michael Wolfe, and encourage you to vote for him.” I would have no problem with Terry Lowry saying “I know Kevin Roberts from church, and think he’s a great guy. Please vote for him.” But to violate the Ninth Commandment by bearing false witness against one’s neighbor (Exodus 20:16), or committing an abomination by lying (Proverbs 12:22) are serious reasons not to vote for a candidate.
The runoff edition of the Link Letter is a lie. There can be no question about that and I’m glad that Tom has finally recognized that and said something about it. After all, he is someone. And so are you. See something, say something. Find a friend who lives in CD2 and make sure they know about the lies. You too are someone.
One of the more interesting things about this version of the Link Letter is that there are no “paid political advertising” disclaimers to be found. That is indeed interesting. Why do you think that is? My guess is that Lowry is trying to hide the amount of money that Kevin Roberts’ brother in law Mark Lanier is pouring into this race. After all, Lanier has been financing Lowry for years, allowing Lowry to spew his particular brand of hate. Why stop now? But that is only a guess. We already know that Fraga and Wolfe paid Lowry $15,000 for the primary. Will their new campaign finance reports list this trash as an in-kind contribution?
Kevin Roberts could have stopped this. But winning is apparently far more important to him than living a life for Christ. Hey, it happens. None of us are immune to the power of Satan.
But you can stop this. Vote for Crenshaw, Williams and Risinger. Tell your friends to vote for Crenshaw, Williams and Risinger. After all, you are someone.
Wow. So Big Jolly, you actually speak out against Ed Emmett’s choice in CD2, Kevin Roberts? This race has created very strange bedfellows – when was the last time we saw the Ed Emmett/Harless team endorsing the same congressional candidate as Hotze-Lowry-Polland team? Now Kevin likes to tell folks its because they all think he’ll be the best congressman, but in the end, who will he side with in the inevitable disputes between the two groups over policy? Somebody will not be very happy with their guy at some point on some very big issue where we know the two polar opposite teams disagree. Rather than vote for 52(?) year old Kevin, perhaps folks should more closely consider 35(?) year old Crenshaw. If both go the distance for more than two decades, both will likely become at least a subcommittee chairman, and possibly like Brady after 20 years, a major committee chairman. For Crenshaw, it would probably be the Armed Services Committee, for Roberts it would probably be the Business & Commerce Committee, so which would be a more effective Chair in 20 years – a 55 year old Crenshaw or a 72 year old Roberts? Right now, we have good representation on the three most powerful committees – Culberson as Chairman of Appropriations’s Commerce & Justice Subcommittee, Brady as Chairman of Ways & Means, and Pete Olson on Business & Commerce already. In 14 years there, Ted Poe became a high ranker on Judiciary, and presumably accomplished his goals, but did not become Committee Chairman. So, which one will have more influence and impact on helping President Trump and conservative Republicans accomplish their goals? and equally importantly, who will best represent and best meet the needs of CD 2 constituents? I think in the end, the scale tips to Crenshaw, partly because of his incredible service to defending America, his Purple Heart, and his very smart intellect and the incredible respect he will garner as our congressman. He will be listened too probably more than Kevin, as he was in all his tours of duty. Good luck to all; both the candidates and all of those that live in CD 2.
Kevin Roberts has been a lowly state rep for all of 5 seconds and now he is practically slandering a former Navy SEAL? This really turns me off and pisses me off. I was really not planning on voting in this run-off. Now, I feel like I have to. I hope Crenshaw embarasses this piece of garbage putting these disgusting mailers in my mailbox.
I didn’t know Judge Williams was marrying gay couples. Frankly, I don’t give a damn. I’m going to vote against him because of the way he runs his court. He acts like a little god, sitting on the bench behind a plexiglass barrier like he’s afraid he’s going to catch something from the litigants in his court.
I’ve been a practicing lawyer for more than 30 years and I’ve only been treated as badly by one other judge — another JP. Judge Williams ordered me in writing to appear for a show cause hearing where he wanted to hold me in contempt. I showed up. He didn’t. I drove about 25 miles from my downtown office. After his clerks called the docket and I wasn’t called, I asked what was going on. Oh, I was told, that’s been dismissed.
If a judge orders a lawyer to appear, the lawyer has to appear. If it’s cancelled, it is just common courtesy to call the lawyer and tell him. Of the judges who get in trouble with the Commission on Judicial Conduct, most are justices of the peace. They regularly overstep their authority.
I don’t know Mike Wolfe from Adam. My vote won’t be for him. It will be against Jeff Williams. Maybe he’ll be like Williams’ predecessor, Judge Yoeman, and treat everyone in his court with respect.
Tom,
So I guess you got butt hurt or something. I’ll tell Williams to apologize to you.
But before you vote for his opponent, at least research him. You do not want to put Wolfe in this office. Ridiculous.
Suck it up Buttercup!
DJ
JP courts aren’t that important. That’s why you don’t have to be a lawyer. There isn’t much to screw up and the stakes are small. That’s why I rarely appear in JP court. It’s not worth it to my clients to pay my fee for that representation. I was there for a friend when I had my experience with Judge Williams.
I’ve practiced in state, federal and international courts. By and large, even the nastiest federal judges treat me like the professional I am.
And, if a judge treats me like Williams did, how many other people does he mistreat? A lot of the people in JP court don’t have lawyers. I’ll bet he rides roughshod over them.
By the way, he’s already apologized. An apology but no explanation of why it happened and what he was doing to prevent things like that happening in the future. I’m just one person. How many other people has he screwed over in his 8 years on the bench. Everyone, not just lawyers, deserve to be treated with respect by judges. In my opinion, Judge Williams doesn’t.
That race is the only race on my runoff ballot and you can bet I’ll be voting early. And, by the way, you know how I feel about the slates. I am less of a fan than you are.
Tom —
Regardless of what these pond scum say, I wrote a true story in the Link Letter. Everyone I speak to says the same thing – Williams is a horrible judge. I’m convinced that Wolfe will be user friendly.
Eric: I have a few problems with your LinkLetter story, like a JP salary being $156,000 per year. That’s about what a district judge or court of appeals justice makes with his county supplement. I tried to Google the salary this morning and couldn’t get a decent answer. As I recall, the salaries of the JPS vary per precinct based on caseload. But I could be wrong.
As for judges making money doing weddings, you bet they do but not as much as they used to. Until there was a three-day waiting period between issuance of license and wedding, the JP in the criminal courthouse downtown made a killing. In the 1970s, a JP named Larry Wayne made tens of thousands per year doing weddings. When there came a problem with him doing weddings for some reason I don’t recall, he resigned and moved to Las Vegas.
Along the line of weddings, judges do not have to perform weddings. But I think that if they do, they have to do it for any couple who asks regardless of the type of couple. You’d probably go nuts if a JP refused to do interracial weddings. I would and I’d be at the Judicial Conduct Commission. For me, the same is true of same sex marriages. When Justice Gorsuch was asked about same sex marriages during his confirmation hearing, he replied, “That’s a settled issue.” And it is.
If a judge is going to cash in on the marrying business, he ought to perform them for any couple with a valid wedding license.
Judge Williams simply doesn’t know how to run his court and he takes it out on the people who appear before him. All litigants deserve courtesy from the bench. I’m a criminal defense attorney and my clients are treated respectfully by most of the 22 criminal district judges here. I may not like their rulings but at least my clients and my fellow lawyers are treated with some modicum of respect. There’s one district judge up for re-election this year who I’ve known for many years. I’m going to vote for her opponent because she abused one of my clients and she makes a habit of doing so.
All citizens deserve to be treated with respect by their public servants. Whether it’s a power mad president of a school board who has a citizen arrested for talking a few seconds too long or a judge who treats litigants like a piece of meat, I’ll vote against them for that reason every time regardless of party affiliation or even whether I generally agree with him.
Tom,
You said: As I recall, the salaries of the JPS vary per precinct based on caseload.
My understanding is that they changed that because it ended up looking like minority precincts were paid less than Caucasion precincts. All of my sources say JP Justices are paid the around same as County Court and District Judges. Around 150k
As I state in the article, my problem with him is how he treats people. I didn’t know much about him until I started asking around and was astonished by what people had to say. I have had sitting Justice of the Peace Justices complain that Williams “is a jerk and is unfit for office.” I have had fellow lawyers say “the guy sanctioned me for being late when my car broke down.” Even had someone in my office complain. Of course, when I heard what he did to that poor woman I was pretty upset.
As far as marriages are concerned, I think the larger issue is that while Hurricane Harvey was going down he was more interested with a place to conduct marriages versus helping his community. Almost anyone can perform weddings — all you have to do is get a certificate for Universal Life Church. He was performing weddings because that is a cash business that goes into his pocket. I want to be very clear — none of the wedding money goes to Harris County and it all goes the the judge.
True, some people consider the traditional marriage issue decided and accept the results. Some do not. I wasn’t trying to judge or take a position. I could have better explained your position.
Eric, would you happen to have any pictures of your floats in the 2016 & 2017 Gay Pride Parade?
DJ
For some reason I received a second mailing of the Link Letter this week. No, he did not fix the picture of Alabama’s Roy Moore on page 11. Does not shock me at all that Terry Lowry doesn’t know what the local family court judge with a similar name looks like, despite the fact that he printed the pictures in an attempt to talk down to readers about knowing who their candidates are. You have to feel a little sad for aging prostitutes who are losing their edge.
LOL, I didn’t catch that. Too funny!