As you probably know, the 311th Family Court has been in the news for the past six months because of the antics of the incompetent Judge Denise Pratt. Unfortunately for Harris County families, Pratt refuses to resign from the bench and continues to harm families in crisis. The best way for Harris County Republican voters to send her a strong message of rebuke is to vote for one of her opponents in the March 4th primary.
I’ll be voting for Anthony Magdaleno in that primary. Anthony’s long experience representing families in crisis has given him the right perspective for the job. In fact, I’ll let you read his perspective from a questionnaire he filled out for me four years ago:
Why should people vote for you in the primary?
Anthony Magdaleno
Because I believe that the “black robe” a family law judge wears is a robe of service and not a robe of power.
In my practice, when a client comes into my office with a family matter, such as a divorce, that client is quite often almost in a state of panic, thinking that his or her world is ending because of the threat that he or she is going to lose his or her children, house, car, retirement, etc. In such a situation, I have always enjoyed being able to sit down with that client, assess the situation, and advise that client of what could be done to address his or her particular situation so that the burden of stress he or she was under could be “lifted off his or her shoulders”. When that client left my office feeling a sense of relief, then I felt I had done an important part of my job — that of helping that client prepare emotionally to deal with the situation at hand and to proceed to court.
I would now like to take this perspective to the courthouse, and sit as a judge to help BOTH PARTIES get through the judicial process without unnecessary stress, grief, chaos, embarrassment, or expense. In addition, since litigants in family court quite often have the intimate details of their personal lives exposed in open court, I believe it is so very important for a judge to have the appropriate demeanor in dealing with litigants before the Court. A judge should be respectful to litigants, and not belittle, ridicule, intimidate, or yell at them. All that does is to make an already difficult situation unbearable. A family court should be respected but not feared.
I thought that was the most refreshing answer in that campaign and it still holds true today. Anthony would be a breath of fresh air in a family court system that desperately needs it. He has refused to play along with the pay-to-play slate system in both of his campaigns – a system that resulted in the wholly incompetent Judge Denise Pratt sitting behind the bench.
Anthony also won this year’s Houston Bar Poll for this bench among his Republican opponents:
2014 Houston Bar Poll results
Anthony has also been a tireless advocate of the Harris County Republican Party’s efforts to reach minority voters with a message of inclusion for small government, free market, maximum liberty principles. It is hard to go to a meeting anywhere in Harris County’s minority neighborhoods and not find Anthony already there spreading the message.
I urge you not to let the pay-to-play system result in another incompetent judge sitting behind the bench of the 311th. Study the candidates, talk to them, and I think that you will arrive at the same conclusion I have and that you too will vote for Anthony Magdaleno in the 311th primary.
Anthony Magdaleno addressing the Houston Young Republicans
It’s been a long time since I left a Republican meeting in Harris County feeling like there is hope for the future. Such was the case when I left last night’s meeting of the Houston Young Republicans, held at the El Tiempo Cantina in the East End. At one point during the meeting, Ed Hubbard turned to me and said, people are finally getting it. Thank goodness for that.
I counted 42 people crammed into the back room but there could have been a few I missed because it isn’t a closed area. Obviously, most of the attendees were “young” but there were a few of us older types as well. And since I practically begged Harris County Republican Party office holders, candidates, and party power brokers to attend, let me list those who made it.
District Clerk Chris Daniel was the only elected official to attend. Whether or not you love him, hate him, or are indifferent towards him, you have to admit that since the first day on the job, he has gone into ANY neighborhood in the county promoting his office and Republicans. I understand that he is going to have a primary opponent this year but that opponent cannot say that Chris doesn’t work hard at promoting the party.
Of special significance was the presence of two SREC members: Tina Gibson from SD17 and Bonnie Lugo from SD13. Tina helped spread the word about the event and even brought her husband, Ft. Bend Republican Party Chair Mike Gibson. That is one heckuva drive and shows their commitment to reaching non-traditional voters at the same time they are supporting the next generation of Republican leaders.
Candidates that I saw:
City:
Chris Carmona – Houston City Council At Large 3
Trebor Gordon – Houston City Council At Large 2
Mike Knox – Houston City Council District A
County:
Alicia Franklin – 247th District Court
Melanie Flowers – 247th District Court
Congress:
Sean Siebert – CD 18
And Ed Hubbard was there – you probably know Ed from his posts on BigJollyPolitics.com but don’t forget that he took Harris County Republican Party Chair Jared Woodfill to a runoff in 2010 by pushing the same agenda we are still pushing – expanding the party by holding to conservative principles and embracing non-traditional neighborhoods. Think where we could be today if voters had made a different choice back then.
I’d like to personally thank each of those listed for coming out and helping the party break through its self-imposed constraints. Working together, we can turn this ship around.
Now, on to the speaker, Anthony Magdaleno. Wow. I don’t know what happened to the polite, well mannered guy I met in 2009 but my goodness, he is fired up now!
In reference to the recent GOP 100 page outreach plan that recommended spending $10 million to send workers to minority communities, he said “I don’t care if you produce a 500 page report and spend $100 million, it will do no good if you don’t come into the neighborhood”. He stressed time and time again that Republicans have to be involved year round, not just at election time.
While acknowledging that racism still exists, he insisted that most of what we see and hear about is not racism but pure ignorance – because we aren’t in the communities, we don’t know the issues they face. The vast majority of Hispanics are law-abiding, church going people – before minority outreach can begin, you have to set aside stereotypes and come into the neighborhood. If you do, you’ll see that there is no difference in having a meeting at El Tiempo Cantina on Navigation or Pappadeaux’s on Richmond.
Trust is also necessary. If you don’t first establish trust, you can’t talk about politics. And you can’t build trust unless you show people that you truly care – care about their issues, their problems. And you can’t do that unless you are in the neighborhoods. Are you beginning to see a pattern?
Anthony singled out a couple of politicians for “doing it right”, Harris County Judge Ed Emmett and SBOE member Donna Bahorich. He gave examples of how each of these politicians spend time in minority communities not just going to political events but giving their time and money to various community concerns.
Anthony didn’t just hit a home run, he hit a grand slam. Some of his remarks no doubt offended people but sometimes that is what it takes to get people off their duff and into the action. If you are in charge of scheduling speakers for your club, you need to contact him pronto because I guarantee that his schedule is going to fill up fast.
A special thanks to RW Bray for getting the Houston Young Republicans to invade the Democratic Party stronghold that is SD6. Although RW didn’t win that Senate seat, he opened a few doors that wouldn’t have been opened without his efforts. Hopefully, his efforts will motivate other Republican clubs to venture out of their comfort zones and into neighborhoods that they perceive as scary but in reality are just comprised of fellow travelers in this life.
RW Bray introducing Anthony Magdaleno to the Houston Young Republicans
Our next meeting is March 26h (Tuesday). Our speaker this month will be Anthony Magdaleno.
Anthony has taken the personal initiative to create a link between the Republican Party and the Latino community here in Harris County, and will share his thoughts with us. He is a believer in the New Republican Party as envisioned by President Ronald Reagan as far back as 1977.
His topic is “Party renewal Through Community interaction; The Union of Cultural and Political Relations”.
He is vice-chair of the Tejano Center for Community Concerns a non-profit organization established in 1992 in Houston’s East End. Anthony also serves as the Chair of the Tejano Center’s Charter School. Anthony has recently been named President of Republican Hispanic Citizen’s in Action.
When you hear Anthony speak, you’ll realize there is hope for us in Harris County – IF WE LISTEN and then ACT.
Gotta love the Houston Young Republicans moving their meetings to the east side of Houston. Catch them on Facebook by clicking here.
It’d be nice to see a few Harris County Republican Party office holders, candidates, and party power brokers in attendance. I’m not holding my breath, of course, but it would be nice.
The Tejano Center is neither a political or a partisan organization. This is their Mission Statement:
To improve life opportunities of low-income children and families through the provision of education, social and health services, and community development initiatives.
It‘s great see a Republican group get involved in the community. I’ve heard a lot of good things about the Tejano Center from Anthony and appreciate his help in true “outreach”. The Harris County Republican Party needs to embrace these activities and promote them.
Sounds like a lot of fun. Anthony is on a mission to get conservatives and Republicans to stop giving lip service to Hispanic outreach and actually go meet people! Imagine that. In other words, he’s doing the job that the Harris County Republican Party refuses to do!
