Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Okay Texas, let's vote!

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Today is the last day to early vote in Texas, so it’s time to make up my mind and go vote. Well, not really. I prefer to vote on election day, so I’ll be voting Tuesday for these choices in the Texas Republican Primary.

President: Marco Rubio as outlined here. Obviously Ted Cruz is going to win in Texas. The goal for Rubio needs to be to capture at least 20{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the vote in order to get a share of the 155 delegates. That’s a tall task in this election climate but polls are turning in his favor with late deciders like me.

Railroad Commissioner: Gary Gates. Believe it or not, Dr. Stephen Hotze talked me into this one. As Hotze said when I told him Gates wasn’t qualified: “give me a break. None of those guys are qualified. Gates has great character and so much money that no one will be able to influence his votes”. Good enough for me.

TX Supreme Court, Place 3: Justice Michael Massengale. This was an easy choice. Justice Massengale has a stellar record of following the law and applying it as written. His opponent, Justice Debra Lehrmann, has gone off course and is making decisions based not upon the law but upon her own beliefs. I don’t care for activist judges. She should run for the state legislature if she wants to write new laws.

TX Supreme Court, Place 5: Justice Paul Green. Not only an easy choice, a no brainer. Not only does Justice Paul Green have a stellar record,  his opponent is an opportunist that has no experience as a judge and no courtroom experience as a lawyer. His claim to fame is suing people after his last loss running for the Supreme Court. Texans should not be fooled.

TX Supreme Court, Place 9: Justice Eva Guzman. Yet another easy choice. Justice Guzman has garnered every endorsement in the State for a reason – she does the job the right way.

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 2: Ray Wheless.

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5: Sid Harle.

Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6: Michael E. Keasler

Justice, 14th Court of Appeals, Place 2: Bud Wiesedeppe. If you want a Justice that will show judicial restraint and apply the law as written, Wiesedeppe is by far the best choice.

District Judge, 80th Judicial District: Ken Shortreed.

District Judge, 125th Judicial District: L.A. Olson. One of the brightest young legal minds in Texas, Leif will be an excellent judge. It won’t be long before he moves on to a higher bench.

District Judge, 151st Judicial District: Jeff Hastings. I’ve been calling him “judge” for years, it’s time to make it happen.

District Judge, 178th Judicial District: Phil Gommels.

District Judge, 339th Judicial District: Mary McFaden

Judge, County Civil Court 1: Clyde Leuchtag. Judge Leuchtag is the ONLY choice in this race. The other choice is a fruitcake, complete with nuts.

County Attorney: Chris Carmona. I struggled with this one. Carmona’s youth and ability to help the Republican party versus Jim Lietner’s experience.

Sheriff: Ron Hickman as outlined here.

County Tax Assessor-Collector: Mike Sullivan. Although former tax assessor collector Don Sumners makes some good points about his ability to be a taxpayer watchdog, Sullivan’s demonstrated effectiveness in running the office wins the day for me.

County School Trustee, Position 1, Precinct 2: Marvin Morris. Morris is the only candidate in either of the two positions on the ballot with experience necessary to the job. In his term in office, he has proven to be effective in leading the Harris County Department of Education.

Harris County Republican Party Chairman: Paul Simpson as outlined here. And if you want to know what “pay to play” looks like in Harris County, check out Rick Ramos’ campaign fiance report.

That covers all contested races on my ballot. A couple of races not on my ballot and who I would vote for if I could.

 

State Representative, District 128: Briscoe Cain. Residents of 128 need to look around their neighborhoods and ask themselves what the long time incumbent has done for the district. Funding for the Battleship Texas doesn’t cut it. No other accomplishment can be pointed to. Briscoe Cain is young, energetic, and a leader already in the state Republican party. He will drive change in the state, improve the state highways in the district, and focus on constituent needs. I strongly endorse Briscoe Cain.

State Representative, District 150: Debbie Riddle. This race is one of those nasty, negative races that happen when a challenger has no real policy differences so they attack the incumbent relentlessly, hoping that something sticks with voters. You know something is wrong when anyone says that Riddle is not a conservative – that is just plain silly. The most nauseating attack has been that Riddle is not pro-life. Her opponent is a conservative but she needs to rethink her approach to winning elections.

County School Trustee, Position 1, Precinct 4: Eric Dick. I think Eric will grow into the job.

There you go. I’m voting. Are you? Please do and make your voice heard. Don’t forget to check the combined endorsement list here.

 

Two can't miss meetings for Harris County Republicans this week

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And because of prior commitments, I can’t make either one! Yikes.

Okay, the first one is at the weekly Greater Houston Pachyderm meeting.

 

Please join the Greater Houston Pachyderm Club for this week’s luncheon meeting as we host the last of our candidate forums prior to the Primary Election.  This week we feature the races for the three Texas Supreme Court seats on the ballot.  Invited candidates include:

This will be a rare & important opportunity to meet the primary candidates vying for the Republican spot on the November ticket for Texas’ highest civil court. Be informed! Join us to meet the candidates & hear from them directly about their qualifications & experience, and enjoy a fantastic 3-course lunch for just $25.

RSVP not required, but plan to get there timely as we expect a capacity crowd.   … Please also note that we will not be holding a meeting next Tuesday (Primary Day), as we urge you to go support your favorite conservative candidates!

Join us Tuesday at Tony’s for this great program!

Click here for directions and time.

 

Lordy I wish I could be there to ask Rick Green why the hell he thinks he’s qualified to be a Texas Supreme Court Justice. The idea that otherwise sane people are voting for this guy makes my skin crawl.

The next one is Thursday at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club’s weekly luncheon.

Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club – February 25th

Please join Downtown Houston Pachyderm for our final lunch before Election Day as we host the following contested primary candidates: Hon. Mike Sullivan and Hon. Mary Lou Keel

Hon. Mike Sullivan is currently serving as Harris County Tax Assessor Collector, and is running for re-election. He previously served on the Humble ISD School Board and Houston City Council.

Judge Mary Lou Keel is serving as Judge of the 232nd Criminal District Court and is running for the Court of Criminal Appeals.

We look forward to seeing everyone for the final meeting before the March 1st Republican primary!

Click here for directions and time.

Why do I get this feeling that someone is going to be asking Judge Mary Lou Keel about her role in Devon Anderson’s shooting the messenger in the bungled Planned Parenthood case?

Huh? Greater Houston Partnership hides their finances, exposes City’s

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Last month the Texas Supreme Court limited the public’s right to know how private groups operating as chambers of commerce and economic development councils spend your tax dollars. Today, a most bizarre email from the campaign of Bill King came into my inbox.

On June 26 in a 6-3 decision with the majority opinion written by Justice Eva Guzman, the Texas Supreme Court decided the Greater Houston Partnership is not a “governmental body” for the purposes of the Texas Public Information Act and ruled the Partnership does not have to release the check registers sought by the requestor under the Act.

Under its 2007 and 2008 contracts with the City of Houston, the Greater Houston Partnership received quarterly payments of $196,250.00 contingent upon delivering reports to the City detailing the services rendered during the prior quarter.

Thanks to Justice Guzman though, the Greater Houston Partnership gets to keep THEIR books closed and keep secret how they spend your hard-earned taxpayer money.

So what’s with this bait and switch?

From the Bill King “Back to Basics” campaign:

The Greater Houston Partnership, Houston’s preeminent business group, issued a white paper on the City of Houston finances last Friday. It is a sobering, must-read work for anyone concerned about the future of our City. [Click here to read the report.]

This authoritative report raises many of the same concerns that I have been sharing with you since I first became alarmed about the City’s financial trajectory in 2007. It outlines the serious challenges facing the City financially, at a time when City Hall is collecting record tax revenues. In fact, the City will collect over $1 billion more in taxes and fees from Houstonians than it did just six years ago, while going an additional $3.3 billion more in debt during the same time.

These challenges will only become more acute with the recent downturn in oil prices.

While there are a number of reasons for the financial straits in which the City currently finds itself, the GHP report accurately shows that the principal driver is unsustainable pension promises previous mayors have made to City employees — something I have written about many times both in these missives and my column in the Houston Chronicle.

The report’s conclusion most succinctly states the challenge before us:

“What we cannot do is wait. The nature of these problems is such that the financial issues become much more difficult, and perhaps impossible, to resolve if the attempt at resolution is deferred (as the experience of other cities has shown).”

All I can say is “amen.”

So the GHP sought a way to keep THEIR books closed and THEIR finances hidden from public scrutiny but they expose Houston’s finances?

Will Bill King express “alarm” over how the GHP spends your hard-earned tax dollars?

All I can say is hypocrisy thy name is the Greater Houston Partnership.