Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Sarah Davis, Jared Woodfill, and the sad state of the Harris County Republican Party

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If you didn’t believe me before when I told you that the Harris County Republican Party was in sad shape, the email that Chairman Jared Woodfill sent out blasting State Rep. Sarah Davis should clue you in.

First off, let’s get this out of the way: Sarah is a pro-choice Republican. She hasn’t shied away from her view as many other pro-choice Republicans have. Jared is anti-abortion, as are most Republicans.

So from the start we have an issue on which two people disagree. But as I keep getting reminded every time I mention abortion or even “social issues”, abortion is not an issue on which people can disagree respectfully inside the Republican Party. Thus sets the playing field.

Rep. Sarah Davis

On July 20th, an op-ed written by Sarah appeared in the Houston Chronicle. I presume that the purpose of the op-ed was to inform people of why she voted the way she did. However, the substance and tone of the op-ed was closer to an attack on all Republicans than it was a defense of her position. And that is a problem. Here is one reader’s description of the op-ed:

 

Well, she should be able to be herself without needing to sanctimoniously affect a superior stance to all others who vote differently. She attacked the entire R delegation of the entire Legislature saying only she votes truly. Silly, pompous , self-important, and rash.

That particular reader happens to be very close to a member of the legislature. So I called a couple of state reps and one state senator to get their views and they took the same position, that being that Sarah was grandstanding for her district at the expense of all other Republicans in the Legislature.

Jared Woodfill
Jared Woodfill

I suspect this view is the reason that Jared Woodfill sent out his email blast denouncing Sarah. Another view is that he was playing to his base because he is going to face a significant challenge of his own next year. Or that one of the powerful consultants in the party has a candidate that is going to challenge Sarah in the primary next year and that Jared was getting the ball rolling against her. Yet another view is that Jared is going to run against Sarah in the primary.

The only legitimate reason for Jared to send such an email would be pressure from other elected officials. And that would be a proper role for the chair of the party. If he had stuck to the issue at hand and not attacked Sarah, that is. Two wrongs don’t make a right and instead they simply amplify the problems that Jared has in running the county party.

Although I disagree with Sarah on the issue of abortion, what Jared said about her is false and slanderous. It is a sad day when people cannot have a sane discussion on any issue without resorting to name calling. Sarah is not “anti-life”. To call her “anti-life” dismisses her volunteer work at “The Rose”, her volunteer work at “The Pink Ribbons Project”, her volunteer work for the American Cancer Society, and her pro-bono work for poor and indigent women and children.

If you get past the attacks and sanctimonious, self-important tone of her op-ed, you’ll find well a well reasoned defense of her position. My guess is that most readers saw the title ascribed to the op-ed by Chronicle editors and were blinded to her substantive arguments. I expect that if Sarah had to do it all over again, she would let a few people on the opposite side of her view read it first – that would probably have removed most of the perceived attacks and perhaps the sanctimonious tone. And further, I’ll bet that the next time she submits an op-ed to the Chronicle or anywhere else, she makes certain that she gets to write the title.

As for Jared, well, like I said, it was perfectly legitimate for him to defend other legislators and the party platform. I hope that was the reason behind his email. I’m sure his base liked it as well. But the rest of us in Harris County have to be concerned with the level and tone of his attack on Sarah. Rather than use his missive to pull the party together, he widened the fissure and alienated a large group of potential Republican voters. 2014 is going to be a rough year for Harris County Republicans if we continue down this path and don’t turn this ship around.

The sad, sad state of the Harris County Republican Party

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Tip: for those of you that are not in Harris County or don’t care about Republicans in Harris County, now is a good time to tune out. I’m going to vent a little about the state of the Republican Party in Harris County and you’ll undoubtedly be bored The fact that Harris County used to be the largest reliably “red” county in the US should give us all pause but undoubtedly, it won’t.

As most of you know, BJP has been trying to right the sinking ship of the Harris County Republican Party since 2009. This was after the disaster of the Obama wave in 2008 and when I walked into a meeting of the Clear Lake Area Republicans and saw that our “hopes” were being pinned on Terry Lowry, proprietor of the “Link Letter”, a pay to play rag that is the most influential “endorsement” slate in Harris County. The guy had just attacked a candidate for Harris County District Attorney by claiming that she performed oral sex on deputies in exchange for false testimony at trial. Yes, I do have a recording of that. But those claims were just one part of a “system” that has corrupted Harris County Republican politics for a long, long time.

Today, five years later, there is no better example of what is wrong with Harris County Republican Party politics than the “race” to replace Sen. Dan Patrick in Senate District 7. I’ve said, and obviously I’m not alone, that former Harris County Tax Assessor Collector Paul Bettencourt is a shoe-in for the job. Paul’s a good guy, with a good record. But no one should be “anointed” and “given” a political position that represents almost a million Texans. No one.

And that might not have been the case. Sam Harless, husband of State Rep. Patricia Harless, announced that he was going to throw his hat in the ring. And that would have been a good thing, even if he didn’t ultimately succeed. But at the end of the day, he correctly decided that it would be foolish to waste a couple million dollars in a race that he cannot win. Not because he isn’t a better candidate – Bettencourt certainly has problems that a good candidate could have exploited in any county other than Harris County. No, Sam Harless had no chance specifically because the Harris County Republican Party and the Republican primaries no longer belong to “the people”. Instead, they belong to the “Second Baptist” crowd and the pay for play slates. If Ed Young, pastor of Second Baptist, and the big three pay-t0-play slates aren’t on board, you cannot win. That is a statistical fact.

Here is Sam Harless’ concession to this fact of Harris County Republican Party politics:

Dear Friends,

Let me start by saying how humbled and grateful Patricia and I are for your support and friendship. Overwhelmed is the first word that comes to mind from the outpouring of support I have received in my short journey as a candidate for State Senate District 7.

However, after much prayer and soul searching, it is with a heavy heart that I have decided against running for office.

I believe for democracy to work, people must have a choice. Candidates should campaign on the issues and give the constituency an opportunity to know those wishing to serve them. Unfortunately, I feel that opportunity has been eliminated in this race.

This is the first time, to my knowledge, in 25 years of working on campaigns in Harris County that these “slates” have issued an endorsement for a candidate before filing even opens or the field of candidates officially announce. Not only did the “slates” endorse the other announced candidate in the SD 7 race, but so did the chairman of the Harris County Republican Party.

Because voter turnout is so low in the Harris County Republican primary, the winners and losers are chosen by the very few – less than 8 percent of the registered voters have decided the Republican candidates in the last four election cycles. That small percentage of voters is often heavily influenced by the “slates” that are mailed prior to the primary election.

Do I think someone can win against all these “king makers?” Yes. But, it will take more than 8 percent of voters showing up to vote in the Republican primary – and it will be a blood bath for our party. At a time when so many great candidates are running for almost every statewide office, we need to be united in getting more people out-to-vote in the primary.

That is what I will be doing. I will work every day as if I were a candidate, to get people motivated to show up and vote. I think we need a new generation of conservative leaders. Not the “good ole boy…you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” politicians that our HCRP called “tried and true.” That is rhetoric for “same as usual.”

I hope you will take the passion you have shown me the last few weeks and join me in changing the face of our party. Let’s make the choices we have in November better by showing up to vote in the March Republican primary.

I am eternally grateful for each of you and may God bless you and our great State of Texas.

Sam Harless

That is so, so sad for Harris County Republicans. I don’t know if Sam Harless would have been a better state senator than Paul Bettencourt. But I sure as heck would have liked to find out. I can’t blame him for bowing out. When I received a fundraising email from Bettencourt using the Harris County Republican Party email list, I knew the fix was in. Just like when County Chair Jared Woodfill flagrantly mis-used the Harris County Republican Party email list in his campaign four years ago. But no one called him on it (except me) so it didn’t matter.

The only solution is for you, Harris County Republican Party primary voters, to stop the madness and vote for candidates that you have researched and know. I’m not holding my breath for that one.

Maybe Sam Harless will decide enough is enough and run against Jared Woodfill or finance someone to run against him. People used to laugh at me when I said we were in trouble in 2014 in Harris County but today at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club, Ed Johnson (HCRP vote counting guru and one of those that laughed at me) asked a question of Lt. Gov. candidate Todd Staples, essentially saying that we were going to lose unless we change our tactics. Too bad Ed doesn’t realize his own mindset is part of the problem.

Like I said, I’m venting. The current Harris County Republican Party system limits our choices and keeps grassroots candidates from rising to the top. We desperately need to abandon the current system and let true competition determine our candidates. The place to start is at the top – Jared Woodfill must be replaced. Unless and until that happens, the pay to play slates will continue to control our destiny. We have lost the top of the ticket county wide for the last three elections (2008, 2010, 2012). Those losses lie solely at the feet of the county party – with better leadership, there never would have been an “Obama wave” as Jared is prone to say. We must make a change if we desire to win in the future.

Lessons I learned Over the last Few Days

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Ed Hubbard
Ed Hubbard

It goes without saying that some days or weeks are more eventful and consequential than others, and that we often don’t fully appreciate the full impact of such moments in time until long after they occur.  As I have been trying to make sense of everything I have witnessed over the last 10 days, a few observations—lessons, if you will—are coming into focus for me that I think could be consequential for our party over the next few years.

This 10-day period started with three forums that I was privileged to moderate, which were sponsored by the Clear Lake Area Republicans (videos of which have been, or will be posted on its website (http://www.clearlakearearepublicans.com):  a forum in Kemah of local GOP, libertarian, and Tea Party leaders discussing different perspectives of conservatism within the local Republican Party; a forum for candidates for the Clear Creek Independent School District (“CCISD”) Board of Trustees; and a forum for candidates for Mayor and the City Council of Deer Park.  The week essentially ended with listening to a candid and wise speech by County Judge Ed Emmett about our local and state Republican politics and local government issues as part of United Republicans of Harris County’s first meeting of the year (which was summarized well by my fellow UR Board member, Karen Townsend, on her “Pondering Penguin” blog (http://ponderingpenguin.blogspot.com).  Interspersed with these events were separate discussions I had with a current member of the CCISD Board about education issues, a former mayor of one of Harris County’s 34 cities about the GOP and local government, and a current SREC member about the growth of our party within the Latino community in Fort Bend County; an ongoing face-to-face and email discussion within the Clear Lake Area Republicans about the CCISD bond referendum; and face-to-face and online discussions (and debates) about the HCRP’s Vacancy Committee’s handling of Chris Busby’s application to become a Precinct Chair.

I don’t want to get into the weeds about any of these events, or the issues that were covered during those events.  Instead, what I want to do in this post is try to share some general lessons I have learned over these last 10 days.

Specifically, I have learned four, somewhat interrelated, lessons:

  • First, I believe that what really ails the GOP right now is not so much any insurmountable division over principles or beliefs, but instead a loss of perspective among some of us about why the GOP exists as a political party and about how to put our principles into practice through politics.
  • Second, I believe that many of us have our focus and perspective exactly backwards.  While we contend that we are the party that believes in a limited national government and in the re-invigoration of the rights of the individual, and of the powers and responsibilities local and state governments, many of us remain fixated on the dysfunctions of Washington and analyze every issue at every level of government and society through the prism of that fixation.  Looking though such a prism too often distorts our assessment of local governments, local issues, and local candidates.  Moreover, our fixation on Washington actually prevents many of us from effectively participating in our local institutions in a manner that is consistent with the principles we espouse.
  • Third, too many of us don’t adequately understand what local governments (including county commissioners’ courts, city councils, and school boards) do, how they work (either by themselves, or within the framework of the federal scheme of divisions of power and responsibility), or how they should work, even as we seek to return power and responsibility to the local levels of government and society.
  • Finally, this lack of understanding about, and reversed perspective toward, local government exacerbates our inability to put our principles into practice in many urban neighborhoods.

Normally, I would now digress to support these statements with citations to sources like Federalist Paper No. 45, or Ronald Reagan’s New Republican Party speech from 1977, or the 1976 Republican National Platform that Reagan believed should serve as the principled basis for the New Republican Party; or I would elaborate about some of the positive examples about Republicans who understand these lessons and are addressing it.  At some point soon I will return to each of these four points and address them in more detail; but for now, I want to stop here and ask you to give these four points some thought based on your own experiences.

In the meantime, many of you live in cities or school districts that are holding elections right now, or will do so this fall.  If you have time before you vote, try to put aside all of the information you are getting from outside sources and try to contact someone who is, or has been involved in one of these councils or boards and talk to them—about their responsibilities, the issues they have faced, and the issues they believe these institutions will face over the next few years.  Then, think about our principles and how they can be applied to meet these responsibilities and address these issues—without thinking about Washington.

My guess is that at least some pre-conceived notions will change, and we will find a better way to effectively participate in local government and prepare it for a more limited national role in local issues over the years ahead.

Now, I will end this post by addressing one specific issue that arose during the last week.  Frankly, I have struggled over whether I should post any specific comments about what has been written about the Harris County Republican Party’ Vacancy Committee’s treatment of Chris Busby.  Although there is not much I can add to what has been said, I have come to the conclusion that it is important for those of us in formal and informal leadership positions within the local party family to state where they stand.  I agree with the sentiments expressed on this website in various posts and comments (and in many related Facebook comments), by Karen Townsend on her blog, and by Judge Emmett last Tuesday evening—the Committee members who treated Chris and his application with such disrespect should be ashamed of themselves.  Moreover, we should be ashamed that we have allowed this type of behavior to continue to fester within our party and under the name of the Republican Party, and that we have looked the other way while our candidates have been subjected to a primary process in which they feel compelled to underwrite and enrich the instigator of this shameful conduct in order to get elected.

As our country approached the abyss of civil war, our party’s national platform of 1860 ended with the following plank:

Finally, having thus set forth our distinctive principles and views, we invite the co-operation of all citizens, however differing on other questions, who substantially agree with us in their affirmance and support.

Consistent with this approach to inclusion, Reagan admonished us about how we should persuade others to join our New Republican Party:

After all, you do not get to be a majority party by searching for groups you won’t associate or work with. If we truly believe in our principles, we should sit down and talk. Talk with anyone, anywhere, at any time if it means talking about the principles of the Republican Party. Conservatism is not a narrow ideology nor is it the exclusive property of conservative activists.

It is not Christian, not Conservative, and not Republican to treat our neighbors the way Chris was treated.  Chris, please continue to work for our party, our principles and our candidates, and please file to run for your precinct chair position in the next primary—we need young men like you for the future of our party.

Will we let more cowbell deliver Harris County to the Left?

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Paul Simpson
Paul Simpson

On the heels of David Jennings’ pointed article on Chris Busby’s recent experience before the Harris County Republican Party Vacancy Committee, Chris Busby’s follow-up, and buzz and comments among activists, is there more to say?  Yeah.  Lots.  Let’s keep talking.

There’s always tension between political activists, and their party’s candidates and officeholders.  Activists advance principles.  A party elects candidates.  But their interests have to be balanced.  A party that advances no principles is meaningless.  But a party that wins no elections is irrelevant.

Everyone has a pet reason for the GOP losses in 2012.  You can fault almost any factor when elections are close.  I for one don’t believe standing for traditional principles is to blame.  Not only should we stand for our beliefs – we can win with them.  The Reagan/Edmund Burke/Bill Buckley coalition of economic, social, and foreign policy conservatives is still viable.  But it needs updating.

I believe the Texas GOP has the right policies in place.  But the irony is that demanding adherence on every issue can lose them all.  How critical is opposing initiative and referendum?  Or limiting jury service to registered voters?  Did you know those are positions in the Texas GOP platform?  Enforcing purity at all levels of party activism is not a winning formula.  A party is a coalition.  Winning in politics means building coalitions with those we don’t always agree with on everything.

We need what some call “infighting” to forge a new path for the GOP in Harris County.  That means those of us who call ourselves conservative – including those of us who are pro-life and socially conservative – have to keep the big picture in mind.  The status quo is hurting the cause of all conservatives, economic and social, because we are losing Harris County.  More of the same – more of the status quo, more cowbell – will deliver Harris County to the Left for the foreseeable future.

Consultants and paid opinion makers exert too much influence in Harris County Republican primaries.  Chasing money and (short-term) power, they fiddle while the Party burns.  They play in the primary sandbox – focusing on winning half of the mere 8{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} to 12{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of voters who bother to vote in springtime Republican primaries.  Then the GOP gets washed away by the waves of November elections.

This ain’t news.  The Democrats have won the top of the ticket in Harris County three cycles in a row: 2008, 2010, and 2012.  That followed the Dem takeover of Dallas in 2006.  The Republican Party in Harris County has shriveled for over a decade.  In the mid‑90s, there were over 700 Republican Precinct chairs in Harris County.  Today, the County GOP has fewer than 500 precinct chairs – a 30{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} decline in the face of a 40{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} greater County population (3 million then; over 4.2 million today).

Where do these trends lead?  Do we abandon the urban battleground – in Houston, the most ethnically diverse big city in the country – so the Democrats can occupy it uncontested?  Can the Harris County Republican Party keep retreating west, until it ends up in Waller County?

Something’s gotta change.

Let’s learn from the Left.  After getting whupped in 2004, the Democrats doubled down on their statist ideology, fortified by their Right & Left Coast cultural shock troops.  They built coalitions of like‑but‑not‑identically‑minded people with a focus on advancing their cause, by little steps and big steps.  They won Colorado.  But it’s not plausible that our country swerved so far to the Left so quickly.  Rather, our side has been outmaneuvered and outhustled for a decade, locally and nationally.  Read The Blueprint and Inside the Cave see what the Left has been up to.  And now they have Texas in their sights.

We need to get serious about winning Harris County.  That means more grassroots activism, reaching real voters in communities the GOP has long ignored.  The GOP needs better (modern!) technology, real marketing, sound finances, empowered activists.  Quit preaching to the choir and start winning converts.  We need to focus on beating Democrats and the Left.

Harris County ConservativesInAction is focused on equipping and training our activists with tools they can used to win elections.  We will work this year with GOP activists, trainers, and precinct chairs, and other conservative groups across Harris County to help grassroots be more effective in their neighborhoods and precincts to win elections.  We ask those with interest, ability, or money to pitch in. We need your help.  Rome wasn’t built, and Harris County can’t be regained, overnight.  But enough of us working together can carry the day.  Don’t wait.  Our country is at stake.

 

Paul Simpson is a lifelong conservative Republican grassroots activist, campaign organizer, and former Harris County Republican Party precinct chair, legal counsel, and treasurer; a lawyer, engineer, husband, and dad; and co-founder of Harris County ConservativesInAction.  You can contact him at [email protected].

Harris County Department of Education should remain open

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terra-bluebonnets-2013_DSC_1717

For several years in Harris County Republican circles, there has been a movement to eliminate the Harris County Department of Education. As I noted earlier, this year State Rep. Debbie Riddle has filed a bill in the state legislature to do just that.

The question is: is she right? Should the Harris County Department of Education be shuttered in September of this year and its assets turned over to the Harris County Commissioners Court for disposal by September of next year?

Over the past few months, I’ve tried to answer that question in my own mind and this is the conclusion that I’ve come to: no. There are several reasons that pushed me in that direction but two stand out: (1) the fact that this specific bill does not have any contingency plan whatsoever for the children that would be affected by it and (2) the lack of understanding about the department from some of the people that are pushing for its closure.

Decisions should be made in the best interest of the children being served

The first reason is why I put that picture above of my granddaughter in the field of bluebonnets. It really is “about the children” and we cannot forget that. My family has been blessed with her arrival, and her overall good health. But not every child is born healthy or “normal” in our society. We have chosen a path that shares the burden of educating those children in order to maximize their life potential. The Harris County Department of Education runs two schools that lightens the financial burden for taxpayers at the same time it provides the highest quality education available.

The Harris County Department of Education also runs two schools that educate those children that have disciplinary problems so severe that the local ISD’s cannot afford to allow them to disrupt classes. Some of these children are in the court system, having committed crimes ranging from theft to murder. Unlike when I was a child, we do not kick them out of school – the schools still must find a way to educate them. Again, the Harris County Department of Education has found a way to educate these wayward children in a way that lightens the financial burden for taxpayers at the same time it provides the highest quality education available.

Lack of knowledge from those pushing for closure is disturbing

This second reason is disturbing because frankly, I see it a lot in conservative circles. Some of those “on the right” limit their sources of information to their own small circles, conservative talk radio, and news outlets that share their views. I was shocked when I talked to several high ranking Republican officials that regurgitated the talking points of the loudest detractors of the Harris County Department of Education. I’m not saying I’m perfect but at least I try to get basic facts right. Several of the people that I spoke to about Rep. Riddle’s bill insisted that the Harris County Department of Education had no students and no schools.

The fact is that the Harris County Department of Education has no “zoned” students. In other words, all students are zoned to local ISD’s, not to the Harris County Department of Education. What this means is that the local ISD’s are the bodies ultimately responsible for educating the children. These local ISD’s have determined after an ARD (Admission, Review, and Dismissal) meetings that they cannot educate certain children with their current resources. If each of the 26 ISD’s that the Harris County Department of Education serves  had to provide individual instruction for these children, the cost would be astronomical, forcing the local ISD to either raise their local tax rate or cut services to other children.

I happen to live in the La Porte Independent School District, so I called and talked to the Superintendent, Lloyd Graham. Mr. Graham verified the cost effectiveness of sending a child to one of the Harris County Department of Education special schools versus trying to go it alone. It is worth noting that La Porte ISD does have its own alternative schools. The children we are talking about are either so severely handicapped or are such a disciplinary problem that they cannot be served even by these schools. Mr. Graham praised the work of the Harris County Department of Education and didn’t know how the district would handle it if Rep. Riddle’s bill passes.

So, while it is true that the Harris County Department of Education has no “zoned” students, it is false and misleading to say that they have no students. In fact, I know this personally because I asked for and was granted a tour of two of the schools: the east side Academic and Behavior Center (ABC) that educates severely disabled students and the east side Highpoint (HP) campus that handles students with disciplinary problems. For privacy reasons, I didn’t take any pictures but here is a video that the Harris County Department of Education produced last year:

My visit to the ABC school was emotionally draining. The principal, Mindy Robertson, obviously has a passion for working with disabled children. In fact, the entire staff seemed to have been “called” to this work. It certainly isn’t the easiest teaching job around but every staff member I saw was compassionate and well, amazing. The staffing ratio is typically two adults to five children, they have a full time nurse on staff, and have specialized programs to transition those that have aged out of the school to live on their own. Just an amazing visit.

The visit to Highpoint was just as amazing in a different sort of way. I forget the terminology that principal David Oquin used for their techniques but it reminded me somewhat of a boot camp environment. But it was the compassion the staff exhibited that stood out. Principal Oquin and his staff seemed to truly care about the kids and their recidivism rate is extremely low. The more children we turn from a life of crime and violence, the better off society will be.

The idea that those pushing to close these schools don’t even know they exist is, as I said, disturbing.

If the bill passes, then what?

As I said, no contingency plans have been made. I spoke to several people about adding language to address these schools but they didn’t appear to be interested.  Because of their reluctance to address or even acknowledge these students and schools, I think it needs to be defeated. The bill has been referred to the Public Education committee and I will be urging them to let it die there.

Is the Harris County Department of Education perfect?

No, of course not. I’ve had many discussions with the superintendent, Dr. John Sawyer, about some of his decisions, such as hiring Jerry Eversole and other lobbyists. Ridiculous waste of money. And there are other issues that need to be resolved – using taxpayer money to fund the new cloud computing project or board members taking trips to New York Washington, D.C. to network. A bloated PR staff, albeit an award winning one. As with any bureaucracy, there are many areas of improvement that we can find.

But the good thing about the Harris County Department of Education is that they have an elected board that we can take our concerns to. Some of those in favor of closing the Harris County Department of Education want the Texas Education Agency’s Region 4 service center to take over the functions of the Harris County Department of Education. What a disaster that would be. Have you ever tried to get the TEA to change something? It is much better to have an elected board to take you concerns to. One of the pillars of conservatism is that we want government to function at the lowest possible local level – well, that is exactly what the Harris County Department of Education and the 26 local ISD’s that participate in their programs are doing.

And another pillar of conservatism is being efficient and keeping tax rates low. Certainly, the Harris County Department of Education has done both of those. The board has kept the tax rate very low and the staff has leveraged taxpayer money through grants and cooperative purchasing, allowing the local ISD’s to educate these special needs children for a fraction of the cost it would take if they had to do it individually.

I’m going to urge my State Rep. John Davis to vote against Rep. Riddle’s bill.

Places to be, People to see

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Here are a few things on the political calendar for next week in Houston/Harris County – note TWO Jerry Patterson sightings. Looks like he’s starting to get active in his run for Lt. Governor.

San Jacinto Republican Women – Chris Daniel

When: Mon Mar 18, 2013 6pm to Mon Mar 18, 2013 7pm  CDT

Where: Johnny Tamale Cantina, 4647 E Sam Houston Pkwy S, Pasadena, TX 77505

Event Description: District Clerk Chris Daniel will be the featured speaker.

 

True the Vote NOW Update

When: Mon Mar 18, 2013 7pm to 8pm  CDT

Where: King Street Patriots HQ, 7232 Wynnwood, Houston, TX 77008

Event Description: True the Vote NOW is using experience and evidence to reform Texas election laws – and we need your help. Join Erin Anderson and Matt Armstrong on March 18 for a True the Vote NOW Update and Call to Action!

 

Greater Houston Pachyderm – Kathy Washburn

When: Tue Mar 19, 2013 12pm to 1pm  CDT

Where: Tony’s Restaurant, 3755 Richmond Ave, Houston, TX

Event Description: Kathy Washburn, Executive Director, Westside Homeless Partnership will be the featured speaker.

 

Clear Lake Area Republicans March Meeting – Jerry Patterson

When: Tue Mar 19, 2013 6:30pm to Tue Mar 19, 2013 9pm  CDT

Where: Harris County Courthouse @ Clear Lake Annex 10, , Webster TX

Event Description: Monthly meeting This month our guest speakers are Jerry Patterson, our current Land Commissioner and candidate for Lt Governor in 2014, and Chris Daniels our Harris County District Clerk. Bring a neighbor or friend with you. The social starts at 6:30p.m. and the meeting starts at 7:00. There are stairs and an elevator on the east side to the second floor – Judge Ditta’s courtroom.

 

Houston Professional Republican Women – Jerry Patterson

When: Wed Mar 20, 2013 12pm to 1pm  CDT

Where: Spaghetti Warehouse 901 Commerce Street Houston, TX 77002

Event Description: Texas Land Commissioner and author of the 1995 Texas Concealed Carry Law, Jerry Patterson, will discuss Second Amendment issues. Please make your luncheon selection and pay at the first floor desk. Let them know you are with Houston Professional Republican Women and join us upstairs.

 

Log Cabin Republicans of Houston March Meeting

When: Wed Mar 20, 2013 7pm to 9pm  CDT

Where: Theo’s Restaurant, 812 Westheimer Rd, Houston Tx 77006

Event Description: Please join the Log Cabin Republicans of Houston as we have our monthly meeting on Wednesday March 20th at Theo’s Restauarant (812 Westheimer Rd, Houston Tx 77006). The meeting will take place at 7:00pm. We will be welcoming two guest speakers at our meeting. Montryce King from Big Brothers and Big Sisters will be coming to discuss how we can support their charity organization, and Jeff Larson with the Republican Liberty Caucus of Texas will be coming to discuss their efforts to promote liberty oriented policies within the Republican Party.

 

Spring Break Politics & Sizzling Fajitas @ Berryhill

When: Fri Mar 22, 2013 11:30am to 2:30pm  CDT

Where: Berryhill, Westpark @ Buffalo Speedway, Houston TX

Event Description: 2MAR was TX Independence Day, this is Spring Break & this month is our 110th monthly campaign mtg! Tx lege is mtg. Area city council&ISD races are soon, NOV & ’14 are ’round coming up. Click to “Join”! 9 yrs & 2 mo ago, JAN04 USN Vets Burt Levine & Phil Kunetka, MBA began mtg to study area races. Karen joined abt three yrs ago our Tx Soverignty & American Exceptionalism fight. No month is missed w/statewide elected execs, judges, commissioners, councilmen, reps, isd&hcc presidents & chairs, US Sens aides,.controller, county judge.camp mgr, appeals crt justices, county district clerk, country crt judges, constable, pct chairs & those running for schl & hcc board, sen, rep, appeals, dist

If you are interested in local conservative/Republican politics, you should try to make a couple of these events. Candidates and potential candidates are starting to come out of the woodwork in anticipation of the upcoming city elections and next year’s primary. You might even find one you like enough to help in their campaign.