Paul Simpson was surrounded by supporters as he filed Wednesday to run for Harris County Republican Party Chair.
Paul Simpson filing the paperwork to run for county chair. (photo from the Simpson campaign)
Simpson stated he is running because, “We are in a fight for the future of Texas. Harris County is a key battleground. To win, the GOP needs to rebuild, ground up. But reform must start at the top. That’s why I ask for your vote in March 2014 for Harris County Republican Chair.”
Simpson continued, “As Harris County GOP Chair, I will bring a lifetime of leading civic and conservative Republican organizations to empower a Strong grassroots organization with a Solid positive conservative message backed by financial Solutions.”
A lifelong pro-life conservative, Paul has advanced conservative Republican political causes as a hands-on conservative activist since high school. His political activities – campaigning, recruiting, mobilizing, precinct organization, election judging, and conventioneering, and serving as legal counsel and treasurer of the county party – give him the practical expertise and ability to lead the Party to political resurgence. Paul has honed his skills by also leading non-political volunteer civic organizations, demonstrating his ability to recruit, organize, and lead volunteers in everything from blockwalking neighborhoods to a successful multi-million dollar fundraising campaign.
Paul is a graduate of Rice University and University of Houston Law. He has been a partner with the law firm of McGinnis, Lochridge & Kilgore since 2001. Paul and his wife Kathy have been married for over 28 years. Their son, a recent college graduate, and daughter, a college senior, are both Houston natives and proud Republicans! To get involved with Paul’s campaign to Take Back Harris County, please join him at his Campaign Kick-off Party on December 11, 2013 at 6:30Pm at Cafe Adobe on the Katy Freeway. To learn more, contact Kelly Horsley at [email protected] or please visit www.SimpsonForGOPChair.com.
I’m seeing a lot of momentum this year for Simpson, unlike his two previous runs. He’s lined up an impressive group of supporters this time, including: George Strake, Jack Rains, John O’Neill, Bert Keller, Anne Clutterbuck, and Toni Lawrence among many others. In addition to that list, he is being supported by many of the “liberty” groups around the Harris County area. This is important because they are young and bring a lot of energy to his campaign.
Will this be the year that Harris County Republicans finally reject the regime of current HCRP Chair Jared Woodfill, and by extension the pay for play slates? If so, it will go a long way towards avoiding a disaster in November 2014. As I’ve said many times, Jared is a wonderful spokesperson for the party but what we need at this point in time is someone that has the ability to organize the party, broaden our coalition, and turn out the vote. Simpson has demonstrated that he can do that.
Dr. Martha Wong with candidate for judge of the 247th District Court John Schmude and helper Allie
The Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club featured former State Rep. Dr. Martha Wong at their weekly meeting yesterday. Wong certainly did her part to keep the club’s reputation of having thought provoking speakers intact. Too bad that the leadership of the Harris County Republican Party wasn’t there, they might have learned something.
Wong’s presentation was in support of the recently formed Texas Asian Republican Assembly. She began with a few statistics to remind Republicans why we need to reach out to minority communities.
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We’ve all heard that and seen it in one form or another. Wong emphasized the changing demographics by noting that if every single white person in America voted Republican in 2040, Republicans still could not win the presidency without convincing some minorities to vote with us. And we aren’t even close to having every single white person in America vote Republican.
Taking it specifically to Texas, she had these numbers:
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Note the increase in percent of population for Hispanics and Asians, and the decrease in percent of population for Whites and Blacks.
Turning specifically to the Asian vote, she pointed out that the highest percentage of Asians are in urban and college areas: Austin/Round Rock/San Marcos, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Houston/Sugarland, and Bryan/College Station. That emphasizes the relative youth of the Asian population.
Many people have the idea that Asians are traditional Republican voters. That might have been the case at one time but she gave us these statistics to show the turnaround from Republican to Democratic votes:
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Why are Asians moving to the Democratic Party? Wong reminded us of Rush Limbaugh mocking the Obama campaign’s targeted commercials and involvement in specific demographic communities but said that those appeals directly to the communities worked. We many not like the concept of targeting different groups but it appeals to those groups.
She did offer a bit of optimism at the national level, telling us that RNC Chair Reince Priebus has hired two Asians at the national level and funded the hiring of an Asian working for the Republican Party of Texas. And she also mentioned the support of RPT Chair Steve Munisteri and his help in forming the Texas Asian Republican Assembly.
After explaining the problem, she talked a bit about what the TARA is doing. They are taking advantage of the existing Asian media outlets both with paid advertising and by submitting stories about Republicans and Republican elected officials. They are also reaching out to Asian ministers, advising them on what they can and cannot do in the political arena without losing their tax-exempt status. And lastly, they are providing speakers to Asian organizations, Rotary Clubs, Chambers of Commerce, etc.
And then it was time for the old “what can you do to help?”. Interestingly, Wong didn’t beg for money, focusing instead on personal relationships. Everyone has an Asian friend, neighbor, co-worker, or acquaintance. Send those names to the group and the group will begin compiling a database and contacting them directly. She said it was especially important for elected officials to make their presence known at various Asian events and meetings.
Wong stated flat out that elected officials have been the biggest hurdle she has faced. She told an anecdotal story about Democrat Congressman Al Green attending a meeting and literally taking over the podium and inviting all Democrats in the room join him on stage. Green has two staffers that ensure that his presence is at every meeting of the Asian community even if he cannot attend and they always bring official proclamations from Green.
Wong said that she cannot get cooperation from Republicans to do the same. She specifically called out Rep. John Culberson, saying that she has tried to get him interested hundreds of times but he refuses to engage with the Asian community. Pretty sad if that is true.
If you are an elected official, Wong’s group will even provide people to go and stand in for you, for free, IF you ask. But you have to ask.
All in all, it was a good meeting, even if sobering. I said earlier that no one from the HCRP leadership was in attendance but that isn’t quite true – no one from Jared Woodfill’s staff was there. Bonnie Lugo, State Republican Executive Committee rep for Senate District 13 was there, along with a few precinct chairs. Wong also gave a specific shout out to SREC rep for SD17 Tina Gibson for her help in forming the Texas Asian Republican Assembly. Tina’s husband Mike is chair of the Fort Bend County Republican Party. The Harris County Republican Party doesn’t have to go far to see a growing county party.
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
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.
Robert Miller had an interesting blog post this morning about the importance of the urban vote in the Texas Republican primary and ultimately picking statewide winners.
The Republican primary vote has come to be dominated by the three corners of the Texas triangle. In 2010, the Houston area[1] cast 19.34{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of Republican primary votes; DFW[2] cast 25.29{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}; and the Austin/San Antonio corridor[3] cast 14.36{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}. In 2012, the Houston area cast 21.51{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of Republican primary votes; DFW cast 21.25{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}; and the Austin/San Antonio corridor cast 13.95{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}.
It is very important to read his footnotes to understand what he is talking about because those of us in “Houston” know we have a major problem.
“Houston” for purposes of this analysis means the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) consisting of Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller counties.
Jared Woodfill
The problem is that the Harris County Republican Party, which should be the driving force behind all Texas politics, is a mess of inflated egos and exclusion. County Chair Jared Woodfill has actually managed to shrink the party’s influence in the Texas Republican primary even as the county itself has experienced record growth. Here are the facts:
Since Woodfill took office in 2002, the share of Harris County primary voters in the Texas Republican primary has dropped from 13..5{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} to 11.1{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}:
And this happened even as the population of Harris County was booming:
Unless and until we get new leadership at the top of the Harris County Republican Party, this trend will continue.
You cannot keep minorities, gays, and young people out of your political party and expect it to grow and continue to win elections. Think about that when you choose a party chairman next March.
The Houston Young Republicans held a forum on Tuesday evening titled, “The War on Drugs Has Failed.” David Jennings previously wrote about this event and my friend Ann Lee asked me to attend. The event was billed as a discussion on drug policy and the question of legalization was raised. Four speakers participated in this discussion: The Honorable John Delaney, Jerry Epstein, Carl Veley, and the keynote speaker and Ann’s son, Richard Lee.
Ann and her husband Bob have been tireless workers within the Harris County Republican Party. Ann serves as a precinct chair and is dedicated to our community. If you come to the Downtown Pachyderm meeting on Thursdays, she will remind you that the Pledge of Allegiance of the United States does not include a comma between “one Nation” and “under God.” She is a conservative and I think of her as a true stalwart in the vein of Pat McCall, Louise Wing, and Judith Jones. These women, like Anne Armstrong, activated the women’s movement within the Republican Party of Texas. True trailblazers.
The first speaker was Carl Veley. Mr. Veley provided the standing room only crowd with a historical, financial, and legal perspective of the war on drugs throughout the world. He was filled with knowledge and could have spoken on his own for some time.
Judge Delaney, a judge from Bryan, Texas was the second speaker. He began by telling the crowd about his family and stunned the crowd with the news that his adult son was a drug addict. While the judge provided some interesting statistical information, his fight is clearly personal. The most staggering statistic was that, since the war on drugs began in the 1980s, the United States now houses 743 of every 100,000 persons in prison. The numbers speak for themselves.
While race is a difficult subject to address, it cannot be ignored that the strong drug laws in our country disproportionately affect the African American community. And the comparison between alcohol and drug prohibition is real. How are today’s current gang leaders and drug cartel members any different than Al Capone, Bugsy Siegel, Meyer Lansky, or the Italian crime families of the 1920s? Taking advantage of government prohibition is the name of the game.
Judge Delaney asked the crowd to raise their hand if they believed that the war on drugs was effective. Not one hand was raised. As a frequent lecturer on this topic, Judge Delaney asks this question often – and no one has ever raised their hand. So, if this effort isn’t working, what should be done?
The third speaker, Jerry Epstein, spoke further about statistics. His mission is to formulate reasonable and sensible drug policy throughout our world. He emphasized that the drug reform efforts comport with the Republican Party of Texas platform that includes personal liberty and protection.
The keynote speaker, Richard Lee, really emphasized the fact that varied groups are coming together to support drug reform because they see that reform is necessary. He spoke about his efforts in California to promote reform. And, he identified the two groups in California who are working against reform: medical marijuana business owners and law enforcement. Why? It’s simple: job preservation.
At the beginning of the presentation, John Baucum, the program moderator, introduced all candidates and elected officials in attendance. After the presentation, Baucum allowed time for questions and Mike Knox, former Houston Police Department Police Officer and current Houston City Council candidate, was asked about his position on legalization. Mr. Knox restated the Houston Police Officers Union’s policy that marijuana should be treated the same as methamphetamine, cocaine, and every other illegal drug. You may remember that the HPOU came out against the trace policy of the Harris County District Attorney’s Office after it was in place for almost two years. Of course, the press conference was in conjunction with their candidate’s election announcement.
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.
