Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

Beryl was forseeable regardless of what Centerpoint may say

by

I hate to pull the I’m both an attorney and a meteorologist card. But for this post I will.

Centerpoint’s conduct and explanations are that which come out of the south end of a north bound bull.

This was a foreseeable event.

In law, foreseeable means something that a reasonable person could or should have anticipated. The foreseeability test asks if the defendant should have reasonably expected the consequences of their actions. If the resulting harms were not foreseeable, the defendant might be able to prove they weren’t liable.

With that framework as guidance, let’s turn to the weather aspects.

1) From a climatology standpoint, Houston is in a higher risk for hurricane impact when the east Pacific is transitioning between El Nino and La Nina.  Foreseeable? ✔️

2) We are in what’s universally forecast to be a hideous hurricane season activity wise.  Foreseeable? ✔️

3) We are in a period of above normal activity for early season activity.  Foreseeable? ✔️

4) Late June and early July are periods of danger for Southeast Texas. The image below from the National Hurricane Center shows storm point of origin and track for 10 day periods. Harris County is in the danger zone.  Foreseeable? ✔️

Note: from a foreseeable standpoint it is irrelevant where Beryl formed. The threat situation is what’s considered for foreseeable analysis.

Tropical system point of origin and track

Now, let’s look at Beryl’s path.

It was clear by Saturday morning that at least west of Beltwat 8 in the Houston metro area were going to be in need of significant repair work from a power distribution standpoint.

It was clear that somewhere along the middle coast was at risk a day or two before that. Even giving Centerpoint benefit of the doubt since the forecast path was creeping east, it was safe to have pre positioned in Austin-Waco so the vehicles would have been 3 hours away.

We have known for months now that the situation was dire, and Centerpoint should have been especially concerned with a hurricane impact in Southeast Texas with this background setup. We also knew the Houston metro area would need help as of Saturday and safe pre position areas 48 hours prior.

This was clearly foforeseeable from both a wearher and legal standpoint. The powers that be shouldn’t let Centerpoony off the hook by throwing out this is unprecedented, unforeseeable, etc.

This was clearly foreseeable both from a prevention and response standpoint.  Hold. Them. Accountable.

How to Make an “Informed” Decision on 210 Candidates

by

In case you haven’t heard, there’s an election next month.  I don’t know how you could miss it since we are being bombarded with television and radio ads, mailers, emails, and now even unsolicited text messages.

What you may not know, is that there’s probably a lot more on your ballot than what those folks in the ads are talking about.  Here in Texas, where judges are elected, you may have multiple races for courts of law, county commissioners, school board trustees, and tax-payer funded bond proposals.

The Harris County (Houston-area) ballot is, I’m told, the longest in the nation.  In preparation for voting, I printed my sample ballot for review, and I count a total of 93, that’s ninety-three, different contests.

I take my responsibilities as a U.S. citizen seriously, and always try to learn as much as I can before heading to the polls.  But how does one really dig down into the details of 93 different contests?

One method is to consult some of the many available voter guides.  Of course, such guides are inherently biased, and sometimes oriented to a single issue.  Even if the provider claims to be neutral and non-partisan, there will be discernible bias.  A smart voter must make sure he/she understands what each group values in candidates.

A well-meaning and intelligent friend suggests that rather than rely on voter guides or “straight ticket” votes, each citizen should do his or her own research.

Which brings me back to that Harris County ballot; dispersed among the 93 contests are some 210 candidates.  How on Earth does the average citizen, perhaps one with a full-time job and a family, have time to research 210 different candidates?

While I’m not as politically involved as I have been in the past, I think I’m more informed than average, and I find this ballot daunting.  I attended a few meet-and-greet events earlier this year, but candidates far outnumbered non-candidates in attendance, and each candidate only had 2 minutes to speak.

Even worse may be what’s not on this ballot; there are numerous other boards consisting of both elected and appointed officials that have jurisdiction over myself, my family, and my property.  These boards are not necessarily required to hold elections at the biennial general election.  I’ve spent hours trying to track down even the most basic information about the governance structure of the ten different entities taxing my home with very little success.

We’ve come a long way since Tocqueville praised the structures of local government as a key component of representative democracy.  Unlike citizens in the early 19th century, I not only do not know and interact with my locally elected officials; sometimes I don’t even know they exist, much less who they are, and what they do.

But back to that Harris County ballot with 93 contests and 210 candidates.  What’s a citizen to do?

While I’m not a fan of unquestioning party loyalty, one of the few things I can do is consider party-affiliation.  In my case, I agree with much of the Republican and little of the Democrat Party platform. I’m not naïve enough to think every nominal Republican or Democrat adheres to party platform, but it is one tool for gaining insight.  I do look at voter guides from groups with which I largely agree, and sometimes those with which I do not.

There’s an election next month. Your ballot may be a mess, and it may take some time and effort to understand it.  But citizen participation is what makes our system work.  It’s not perfect, but pretty good overall.  Of course, always remember that government is ultimately comprised of flawed human beings, not angels.  Keep your perspective and reserve your real faith for a perfect and holy God.

There’s an election next month.  Be informed; be a voter.

Here are some of the voter guides/scorecards I use:

Texas Values
Heritage Action 
Texans for Fiscal Responsibility
Texas Home School Coalition (not just for home school, for parental rights)

Texas Right to Life and Texas Alliance for Life.  (These two are sometimes at odds, especially in primaries, so you really have to consider the specific tools used to determine endorsements.  When I step back to consider broader fiscal, judicial, educational, and constitutional liberty issues, I’m usually more in agreement with TRL, but not always.)

Here in Harris County, there are 75 contests for various courts, including everything from the Texas Supreme Court down to the Justice of the Peace.  Not an endorsement guide per se, the Houston Judicial Preference Poll is very interesting this year.  Although a left-leaning group of attorneys, they have mostly preferred the GOP judges.  I’m told the GOP judges are far more knowledgeable, efficient, and fair. 

There’s quite a few competing “Conservative” groups in Harris County that often disagree in primary endorsements, but are united in the general elections.  Harris County Conservative Coalition has a guide for school district and Lone Star College races.

(Image:  Alexis de Tocqueville by Théodore Chassériau.)

DA Debate

by

debate2

Hours before Devon Anderson and Kim Ogg debated last Monday night at Windsor Village United Methodist Church, one of Devon’s lead prosecutors was the subject of prosecutorial misconduct allegations in a Fort Bend County courtroom. Prosecutorial misconduct has become a theme of the Anderson administration.

The DA debate, moderated by Khambrel Marshall from KPRC Local 2, occurred just minutes before 84 million people watched the Trump-Clinton debate. Think about that for a second. The race for Harris County District Attorney is easily the most contested race in the county and the Anderson-Blakemore crew decided to debate Ogg the same night of the most watched political debate in history.

kim_ogg
Kim Ogg

Since the 2014 election, Anderson has been on the defensive for a variety of issues including several prosecutorial misconduct allegations; the [unjust] prosecution of two pro-life activists; a lawsuit that exposed the fact that prosecutors jailed a rape victim; even more jailed witnesses, including another rape victim; misuse of the asset forfeiture process; and a complete lack of diversity in the leadership ranks.

Devon used two defenses to this litany of scandals: personally attacking Kim Ogg and blame shifting.

Anderson attacked Ogg for previously running as a Republican. Anderson also attacked Ogg for voting in the 2008 Harris County Republican Primary. Instead of discussing her own attributes, Anderson tried to point out to the black community that Kim did not vote for Barack Obama in the 2008 primary campaign. Again, an interesting approach for someone defending her own Republican bona fides and one I enjoy sharing with Republican voters.

I do find it interesting that Kim Ogg’s father, former State Senator Jack Ogg, was one of the last pro-life Democrats in Texas. I was wondering if Anderson was going to bring that up; but, she is likely unaware of Houston political history.

Interestingly, Anderson is still defending her office’s decision to jail rape victims. While this does not surprise me, Anderson’s lack of legal responsibility blows me away. Let me explain. Most of you have likely seen Anderson’s video from Arizona defending the actions of her office. Since the news broke, Anderson has provided a detailed description of the trial court prosecutor’s actions. This is a problem because, whether or not they are true, the prosecutor’s actions were likely outside the scope of his employment, which would pierce his governmental immunity. This is why most smart lawyers say, “I cannot comment on pending litigation.” Devon Anderson is not a smart lawyer.

Ogg quoted hard data to demonstrate the lack of racial diversity in leadership positions at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. Simply said, the racial diversity in the office in no way reflects the ethnic composition of the county.

In addressing the series of prosecutorial misconduct allegations against the District Attorney’s Office, Anderson claimed that none had been substantiated. In actuality, Judge Stacey Bond found that two prosecutors intentionally caused a mistrial in a highly publicized case. Attorney Stanley Schneider said that “Harris County residents should be troubled by the DA’s office condoning conduct like this.” After Bond’s ruling, attorney Dan Cogdell said, “It says to me there’s a cancer in that office that needs to be cut out.”

The latest problems involve destroyed evidence at Precinct Four and Anderson’s failure to timely notify defense counsel. Anderson’s office is a scandal a week and this will continue. She is in way over her head and has gotten terrible political and legal advice from those that surround her.

At one point during the debate, Anderson described her office’s transparency and a large chuckle erupted from the audience. Let’s just take the Precinct Four situation. Instead of accepting responsibility, Anderson shifted blame to Constable Mark Herman. Anderson claimed that her office could not obtain reliable case information from Constable Herman’s office, which is why Anderson’s office waited six months to notify defendants that the evidence in their case was destroyed. Meanwhile, defendants went to prison and, now, defendants may sue the county over these civil rights violations. Once again, the taxpayers lose with Anderson in office.

Anderson is wasting your tax dollars by permitting her prosecutors to exercise bad judgment and unethical conduct. She is also using the entire budget for salaries and is dependent on asset forfeiture funds for everything else.

There are only two ways to view this debate: via Ogg’s Facebook page and KPRC Local 2.

If you watch the debate, you will witness Anderson’s negative personal attacks against Ogg. Anderson’s defensive posture and blame shifting does not warrant Republican support. Most folks agree that Anderson is weighing down the ticket. It is time for the Anderson administration to end. Otherwise, Anderson’s misbehavior will continue as a stain on Harris County Republicans during every election cycle and lead to more problems for years to come. Most importantly, we are not safer with Anderson in office. Violent crime is prominent throughout the county. Anderson was a product of the slates and as Paul Simpson has waged a war against the three prominent slates, he continues to endorse and support the worst candidate in the Republican field, which drags down all of the candidates. Watch the debate and see for yourself.

Hey, Uptown TIRZ! First, do no harm!

by

guest-columnThe stretch of Loop 610 between I-10 and I-59 is one of the most congested traffic areas in the United States.

The Uptown TIRZ has offered to alleviate some of this congestion by building the Guide Way (dual dedicated bus lanes down the middle of Post Oak Boulevard), at a budgeted cost of $200 million. Ultimately, like any other government plan, it will most likely cost much more than the projected budgeted amount and it is Houston taxpayers who will foot the bill.

The plan, as proposed, will undoubtedly create traffic congestion on Post Oak, where congestion is currently minimal, and throughout the Galleria. The Guide Way (a faux version of BRT or Bus Rapid Transit), will be  a 1.9-mile section of exclusive bus lanes, which will emanate from the Northwest Transit Center’s 200-car garage and run to a new 250-car garage at the new (yet to be built) Westpark Transit Center, with many stops in-between.

The Uptown TIRZ claims that over ten thousand (10,000) riders, primarily Galleria office dwellers, will transition from remote Park ‘n Rides daily  (parenthetically leaving their unguarded vehicles subject to break in), board busses, transfer busses at one of the Transit Centers, and ride busses (note the plural) to work and back.

Once off the bus, they’ll then cross three lanes of traffic and possibly two bus lanes to get to and from their office buildings; and pay money (rider cost currently up in the air) to do so. The Uptown TIRZ claims that riders will do this in lieu of taking advantage of what is most often employer provided paid parking in their respective office buildings’ garage. This trade-off doesn’t sound like a particularly likely scenario to me, but I’m only one Galleria office dweller.

Why has there never been a real survey of major Galleria employers and employees as to their willingness to participate in this “utopian” program?

Bus route after bus route down Post Oak has failed due to lack of ridership. Why does the Uptown TIRZ think that this time will be different? And how is it that they are being allowed to bet tens of millions of taxpayer dollars on this unlikely outcome? Cui bono?

One must acknowledge that what congestion exists in the Galleria primarily comes from folks trying to get on or off Loop 610. To alleviate the admittedly bad congestion on 610 –and that caused by commuters getting on and off 610 – I believe that the best solution would be for TXDOT to double-deck this portion of the Loop, so through traffic from I-59 to I-10 would no longer need to mix with “local” traffic exiting in the Galleria. My bet, hundreds of millions of dollars of bus lanes (1.9 miles @ a conservative $19,936.20 per foot to construct) ain’t gonna do it.

The Uptown TIRZ plan will cut Post Oak Boulevard in half, magnifying the area’s relatively minor traffic congestion and creating dangerous confusion. The Uptown TIRZ boasts that all current traffic lanes will be maintained, but the plan specifically removes the “exclusive right turn, southbound lane at San Felipe and Westheimer.” The Guide Way will close three open-turn medians on Post Oak. It can’t help but snarl east-west traffic on San Felipe, Westheimer, and Richmond as virtually empty busses in dedicated lanes, utilize TSP (Traffic Signal Preemption), like Downtown’s light rail. The Uptown TIRZ plan will trade what I believe at best will be a minute improvement on 610, for massive disruption on Uptown streets. Cui bono?

If the Uptown TIRZ plan goes forward, traffic will be disrupted even more as construction (now getting underway between 610 and San Felipe on Post Oak) cuts traffic to two lanes in each direction; and eliminates the medians, trees and landscaping that we have all come to appreciate in the asphalt jungle we call home.

The disruption will last well into 2018, assuming the project does something no government project ever does – comes in on schedule.  With the city facing a major budget deficit and credit downgrades, this is not the time for a WPA-like “make work” project.  The increased congestion and loss of access will soon begin to drastically exacerbate the decline in sales taxes (already taking place due to depressed oil prices) and property taxes in one of the nation’s most prestigious mixed use (shopping, office, residential) districts.

Medium term, it will drive surviving office tenants elsewhere as their leases expire, speeding flight to the more accessible suburbs of Harris, Ft. Bend, and Montgomery counties. Hang on Energy Corridor developers, misguided METRO rail projects and skyrocketing property taxes will shortly lead to an exodus from the CBD and the Guide Way (and skyrocketing property taxes) will lead to a similar exodus from the Galleria.  

If this were about effective, efficient transportation, any one of the alternatives proposed below could have been chosen. They offer a chance of addressing the Galleria’s relatively minor congestion problems without creating monstrous new ones on Westheimer, San Felipe and Richmond:

  • Van pooling, common in Seattle and Silicon Valley, could be implemented with 11-passenger vans, outfitted with leather captain’s chairs and Wi-Fi taking passengers straight to the office door, enabling them to work an extra hour a day.
  • Efforts could be made to encourage carpooling, ride sharing, and use of the existing underutilized METRO bus system.  
  • Diamond lanes, like those downtown, could limit the use of right hand lanes to buses, vans or other HOVs during peak hours.  

These potential options for alternate transit considering current car driving commuters are all better alternatives than this ill-conceived project, particularly in far flung Houston, where less than 2{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of commuters now use public transportation.

But no, the Uptown TIRZ board appears to have another agenda. What is their agenda and…cui bono?

The Uptown TIRZ board has authorized bonds to pay condemnation proceeds for land along the route. Cui bono?

City funds have already been used to install utilities to increase water and sewer capacity  for  new high rise developments in Uptown which they dream will be akin to City Centre (located at Beltway 8 and I-10), but on steroids. “Build it, they will come!” Cui bono?

Prudence should demand that Mayor Turner put the brakes on this ill-conceived project, perhaps re-calling the money that the Uptown TIRZ has already collected, and put it toward the recently identified monster deficit that his predecessor left him. Transit-wise, he could help METRO address their aging bus fleet (30{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of which is over 14 years old); he could address the need for more handicapped access, etc.; bottom line, he could help those who really need assistance with public transportation, METRO’s primary charge.

I believe he should halt this project before 18 plus months of traffic congestion and road construction drastically cuts sales tax revenues from the city’s premier shopping district, ruins its beautiful premier boulevard, causes an exodus of office tenants, and kills the goose just when the city budget most needs its golden eggs.

Empty busses to nowhere! Whatever, certainly not a good way to spend hundreds of millions of dollars.

There should be a hippocratic oath for public servants too: “First, do no harm.”

Put the damned trees back!

J.W. “Jay” Wall III is a commercial real estate broker, specializing in tenant representation.

Has YOUR school district applied for a Refugee School Impact grant?

by

There’s good news for school districts in cities across Texas working with the cheap labor refugee industry to flood your community elementary, middle or high school with more non-English speaking students requiring treatment at the new lice centers opening up across the state. They can (and have) applied for the Targeted Assistance Discretionary Refugee School Impact Grant which uses your tax dollars to “help” refugee students and their families access the public school system.

For the budget period August 15, 2015 through August 14, 2016 your tax dollars went to school districts in Austin, Dallas, and Houston and to resettlement/ social service agencies in Fort Worth and San Antonio under the (RSI) grant.

Some of the services provided to these “students” and their families included:

  • Facilitation of communication between students, parents, school personnel, resettlement agencies, and community organizations
  • Referral to psychiatric services.
  • Monitoring of academic, behavioral, and attendance problems
  • Parent Orientation and Q & A session for Arabic-speaking parents
  • Guiding students through the YMCA’s 8th grade Refugee Scholarship Program, and
  • Orientation on US cultural norms-personal hygiene

Documents provided by the Texas Department of Health and Human Services revealed outcomes, accomplishments and observations from the grant funds:

“A total of 2,300 refugee students and parents received School Impact services during this semiannual reporting period (94 percent of the state projection of 2,448 refugees served). This total included 1,385 school-age refugee children and 915 parents.”

“There continued to be large numbers of Iraqi, Burmese, and Afghani families in need of services across the state. Other large groups included families from Cuba, Congo, Somalia, and Iran.”

People imported by the cheap labor refugee industry also migrate from their destination city to neighborhoods and school districts across the state:

“The number of refugees who resettled and/or migrated to Texas is among the highest in the U.S. Refugees are concentrated in multiple, large metropolitan areas, as well as smaller cities and towns across the state. In larger cities, some refugee families live in metropolitan neighborhoods that spread across different school districts.”

And, depending on your perspective, that glut of vacant apartments in existence and currently under construction in the Harris/ Fort Bend County area sitting empty can easily be filled by people imported by the cheap labor refugee industry who need services funded by more and more of YOUR tax dollars:

“Due to the location of affordable housing, there are concentrations of refugee families in areas of cities where low-income housing is available, resulting in a concentration of refugee students in various campuses. However, refugee families reside and attend schools throughout each community, especially in larger cities. This distribution, coupled with the diversity of refugees typical in most Texas cities, means that in many schools multiple languages and ethnicities are represented. This increases the challenge to focus resources on translation and interpretation services.”

According to these documents, one “promising” program was launched in Alief ISD which is adjacent to Fort Bend ISD:

“Alief ISD hired a refugee liaison to expand collaborative partnerships with resettlement agencies and other service providers in the Houston area, including the Houston Independent School District. The Alief refugee liaison helped to address the needs of refugee students in the Houston/Harris County region, which continues to resettle record numbers of refugees each year.”

Read the documents here.2016 1st semi-annual RSIG report (1)

Fort Bend Republicans could campaign on THIS issue—but they probably won’t

by

Last month a Texas Tribune article highlighted Texas’ ultimate win against the Big Federal Government social-justice warrior-led effort to force suburban cities to surrender their local zoning policies through a type of back-door annexation via the imposition of low-income housing quotas under threat of litigation.This issue should represent a topic Fort Bend County Republicans could campaign on—but for reasons I’m about to outline, I’m guessing they probably won’t.

In the wake of a recent U. S. Supreme Court decision designed to impose low-income housing quotas on the residents of suburban communities through the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs tax-credit program, the lawsuit over housing segregation in Texas was dismissed.

On August 26, the Texas Tribune reported U.S. District Judge Sidney Fitzwater found the Inclusive Communities Project could not prove the existence of a State specific policy resulting in low-income housing projects approved for construction in mostly minority areas (emphasis mine):

“…ICP has failed to point to a specific, facially neutral policy that purportedly caused a racially disparate impact. By relying simply on TDHCA exercise in discretion of awarding tax credits, ICP has not isolated and identified the specific practice that caused the disparity in the location of low-income housing.”

The defeat of an attempt to force low-income housing quotas on suburban cities through fear of potential and protracted litigation at huge taxpayer expense is an issue custom-made for Fort Bend County Republicans to campaign on through Election Day.

However I’m guessing they probably won’t.

Even Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner knows this is a winning issue for Republicans that could draw more voters to the polls in November—why do you think he HIMSELF pulled the plug on a tax-credit financed apartment complex at 2640 Fountainview?

So why do I think Fort Bend County Republicans won’t touch this issue with a 10-foot pole?

Because campaigning on THAT issue would open up State Representative John Zerwas and State Representative Phil Stephenson to questions about their support for low-income housing projects in the County.

14148 – Representative John Zerwas Support Letter 3-31-14.pdf

Phil Stephenson letter of support

And it would open up State Representative Rick Miller to questions about why he was incapable of even MAKING a decision on a project.

Rick Miller Letter of Support

Stanley Kurtz was right when he opined about the GOP being silent on a YUGE and potentially winning campaign issue for Republicans:

“A smart Republican party would expose all this, save itself, and split the Democrats. But that’s not the party we’ve got.”