Big Jolly Politics

politics in Harris County and Texas

More Kubosh v Morales mailer madness

by

Warning: inside baseball stuff here on Harris County Republicans – you’ve been advised.

So I get this email last Friday from a Republican activist that I like and admire, Carmen Cuneo.

Dear Friends of Liberty,

So we have a run-off election. Today I received a mailer from the Michael Kubosh campaign. It is attached for your viewing pleasure (or disgust). It appears to me he is very proud of his democrat roots. I am willing to bet nobody in a conservative precinct received this mailer. My precinct is over 95{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} black and democrat. This piece only serves to criticize Roy Morales for being a conservative.

I always watch candidates to see if they talk the same way to different groups. Apparently Michael will say whatever he thinks he needs to say changing the message accordingly to appease those present . This is dishonest and it stinks! In my opinion. How could you ever trust what this man says?

Anyway, interested in your thoughts on this race. Needless to say, I voted for Roy Morales for At Large Position 3.

Carmen Evelyn Cuneo
Harris County Republican Party
Precinct 0210

So I look at the mailer and think, what? Nothing Carmen says makes sense to me. So I email her and ask about it:

Hi, Carmen,

I’m going to write about this because I respect your opinion. I don’t see the problem with it but that could be because I support Mike and perhaps I’m blind to it.

Why do you think this criticizes Roy for being conservative? The way I see it, it criticizes Roy for saying that Republicans and conservatives should not reach out to various groups of voters.

This is an interesting race because it pits two Republicans against each other in a supposedly non-partisan race. Are you saying that Republicans and conservatives should only reach out to groups that are traditionally Republican even in this situation?

David

To which she replies:

Hi David,

I absolutely believe we should reach out to minority communities. But, when I speak to Republicans, I will tell them I am a Republican. When I speak to Democrats, I tell them I’m a Republican. Same story. I believe in honesty.

I know this is a nonpartisan race but Mr. Kubbosh appears to be very proud of his Democrat affiliation otherwise he would not have mailed this piece. I’d say he is bragging rather than complaining. He certainly does not dispute his Democrat roots because he wants to capitalise on them.

I also believe he only participated in the Republican party for political expedience.

Yours in Party Service, Carmen

When Carmen says “yours in party service”, she backs that up with action. I first met her in 2010 when she was helping Ed Hubbard try to defeat Jared Woodfill. Since then, I’ve seen her at dozens and dozens of events, plus poll watching, party outreach, etc.

And she closes with this:

I have lived in my predominately black community for 7 years, I have been active here in community service projects. If I were going to run for office and reach out to the black community. Quanell X would be the last person I would go to for support. There are wonderful honest people of good moral character in this community. Now, if you like Quannell X and his tactics you might not be offended by the Kubosh mailer. If, like me, you know others who you believe of good moral character and great people to reach out to, you might be deeply insulted and offended by this flyer. I would not want people to think that we, Republicans, find QX to be the role model to seek for outreach in the black community. I am embarrassed by this.

And then former mayoral candidate Jack O’Connor jumped into the conversation with this comment on BJP:

I just received an email with a cc of the mailer from the Kubosh campaign. It indicated that it was sent to David Jennings as well. I remain neutral in this race, but it appears that Big Jolly is cleary in the Kubosh camp. Up until now I understand why. The Kubosh mailer will make it much more difficult for Republicans and conservatives to gain support in the city and county. Wittingly or unwittingly, the Kubosh campaign is unfairly creating problems for Republicans in the Black, Hispanic, and Asian Communities within the city and county.

If the Kubosh mailer that Mr. Jennings has in his possession does not make it clear to him and others that the mailer hurts the Republicans then the Party is in trouble. Mr. Kubosh has great success in building up support among Republicans while gaining the support of unions and other more liberal groups. That maybe acceptable to some but it should not be at the expense of the Republican Party. More minorities are moving right and we would like to see that continue. It is also not irregular or racist to be concerned by the courtship of Quannell X and the concern is diverse.

As usual with anything Jack says, it is hard to comprehend. But I suppose we can recap it by saying he doesn’t like me much and thinks I’m helping bring down the HCRP. Such is life. It took me a while to determine that Jack was talking about the same email because the email I rec’d from Carmen was blind and didn’t have my name on it anywhere.

Okay, now that you have Carmen and Jack’s views, let’s take a look at the mailer that started this:

Kubosh mailer kubosh mailer

You can click on those two images to get a better look. In a nutshell, Mike Kubosh took a Roy Morales mailer that Roy sent to Republicans, added some text to it that says this is not the way to campaign, and mailed it out to Democrats. Although Carmen said in her email that Kubosh only mailed it to her “black” precinct, the truth is that he mailed it to other demographic groups, including Latinos. But, I’ll accept Carmen’s point that he didn’t send it to predominately Republican areas because Mike told me he didn’t. Roy did that for him.

The thing is, so what? I’m having a hard time understanding why this mailer, in Jack O’Connor’s words, “is unfairly creating problems for Republicans in the Black, Hispanic, and Asian Communities within the city and county.” Every single attack in that mailer was generated by Roy Morales, not Mike Kubosh. Let’s take a look:

  • Roy attacked J. Brad Batteau for his criminal record.
  • Roy attacked Michael Kubosh for running as a Democrat in 2006 and listing Quannel X as a supporter.
  • Roy attacked Jenifer Rene Poole for being president of a LGBT group and receiving their endorsement. Notice how he made sure to spell out “Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Bisexual” in this mailer to conservative Republicans.
  • Roy attacked Roland Chavez for being a former union president and receiving the endorsement of Tejano Democrats.
  • Roy attacked Rogene Calvert for being president of 80/20 Asian American PAC, being endorsed by Sheila Jackson Lee, and being endorsed by the LGBT group The Houston Stonewall Young Democrats.

Those attacks, according to Roy in the mailer, “prove” he is the “only conservative” in the race.

Mike Kubosh simply said that is not the way he is going to run a campaign. He then listed a bunch of Democratic groups that he has reached out to and received their endorsement.

And for that he is admonished for being a Democrat? And ruining Republican chances in the future?

Like I said, I respect Carmen a whole bunch but I don’t understand her line of thinking. Mike reached out to many black leaders, not only Quannel X. And most of those leaders meet her requirement of being “wonderful honest people of good moral character in this community”. As I told her upfront, I am a Kubosh supporter and perhaps am blinded to understanding what she is saying. But I wanted to let you know her thoughts on this race because she is a great Republican activist.

As for Jack’s line of reasoning, well, he’s Jack. I’ll leave it to you to decipher.

What is even more perplexing to me is that Roy has received the endorsement of Noel Freeman, President of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, after Roy attacked Jenifer Rene Poole for in essence being a transgendered person and Rogene Calvert for accepting the endorsement of a gay group.  In his endorsement of Roy, he states:

As the president of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, the oldest GLBT civil rights organization in the South, it is my job to strongly represent the interests of Houston’s LGBT community on issues of great importance to us that affect our daily lives.

…

Aside from the fact that I think Roy Morales will be a more reasonable and tempered Council member than Kubosh, I have to consider where they stand on LGBT issues.

…

Kubosh has also declared his staunch opposition to implementation of an inclusive non-discrimination ordinance that would keep people from being fired or denied housing or public accommodation just because they are LGBT. I’ve been fired for being gay and I’ve tried to rent at apartment complexes that don’t rent to gay people, so that’s kind of a big issue for me.

…

Morales isn’t where I would like him to be on our issues, but two days after the November election he called me to talk specifically about LGBT issues. He expressed his willingness to work with Mayor Parker and the Caucus on a non-discrimination ordinance that meets the needs of the community but balances them with other city and community needs he feels deserve consideration. We chalk that up in politics as a “soft yes.” His support of even the most minimal of protections is better than the “hard no” we get from Kubosh.

…

The best choice for the LGBT community for Houston City Council At-Large Position 3 isRoy Morales.

Noel’s endorsement is long and worth a read. I agree with him that Roy would most likely be friendly to GLBT causes. But as one of the very few people actively encouraging GLBT participation in Harris County Republican politics, I would much rather have a solid “no” from someone like Kubosh than the answers Roy has given about a NDO – vague, hinting that he’s against, hinting that he’s for – just tell us what you think. At least with Kubosh I know I need to focus on someone else’s vote – with Roy, he’ll switch at the very end. But I suppose a fat, old, redneck from Pasadena can’t understand the nuances of being gay in today’s society. The worst thing I can imagine is having to hide who you really are from the society you live in. I’ll keep pushing the HCRP for inclusion and try to learn from Noel in hopes that it will help me.

If you search this website, you’ll find more positive information on Roy than negative. I supported him in his run for mayor. I supported him in his run for Congress. I defended him time and time again. But the best indicator of future performance is past performance. And after watching Roy’s performance in his only successful election, which was for the Harris County Department of Education, I would never vote for or support him again. His attendance at board meetings was horrible, making roughly 50{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the meetings. He mostly ran for other offices during his six year term. He voted to sue a fellow Republican to try and force him off the board. And I’ll never forget him pushing for a tax increase, holding up those crackers to “prove” it was a very small amount, and then voting against his own proposal when it became clear that I and other conservatives in the room would talk about it.

Lt. Col. (Ret.) Roy Morales and his whole grain cheese crackers.
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Roy Morales and his whole grain cheese crackers.

Give me a person with true convictions any day of the week.

I urge all Republicans and Democrats to vote for Mike Kubosh.

 

Desperate Roy Morales tries trickery

by

As we all know, a runoff election brings out the best in candidates! Oh, wait…maybe not! I suppose it depends on the candidate.

Ol’ Roy is back at it. Roy Morales, that is. He’s in a runoff election and will do most anything to win. After all, he’s been running a long time for a variety of offices – at some point, desperation has to set in. So he’ll apparently do anything at all to win – except be honest. Take a look at his most recent mailer:

Roy Morales mailer

Whoa. Greg Abbott endorsed Roy? Really? And Rep. Ted Poe? Wow, ol’ Roy really got some choice endorsements, didn’t he?

Well, no, he didn’t. Go to Rep. Ted Poe’s website and you’ll find this on his home page:

Ted Poe website - NOT endorsing Roy Morales

Well I’ll be: photo “used without permission”. Say goodbye to Ted Poe’s endorsement. And I’ll bet you a dozen Krispy Kreme donuts that Greg Abbott didn’t endorse him either.

But hey, it’s Roy’s world, we all just live here. Because, you know, he “knows stuff”.

I really liked this part of the mailer:

Roy Morales HCDE primary vote 2006

Wow, that’s impressive! Ol’ Roy got 100% of the vote in his Harris County Department of Education (County School Trustee) Republican primary win in 2006! But wait, there’s more! Look at who he defeated:

Roy Morales hcde primary complete

Oh. No one. It’s pretty easy to get 100% when you are the only guy on the ballot.

Looks like ol’ Roy is going for the idiot voter. AKA the uninformed. AKA the easily duped.

This mailer pretty much negates his answer on big dog’s questionnaire (along with this, of course):

1. What distinguishes you from your opponent?

Honesty, Integrity, Education and Transparency.

Heh. So much for that one.

 

Roy Morales for Houston City Council: We Can’t Afford It

by

Don Hooper
Don Hooper

Rogelio “Roy” Morales: This man has run for Houston city council, mayor, or congress during a minimum of five election cycles and has never won a City of Houston election. In 2009, after Roy Morales placed fourth in the Houston mayoral race, he felt enabled and decided that he would ask Annise Parker and Gene Locke to take part in a campaign mailer. Parker, desperately seeking endorsements in a mayoral runoff with Locke, was looking for Republican support and thought that Roy could provide assistance. She paid $64,000 to participate in Roy’s mailer.

After the 2009 general election, I ran into Roy sipping champagne at La Griglia on a Friday afternoon. My lunch guest, the ever-lovely Mrs. Hooper, thought it was odd for two reasons. First, what was Roy celebrating with a champagne toast with his male guest – he had just lost his third political campaign? Second, why was Roy sipping champagne at lunch on a Friday afternoon?

It is interesting to now look at Roy’s old campaign finance reports. This review shows us one clear reason why Roy may have been celebrating: he was using his campaign coffers as funny money. On November 16, 2009, Roy paid $400 to Medical Center Collision for a brake replacement. He reasoned that his car reached the 35,000-mile mark during his latest campaign. On November 29, 2009, he paid $60 to Mary Sergesketter for “reimbursement for Make-up Artist for Debate.”

Roy Morales - nice makeup!
Roy Morales – nice makeup!

Then, on November 13, 2009, Roy paid his $65 parking ticket that he received during his interview with the Houston Chronicle Editorial Board with campaign funds.

In 2005, Roy came on the scene to run for Houston city council against Peter Brown. Armed with Court Koenning as his campaign consultant, Roy received donations from folks such as Steve Radack. As you know, Brown became the city councilmember. It was around this time that I first crossed paths with Roy Morales in a fight over the light rail on Richmond. Roy seemed to understand the problematic light rail alignment; but, he quickly lost me when he was telling me about Al Qaeda operating on Harwin. He had some “super secret” intel about Al Qaeda cells operating within the Pakistani community.

Roy’s new campaign slogan is “more jobs, less taxes, a safer city.” Unfortunately, we know that Roy thinks that a small tax increase is not a problem. As recently as last year, Roy compared the cost of a package of cheese crackers to a proposed tax increase by the Harris County Department of Education. That kind of thinking brought us the rain tax.

During the 2013 election cycle, Roy decided to run against Michael Kubosh for Houston City Council At Large Position Three. During the general election, Roy sent out a hateful mailer about all of his opponents. Instead of touting any of his own qualifications, he chose to focus on his opponents. Michael received strong voter support in the general election and Roy barely made the runoff.

Clearly, Parker is afraid of Kubosh. Michael has been on the right side of many issues facing the city: red light cameras, feeding the homeless and less fortunate, and Prop 1. Even if you disagreed with Michael on the red light camera issue, his passion is undeniable. On Saturday, the Chronicle was forced to recognize Michael’s goodness. I can only imagine how painful that was for the Editorial Board.

On the political circuit, I have noticed that Roy Morales does not seem to have a political consultant. It is unusual to not see a local political consultant attached to a city council candidate. So, I decided to review Roy’s campaign finance report for some insight. Roy reports that he has paid thousands of dollars to a consultant located at 2504 NC Highway 54 in Durham, North Carolina. According to Google, this reported address is the home of the Extended Stay America motel.

Then, Roy reports a payment of $250 to “Eric Weidmann” on August 31, 2013. The payee address matches the voter registration address for Eric Jared Weinmann, Manager of Constituent Services and Community Relations for City Councilman Andrew Burks.

Eric Weinmann campaigning in CoH shirt
Eric Weinmann campaigning in CoH shirt
Eric Weinmann voter registration - note address
Eric Weinmann voter registration -note address
Eric Weinmann staff position on CoH website
Eric Weinmann staff position on CoH website
Eric Weidmann on Roy Morales' campaign finance report - note address.
Eric Weidmann on Roy Morales’ campaign finance report – note address.

How is a city employee, a member of a councilmember’s staff, receiving money from Roy for political work? Is this part of the new and improved ethics plan laid out by Annise Parker and David Feldman? As Feldman said, “In my view of the world, that’s what ethics is – it’s a common, sensical moral compass.” I am somewhat familiar with Weinmann’s “moral compass.” A few years ago, he filed a bogus complaint on a PAC created to fight the Prop 1/Renew Houston scam.

Why is Roy sending money to a motel in Durham, North Carolina? Maybe these are issues for David Feldman to explore. Or, Roy can consult with George Bishop, the disbarred, former federal inmate that was advising him in his recent effort to remove Michael from the ballot. I am sure that this is all a simple misunderstanding that can easily be explained and Al Qaeda is involved somewhere. Between the Houston Chronicle, David Jennings, and this article, I think that we have covered Roy Morales and his campaign.

The runoff election will occur on December 14, 2013. We can’t afford Champagne Roy in Houston.

On Michael Kubosh and Quanell X

by

If you were at the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club’s weekly meeting yesterday, you heard a couple of remarkable claims. I’ve already written about one, so let’s talk about the other one.

During the question and answer session for Houston City Council At-Large 3 candidates, the issue of supporters of Michael Kubosh was brought up. Unfortunately, I didn’t record the meeting and can’t remember if it was a question from the audience or if Roy Morales brought it up. What I do know is that Michael’s answer was very misleading, at least without the context I describe below.

What I do recall of his answer is that Mike said that Quanell X wasn’t a supporter. I was stunned when I heard him say that because the plain fact of the matter is that Quanell X IS a supporter of Mike’s and Mike and I have discussed it many times. In a positive way. I think it is awesome that Michael Kubosh is able to reach out to all communities in Houston.

So I called Mike this morning and told him that I was going to smack him upside the head for his answer and did he have a reason for saying that? Perhaps he misspoke, ya know?

Mike told me that Roy has been out on the campaign trail saying that Quanell X was a financial supporter and that is what he was responding to. Mike told me that Quanell X hasn’t given him any financial support but that yes, Quanell X likes him. Upon recollection, Mike did mention that Quanell X had not given him any money later in his answer. But honestly, I didn’t interpret his answer that way.

Interestingly, Mike’s brother Paul left a comment on my friend Karen Townsend’s Pondering Penguin blog about this:

Think about it Mike Kubosh’s biggest supporter Quanell X? Please.

Well, that muddies the water a little bit more, doesn’t it?

Here’s the deal, I guess. The DHPC is not only my favorite club, it is Mike’s. And I’d bet that 90{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the attendees on Thursday had the same reaction I did because we all know that Mike reached out to Quanell X and had him at his campaign announcement:

Supporters of Michael Kubosh for City Council, At-Large 3
Supporters of Michael Kubosh for City Council, At-Large 3, including Quanell X

That is a picture I took at Mike’s announcement. It isn’t a secret.

Look, I’m positive that Quanell X isn’t a financial supporter of Mike’s. Very few people are because Mike refuses to solicit campaign funds – he is for the most part self-funded because, as he told me earlier this year, how can he ask hard working people for money when he has enough to fund his own campaign?

As to his brother Paul’s comment that Quanell X isn’t Mike’s “biggest supporter”, I have no doubt about that because the line of supporters for Mike is pretty long and includes me. That said, Quannell X is a supporter of Mike’s.

Here’s the deal. Either you believe Mike’s answer that he thought the question was about Roy’s claims of financial support or you don’t.

I believe him because I’m a supporter and he would be foolish to try and get away with telling the DHPC that Quanell X didn’t support him in any other context. I mean, I was sitting 10 feet away – is it realistic to think that I wouldn’t notice this? On the other hand, I can understand anyone that supports Roy being perplexed by Mike’s statement that day because without the context of Roy’s alleged other statements, it doesn’t ring true.

The decision, as they say, is yours.

On another topic, mark your calendar to be sure you attend the DHPC’s December 5th meeting. They will be having their annual Christmas party and collecting donations for Toys for Tots. You will not want to miss this one because the featured speaker is none other than our next governor, Greg Abbott! Don’t forget to bring a toy – they will have a representative from Toys for Tots there to accept your gift. And be early – I don’t think that you will be able to get in if you arrive at noon. Club President Sophia Mafrige worked hard to make this happen, so be there, and bring a toy or three! Or, I suppose you could pay a hundred bucks to go hear Jared Woodfill’s Chairman’s Analysis on the 2014 Issues Facing Local Republicans. Heh, I know where I’ll be!

Roy Morales takes on Big Jolly – and loses

by

[singlepic id=225 w= h= float=center]

So the Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club held its weekly meeting yesterday. The program featured candidates in various runoffs around Harris County and it really didn’t interest me enough to bring my recorder and camera to write about it. Woulda, coulda, shoulda, because I was attacked by Lt. Col. Roy Morales (Ret.).

What happened was audience members could submit questions to the candidates on note cards. Club President Sophia Mafrige would then ask the questions of the candidates. She read off a question directed to Roy that went something like this (sorry, no recorder!): Mr. Morales, why did you hire an attorney to represent you that has been disbarred and is not eligible to practice law in Texas? 

Ol’ Roy then proceeds to attack me, saying that he’s tired of bloggers putting out false information and that even Ed Emmett has warned people about bloggers putting out false information. And in no uncertain terms, his lawyer has been reinstated to practice law in Washington County, and that a certain blogger should take the time to find out the truth. And then he talked about his integrity and how he always tells the truth. Um, yeah, we’ll get to that.

Well then. Obviously, since I was the only person that bothered to cover Roy’s attempt to get Michael Kubosh off the ballot, ol’ Roy is talking about me. So after the meeting, I found Roy and told him that his “lawyer” is definitely not able to practice law in Texas. Roy told me that I was wrong because Bishop had personally told him that he had been reinstated.

I’ve already put a link to George M. Bishop III’s State Bar page showing that he is not eligible to practice law. But since Roy attacked me in front of my favorite club, I called the State Bar to inquire about Mr. Bishop. Perhaps Roy was correct and the State had simply failed to update its website. You never know and if I’m wrong, I want to correct the record. I’ll put my accuracy up against anyone.

So I called the State Bar at 512-427-1463 and after scrolling through a few menu items talked to a clerk in the membership department. I gave her the name George M. Bishop III and his bar number 02353000. After looking it up, the clerk came back on the line and said that Mr. Bishop was not eligible to practice. I asked her if that was it and she then said, wait, there are some notes on his file that she wanted to read. After a minute or two, she came back on and said that I needed to talk to her supervisor. I was transferred to Sandy Gavin, who asked me if I was an attorney or opposing counsel. No, I’m just trying to find out if he is eligible. Ms. Gavin said, no, he isn’t eligible. He passed the bar in July and the Board of Law Examiners was currently waiting for him to provide more information. After that, he would have to comply with the requirements of the State Bar, so he has a couple of steps left before he is eligible.

At that point, I thought perhaps we were talking about the wrong person. So I asked Ms. Gavin about that, saying that the George M. Bishop III I was asking about had passed the bar in the ’60’s. Ms. Gavin confirmed that we were talking about the same person and that he was disbarred on July 18, 2003 and that you have to wait a certain amount of time before you can reapply. And part of reapplying is that you have to pass the bar exam again. So he reapplied this year and has passed the bar exam but he has other requirements that he needs to fulfill before he is eligible to practice.

So there you have it. Mr. Bishop is not eligible to practice law in the State of Texas, regardless of what he told Roy. I won’t say that Roy lied when he attacked me in front of the DHPC because perhaps he was misled. But bottom line is that I was right, Roy was wrong. And yes, I recorded my conversation with the State Bar of Texas. Fool me once and all that.

Now let’s take a look at another falsehood Roy is putting out there. My friend Karen Townsend over at her Pondering Penguin blog (another accurate blogger) published a press release from Roy about his lawsuit. Here is a key line:

However, today Mr. Kubosh removed his homestead exemption from his Cypress address and paid the back taxes.

That line caused Karen to write this:

Kubosh paid the back taxes. I have to ask – if everything was ok, why did he do that?

Problem is that once again, Roy is spreading a falsehood. I called Michael this morning to ask about that press release and his tax payment. Basically, Michael needed something to give the court to prove that he no longer had a homestead exemption in Cypress, so he went and paid his 2014 taxes early. So no, Michael Kubosh did not “correct” anything nor did he pay “back taxes”. His homestead exemption was good for last year’s taxes (paid previously) because he lived in Cypress until he moved into Houston in October 2012. Thing is, Roy has copies of that document and knows that his press release is false.

Two days after Roy Morales filed his lawsuit seeking to steal an election he could not win, Judge Randy Wilson brought Morales’ suit to an end by signing a directed verdict.

  • November 18, 2013: Morales files a T.R.O. lawsuit. in the 157th. TRO’s go to whomever the Ancillary Judge is that week.
  • November 19, 2013: Mike Kubosh defeats Morales’ T.R.O. in front of Judge Michael Landrum in the 113th.
  • November 20, 2013: Mike Kubosh’s defeats Morales’ Temporary Injunction Claim in front of Judge Randy Wilson in the 157th.

Clearly, Michael Kubosh was a legal resident of Houston at least one year prior to the election. Two different judges have now said so.

Clearly Roy Morales was wrong when he attacked me in front of the DHPC.

Clearly Roy Morales sent out a false press release knowing the truth.

Please vote for Michael Kubosh for Houston City Council At-Large 3 and put a man with integrity in the office.

 

Houston City Council At-Large 3 Forum

by

The Downtown Houston Pachyderm Club hosted a forum for the Houston City Council At-Large 3 candidates today. The Greater Houston Pachyderm Club hosted the same group last week but I was unable to make it. Five of the six candidates were in attendance:

Roland Chavez, Rogene Calvert, Lt. Col. Roy Morales, Jenifer Rene Pool, Michael Kubosh
Roland Chavez, Rogene Calvert, Lt. Col. Roy Morales, Jenifer Rene Pool, Michael Kubosh

Opening Statements

Each candidate was given two minutes to introduce themselves to the attendees.

Roland Chavez – He has spent his life serving the citizens of Houston as a firefighter and wants to continue serving in his retirement. He will be a full time councilman. Public safety is paramount to him but he understands that there are many issues and he is not a one issue candidate. He mentioned getting the endorsements of Orlando Sanchez, Toni Lawrence, and Bert Keller.

Rogene Calvert – She stressed that she has lived in Houston a long time and raised her children here. She mentioned her work helping those with mental health needs, seniors, and children. The city has a major influence on our schools. She stressed her ability to work across lines and groups.

Lt. Col. Roy Morales – He is the only candidate in the race that has never voted in a Democratic primary. He pulled out a push card from Michael Kubosh’s campaign for State Senator as a Democrat. He wants to audit every department and find missing money. He told Mr. Chavez that he was going to have to talk to Bert Keller about his endorsement because Keller is his strategist. He emphasized that he reduced taxes as a Harris County School Trustee and put Christmas back on their school calendar.

Jenifer Rene Pool – She stressed her small business ownership experience as a consultant that deals with the city on various issues every day. She loves the city and wants it to grow. The new permitting center is a nightmare. She is the most qualified because of her experience interacting with the various city departments.

Michael Kubosh – He is not the “same old, same old” candidate. He has a diverse group of supporters because of his involvement in defeating red-light cameras and trying to overturn the “feeding ordinance”. He has taken on city hall, beaten city hall, and if you put him on the inside, he’ll shed light on what is going on behind closed doors. He is concerned about people and has no experience in the Ponzi scheme of government.

Question 1

Each question was limited to a one minute response.

Do you support limiting future limited purpose annexation?

  • Calvert – Yes
  • Morales – Need to look at the issue.
  • Pool – Before annexing any Extra Territorial Jurisdiction, the city must be able to provide services.
  • Kubosh – No taxation without representation. If you want to stop it and take back your government, vote for him.
  • Chavez – He was a city employee when the city annexed Kingwood and Clear Lake but couldn’t provide services. Must insure that the city can provide core services before annexing anyone.

Question 2

If you get elected, you are a single vote on council. How will you build a majority on your issues?

  • Morales – It will be hard with a liberal mayor but his ideas to grow the city’s economy are popular with everyone and he thinks he can get support.
  • Pool – Stressed that she is a team player. She finds common ground among various groups and works toward those goals. For instance, sidewalk maintenance. She can work with people that agree or disagree with her.
  • Kubosh – These races are setup as non-partisan for a reason. He has demonstrated that he can reach across the aisle. Most agree on the issues but not on the implementation. The media likes him, perhaps because of his Santa Claus look. He will shine light on the cockroaches.
  • Chavez – As a labor leader, he learned to work both sides of the aisle. He wined and dined Republicans back when they had eight votes on council. He is a proven steward for the community with a proven track record.
  • Calvert – It takes nine votes to get approval. We must learn to work together and that is one of her strengths. We get smarter and better solutions because of collaboration. She will work for win-win solutions. Current Tax Assessor Collector Mike Sullivan has spoken highly of her record.

Question 3

What do you hope to accomplish as a council member?

  • Pool – She wants the city running more efficiently and for its employees to be more responsive to citizens. She said that as it stands now, citizens cannot deal in-person with an employee at the water department – it must be by phone or internet and she thinks that is wrong.
  • Kubosh – Get rid of the feeding ordinance. He collected the signatures but Mayor Parker will not put it on the council agenda. Audit the TIRZ’s. Form a city version of the state Sunset Commission.
  • Chavez – When he worked with labor, he worked for more benefits for employees and more jobs. After six years as a councilman, he want to be remembered as someone who did a better job and everyone benefited.
  • Calvert – She wants to plan for future growth and do “smart planning”. And get the Rainy Day tax funds out on the streets quicker.
  • Morales – Rework pensions, we must make the defined contributions. We must end “spiking” by firefighters, where they work a lot of overtime in their final year of service and have their benefits based on that year. Make sure that permitting employees know that they work for citizens, not the other way around, and get permitting done faster. Bring more private sector jobs to Houston.

Question 4

Do you see TIRZ’s as a problem and how will you hold them accountable?

  • Kubosh – TIRZ’s have to be reeled in. It is concerning that in the last session, the legislature created more of them. The city’s long term report says that the city will be broke in 2014.
  • Chavez – TIRZ’s are supposed to give back to the community for affordable housing and jobs. City offices, such as storefront police stations, are not eligible to receive TIRZ funds. He will ask tough questions.
  • Calvert – TIRZ’s were developed as a tool for infrastructure. For an example of one done right, look at Bellaire Boulevard. Some TIRZ’s are ineffective and inactive.
  • Morales – We need to evaluate and audit TIRZ’s on a case by case basis. Some are bad but some are good. We have to be careful because we need businesses to provide jobs because that is good for the economy.
  • Pool – She would begin with a complete audit of all TIRZ’s. Some are collecting money but not distributing it. Back to sidewalks, that is something they could do for the neighborhoods because for some people, the sidewalk in front of their house is their general mobility.

Question 5

How do you plan to resolve the city’s pension problems?

  • Chavez – He just retired so he knows the issue and is best qualified for the job. Bring all to the table and he is the best person to do that. He said “I’ve got a plan” and then the timekeeper shut him down. I’d have fudged the time to hear an actual plan.
  • Calvert – Bring everyone to the table. A fix is not going to happen overnight. She doesn’t believe in breaking the contracts the city has with people. She is a former city employee and knows how important the issue is.
  • Morales – Have to take control of the situation today. Rep. Jim Murphy tried to pass a bill for transparency of the unions but lobbyists defeated it.
  • Pool – This is a problem that has been looming over the city for a long time. It needs to be addressed immediately and specifically. We gave workers our word that we’d give them pensions. Mayor Parker talks about all the “new” money flowing into the budget from the growing economy – Pool would take a portion of that money and set it aside to fund pensions.
  • Kubosh – Whose money are we talking about? It is the citizen’s money. The citizens need to make the decision with a charter amendment. He’s paid more than $500,000 in fees, fines, and taxes to the city over the years and it is time to put this decision into the hands of the citizens.

Closing statements

  • Calvert – Remember her experience and commitment to the city. As well as her ability to work with everyone.
  • Morales – Only “true” conservative in the race with a track record to prove it, as well as a track record of growing businesses. Like it or not, Kubosh was the Democratic nominee.
  • Pool – She is an advocate, saying that nowadays, “advocate” is used as a pejorative. She will make those in power uncomfortable until they make changes.
  • Kubosh – He has the support of every black ministers group in the city. Send a statement to city hall by putting him on the council without a runoff.
  • Chavez – He served 34 years as a firefighter. He’s now 56, single, and has no children and thus is able to be a full time councilman.

Commentary

First off, Sophia Mafrige and Jim Lennon did a great job in keeping order and letting the forum proceed smoothly. If you’ve ever been to one of these things, you know that isn’t easy to do. We also had a statewide candidate, Stefani Carter, running for Railroad Commissioner, in attendance, which is always a bonus for the attendees.

By now on the campaign trail the candidates are familiar with one another and their audience. They knew that today’s attendees were likely to be conservative and their answers reflected that. I was somewhat surprised that Col. Morales attacked Kubosh – this isn’t a Republican primary and I don’t think it will matter to anyone that Kubosh ran as a D in 2006.

Even though all of the candidates answered most questions similarly, if you look at actual substantive answers, I thought that Jenifer Rene Pool was the “best”. Her answers were responsive and to the point and I liked her statement about making those in power uncomfortable until they did something. Plus it was obvious that she deals with various city departments and knows the ins and outs of what they do. No question that she would be effective in holding the bureaucracy in check.

I don’t think that Roland Chavez’s answers played well with this crowd, especially his answer on the question about what he wants to accomplish as a councilman. More benefits for employees at a time when most everyone cites employee pension benefits as a problem seems counterproductive.

As for the “true” conservative Lt. Col. Roy Morales, I’ll never forget that picture of him holding up a pack of crackers begging for a tax increase, which he ultimately voted against when it was clear that we were watching. He had a lot of talking points down today but there wasn’t much substance.

Rogene Calvert seems like a nice person but when I hear “smart planning” I cringe. And collaboration doesn’t always get the best results – sometimes you have to lead.

As for Michael Kubosh, you have to love his passion for people and for doing things the right way. I have zero doubt that if he is elected, he absolutely will shine light on the cockroaches. You can take one thing to the bank: Mayor Parker doesn’t want him on council.

A few pictures:

[scrollGallery id=”27″]

UPDATE

As you can see in the comments below, commenter Mainstream disagrees with my recollection on Roland Chavez’ statement about endorsements. He does not think that Chavez indicated that Lawrence, Keller, and Sanchez endorsed him, only that he had cordial working relationships with them. I didn’t record it but I know Mainstream personally and trust that his recollection is correct.