I’ll go in alphabetical order as listed in this post.
District Judge, 280th Family Court
At first glance, former judge Lynn Bradshaw-Hull is the obvious choice with no viable alternative. And I predict that she will win easily (which makes her expenditure with Lowry even more inexplicable). She is experienced and lost because of the shortcomings of the HCRP in the last election when Democrats flocked to the polls in Harris County to vote for Barack Obama.
A second glance will show you that her opponent, Angelina Gooden, is indeed a viable alternative. She has years of experience in family law and has a passion for domestic abuse cases, which this court will handle. I urge you to read the comments here before you make up your mind.
County Criminal Court 4
Interesting race. John Clinton doesn’t have a lot of experience but he’s a great guy and I’ve enjoyed our conversations. Too bad he chose to give money to Lowry. Janice Law is the most experienced but she seems a bit, um, eccentric, plus she too gave money to Lowry, just not as much. Read her report on trying to get endorsed by Steven Hotze – it’s hilarious and oh so true. Jackie Gifford is sort of quiet, not real outgoing, but has plenty of experience in law. I’ll vote for her, you’ll need to check around.
District Clerk
This one is a mud-fest. Chris Daniel is a good kid and will be around for a long time in politics because it is his passion. He doesn’t have a lot of experience but works hard and multi-tasks well. Let’s face it, I like the guy, even though I’ve tried not to because of some of his HCRP relationships, i.e., tied to the Woodfill-Pressler machine. But there is a good choice in this one, so I’ll be voting for Paul Dwight.
House District 129
John Davis is a decent representative for 129, I know because it is my district. He is a long-time supporter of Mr. Lowry, having given him over $15,000 through the years. I knew that and voted for him anyway in previous elections. This year, I have a choice, one that I’ve previously noted – I’ll be voting for Mary Huls. I’ll also be showing you in a separate post what Mr. Lowry does to people he doesn’t like.
District Judge, 313th Family Court
Glenn Devlin ties for being the highest dollar enabler of Mr. Lowry. Fortunately, his opponent, Fred Wilson is quite capable and gets my vote.
District Judge, 180th
Danny Dexter is by most accounts not qualified for the job. But look around and you’ll see quite a few endorsements for him. That’s normal in politics when you throw around enough money. Two good choices here, Emily Munoz and Marc Brown.
County Criminal Court 3
This one is easy. Natalie Fleming might be able to throw around 5 grand to get Mr. Lowry’s attention but Cary Hart rocks! Easily the best candidate of the four vying for this one, I will vote for her enthusiastically and hope you do too!
Supreme Court, Place 3
Whoa, boy, I bet Jim Mosely isn’t feeling too good about this one. He threw 10 grand at Lowry and bought himself a full page ad. Then Lowry goes and gives Rick Green TWO full pages for only $2,500 – isn’t there a law against that? Fortunately, Jeff Brown is a great alternative to either of those two and that is who I’m voting for.
Supreme Court, Place 9
This one will buy me some grief. Someone will probably un-friend me from Facebook, as happened when I pointed out that Roy Morales gave the puke 5 grand. No matter, it is my axe to grind and grind it I will. Eva Guzman has a full page ad but nothing on her campaign finance reports to say how much she paid Mr. Lowry. She’ll either be correcting that or she had one of her consultants pay him. Heck, Allen Blakemore is making a killing off her, over $30k on one report. Bottom line is, I don’t like people that try to buy elections, even candidates as stellar as Eva Guzman. Rose Vela gets my vote.
House District 127
Dan Huberty is too pretty anyway. Not my district but Dr. Susan Curling is a great conservative alternative.
Justice O’Peace, Precint 5, Place 2
Hard one. If I hadn’t met Virginia Pittman several times over the course of the past year, I’d probably be inclined to overlook George Huntoon’s flirtation with the devil. But I have, and Virginia is exactly the type of person we should have in those positions. Experienced with the court, experienced in life, not a self-promoter, a genuine good person – she’s the right choice.
Harris County Republican Party Chair
Please. If you have read more than a week’s worth of stuff here, you know darned well that Jared Woodfill needs to be removed as Chair. That he has given credibility and thousands upon thousands of dollars to Mr. Lowry is but one reason I’ll vote for someone else. There are two VERY QUALIFIED choices: Ed Hubbard or Paul Simpson. Do your research and vote for the future of the HCRP.
1st Court of Appeals, Place 4
Sigh. I’ll vote for Evelyn Keyes even though she gave to Mr. Lowry. I just don’t think Don Self is as qualified. Bummer.
District Judge, 308th Family Court
Another tough one. James Lombardino is a great guy and I want to vote for him but… he tied with Glenn Devlin for giving the most money to Mr. Lowry. Rick Ramos and Alice O’Neil are both acceptable alternatives, I’m not so sure about Sumpter Frazier. Not sure who I will vote for but, unfortunately, it will not be Mr. Lombardino. I hate saying that – get to know him, he’s a great guy.
1st Court of Appeals, Place 8
This is race in which I’ll hold my nose and vote for the more qualified person, Michael Massengale.
14th Court of Appeals, Place 5
Even though Judge Leslie Brock Yates gave money to Mr. Lowry, her opponent gave more and received, just like that, the endorsement. Although, money doesn’t matter to him, you know? As there isn’t a third choice, and given that Judge Yates is the most qualified anyway, I’ll vote for her without even holding my nose, hoping that she learned a lesson from this.
House of Representatives, CD-10
Unfortunately, Rep. Michael McCaul’s opponent, Joe Petronis, is too inexperienced and I cannot recommend him. Mr. Petronis is young and aggressive, so we will see him again.
District Judge, 310th Family Court
Never met Lisa Millard. I found her name by accident on a Google search, boasting about being endorsed by Terry Lowry’s Link Letter, before it was published. So, I put on Facebook that I guaranteed there would be an entry showing she paid Mr. Lowry. Sure enough, 5 grand. Too bad no one wanted to bet me. Unfortunately, I haven’t met her opponent either! I’ll be skipping the box.
House of Representatives, CD-29
I’ve already noted my disappointment with Roy Morales for trying to buy an election. Turns out that, with the possible exception of one person that isn’t listed on the voter registration rolls, none of his contributions came from within CD-29. I guess that is what he meant by “some downtown businessmen called me”. Oh well, I don’t live in the district. Two of the remaining four would be viable alternatives for me, Eric Story and Frank Mazzapica.
House District 149
Jack O’Connor made a rookie mistake, following the advice of a political consultant and doing business with Mr. Lowry. It remains to be seen if that consultant made a wise choice or not. I’d vote for Dianne Williams if I lived in this district.
County Criminal Court 13
There is such a vast difference in qualifications here that I don’t even know why anyone needs to talk about it. Rachel Palmer is building a career as a party insider, has great connections, raises tons of money, likes to sit between Carolyn Farb and Dodie Osteen, has thrown money around to anyone willing to catch it and is proof that the old party apparatus still exists. Were it not for the money and connections, no one would seriously consider her in this race. Yes, it is that lopsided. Don Smyth gets my very, very enthusiastic vote and best wishes. Will voters see through the fog? Who knows.
District Judge, 311th Family Court
Very weird things going on here. Denise Pratt gives Lowry 10 grand, pays her sister to show up and campaign, and basically is a shadow candidate. Lots of good alternatives here, all four of the others are very well qualified.
County Clerk
Easy one. Stan Stanart is a heckuva nice guy, Gail is nice, they are good party insiders but – Kevin Mauzy is by far the most qualified candidate to replace the retiring Beverly Kaufman. Super nice guy, a little shy, with years of experience, he’s the best choice, regardless of Stanart giving Lowry money. If you want a real treat, take a look at his campaign finance reports – page after page after page of small, $10, 20 and 30 dollar donations. A man of the people, if not the party apparatus.
County Tax-Assessor and Collector
I don’t know exactly how much Don Sumners paid Terry Lowry because his report still isn’t up on the Harrisvotes website but this is a classic example of old school vs new school in Harris County Republican politics. On the one hand you have a guy, Don Sumners, that has been around forever and whose main issue is that he wants to go around yelling ala Paul Bettencourt while you, Mr. Citizen, stand in line at the tax office. On the other, you have a guy that worked his way through two Ivy League schools with an MBA from Yale, was very successful in private industry, is on the State Board of Criminal Justice, has been able to quickly adapt to public life, stared down Bill White in a council meeting and yet, Mr. Lowry chooses good old boy Don Sumners. Good lord. It makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
County Probate 1
LOL, first you have an old retired Democrat try to buy the seat by giving Jared Woodfill and the HCRP a ton of money, then, after the deadline, he “withdraws”, leaving Loyd Wright. Not much choice here. I’ll either vote for the old guy that I like, Charles Coussons, or I will skip the box.
And there you have it. I’ll probably do a couple of more things about Terry Lowry, especially the way he distorts the Bible. It makes me nauseated when he does that. So, if that bugs you, you might want to tune out. Or, like I said earlier, you could do as one friend did and “un-friend” me on Facebook. Doesn’t matter, I’m going to keep on keeping on because it is the right thing to do.
UPDATE! Yikes, can’t believe I missed the 309th, I certainly had it on my radar screen. Going too fast, I suppose.
District Judge, 309th Family Court
Sheri Y. Dean is a great person. Really, truly, a great person. But…she is a long-time Lowry enabler, and as such, i can’t vote for her if, as above, there is a viable alternative.
Fortunately for me, there is. Or are. There are two that I think deserve your consideration. One, Meca Walker, made a great impression on my wife. The other, Daniel Lemkuil, made a great impression on me. Split household! Either of the two are fine candidates (not that Sheri isn’t, but, you know).