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November 7, 2008
KOOP radio breaking down Texas elections today
Looking for more analysis on the Texas elections?
At 2 p.m. today, Austin’s KOOP, 91.7 FM,, airs “Texas Politics Today,” taking a look at Tuesday’s turnout by Democratic consultant Jeff Smith of Austin and interviews with three Austinites in the know: Jeff Eller of Public Strategies, David Beckwith, lately of Sen. John Cornyn’s campaign, and Ross Ramsey, who helms “Texas Weekly.”
Listen online here.
Maybe they’ll take listener calls…
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November 6, 2008
Hutchison: McCain loss forecast in "donut" vote
She was kidding, of course. Had to be.
But U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, told a luncheon crowd at the University of Texas post-election conference on politics that she knew Sen. John McCain was in trouble when Sen. Barack Obama won the “Krispy Kreme” donut vote.
Her words: “I knew that it was going to be a bad night when the results of the Krispy Kreme election were announced and Obama had won. If John McCain couldn’t take the donut-eaters conference, I knew that we were lost.”
I couldn’t find an online description of a Krispy Kreme vote, though this site suggests giveaways of donuts and Starbucks’ coffee fueled Obama’s big day.
As I type, Hutchison is a few minutes into her remarks and hasn’t re-hinted at her desire to run for governor in 2010.
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Dewhurst airs concern over business tax revenue, health care
At a University of Texas post-election conference, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst said today that revenue from the revamped business tax is running behind what the state needs. He also said the tax wasn’t his first or second choice in 2004 as a revenue source to cover the state picking up the tab for reductions of nearly $15 billion a year in local school property taxes.
Dewhurst also stated a desire to do something about spiraling health care costs, which show up dramatically in the state budget as Medicaid costs. He said he favors the state creating a tax credit so that businesses not currently insuring employees would be encouraged to do so. He said he is also considering ideas for pilot projects that focus more on prevention rather than paying providers for specific medical procedures.
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November 5, 2008
Famous name is top Democratic vote-getter in Texas
State Rep. Rick Noriega may have been the top Democrat on the statewide ticket, but the U.S. Senate candidate was not his party’s top vote-getter Tuesday.
That distinction went to Houston lawyer Sam Houston, a first-time candidate who received 3,519,540 votes in his Texas Supreme Court race — or almost 136,000 more than Noriega.
Houston’s famous name also provided Texas Democrats with their closest statewide race, falling five percentage points behind incumbent Justice Dale Wainwright (51-46 percent).
Not that it was much consolation to Houston. “I still didn’t win,” he said. “I’m proud of my race. I’m proud I did it. The Democrats are going to win statewide races someday; this just wasn’t the year.”
Houston, a 21-year lawyer who is 45, said he wasn’t sure about his future in politics. “I’ll decide that later. Today is a hard day to make that kind of decision. I certainly will stay involved in the Democratic Party. If something comes up and I think I can help, I will consider it.”
Two other statewide judicial candidates provided Democrats with their top three statewide finishers — Court of Criminal Appeals hopeful Susan Strawn (3.48 million) and Supreme Court candidate Linda Yanez (3.42 million).
Noriega received 3.38 million votes.
Barack Obama was the top Democratic vote getter in Texas with 3,521,164 votes, only 1,624 more than Houston.
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Bolton wins second term
State Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, won another term in the Texas House of Representatives District 47 with a victory over Republican Donna Keel.
Bolton won 51 percent of the vote in the swing district, which covers Southwest Travis County.
“We stayed on the high road,” Bolton said. “We kept talking about the issues that mattered to real families every single day.”
A solid 53 percent early vote lead for Bolton narrowed as the Election Day ballots were counted. With five precincts out, Keel had winnowed Bolton’s advantage to just over 51 percent.
But the final tally, reported around midnight, showed the competitive seat would stay in the “D” column.
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November 4, 2008
Maldonado wins
Democrat Diana Maldonado defeated Republican Bryan Daniel in Williamson County legislative race.
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GOP majority in Texas House predicted
Final results are pouring, in but both sides are predicting that the GOP will maintain a majority in the Texas House.
Republicans are predicting they’ll have 77 seats. Democrats think they have 74, so obviously someone is off by one seat.
Either way, a Republican majority means the challenger to Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, will come from within his own party.
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Cliffhanger prayers for Maldonado
With Democrat Diana Maldonado’s lead for a state House seat standing at just 1,200 votes over Republican Bryan Daniel, Maldonado supporters at an election-night party were just asked to pray.
“We’re not there yet,” a campaign aide appealed to the roughly 100 supporters on hand for the party at a Round Rock sushi bar. “Cross your toes. Pray to whatever god you have.”
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Maldonado hanging on in Williamson
Democrat Diana Maldonado is hanging on to a small lead over Republican Bryan Daniel in Williamson County.
With 29 of 49 precincts reporting, Maldonado was leading by almost 1,200 votes (49.12 percent) as compared to Daniel’s 47.16 percent. Libertarian Lillian Simmons could be a factor with 3.7 percent of the vote.
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"We finally got it"
The crowd counted down each second to the closing of the polls in California with great anticipation.
And when the clock struck 10 p.m. CST, the celebrants at the Travis County Democratic Party erupted as MSNBC gave the state and presidency to Sen. Barack Obama.
Austinite Clifton Mayfield, 31, jumped up and down, bellowing: “He did it. He did it. He did it.”
America has its first African-American president.
“We finally got it,” Mayfield said, his eyes wet.
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Kleinschmidt widening lead
Republican Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington is widening his lead over Democrat Donnie Dippel of La Grange in the race to replace retiring Rep. Robby Cook.
With 54 of the 107 precincts reporting, Kleinschmidt led by almost 4,000 votes — 52.91% to 44.33%. The Libertarian has 2.74 percent of the vote.
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LBJ's dream coming true, daughter said
The Driskill played a central role in Lyndon B. Johnson’s political life.
It is where he awaited the results the 1960 and 1964 presidential races. And his daughter Luci Baines Johnson said it was great to be back here to see “LBJ’s dream coming true.”
“We have opened the doors of opportunity to the best and the brightest, and we’re walking through them together,” Baines Johnson said, referring to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s history-making run for the presidency.
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Tarrant County showing mixed results in House races
Tarrant County underscores the challenge for Democrats to get a net gain of five seats to take the Texas House majority.
On one hand, Democrats Chris Turner took the early vote over Rep. Bill Zedler, R-Arlington. In Fort Worth, however, Democrat Dan Barrett, who won a House seat in a low-turnout special election last year, lost the early vote to Republican Mark Shelton.
It’s early, but Democrats can’t afford to split the difference.
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Kleinschmidt widens lead
Republican Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington is widening his lead over Democrat Donnie Dipple of La Grange in the race to replace retiring Rep. Robby Cook.
With 54 of the 107 precincts reporting, Kleinschmidt led by almost 4,000 votes — 52.91% to 44.33%. The Libertarian has 2.74 percent of the vote.
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Maldonado wins early voting
Democrat Diana Maldonado won the early vote in Williamson County in her bid to become the first Democrat elected there in a decade.
She had 24,993 votes (50.21%) as compared to 23,110 (46.43%) for Republican Bryan Daniel. Libertarian Lillian Simmons had 1,670 votes (3.36%).
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‘So far, so good,' Texas secretary of state says
Hope Andrade, the Texas secretary of state, said just before noon that she’s hearing of no major glitches in voting statewide.
“So far so good,” Andrade said. “We’ve been blessed. Very few glitches and everything has been repaired immediately. We haven’t heard anything about long lines yet. That probably will happen later in the evening.”
Andrade, who took office in July, voted early. She said she voted Oct. 20 at the Bexar County courthouse.
“It took me exactly 10 minutes,” she said.
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Nine million Texans expected to vote by close of day
Hope Andrade, the Texas secretary of state, expects more than 9 million voters to act by the time polls close at 7 p.m. tonight, meaning nearly seven in 10 registered voters will have turned out either in the early-voting period or on Election Day.
On Monday, Andrade projected that 68 percent of the state’s 13.5 million registered voters would ultimately vote.
In contrast, 7.4 million voters participated in the 2004 presidential election in Texas, up from 6.4 million Texas voters in the ‘04 presidential race.
Those are big numbers, yet if they hold true, the state still won’t set a record for percentage of registered voters turning out. According to figures posted online by Andrade’s office—start here—a record 73 percent of registered Texas voters turned out for the 1992 presidential race. President George H.W. Bush won his home state that year over Democrat Bill Clinton, who beat Bush nationally. Dallas billionaire Ross Perot also was in the mix that year.
The share of registered voters previously reached 68 percent twice, in 1980 and 1984, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.
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October 30, 2008
Voters Lining up to Vote During Record-Breaking Turnout
FROM THE TRAVIS COUNTY CLERK - ELECTIONS DIVISION
DANA DeBEAUVOIR, COUNTY CLERK
Voters Lining up to Vote During Record-Breaking Turnout
Friday is Final Day to Cast Early Voting Ballot
Austin - Travis County voters broke previous Early Voting turnout records Wednesday. More than 229,500 voters have cast a ballot, topping the 2004 record of 222,085. More than 15,000 votes had been cast mid-way through the voting period Thursday.
Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir said that vote totals are steadily climbing toward what she expects to be a fantastic finish to the Early Voting period on Friday.
“We won’t be surprised to see 50,000 voters on the final day—about twice the first-day turnout,” DeBeauvoir said. “We’re still trying to spread the word that voting early is going to be more convenient than voting on Election Day.”
DeBeauvoir reminded voters that the two mega voting sites (5501 Airport Blvd. and 4534 West Gate Blvd.) will be open until 9:00 pm on the final two days of Early Voting. Other sites close at 7:00 pm.
Adding to the typical excitement of the last day of Early Voting is the coincidental timing of Halloween.
Calls to the County Clerk’s office about whether costumes are permitted are increasing.
“It’s perfectly fine for voters to wear costumes to the polls, as long as they do not depict a particular candidate or political party,” DeBeauvoir said. “Also, masks, weapons or simulated weapons are not permitted.”
Standard prohibitions against electioneering apply to political buttons, t-shirts and caps. Voters who wear inappropriate items will be asked to remove or cover the items. Election judges are trained to work with voters to find a solution that avoids at all times turning voters away from the polls.
DeBeauvoir offered several suggestions to voters to help speed the
voting process when they go to the polls.
1. Study a sample ballot on the Elections Division web site:
www.traviscountyelections.org.
2. Bring your voter registration card if available.
3. If the voter registration card is not available, bring another form
of identification.
A photo ID is NOT REQUIRED.
Acceptable forms of identification include:
- driver’s license or student ID
- Social Security card, passport or birth certificate
- official mail addressed to the voter from a governmental entity
- utility bill; bank statement or paycheck showing the voter’s name
and current address.
4. Take advantage of eSlate demonstration units available at every
Early Voting locations to review the functions of the voting equipment.
5. MOST IMPORTANTLY: Always ASK FOR HELP from an election worker with
any questions BEFORE pressing the CAST BALLOT button.
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October 29, 2008
Keffer predicts new speaker
Speaker candidate Jim Keffer predicted today that there will be a consensus for a new speaker within 24 hours of the polls closing Tuesday.
Keffer, R-Eastland, said he plans to consolidate his Republican and Democratic support for Texas House Speaker on election night.
“I will begin updating the press beginning at 8 p.m. on election night,” said Keffer.
After meeting with House members in their districts, Keffer said he is “100 percent sure a new Speaker for the Texas House of Representatives will be chosen for next session.”
Technically, he didn’t say he’d be the next speaker. But he implied it.
We assume Speaker Tom Craddick has other ideas.
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Candidate's Social Security numbers disclosed in mailers
Candidates expect to lose a bit of their privacy when they run for public office. But they don’t expect their opponents to mail their Social Security numbers to voters.
A brouhaha has broken out in House District 17, which includes Bastrop and several neighboring counties, after the Republican Party of Texas failed to adequately black out the social security numbers for Democrat Donnie Dippel and his wife.
The numbers were included in on a copy of a 19-year-old bankruptcy document.
Dippel is locked in battle with Republican Tim Kleinschmidt.
“Personal security is of the utmost importance to Texans and all Americans. Tim Kleinschmidt now faces a choice - he can apologize to the Dippel family and distance himself from these reprehensible campaign tactics, or he can choose to stand by Tina Benkiser, the Republican Party of Texas and their unforgivable attacks,” said Texas Democratic Party Chairman Boyd Richie.
The GOP did not apologize and pressed its attack on the bankruptcy.
“What Donnie Dippel can’t ‘black out’ is leaving his own small town bank holding the bag when he couldn’t live up to his end of the bargain,” said Hans Klingler, spokesman for the state GOP.
Dippel responded, “Fact is this bankruptcy occurred 19 years ago after an unscrupulous builder ran off with the loan money for a house under construction on our family ranch. I long ago satisfied all the claims from this unfortunate incident and still live in that house today.”
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Another $100K from Stars to Bryan Daniel
Speaker Tom Craddick’s Stars Over Texas just chipped in another $100,000 — on top of the $125,000 reported this past month — to the Bryan Daniel campaign for Texas House District 52.
Daniel, a Georgetown Republican, is locked in a tight race against Democrat Diana Maldonado of Round Rock.
The contribution underscores how close the race is. Craddick put $500,000 of his own political money into Stars, a group of GOP lawmakers close to the speaker.
Stars also will be sending late money to Tim Kleinschmidt of Lexington, who’s running in an open seat in Bastrop County and surrounding areas, against Democrat Donnie Dippel.
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Republicans have hope for HD 47
Republicans say they see an opportunity to snatch back a Texas House seat in Travis County and have in recent weeks poured money into Donna Keel’s challenge of first-term state Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin.
Contributions from the Republican Party of Texas, Associated Republicans of Texas and school voucher proponent James Leininger have helped to lessen the financial gap between the two candidates vying in House District 47, the campaign finance reports filed this week show.
Bolton had enjoyed a significant fundraising advantage up to now. She raised almost $239,000 as of late September, more than twice what Keel had brought in, and received another $131,000 in the most recent reporting period. Almost $150,000 has been put into television ads.
Keel, bolstered by the party’s $140,000 in-kind contribution of television advertising, now has the resources she needs to compete for visibility. The party’s contribution supplemented the $63,000 for television time bought directly by the Keel campaign, finance reports show.
Republican Party spokesman Hans Klingler said Keel has run a “fantastically focused” race against a freshman legislator and the party was not going to leave wanting any candidate with a chance to win.
This race “has the chance to be the sleeper of the night” on Nov. 4, Klingler said.
Pat Robbins, executive director of the Associated Republicans of Texas, said the seat is winnable because the Republicans have a “sterling candidate” running in a historically Republican district.
“The district, I believe, should be Republican. I don’t think we would have lost the seat at all had it not been for lack of voter turnout in the previous election,” said Robbins, whose group gave Keel $20,000.
And the Keel family name has helped the first-time candidate with name recognition among voters, Robbins said. Donna Keel’s brothers-in-law Terry Keel and Patrick Keel have both served in public office locally, though the family’s recent track record at the ballot box has not been particularly good.
The money from the Republicans groups suggests they are in a position to win, said Thornton Keel, Donna Keel’s husband and campaign manager.
Waco State Rep. Jim Dunnam, who leads the House Democratic Campaign Committee, said there is no specific concern over Bolton’s chances for re-election. The House Democratic Campaign Committee has given Bolton $35,000 and continue to provide as much help as she needs, Dunnam said.
“We want her back. We’re not taking her or her voters for granted,” Dunnam said.
Bolton’s campaign manager Elizabeth Hartman said all signs point to a Democratic victory. Democrats have been turning out in droves during early voting. Swing voters identified as Bolton supporters have also been showing up at the polls. And the HD 47 race has been a top priority of the Travis County Democratic Party efforts.
“We’re feeling pretty confident,” Hartman said. “They’re not going to beat us.”
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October 23, 2008
Harris County's early vote stirs conflicting forecasts
Harris County Democrats are marveling at what they believe to be a nearly 3-to-1 Democratic-Republican margin among voters who have turned out to vote early in the county.
But Republican pollster Mike Baselice of Austin says Democrats ought to be worrying. His review of early-voting tallies led him to say: “Republicans are doing just fine.”
Critics could dismiss the competing interpretations as partisan sniping over similar numbers. In fact, the distinct reads are based on different ways of analyzing the early voting. It’s still helpful to remember that activists from both parties consider Harris County a bellwether for what’s probably happening statewide (though it’s more Democratic-leaning than the state as a whole, Baselice said). Results there are worth noodling on.
First, the Democrats’ view:
Gerry Birnberg, chairman of the Harris County Democrats, said that through the first three days of early voting, 62,000 early voters also voted in the March 4 Democratic primary. That compares with 21,000 early voters who turned out for the GOP primary — giving him a path to claim the 3-to-1 margin he’s touting.
“That’s pretty good wind at our back,” said Birnberg, a lawyer who’s hoping Democrats take many local offices including judicial posts from historically dominant Republicans.
Birnberg said some 126,000 voters acted early through Wednesday.
If it turns out that the three-day tally accounts for about 15 percent of total early-voting turnout, as it has in previous years, he said, the county’s total early vote could approach 790,000, perhaps signaling record-shattering turnout through the Nov. 4 election:
We could well see more than 50 percent of the total vote voting early and more than 62 percent, perhaps 65 to 66 percent, participating in this election. Both would be records, indicative of tremendous interest in this election…Birnberg’s bottom line:
I’m declaring a huge turnout. If you’re asking me if I’m declaring victory, of course not. Things are looking very upbeat for Democrats right now in Harris County. We really do expect to sweep the county. I expect it to be a Dallas County-style sweep (referring to Democrats’ winning all local offices there in 2006). But am I declaring victory? Not at all.
Baselice guffawed at Birnberg’s take. His assessment, based on voter interviews, is that up to 25 percent of the state’s first-time Democratic primary voters this spring are likely to favor Republican John McCain for president and U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, for re-election.
Baselice said that since 2000, voters who participated in at least one Democratic primary in Harris County outnumbered one-time-or-more GOP primary voters by nearly 2-to-1. Yet through the first two days of early voting there, voters who had voted in a Democratic primary since 2000 were outvoting Republicans by only 1.5 to 1. (Raw numbers, he said, were 49,159 early-voting Democrats this month compared to 32,456 Republicans.) So, he theorized, either the Democrats are running behind in getting out their early vote or the Republicans are running ahead of schedule.
Noting that the county’s 2008 Democratic primary voters outnumbered Republicans by a wide margin (407,102 compared to 169,448), Baselice said: “Unfortunately for the Democrats, they can’t limit (November) turnout to people who just participated in the March primary.”
I couldn’t immediately reach Chairman Birnberg’s counterpart with the Harris County GOP.
But Ed Emmett, a Republican serving as Harris County’s judge, said he’s not concerned about the early tilt for Democrats, partly because he doesn’t believe every voter is casting a straight-party ballot.
Emmett said:
For the first time in a long time, Democrats have a reason to go vote. The whole (Democratic) plan has been to get them to vote early, which is what they’re doing. It’s a good wake-up call. … I feel pretty comfortable. Unless my polls are just dead wrong, I feel pretty good.
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October 11, 2008
Dewhurst and Schwarzenegger, again
At least a couple years ago, maybe longer, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst hosted California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for a cozy fundraiser at an Austin hotel. The California ceo had done, or was going to do, the same for Dewhurst in the Golden State.
Well, Arnold’s going to be back Thursday and you’re invited.
Pony up $5,000 for lunch and a photo with the govern-ator. Lunch alone runs $1,000.
Fetch the invitation here.
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October 8, 2008
Fireworks at HD 47 forum
Tonight’s tete-a-tete between state Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, and her Republican challenger Donna Keel did not disappoint those voters who came looking for some conflict.
The policy differences between the House District 47 candidates on issues such as transportation funding and taxes were clear — and predictable — from the start.
But the excitement came toward the end when an audience member raised the specter of House Speaker Tom Craddick when he asked: Would you support Craddick for speaker in the next session?
Keel, whose husband and brother-in-law have business and political connections to Craddick, said she doesn’t know him and would not make a decision on the speaker until she knows who is running.
She did say, however, that Bolton was “irresponsible” for not supporting the agenda of the Republican leadership.
Bolton, in turn, said Keel’s loyalties would clearly lie with Craddick since the speaker was the biggest client of Thornton Keel, Donna’s husband, who has an accounting and data analysis firm with many political clients, including Craddick and a political action committee largely funded by Craddick.
Thornton Keel then piped up from the audience to call that claim a “lie” and later had words with the moderator Will Atkins, Oak Hill Gazette publisher and editor, to complain that he was not given the time to “clear the air” about Bolton’s claim. Thornton Keel later said he has non-political clients that are not listed on the Texas Ethics Commission documentation.
Bolton wasn’t backing down, saying later that her statement was supported by public documents.
“It is disingenuous if not dishonest for her to say ‘I don’t even know the speaker,’ ” Bolton said after the forum.
Keel also took issue with the what she claimed as an unfair distribution of speaking time.
Dwain Rogers, president of the Oak Hill Association of Neighborhoods, said Atkins did the best he could to keep the speaking time balanced and there was no intention to give one candidate more than the other.
The fireworks between the candidates, Roger added, was a good thing and gave the audience quite a show.
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Rose's 2nd TV commercial targets Pedernales
Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, is up with his second television commercial.
He’s targeting electric rates and the controversy at Pedernales Electric Cooperative.
You can see the commercial herehttp://www.patrickrose.com/
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October 7, 2008
Howard continues to lead Waggoner in House District 48 fundraising
State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has continued to lead her House District 48 opponent, Republican Pam Waggoner, in fundraising, according to new campaign finance reports.
Howard raised $40,112.52 between July 1 and September 25 and had $53,821.83 on hand as of the end of the period.
During the same period, Waggoner raised $7,529.53 and had $13,032.18 on hand by the end.
Howard and Waggoner, along with Libertarian Ben Easton, who had not raised any money as of the last report, are vying to represent northwestern Travis County in the Texas House of Representatives. The district includes West Lake Hills, Rollingwood, Lost Creek, Lago Vista and parts of Northwest Austin.
Howard received some of her largest donations from political action committees, including: $3,000 from the Texas State Teachers Association PAC, $2,500 from the Education Austin PAC, $1,500 from the Association of Texas Professional Educators PAC, $1,000 from the Real Estate Council of Austin Good Government PAC, $1,000 from the Texas Medical Association PAC, and $1,000 from the Communication Workers of America Committee on Political Education.
Howard also got money from fellow lawmakers, including $1,000 from state Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, and $401.60 from the campaign of state Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin.
Waggoner’s donors were largely individuals or couples; none gave more than $1,000.
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Maldonado scores big on fund-raising
Democrats are betting big on winning a legislative seat in Williamson County.
Democrat Diana Maldonado raised $227,293 the past three months, compared with $84,874 for Republican Bryan Daniel.
The disparity is greater in their bank accounts.
Maldonado has $278,368 cash on hand, while Daniel reported $19,142. Her advantage is not limited to penny-pinching. She slightly outspent Daniel the past three months. She spent almost $80,000 — about $5,000 more than her opponent.
The two are running to replace retiring Rep. Mike Krusee.
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October 6, 2008
Bolton maintains big money lead
State Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, brought in almost $119,000 in the past four months, more than double the $54,000 her Republican challenger Donna Keel raised.
Heading into the last month of the House District 47 race, Bolton has more than $125,000 available while Keel has about $37,000 remaining.
Annie’s List, which raises money for Democratic women candidates in Texas, gave Bolton $25,000 and was her biggest contributor, according to the campaign finance reports filed on Monday.
Other contributors include several education groups, state Sen. Kirk Watson and the Real Estate Council of Austin political action committee.
Keel’s major donors were the Texas Republican Party and members of her family.
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October 2, 2008
Vo responds to Meyers charges
The campaign for Rep. Hubert Vo this aftenoon responded to charges by his opponent that he abused his office.
Republican Greg Meyers filed complaints today with Harris and Travis County prosecutors, citing a letter Vo sent to Houston police complaining about their handling of problems at apartment complexes he owns. The letter was on a state letterhead.
Vo spokesman Kelly Fero said Vo corrected the problem in April.
He said a Vo aide made a mistake printing the letter on state stationery and the lawmaker reimbursed the state $55 for “incidental use of staff and supplies for non-state business.”
“This issue was handled six months ago when Representative Vo explained that his legislative aide had inadvertently printed a letter on the wrong stationery,” Fero said. “Today’s frivolous filing is simply another politician asking public officials to waste taxpayer resources on a stale story in the closing weeks of his losing campaign.”
Houston officials have cited Vo’s apartment complexes for several code violations, which Meyers has made a campaign issue.
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Vo opponent files complaints
Following a Houston Chronicle story, Republican Greg Meyers has filed complaints with the Harris and Travis County prosecutors, saying Rep. Hubert Vo misused his state letterhead for personal business.
The Chronicle reported that Vo complained to Houston police about their handling of complaints about apartment complexes he owns. The letter was on Vo’s state letterhead, according to the Chronicle.
Vo did not respond for comment in the Chronicle article, and his campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment today.
The city of Houston has cited two of Vo’s apartment complexes on a variety of code violations.
The complaints were filed with the Harris County Public Integrity Unit and the Travis County attorney’s office.
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Noriega disagrees with Senate vote on rescue plan
State Rep. Rick Noriega, the Democrat trying to unseat Sen. John Cornyn this year, says he would not have supported the plan that the Senate passed overwhelmingly last night.
“Texans should not support a bailout that has insufficient protections for the taxpayers, doesn’t go far enough in reining in out of control executive salaries, has little relief for people in real distress, and doesn’t heal the systemic rot that led to this crisis in the first place,” Noriega said.
He also says, “The lack of prudence and unfettered wheeling and dealing that allowed abusive and reckless loans, shoddy investments, poorly understood financial instruments, and market excess would still be in place after this bill passed. It’s like spending $700 billion to clean up a flood in your house without fixing the leak in the roof.”
Cornyn, of course, voted for the plan, as did his fellow Republican, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison.
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October 1, 2008
Likely no debate in railroad commission race
A debate between the candidates running for the Railroad Commission of Texas appears to be on the rocks.
The campaigns of Republican Michael Williams, the incumbent, and his Democratic challenger Mark Thompson had been trying to arrange a face-to-face.
But so far none of the public television stations have been willing to show the debate, Thompson said at an Austin American-Statesman editorial board meeting. He is lukewarm to an radio debate opportunity that was offered.
“I would like see a real debate,” Thompson said. “It tells a lot when you get to see the people.”
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Rose up on TV
Rep. Patrick Rose, D-Dripping Springs, is up on television.
Running against Wimberley businessman Matt Young, Rose’s first commercial tells viewers about his role in helping create the Texas Manufacturers Caucus, a group of lawmakers focused on improving the state business climate.
“Our economy is in tough shape right now, but we can stop the flood of jobs overseas,” says Rose, looking straight into the camera. “And build a secure economic future with business leaders who care as much about Texas as they do their bottom line.”
See the commercial here.http://www.patrickrose.com/
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September 26, 2008
Advocate calls for postponed voter registration in some counties
Austin lawyer Fred Lewis, who’s been involved in Houston Votes, a non-partisan voter registration drive in Harris County, said today that Gov. Rick Perry should use his emergency powers to extend the set-in-law Oct. 6 voter registration deadline for at least seven days, though solely for residents of 29 counties heavily damaged by Hurricane Ike.
Lewis was joined at a Capitol press conference by a representative of the Equality Texas Foundation, which advocates for gay and lesbian rights, and a representative of People for the American Way Foundation. Lewis said he’s sending a letter to Perry, a Republican, today.
“We still don’t know how many people are dead,” Lewis said, noting that hundreds of thousands of people still either lack or a home or their home remains uninhabitable.
“We are afraid that the current voter registration deadline will pass before many Texans are back in their homes, have their power restored or even have a semi-permanent place to live,” Lewis said.
Besides, Lewis said, it’s natural for voters to register in the final weeks before an election.
“People who have lost everything, we don’t think they should lose their right to vote,” Lewis said. The registration deadline “needs to be extended at least a week, if not longer.”
Allison Castle, Perry’s press secretary, said earlier Perry hasn’t yet fielded a request from a county official — such as a voter registrar — that would set his office to thinking about giving a portion of the state more time to register voters.
“We haven’t gotten any indication from county officials that there’s even a problem,” Castle said.
Lewis said he thinks a request will be forthcoming from a county official, though he said he hasn’t personally confirmed such plans.
Randall Dillard, spokesman for Texas Secretary of State Hope Andrade, said the secretary has no legal authority to change the voter registration deadline. He said he couldn’t speak to whether the governor could do so.
Meanwhile, the state has posted this guidance for displaced hurricane evacuees regarding voting:
If you intend to stay in your new county, you may register to vote there by Oct. 6. If you intend to return to your home county, you may maintain your voter registration there or register there if not already registered.
The state goes on:
If you are able to return to your home county, you likely will vote there. Local officials are still evaluating polling places, but the Texas Secretary of State’s office said it appears that all counties will be able to conduct early voting and Election Day voting. Polling places might change, however, from previous elections.
Finally, the Texas secretary of state advises:
If you are away from your county of residence, you may apply for a ballot by mail from your home county. The application must be received by Oct. 28. You will need to provide a mailing address for the ballot outside your home county.
Questions? Call the Secretary of State Elections Division at (800) 252-VOTE (8683) or visit this site.
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August 7, 2008
Keel rebuts bounced check rumor
Donna Keel, Republican candidate for the House District 47 seat, offered a vigorous preemptive rebuttal to a rumored campaign ad from state Rep. Valinda Bolton saying Keel had bounced a check.
The accusation is false and Keel will share her credit report to prove it, wrote Patrick Keel, a former state district court judge and Keel’s brother-in-law, in a letter to the Bolton campaign on Wednesday.
Only hitch: there is no ad, Bolton said.
“We had no plan to do an ad,” Bolton, D-Austin, said Thursday. “In fact, we didn’t even have this information.”
The campaign has not planned its mailers or prepared any ads yet for the Nov. 4 election, Bolton said.
Donna Keel said she had been told the accusation was coming and wanted to nip it in the bud.
“It just struck true,” Keel said. “It seemed credible that this is something that they might do.”
Bolton said she had no idea where this issue might have have started, but it was not from anything her campaign was doing.
“It seems like a good way to generate some negative press about me, that I was thinking about doing this,” Bolton said.
For the record, Keel did share her credit score of 799 of 850, better than 99.8 percent of U.S. consumers, according to her Experian report.
“I have personal finance records going back 20 years. Not only have I not bounced a check, I’ve never been late on a payment or accrued an interest fee,” Keel said.
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August 4, 2008
Big dog Dems head to Bastrop
Bastrop County Democrats are holding a rally on Saturday, Aug. 9 in Smithville, and promising nearly everyone but Barack Obama will attend.
The Bastrop Democratic Party Chair Mitzi VanSant is hosting the rally, and she says the local Dems have managed to persuade 17 of the 20 Democrats on November’s ballot to attend.
(Alas, only Obama, an appeals court judge and a Bastrop County Commissioner candidate won’t make it.)
Among the bigger names who will be there are U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, U.S. Senate candidate Rick Noriega and Larry Joe Doherty, who is running against U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul.
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July 18, 2008
Conservatives want to be cool too
At the Americans for Prosperity’s RightOnLine convention, the conversation in one training session ran from cool to hot.
Cynthia Posey, an audience member from Austin, told how her college students writing a paper on immigration tended to agree with John McCain’s positions but fell in love with Barack Obama’s Web site.
“The excitement is what gets them,” Posey complained.
Style matters, agreed panelist Ralph Benko, a principal at Capital City Partners of Washington D.C.
“We have to get the style clear and compelling,” he said, “so it will be hip to be conservative and hip to be for McCain.”
Emily Zanotti with the Sam Adams Alliance, a nonpartisan New Media group, urged the baby boomers in the audience to stop splitting the discussion between them and “those kids.”
She tried to explain the difference between the two campaigns’ approaches on the Internet.
Zanotti’s said Obama’s Internet effort is “all about (building) a community” with social networking and text messaging supporters every time the candidate comes to town.
“What’s your message?” Zanotti said the Obama site asks. “And let me tell you how mine fits in with yours.”
The McCain effort, she said, is just the opposite: “Here’s your message (of the day). Don’t ask us any questions.”
Then the conversation got hot, proving it’s just not the Democrats who need to do some healing.
Judy Morris, a Ron Paul delegate from Round Rock, said the conservative media and the Republican Party didn’t make Ron Paul supporters feel welcome during the primary.
“We were treated like garbage,” she said to applause. “We’re not going to be there (for McCain).”
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Conservative strategist talks about Internet
We’re talking to Ryan Gravatt about online strategies for campaigns. We start at 11 a.m. Feel free to submit comments or questons.
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July 16, 2008
Libertarian drops out of HD 47 race
Libertarian Alan Hultgren has withdrawn from the House District 47 race, leaving incumbent Democrat Valinda Bolton and Republican Donna Keel to duke it out alone.
Hultgren did not return a call for comment Wednesday afternoon.
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July 15, 2008
Strama leaps ahead in campaign money
Rep. Mark Strama, D-Austin, has a big money advantage over Republican Jerry Mikus in the House District 50 race, the most recent campaign reports show.
Strama, who was first elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2004, has on-hand almost $53,800 and raised about $48,000 in the past six months. Mikus reported collecting about $8,600 with over $2,400 remaining as of June 30.
Campaign fund raising totals were not available for Libertarian Jerry Chandler, who is also vying for the District 50 job. He said in an e-mail that he was out of town.
Strama continues to carry $85,000 in loans from his 2006 campaign.
House District 50 covers the northern stretch of Travis County.
Mikus is a Pflugerville financial consultant. He ran in the Republican primary for the same House seat in 2002, which Jack Stick eventually won and went on to win in the general election as well. Mikus also lost in the 2000 Republican primary for U.S. House for Representatives.
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Incumbent Bolton leading Keel in contributions
State Rep. Valinda Bolton, D-Austin, has taken an early lead in fund raising against Republican challenger Donna Keel for the House District 47 seat, according to the latest campaign finance reports.
Bolton has raised about $120,000 as of June 30 and has $86,000 remaining. Keel has collected more than $49,000 with about $34,000 still available.
Libertarian Alan Hultgren is also running for the seat but his report was not available Tuesday afternoon.
Donna Keel is a former auditor and local government analyst with the state comptroller. Bolton, who was elected to her first term in 2006, previously worked as the training director for the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence.
The race has been tagged as one to watch because the Southwest Travis County district is closely split between Democrats and Republicans.
Keel’s brother-in-law, Terry Keel, held the same House seat for 10 years. When he resigned, Bolton snatched it from the Republicans after a hard-fought and expensive race with Bill Welch.
Among statewide officeholders, Attorney General Greg Abbott (who might try for lieutenant governor in 2010) ended June with $8 million cash on hand.
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June 7, 2008
Austin-area delegates to Democratic National Convention
Below is a partial list of Austin-area residents only and does not include at-large delegates to be selected by convention later Saturday.
Austin-Area Delegates to Democratic National Convention**
Travis County
Senate District 14
Sue Berkel, Austin (Clinton) David Broockman, Austin (Obama) Steve Rivas, Austin (Clinton) Tory Lauterbach, Austin (Clinton) Allen Bowers, Austin (Obama) Bharati “Bobbi” Kommineni, Austin (Obama) Bertha Means, Austin (Obama) Gerard Washington, Austin (Obama)
Williamson County
Senate District 5
Larry Yawn, Round Rock (Clinton) Kyndra Reed, Cameron (Clinton)
Senate District 25 (Hays County, portion of Travis County)*
Jim Mattox, Dripping Springs (Clinton) Maria Jimenez, Austin (Clinton) Mario Champion, Austin (Obama)
Partial list, Austin-area residents only. *Does not include at-large delegates to be selected by convention later Saturday.
SOURCE: Texas Democratic Party
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June 5, 2008
Travis County delegates email survey responses
We fielded many responses to our e-mail survey of more than 1,000 of the 1,300-plus Travis County delegates and alternates to the Texas Democratic Party state convention.
A sampling:
QUESTION: If Sen. Obama proves the party’s presidential nominee, who should he pick to serve as his vice presidential choice—and why?
Barbara Santos: I actually emailed him (and Gov. Bill Richardson) earlier to recommend that he select Gov. Bill Richardson. His strengths are that he has had to manage bureaucracies and balance budgets as the governor of a border state, he would appeal to Latinos as the Spanish-speaking son of a Latina, he has vast foreign policy experience as an Ambassador and a mediator. Really, of all the Presidential candidates (Rep. and Democratic), Bill Richardson had the ability to check every box on what we seek in a President. I was also taken with his gentle sense of humor during the debates.
Ross Pumfrey: Sen. Joe Lieberman. Just joking.
Former Senator Sam Nunn (for his “defense” credentials and his Southern roots), Senator Jim Webb (Reagan Democrat, military fellow, Virginia), former Senator John Edwards (working folks and unions, Southern roots), or Governor Richardson (experience, Hispanic).
I have thought about the desirability of a female vice-presidential candidate, but it shouldn’t be Clinton (we’d have a dual vice-presidency of Clintons, and Obama shouldn’t have to deal with that) and Pelosi would make the ticket too vulnerable to a “liberal” charge. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about some of the other possibilities (Sibelius, Napolitano) to have any good sense of their possibilities. And would it be pushing the envelope of cultural transition to have both an African-American and a woman on the ticket?
By the way — it should be “whom,” not “who,” in your question, as several people have probably reminded you.
Bobby French: Since I am a Hillary Clinton delegate, of course, I believe he should choose her. While polls suggest otherwise, if millions of Americans are voting for these two people now, it seems only logical that they will vote for the two of them on the same ticket.
Chris Wilson: Bill Richardson - proven leader, ENERGY POLICY experience, has been a governor, cabinet post experience
Senator Obama should not be told that Hillary Clinton has to be his VP nominee. In my opinion, Hillary Clinton treated this election for the nomination like a coronation and not an election. She never took Obama or the caucus process seriously and her campaign will go down in history as one of the most mismanaged ever for a seasoned political family.
Helen Rockenbaugh: John Edwards or a female. ABBH (anybody but Hillary).
QUESTION: There’s been some talk of Texas not continuing to choose some delegates through primary-night caucuses. Should the system be changed by 2012; why or why not?
Robin D. Richard: The caucus system was chaotic at best this year; however, it did seem to help better represent the wishes of the people in the Democratic Party. The challenge should focus on better training and the capability to handle large numbers of voters.
John S. Adair: I have mixed feelings about this. As a long-time party activist, I appreciate the fact that the conventions (which I have never heard referred to as caucuses until this year) provide a way for the party faithful to have a meaningful influence on the process. On the other hand, it makes the delegate selection process less democratic. On balance, I think it’s good for the party.
Pam Johns: I am open to the party discussing changes in the way delegates are elected. I would be in favor of a straight primary vote for delegates, although I believe caucuses promote local precinct involvement and activism that might not be there with a strsight vote. Also, I would like to see a primary that decides delegates by district and not total state vote. I definately weould like to see the end of superdelegates.
Connie Park: Absolutely. I am 100% for “eleminating caucuses.” As a matter of fact, i will be helping to collect signatures for petition. “Caucuses” discriminate: (1)the elderly who cannot drive out and stay late (2)different shift workers (3)single mothers (4)physically challenged.
Roger Chavez: Yes. It is unrealistic to think that people can commit to two voting times and the caucus system is confusing and there are not enough party officials to make sure things are run smoothly. It is also unfair for the delegates from the caucus to be expected to travel long distances to get to the convention. It cost money and effects some people more than others.
QUESTION: What issue or issues matter most to you?
Sara Crowell: We need to change the general direction of this country in so many ways. This is not a country for the few and the priviliged. This is a country for the people (by the people). We need to do what we say and say what we do. In general, we need to be more noble and leadership worthy.
I think that if we elect a man who embodies the best of what America can be, the world will have a better picture of what America is and what we can be. I’ve often heard that the hope he inspires is just words. Yes… he uses words to inspire. He also follows through those words with actions. Those inspirational words also inspire others to follow through with actions.
It’s about each of us taking responsibility for our own destiny. If things are working the way we want them to work, then we need to figure out how to change the rules to improve the situation.
I’m reminded of a water gun game my nephew was playing with his older and bigger brother. His brother was in the tree house, had the bigger gun, and was clearly clobbering the younger one. I took aside my little nephew and said that he could not win the game.. at least not the way it was being played. The rules, set up, and positioning were all failing him. If he wanted to win the water gun game, he’d need to change the rules. He pondered for a moment, then went for the water hose.
Allan Seils: Deficit. Economy. War in Iraq. War in Afghanistan. International credibility. Environment.
Mary Ann Neely: