12.14.09
Posted in 2010 Primary, Around The State, Election 2010, Elections, Redistricting at 5:54 pm by wcnews
Kinky drops run for Governor, will run for Agriculture Commissioner….as a Democrat. Hank Gilbert welcomes him to the race:
Democratic Agriculture Commissioner Candidate Hank Gilbert (D-Whitehouse) on Monday welcomed Kinky Friedman as a late entry into the race for Texas Agriculture Commissioner.
“Here we have a candidate who is running for office-any office-solely because he wants to promote his books and personal appearances,” Gilbert said. “Kinky is no Democrat. If he was, he never would have stayed in the 2006 race running as an independent and denied our party’s nominee a real chance at the governor’s office,” Gilbert continued.
The good news is when Hank beats Kinky we won’t have Kinky to kick around anymore.
Ross Ramsey’s take on who will draw the maps in Texas in 2011, Mapmaker, Mapmaker.
The Democrats are stirring, but haven’t surfaced a well-financed team that’s focused on the prize in a mapping year: The seats on the Legislative Redistricting Board. If the Legislature locks up and can’t agree on maps, that board gets to decide what should happen. And at the moment, everyone on the five-member panel is a Republican: Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, House Speaker Joe Straus, Attorney General Greg Abbott, Comptroller Susan Combs, and Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson.
It’s a strong group, politically. Dewhurst is the wealthiest guy in state politics; he’ll always have enough money to fend off challengers — he won’t get beat for financial reasons. Abbott is both well financed and ambitious; Houston Democrat Barbara Ann Radnofsky, who lost to Kay Bailey Hutchison in 2006, is challenging him. That’s an uphill race, both financially and politically. To win the speaker seat, you have to win a majority in the House, and that’s where the Farabee-Hopson changes undermine the effort. The House might turn out to be Democratic when the election year is over, but that’s not the way to bet.
That leaves Patterson and Combs. Some Democrats are circling, but so far, nobody has popped up with the combination of money and charisma (or fame) to make it work. If they can’t get the LRB, their last hope will be the courts and the Obama Administration’s Justice Department, which has to sign off on the maps under the terms of the Voting Rights Act. Democrats are putting a lot of faith there; redistricting has never been done with a Democratic administration in power (working backwards: George W. Bush in 2001, George H. W. Bush in 1991; Ronald Reagan in 1981; Richard Nixon in 1971).
It ultimately goes to court (and the congressional maps could be drawn from scratch there). There’s no rule that requires it, but the courts have a tendency to adjust the maps that come to them rather than starting over. If the Republicans control both legislative chambers and all of the LRB seats (and many of the federal courts, if you look), they’ll have the tools to preserve their majorities in Austin for the next decade.
The most likely bodies to draw the state’s maps? The LRB and the federal courts.
There’s an incentive for Texas Republicans to keep the Congressional lines fair, to keep them out of the courts. But without three Democrats on the LRB there’s no incentive for Republicans to draw fair lines in the legislature.
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11.20.09
Posted in Around The State, Blogging, Commentary, Elections, Gambling, Judicial Races, Money In Politics, Transportation, Uncategorized at 5:00 pm by wcnews
As Texas Speaker of the House Joe Straus writes to the members of the Texas House in the cover letter to the interim charges he laid out yesterday, “..these charges and the recommendations you develop will form the basis for major legislation we will consider next session”. The letter also made clear that some things were left out, “In the coming weeks, I intend to propose several additional items of statewide importance for the House to study.”
The interim charges include everything from efforts to manage feral hogs (which is a big problem), to whether blogs should be considered “political advertising”. All of the items from the Appropriations, Energy Resources, Environmental Regulations, Higher Education, Human Services, Natural Resources, Public Education and Redistricting Committees should be read in full.
But here are a few that caught my eye (EOW comments are in italics):
House Committee on Corrections
1. Examine implementation of the diversion pilot programs, juvenile case management system, and other policy and funding initiatives to determine whether the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and the Texas Youth Commission have adhered to legislative directive in implementing these programs, and the impact of these programs on commitments at the Texas Youth Commission.
[...]
House Committee on Elections
3. Examine the prevalence of fraud in Texas elections. Study new laws in other states regarding voter identification and recommend statutory changes necessary to ensure that only eligible voters can vote in Texas elections. (This is Voter ID. Read BOR’s take on this issue. Suffice it to say that Straus is unable to tell the right wing to give up on this.)
4. Review the Texas campaign finance law in judicial races in light of the recent United States Supreme Court decision Caperton v. Massey. (This case involves preventing a judge from hearing a case involving a person who has made campaign contributions to benefit the judge.)
[...]
House Committee on General Investigating and Ethics
2. Review the definition of “political advertising” and determine whether the definition should be expanded to include content contained in blogs and other types of Internet communications. (These links give some background on what this may be about, FTC’s New Rules for Bloggers: A Quick Guide, FTC idiocy, and The FTC & Bloggers: New Rules.)
[...]
House Committee on Land and Resource Management
2. Examine unresolved issues relating to eminent domain legislation introduced during the 81st Legislative Session. Monitor any pending litigation. (Still on the agenda even after passage of the Constitutional Amendment earlier this month.)
[...]
House Committee on Transportation
1. Monitor the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) to ensure the agency is implementing recommended legislative, sunset, and Grant Thornton management audit changes.
2. Review the organization and operation of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs). Consider the relationship between MPOs and TxDOT regarding transportation planning and programming.
3. Study the practices and procedures used in the development of toll roads and make recommendations as necessary. (Toll roads are still on the agenda. Nothing here on the gas tax or transportation financing. Hopefully we will hear about that in the coming weeks.)
One interesting item is that there is nothing in the charges about gambling, gaming, slot machines, horse racing, and the like. The charges should be at least scanned for items of particular interest. Because as Straus wrote, they are the basis for the next legislative session in 2011. No matter who is Speaker, or who wins the statewide races next year, the effort and research put in on these issues, and those in the Senate when Lt. Gov. Dewhurst releases the charges for the Senate, are the frame which the 82nd Legislature will begin it’s work.
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11.04.09
Posted in Around The State, Elections, Hutto, Williamson County at 11:15 am by wcnews
Statewide all 11 propositions passed. Statewide turnout was 8.07% with a little over 1 million voters turning out. Propositions 1 (55%) and 4 (57%) passed by the slimmest margins.
In Williamson County from the Unofficial Final Election Day Summary Report 19,473 voters turned out for a 8.58% turnout. Two statewide propositions failed in Williamson County Propositions 1 (45-55) and 4 (42-58) both failed.
In Hutto all three city charter amendments passed. One of the four bond measures on the ballot failed, that being proposition 3, it went down by a 44-56 margin. Prop. 3 – Aims to lure sports tourney - was the least needed and worthy of going into debt for, in EOW’s opinion.
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11.03.09
Posted in Around The State, Elections, Williamson County at 10:52 pm by wcnews
Williamson County results are here.
Statewide results are here.
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Posted in Around The State, Elections, Williamson County at 1:29 am by wcnews
It’s Election Day!! Get out and vote!
Check out the Williamson County Elections page where you can find polling locations and can look at sample ballots. Only those that live in the city of Hutto will have something other than the 11 statewide propositions to vote for in Williamson County. Those are the four propositions mentioned above.
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10.26.09
Posted in District 31, Elections, SD 5 at 3:20 pm by wcnews
Through Saturday almost 2,300 have shown up to early vote [.pdf] in Williamson County. Early voting continues through Friday and information can be found below on where to vote as well as some guides and explanations:
Burka discussed the SD-5 GOP Primary, The Gattis-Bius race and TLR.
The conventional wisdom is that Gattis is a heavy favorite in this Senate race, and I have to agree. He comes from the biggest county in the district, and he has been running hard for some time, especially in Brazos County, the second largest county. Still, I have heard an interesting case to the contrary from the Ben Bius camp, which I will pass along.
Bu sure and read the comments too, there’s some interesting stuff in there. It’s seems that Gattis has a reputation for being arrogant. Who would have known?
More on Carter’s disclosure woes, Rep. John Carter Finds His Missing $300,000 in Exxon Profits.
Continuing the hypocrisy that reigns in much of Washington, Carter thanked Roll Call for bringing the matter to his attention. Just like Rangel, who had claimed he made an honest mistake, Carter also said he had overlooked the income. Carter also argues that has problem involves merely failing to report income, while Rangel’s involved failure to pay taxes. Carter, therefore, seems to endorse a double standard regarding the nature of financial reporting errors that he had recently criticized, saying, “We cannot tolerate a double standard in this country, one for the common man and another for the rich and powerful.”
In defending his colleague, House Minority Leader John Boehner said that many other members of Congress have made the same mistake as Carter. To make matters worse, he also claimed that the mistake was not entirely Carter’s fault — Boehner said that Carter received bad advice from the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct (also known as the Ethics Committee). Boehner’s office later retracted the accusation.
These shifting standards of accountability are very worrisome.
Carter is a member of the House Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for funding federal spending on areas such as defense, education and homeland security. Carter’s committee may not be as powerful as Rangel’s, but it nevertheless holds great responsibility.
With this latest disclosure, perhaps we should ask Carter the same question we posed to Charlie Rangel: Is it time for John Carter to go?
While this story has made national news and has even been picked up in Waco and Temple, there’s been absolutely no reporting on this in the local papers online in Williamson County or in the Austin American Statesman. That seems odd.
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10.21.09
Posted in Elections, Hutto, Williamson County at 1:38 pm by wcnews
After the first two day of early voting for the November election in Williamson County 758 have shown up to early vote. Just over one-third of those voters, 255 to be exact, are from Sun City. Only 45 so far in Hutto where four bond propositions are on the ballot. Full report here [.pdf].
See links below for more information on the upcoming election:
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10.20.09
Posted in 2010 Primary, Around The State, Commentary, Election 2010, Elections, Privatization, Road Issues, Transportation at 4:14 pm by wcnews
Terri Hall does an excellent job of laying out why Proposition 11 is not real eminent domain reform, and therefore should not be passed, Vote NO on Prop 11…it’s counterfeit eminent domain reform!
You have to ask yourself, if Rick Perry vetoed REAL eminent domain reform in 2007 (HB 2006), why would Perry stage a photo-op ceremonial signing of this constitutional amendment in front of the Alamo in 2009 when it didn’t even need his signature? Because it’s not genuine eminent domain reform. His show-boating is because he’s running for re-election, and he knows that veto of HB 2006 cost him the Farm Bureau’s endorsement. [Emphasis added].
Why did Perry veto the bill? Because it would interfere with his Trans Texas Corridor that is slated to gobble-up massive swaths of private property (4 football fields wide, biggest land grab in Texas history) and give it to foreign corporations in sweetheart deals with guaranteed 12-19% annual profits by charging Texans hefty tolls to use what should be a public road!
The logical course of action by the Texas Legislature would have been to dust off HB 2006, introduce the same bill again, and pass it early in the session so the Legislature could override the expected gubernatorial veto. But that’s not what the Legislature did. They allowed Perry and his cronies to use eminent domain reform as a bargaining chip all session long (to re-authorize the controversial contracts called CDAs that sell our Texas highways to foreign companies). Meanwhile, he and the special interests chipped away at the strength of the private property protections originally found in HB 2006.
She goes to point out the flaws and what should be done in the future to reform eminent domain.
The part that’s curious is the part that is emphasized above. Why is the Texas Farm Bureau (TFB) for this legislation, (and their recent endorsee is too)? Surely her opponent the current Gov. Rick Perry is as well. The TFB admits in their statement that it’s not “true” reform.
“Passage of Proposition 11 will send a clear signal to our state government that basic private property rights are very much on the minds of Texas voters,” Dierschke said. “A yes vote on Proposition 11 will clear the path for true eminent domain reform that the members and leadership of Texas Farm Bureau have pushed for many years.”
That’s why what Hall says at the end of her post should be heeded.
If Texans vote for this amendment, it’s likely no further private property rights reform will EVER happen, especially if Rick Perry remains the Governor. We must demand protection from the eminent domain abuse that the Kelo case wrought. We’ve been waiting for 3 years, and would have had it in 2007 had Perry not wielded his veto pen. When over half the states have passed laws or changed their constitutions to protect landowners from the eminent domain abuses of Kelo, our politicians have left Texans vulnerable.
Insist on authentic private property protection and vote NO on Prop 11. It’s hazardous to your freedom!
Most GOP politicians in this state don’t receive signals from the voters very well. Especially those that go counter to their campaign contributors wishes. It’s unlikely, if this proposition passes, that either Perry or Hutchison as governor would ever pursue eminent domain reform any further. There is one candidate for Governor in Texas that will and it’s Hank Gilbert.
EOW recommends voting NO on Proposition 11.
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10.19.09
Posted in Elections, Williamson County at 8:53 am by wcnews
(EOW links to the statewide Constitutional Amendments and City of Hutto propositions)
Constitutional Amendment Election and Special Election (City of Hutto)
Early Voting Schedule
Map & Directions
Dates & Times for Full-time Locations:
Monday, October 19 thru Saturday October, 24 8am to 6pm
No Sunday Voting
Monday, October 26 thru Friday, October 30 7am to 7pm
Main Location:
Williamson County Inner Loop Annex, 301 SE Inner Loop, Georgetown
Branch Locations:
Parks and Recreation Admin. Bldg, 101 N. College, Georgetown, TX
Sun City Social Center, 2 Texas Dr.,Georgetown, TX
McConico Building, 301 W. Bagdad St., Round Rock, TX
Kinningham Park, 1000 South Creek Dr.,Round Rock, TX
Brushy Creek Community Center, 16318 Great Oaks Dr.,Round Rock, TX
Round Rock ISD Performing Arts Center, 5800 McNeil Dr., Austin, TX
Anderson Mill Limited District,11500 El Salido Parkway,Austin, TX
Cedar Park Public Library,550 Discovery Blvd., Cedar Park, TX
Cedar Park Randalls, 1400 Cypress Creek Rd., Cedar Park, TX
Pat Bryson Municipal Hall,201 N. Brushy,Leander, TX
Taylor City Hall, 400 Porter St., Taylor, TX
Hutto City Hall, 401 W. Front St., Hutto, TX
Mobile Temporary Locations 10am-6pm (Location varies daily)
| Seton Medical Center Williamson |
Monday Oct 19 |
| Granger City Hall |
Tuesday Oct 20 |
| Weir Fire Hall |
Wednesday Oct 21 |
| Jonah Community Center |
Thursday Oct 22 |
| Liberty Hill Annex |
Friday Oct 23 |
| Florence VFD |
Saturday Oct 24 |
| Andice Community Center |
Monday Oct 26> |
| Bartlett First United Methodist Church |
Tuesday Oct 27 |
| Thrall VFD |
Wednesday Oct 28 |
| Round Rock Higher Education Center |
Thursday Oct 29 |
| Jarrell Memorial Park |
Friday Oct 30 |
Ballot Style 1 (Constitutional Amendment Election)
Ballot Style 2 (Constitutional Amendment Election and City of Hutto Special Election)
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10.16.09
Posted in Around The State, Elections, Take Action at 9:33 am by wcnews
Texas State Rep. Scott Hochberg (D-Houston) has a page on his web site for getting information on all 11 amendments on the November ballot.
I’ve provided a page of information for each amendment, which you can read by clicking the corresponding link on the right side of this page. On each page, I’ve included a summary of what the amendment does, some arguments for and against its passage, and links to more detailed information as well as the exact wording of the changes to the Constitution that each amendment would make. I do not recommend how you should vote on these proposals, but rather provide information so you can make informed decisions.
The Texas Legislative Council has a full blown analysis (65 pages) and a condensed (13 pages) information. The House Research Office has a Focus Report [.pdf] on the amendments.
Kuff has this link from the with links to the HChron endorsing 10 of the 11 Amendments.
Here’s a link to the AusChron endorsements and what they had to say in general:
This year there are 11 proposed amendments for a document that a long series of cowardly legislatures have thoroughly transformed from a statement of basic governmental principles into a confounding laundry list of miscellaneous regulation that should instead have been confined, for good or ill, to the representative legislative process. (That’s why we elect representatives.) As a result, we generally encourage voters to consider rejecting all the propositions, as exercises in misleading choice and fake democracy, indeed a mockery of democracy.
For those who prefer finer distinctions, we note that of the 11 propositions, only two (Proposition 4, creating a new higher education fund, and Proposition 9, addressing public ownership of beaches) approach constitutional importance. The rest are either ill-considered (1, 2, and 11), or so trivial that it’s a waste of public money and energy for us to be voting on them. Here’s the ballot language, along with our recommendations. Vote as you will.
The only amendment that really seems to be getting any focus is Proposition 4. Kuff has a good wrap up of those opposed, and those for, Proposition 4. Those opposed seem to be the same people that are opposed to everything these days.
As with most of these “off-year” constitutional amendment elections in Texas turnout is likely to be very low, and almost all of the propositions pass, unless there is significant opposition. Inform yourself on the propositions and go vote.
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