Texas Politics
May 5, 2013 - One day it won’t matter, but until then, it does
This past Saturday, Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) was sworn in as Governor for a Day, an opportunity provided the President Pro Tem of the Texas Senate when both Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst are out of the state. While the position and scenario are very real, in terms of duties, yesterday was more about a celebration for Democrats and San Antonians at the Capitol. But, seizing that moment, Gov. Van de Putte issued a call ... Read more »
November 10, 2012 - Give P. a chance
In case you missed one of the news items last week, George P. Bush filed paperwork with the Texas Ethics Commission to run for office, something many people expected might happen but weren’t sure when. Based on comments from Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson, who’s probably going to be seeking the office of Lt. Governor in 2014, Bush seems to be eyeing the Land Commissioner office. While some might wonder why the coverage in many of the state ... Read more »
August 19, 2012 - In the Texas Senate, the local races are predictable
As a part of a series of entries looking at the upcoming races in the 2012 General Election, I’ve been focusing on various areas on the ballot. The last entry was on the US House races in Bexar County, with only one race, the Canseco-Gallego race for the 23rd district, as really in play. This one will focus on the Texas Senate, probably the more stable of the Texas Legislature. But even with a long-time incumbent ousted during the Republican primary ... Read more »
August 17, 2012 - How are the 2012 US House races shaping up for Bexar County?
The 2012 General Election is less than three months away and voters will be going to the polls to pick a president. Along with that big race are races for other legislative offices, including the US House. Texas has four new districts it needs to fill with representatives, with San Antonio picking up one of those seats. The districts were at the heart of redistricting battles after a partisan mapping process worked to maintain Republican strength, ... Read more »
May 29, 2012 - After much delay, we have a primary election
Today is Election Day for both the Democratic and Republican primaries. For those candidates who ran during this bizarre primary season, thank you for your perseverance. I can only imagine how trying it has been to get to this point. For the rest of us who finally got to vote, I’m sure it was such a relief to walk into the booth and finally get to cast your vote. While Texas missed the opportunity to have a significant influence in the Republican ... Read more »
January 30, 2012 - Foolish optimism
The start of my day had an air of optimism to it as I read several accounts by political reporters and pundits around the state that the attorneys for the state and plaintiffs in the Texas redistricting case were working towards a settlement. It all seemed to make sense and had the air of rational thought behind it. I guess in all that optimism I underestimated some of the actors and problems that might kill the deal. I posted my thoughts on the matter ... Read more »
January 30, 2012 - The Butterfly Effect of the GOP presidential race
Amazing how in politics some things somewhat unrelated can have an effect on other things. Kind of a “butterfly effect” in a political sort of way. In this case, it appears the tight race to select a Republican presidential nominee may be pushing parties in the Texas redistricting case to come to a swift agreement. According to Michael Li, a Dallas attorney who has been closely following the process, we could see a settlement between both the ... Read more »
January 15, 2012 - Why I’m waiting to publish CD-35 interviews
As some of you may know, I conducted interviews with the three candidates in the upcoming CD-35 race. It followed the same format as I’ve done for city council races and other races – you pick the place and I pick up the tab. I’m sure the candidates are ready to see the interviews published but I hate to say I’m holding off a little bit to see how the Supreme Court rules on Texas redistricting. Some have predicted the ruling could come as ... Read more »
November 27, 2011 - Taking Texas politics to the biggest grandstand of all
Texas is a big state and seems to boast about every big thing there is. We have the biggest chicken fried steaks (although everyone has their favorite place serving that slab of arterial blockage), one of the biggest Ferris wheels (the Texas Star), and the biggest bass drum (Big Bertha for you Longhorn fans). But when it comes to politics Texas has been wanting to make it big on the national stage with something to show we have big ideas. What better ... Read more »
October 21, 2011 - Houston municipal elections
Houston is in the middle of its municipal elections for council members to be held on Nov. 1st this year. Mayor Annise Parker is seeking re-election as Houston’s mayor and a number of candidates are running for council office for the various district seats. Houston’s form of government is different than San Antonio’s in that it has a strong mayor-council form of government where the mayor is the “CEO” of the city. Houston city council has ... Read more »
October 18, 2011 - Some redistricting proposals are out
Today Michael Li, a Dallas attorney who has been heavily involved in the Texas redistricting process, put out the latest information of proposed maps and reasoning by interested parties to redistricting. As you probably know the redistricting maps proposed by the 82nd Texas Legislature have been challenged in court by several parties, primarily Hispanic interest parties such as LULAC, MALC, and the Texas Latino Redistricting Task Force. While some ... Read more »
September 19, 2011 - Redistricting–there is another way
Yesterday I wrote an entry about how Texas redistricting seems to be developing into sort of a “divide and conquer” strategy by the Republicans to keep the urban districts diluted in such a way as to retain Republican control where they can. By the way, that term is called "fracturing" in redistricting lingo. Granted, not all districts can be diluted to such a point that Republicans win all the seats. In fact, if they were able to actually employ ... Read more »
September 18, 2011 - Divide and conquer–The Redistricting Way
The redistricting trial finished its closing arguments last week in federal court, with some interesting statements being made by both sides. At stake are not only the boundaries of the current 32 congressional districts in Texas but four new districts allocated Texas as a result of the population growth of the state, primarily fueled by a growth in the number of Hispanics. With four new districts in the mix it creates even more challenges are legislators ... Read more »
July 5, 2011 - So who’s district is it, anyway?
Last week I waded into an interesting debate on the Burnt Orange Report regarding State Rep. Joaquin Castro’s candidacy announcement for the new CD35. After a few short hours it was pretty obvious this race was going to be a controversial one within the Texas Democratic Party. Austin readers were lobbying very hard that Doggett deserved the district after being shoved out by Republicans with the redistricting plans. Those of us from San Antonio ... Read more »
June 25, 2011 - A tale of two cities
Yesterday the news was buzzing about the formal entry of State Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio) for the expected new congressional seat in Texas, the 35th, currently planned as a part of the expansion of four new seats to Texas. I call the district the “35 Road Trip District” due to its strange gerrymandered run from the downtown area of San Antonio to the southeastern section of Austin and Travis County. It was drawn by Republicans during ... Read more »
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