Monthly Archives: December 2011

James Cargas Files to Challenge Culberson in CD-7

Posted on December 15, 2011 | 1 Comment

Houston Lawyer James Cargas made it official on Wednesday and filed for the chance to challenge John Culberson for the 7th Congressional District seat. Here’s his press release:

Houston, Texas – Former Congressional staffer James Cargas filed today for the opportunity to challenge incumbent Tea Party Rep. Culberson in the November 6, 2012 election.

Like most Texans, James is tired of Congressional gridlock, government shutdowns and threats of default, that impair the ability of America’s economy to fully recover.   “House Republicans like Rep. Culberson need to stop thinking about positioning themselves for next November’s election and start doing their job.  If they don’t, I am ready to step in and take action with a new majority,” Cargas said.

James must first prevail in the Democratic primary against other prospective challengers.  The date of the primary and exact area encompassed by Congressional District Seven remains in question due to recent court orders, but his commitment to moving Congress out of its current stalemate is not.

James first worked in the U.S. Congress as a Capitol Hill intern when Tip O’Neill was Speaker of the House.  After graduating from college, he returned to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Deputy Press Secretary when Texan Jim Wright was Speaker.  He subsequently attended law school in Washington DC at The American University while clerking at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.  After working in private practice and in the energy industry, James returned to public service first in the Clinton/Gore White House and later at the U.S. Department of Energy under Sec. Bill Richardson.  Today, James Cargas is a Senior Assistant City Attorney advising the Mayor on all aspects of energy procurement, energy efficiency, and other legal matters.

“When I worked in Congress almost 30 years ago, the two parties did not always agree with each other, but we worked hard to find common ground and get legislation passed.  It’s easy to say ‘no’ all the time and do nothing,” Cargas explained.  “I am looking forward to the opportunity to work hard and represent the people of Congressional District 7.”

To find out more about the Cargas for Congress campaign or to join, go to: www.JamesCargas.com

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Posted in 2012 Profiles, Houston Dems '12, Houston Politica, LatinoVote '12, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012

The Forum for 137 and 144

Posted on December 14, 2011 | Comments Off

This post comes a little late. It’s been a busy week!

So, Tuesday was exciting for me as I attended the Harris County Democratic Party’s Brown Bag Lunch at noon. Actually, I got there a little early to enjoy the wi-fi and pre-talk chisme. Tuesday was a special meeting to highlight the candidates for two new opportunities for Democrats–Texas House 137 and 144.

Candidate for HD-144 Ornaldo Ybarra was on hand; however, the rest of the competition was a no-show. For HD-137, it was Jamaal Smith and Joe Madden.

Chairman Birnberg, after a lengthy explanation about where we are on the redistricting maps and the Texas Primary, the forum began with each of the candidates taking a seat at the head table. Birnberg moderated the discussion.

Ybarra presented himself as a progressive candidate serving a diverse community. Citing the challenges to working with a mostly conservative administration, he stated he has made it his work to ensure his constituents were well-served and represented.

Ybarra did cite what some may bring up–a lack of a Democratic Primary voting record. Stating that he serves Democratic leaning constituents, he also falls on the Democratic side of their issues. For issues, he cited education as his main priority. Serving as a police officer and working with the schools, he has seen how small learning environments are more effective and therefore should be a priority.

HD-137 will be offering candidates with strong Democratic credentials, among others. Jamaal Smith has served the Democratic Party as a campaign operative, and he served the constituents of HD-143, having worked for the late State Rep. Joe Moreno. Joe Madden offers a lot of experience working for State Rep. Garnet Coleman and the Legislative Study Group.

Both candidates were in agreement on most issues, each offering their direct experience in the legislature. Smith, though, did exhibit a strong commitment to constituent services, and, many times, voters will seek those who they feel will serve them best in that regard. Another strong-point for Smith will be that he has exhibited a commitment to growing roots in the district.

And, apparently, there may be others getting ready to file. No matter what happens with all the redistricting mess caused by the Republicans, it will be an exciting Spring.

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Posted in Chicano Politics, Houston Dems '12, Houston Politica, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '12, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012

COH Elections Are Done: Some Initial Thoughts

Posted on December 12, 2011 | 1 Comment

Well, the 2011 City of Houston elections are finally over, and I seem to have a lot of disappointed friends, especially with the results of At-Large 2 and At-Large 5.

In At-Large 2, Andrew Burks edged out Kristi Thibaut by a couple-hundred votes. Burks was helped by winning about 2/3 of the vote in Fort Bend County, and quite possibly by an undervote that amounted to 8% of those who voted.

Burks earned the endorsement of the right-wing Hotze bunch, and as I told my friends, he just needed enough of them to support him while praying that your run-of-the-mill Republicans who never vote for an ID’d Democrat skipped the race. We’ll see if the precinct-by-precinct count tells us as much, but it sure seems like it right now.

With this said, Jack Christie took his fifth try at unseating Jolanda Jones and ran away with a decisive victory. In the case of At-Large 5, there was virtually no undervote (1%). Which, again, might point to Republicans who ignored At-Large 2, but had their sights set on Jones. Christie made the campaign all about personalities and the voters he targeted responded.

What also seemed to have helped the winners in these two races was an effective ballot-by-mail program.

Obviously, turn-out is an issue. In the AL-2 race, there will be many who say that the losing margin could have been erased with a little more ground effort in a few precincts. Still, close races are close races for whatever reason. Some of my friends have called the low voter turn-out apathy, but I’ll keep calling it voter indifference caused by a lack of engagement.

About the only thing I’ll celebrate is that my prediction in the District B race, which I announced on “This Week With Sylvia Garcia,” was correct. Congratulations to Jerry Davis on his 98 vote victory.

In District A, well, Stardig may have been a victim of that whole lack of voter engagement thing I just mentioned. District A is a richly diverse area, but if one isn’t willing to engage all voters until it is really needed, well, one loses. Any serious 2013 challenger needs to keep that in mind.

People need to be made to feel like they matter. And I’m not saying one candidate or a group of candidates is to blame, I’m just saying that this is a systemic problem that is never addressed during non-election season. Frankly, this has been going  on for decades.

Ultimately, I don’t know what to expect from this set of winners. Having participated in interviews of three of them (Brown was a no-show), I can say that Christie is hardly a combative conservative in person–at least not yet. I think Andrew Burks offers some pretty progressive ideas given his community-oriented background, but what his right-wing support base may require of him leaves me without expectations. Jerry Davis is a thoughtful member of the community and I know he’ll be fighting for his District. Given Brown’s right-wing experiences, well, perhaps she’ll blow away the memory of Addie Wiseman from City Hall. We shall see.

City Hall is still about forging relationships, right? Let’s see what happens.

More to come, I’m sure.

Kuff and Greg have more.

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Posted in Houston Dems '12, LatinoVote '12, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012

SCOTUS Stops Progress?

Posted on December 9, 2011 | Comments Off

Well, looks like the SCOTUS had a problem with the Texas Congressional, House and Senate maps that were drawn up by a team of federal judges. While they issued a stay of the maps, there will be briefs and arguments before them in January.

As Kuff tells us:

Dozens of candidates have filed for offices, many of them have already raised and spent money, and they may wind up not being eligible for the district they have chosen to run for. For that matter, at least one legislator has stepped down on the grounds that he can’t win the district that was drawn for him. The filing deadline is next Thursday, but who knows what that means now, as no one can say for certain where they may wind up. We may wind up with a bifurcated primary, with the Presidential and non-legislative races in March and the Lege, Senate, and Congress in May. It’s just chaos.

Because the state of Texas seems to have an endless flow of money to violate the rights of Texans?

And as Joe Cardenas who has been working the effort from the Texas LULAC side of things stated:

While this is a set-back, it is not a defeat!  Remember that the same occured in the last redistricting case that went before the Supreme Court.  However, this time a lot more is at stake given that state leaders in Texas have already indicated that redistricting will be an agenda item for the 83rd Legislature for 2013; this no doubt will mean a worsening repeat of all the nasty anti-Latino legislation and education taking a back seat to partisan politics.

And certainly, it’s not the Democrats filing all that nasty anti-Latino stuff.

Yes, this is quite frustrating. But it looks like my camarada Harold Cook nails it on the head.

 

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Posted in Redistricting '11

Thoughts on Viernes…11092011

Posted on December 9, 2011 | Comments Off

The Democratic Women Event

I, along with members of my proud pro-Choice Chicano family, attended the event at the Planned Parenthood facility on 45-south. It was an excellent event which allowed me to meet some of our best Democratic candidates, some of our best activists, and to just enjoy good holiday and progressive fellowship. A great time was had by the packed house.

The Dem in CD-7

At the function last night I found out my good friend James Cargas is getting set to file for Congressional District 7 to challenge Culberson. I’ve known James for a while as we worked together on the Edwards ’04 effort locally and he offers a wealth of experience in public service. You’ll hear more about Jim soon. It was great seeing James and Dorina!

Another Energetic Candidate

So, I went to the blogger lunch that I try to attend every month and met the Democrat running for Texas House District 26, Vy Nguyen. HD26 has become quite the coalition district with its rich diversity, so, it is good to see such an energetic and positive candidate. That will be a must-watch race, for sure.

JUST VOTE!

Well, tomorrow is your last chance to vote in the City of Houston Run-Offs. There’s all sorts of predictions on the final turnout. I’ll say between 43K and 45K. Why? ¿Por que no?

A Good Response to Perry Anti-Gay Ad

Congressman Silvestre Reyes released a pretty good response to Rick Perry’s ad:

“Governor Perry’s ad is inappropriate and frankly unacceptable. This is an attack on those who can openly serve our country in the United States military, and Perry owes these brave men and women an apology for distastefully using them as a political prop. It is an attack on those who serve our nation proudly – with distinction, honor and commitment.

“Governor Perry doesn’t seem to understand that in civilian society, there is no law that requires individuals to conceal their sexual orientation to keep their job.  The ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy was inconsistent with our nation’s ideals of fairness, equality, and justice and that is why I voted to repeal it.

“Today, I stand by my vote. Governor Perry is in the wrong. There is no room for discrimination in our nation or in our military.”

Enjoy the weekend! I’ll be spending some time with my pro-Choice Chicana Feminist mom.

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Posted in Thoughts on Viernes

HCDP Spotlights Judge Nile Copeland for the 1st Court of Appeals

Posted on December 7, 2011 | Comments Off

No doubt, one of my favorite candidates in 2012 will be Nile Copeland, so I thought I’d share this particular spotlight provided by the Harris County Democratic Party. You can follow his campaign on FB, too.

This week’s candidate spotlight is on Judge Nile Copeland, candidate for the Texas First Court of Appeals. Nile is originally from Louisiana and is our “ragin cajun” or as we call him “Tex”, the no- nonsense cowboy of this judicial rodeo. If you don’t see Nile out campaigning, practicing law or at the courthouse…you may see him out in the community. He is frequently out and about helping others, speaking to community activists and neighborhood groups on law/election issues, training poll workers or lending a hand wherever it’s needed.

One of Nile’s passions is election law and in 2008 he and a team of 12 attorneys worked pro bono for an election contest representing Goodwille Pierre. At the end of the case Paul Bettencourt resigned before he was sworn into office. The case focused on 5000 provisional ballots which were never counted in an election where over a million votes were cast and Goodwille lost by only 230 votes. The case opened many eyes to Texas election issues, outraged others and caused many to become active participants in Texas elections and to stand up for the rights of others. Nile said: “I don’t care for whom you vote, as long as you get to vote and your vote gets counted. Well I sorta care, but regardless, NO ONE should have their right to vote interfered with – NO ONE! That’s un-American! We don’t need any of that cow manure in Houston, which is one story behind my motto: No More Bull.”

Nile holds a Bachelor degree in Biological Sciences and a Master degree in Education from Louisiana State University, as well as a Juris Doctors from South Texas College of Law. He is a partner and mediator at Cheng Copeland, PLLC. He serves the community as a Civil Service Grievance Examiner, Municipal Judge, poll watcher, realtor and election law consultant. He also helps with various community and social organizations. Shriner’s Hospital for Crippled Children holds an especially important place in Nile’s heart and was one of the primary motivations for him in becoming a Freemason (a story he is always willing to share).

Why Nile is running for office is that he is concerned about his neighbors, whether they are next door or hundreds of miles away. “If you feel a judge is not motivated to do what is right by their district – vote them out. You have a duty and the power to make sure the courts are balanced. You exercised that power in 2008 and you can balance and keep the balance for every election cycle to come. The Courts of Appeals have been dominated over the years by 100% Republican judges”. You will have the opportunity in 2012 to balance the judiciary on the First and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals. Nile and all of the judicial candidates need you to stand up and say “No More Bull!”

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Posted in 2012 Profiles, Houston Dems '12, LatinoVote '12, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012

More Filings, More 2012 Excitement…

Posted on December 7, 2011 | Comments Off

Well, excitement for those of us who like to crawl into the whole process.

Kuff has an update on the latest filings, including the action going on in the newest opportunity for Hispanics and Dems, HD-144. The Harris County filings list is here.

There are many questions going around, like:  Who the hell would run against Sheriff Garcia?

The filings in Austin are also a great source.  And it is great to see that my friends Nile Copeland and Kathy Cheng have officially filed for 1st Court of Appeals, as well as Chuck Silverman. More to come, I’m sure.

The news that Sylvia Romo filed for the new CD-35 (the SA/Central Texas seat) to take on Ciro Rodriguez should provide some much needed excitement to the area. Some of my friends in the Central Texas part aren’t very happy to be taken out of Doggett’s area, so, the sooner they get to San Marcos, the better. (hint-hint).

Back to Harris County,Lane Lewis has filed for County Chair. He made it official on Tuesday.

On December 20th we will have a chance to begin that process as we elect an interim Chair. I ask for your vote and support in creating a new direction for Democrats in Harris County.   

By declaring my intention to run for HCDP Chair, I am fully committed to seeing Democrats elected up and down the ballot by focusing on financial strength, grassroots activism, and proud progressive messaging.  The road ahead will require hard work and dedication from everyone of us, but together we can get the job done.

Thats right folks, precinct chairs need to show up to make Lane official on December 20th so he can complete the term, then all of the voters can seal the deal on Primary Day.

Stay connected.

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Posted in Chicano Politics, Houston Dems '12, Houston Politica, LatinoVote '12, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012

Thursday: Actions Against Wage Theft

Posted on December 6, 2011 | Comments Off

In my inbox from the Houston Interfaith Worker Justice Center are two actions that will be taken on Thursday to give light to two examples of wage theft here in Houston.

1) Thursday 6:30am – Meet at HIWJ
Cosme Asencio and Gilberto Zavala came to the Worker’s Center in April after a former contractor did not pay them for remodeling construction work they performed. In late July, the workers and Mr. Lucas Garcia, their former employer, had a court mediation in which Mr. Garcia admitted to owing the workers $4,450 collectively and agreed to start a payment plan to repay the workers’ wages. It has been almost 6 months since this court judgment, yet both workers are still waiting to get paid! Gilberto received a mere $200 out of the $1,450 and Cosme has not been paid any of the $3,000 he is owed.

6:30am too early? How about the pm??

and

2) Thursday 6:30pm – at Ruggles (903 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77006)
This past weekend, six Ruggles employees walked off the job in the middle of their shift fed up after trying unsuccessfully to collect their overdue wages. Five of the six workers are waiters who depend on the measely $2.13/hr tipped employee federally required minimum wage.  HIWJ met with the workers last night, today they met with the County Attorney who has agreed to open an investigation. Some workers have picked up checks, but not all checks represent the full balance owed. The owner of Ruggles, Bruce Molzan, is looking to open three new locations. Let’s let him know stealing from workers won’t fly in Houston! Check out a few articles on the issue: Houston Chronicle and the Houston Press.

The HIWJ is located at 1805 Alabama, 2nd Floor.

You can still sign the petition asking Mayor Parker and City Council to support an ordinance which will put bad apples on notice that this practice will not be tolerated.

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Posted in City of Houston, DC Ojo, La Familia, Mayor Parker, Your Wallet

Senator Dick Durbin’s Statement on DREAM and Joaquin

Posted on December 6, 2011 | Comments Off

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Posted in DREAM Act, Immigration, LatinoVote '12, TDP Convention 2012, Texas Dems 2012

Erica Lee Files for HCDE Position 6

Posted on December 6, 2011 | 1 Comment

Erica S. Lee, a regional quality coordinator for a public health program, filed for Harris County Department of Education Trustee, Position 6, today at the Harris County Democratic Party HQ. Offering a healthy dose of political, education and public policy experiences, Lee wants to serve those not served adequately by the education system.

In a speech to supporters at her campaign kick-off held this weekend, Lee stated:

My vision for a quality education was created after witnessing countless students being denied access to educational opportunity and achievement.  Our system does not serve all students in a quality way and for this reason I seek to become a Trustee.  I am seeking a position on the Board because I have witnessed firsthand how much our children achieve when given a quality education.

Taking a shot at what has become business as usual, she added:

Despite what the special interests or pundits might say, we can bring quality to our education systems in Harris County.  We must be willing to put our resources where they are most needed and support efforts that are of proven quality.

Lee is also advocating to bring quality STEM programs to Harris County in order to expand what is currently offered.

Lee is vying for the position currently held by a Republican. If she doesn’t draw a primary opponent, Lee has a very good chance of winning and finally bringing true representation to the people of Precinct 1, which this position is supposed to serve.

DosCentavos wishes Erica “Victory in 2012!”

Update from the Chron:

Precinct 1 incumbent Roy Morales (the republican) said six years was enough for him. “My time’s done with that position,” he said. A candidate for mayor of Houston in 2009, Morales said he wouldn’t rule out running for office in the future but had no immediate plans.

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Posted in Chicano Politics, DC Ojo, Houston Dems '12, Houston Politica, K-12 Education, LatinoVote '12, Texas Dems 2012