The 2018 DosCentavos Stace Slate – Democratic Primary

(This is an evolving document.)

Well, I’ve spent a few minutes going over the sample ballot that pertains to my domicile and I’ve made some decisions on whom to support in contested races. There are a dozen or so contested races in which I’m undecided because, well, I’ve never met any of the candidates or heard of them along the way. So, I’ll update those races later.

Here’s the DosCentavos Stace Slate 2018. [Note:  No contributions or memberships were required to be purchased to earn an endorsement from the DC.]

• US Senator – Beto O’Rourke
• Texas Governor – Lupe Valdez
• Lt. Governor – Mike Collier
• Comtproller – Tim Mahoney
• Land Commissioner – Miguel Suazo
• Railroad Commission – Roman McAllen
• 14th Court of Appeals – Pl. 3 – Jerry Zimmerer
• 14th Court of Appeals – Pl. 8 – Margaret Poissant
• Judge, 55th District – Latosha Lewis Payne
• Judge, 113th District – Rabeea Collier
• Judge, 185th District – Jason Luong
• Judge, 189th District – Fred Cook
• Judge, 234th District – Lauren Reeder
• Judge, 269th District – Cory Sepolio
• Judge, 281st District – Christine Weems
• Judge, 248th Family District – Charles Collins
• Judge, 289th Family District – Barbara J. Stalder
• Judge, 309th Family District – Kathy Vossler
• Judge, 313th Juvenile District – Tracy Good
• Judge, County Criminal Ct #2 – Harold Landreneau
• Judge, County Criminal Ct #5 – David Fleischer
• Judge, County Criminal Ct #7 – Andrew Wright
• Judge, County Crminal Ct #11 – Sedrick T. Walker
• Judge, County Criminal Ct. #12 – Juan J. Aguirre
• Judge, County Criminal Ct. #13 – Raul Rodriguez
• Judge, County Criminal Ct. #15 – Kris Ougrah
• Judge, County Probate Ct. #2 – Jim L. Peacock
• Judge, County Probate Ct. #4 – James Horwitz
• Judge, County Civil Ct #2 – Jim Kovach
• District Clerk – Marilyn Burgess
• County Clerk – Diane Trautman
• County Treasurer – Nile Bailey Copeland
• County School Trustee, At Large – Richard Cantu
• Vote FOR all of the propositions.

Contested Races NOT on My Ballot

• CD2 – Darnell Jones or Silky Malik
• CD7 – James Cargas
• CD18 – Sheila Jackson Lee
• CD22 – Steve Brown
• CD23 – Judy Canales
• CD29 – Sylvia R. Garcia
• SD17 – Fran Watson
• HD27 – Ron Reynolds
• HD126 – Natali Hurtado
• HD134 – Allison Lami Sawyer
• HD138 – Adam Milasincic
• HD146 – Shawn Thierry
• County Commissioner Pct 2 – Adrian Garcia
• County Commissioner Pct 4 – Penny Shaw

A few comments on these races.

• CD2 – I’m rooting for Darnell Jones and Silky Malik. I attended a union function recently and they both walked in working the room, talking to voters. Money might help, but being a bit human really helps, too.
• CD7 – Jim Cargas has done a lot to put CD7 on the map for Democrats when the polls weren’t favorable. He deserves credit for that–and your vote! As far as the big monied ones are concerned, throwing money around and putting up badly written ads on TV doesn’t attract me as a voter. Others have done OK on the issues, though. I just wish they’d been around to raise money when Cargas was earning 44% of the vote with little help in 2016. But I’ll also give some mention to Ivan Sanchez. Unconventional, yes. But he gave a full-throated endorsement of the DREAMer shutdown, so he got points for that.
• CD18 – This one was easy. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee deserves another term.
• CD22 – Sweat equity should be worth a lot in politics, which is why I support Steve Brown. He’s put in the work as a campaigner and as an advocate on the most important issues.
• CD29 – Sylvia Garcia has earned this seat in Congress. She’s advocated for her constituents for a long time at various levels of government. She’ll do great things in Congress.
• CD23 – The district in which I grew up. I really like Judy Canales. She’s got roots in the district. She’s advocated for communities at all levels. And she’s not your run-of-the-mill flavor of the month, which is what, unfortunately, attracts Dem voters lately. The district needs someone who is responsive to constituents and to the issues that matter in South and West Texas. If anyone knows the district in this race, it is Judy.
• SD17 – Fran Watson
• HD27 – Ron Reynolds
• HD126 – Natali Hurtado
• HD138 – Adam Milasincic- He’s the only one taking a position on SB4 from the beginning.
• HD146 – Shawn Thierry
• County Commish Pct 2 – Adrian Garcia. He’s run one of the biggest law enforcement agencies in the country, no doubt, he’s ready to help run an entire county on the commissioner’s court.
• County Commish Pct 4- Penny Shaw. I met Penny recently and was immediately impressed. An accomplished attorney with RGV roots, she grew up in Houston and would offer a much needed different way of thinking on the Court.