Tag Archives: run-off

The “Glad That’s Over” Dem Run-Off Report 2022

Posted on May 25, 2022 | Comments Off on The “Glad That’s Over” Dem Run-Off Report 2022

With 100 percent of the polling locations around the state reporting, it looks like the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor will be Mike Collier as he has around 55%. A little closer than I hoped, but I was surprised to see Beckley showing well in South Texas. That said, Collier will be an active participant in this election.

Also, Rochelle Garza was doing extremely well in South, Central, and North Texas on her way to a decisive victory with over 62% of the vote. Glad we’ll have some highly qualified diversity on the ballot because the rest of the statewide team is not diverse at all.

Janet Dudding (61%) and Jay Kleberg (52%) end up as the Dem nominees for Comptroller and Land Commish, respectively.

In a race that took a negative turn in the last days of the campaign, Lesley Briones held a steady lead with 54% (or so) of the vote over Ben Chou on her way to becoming the nominee for Harris County Commissioner Pct 4. I guess the unfounded, negative attacks against her didn’t work. Briones will take on right-wing incumbent Jack Cagle, who recently voted against a county resolution decrying gun violence. Yes, on the day of the Uvalde, TX shooting, Cagle made it clear that he doesn’t care about dead children. I’m all in with Briones and it is time for all to come together to win this race.

It was also a sad day for incumbents Criminal District Judge Jason Luong and Family District Judge Chip Wells. I guess I need to learn more about the winners. Beverly Armstrong defeated Kim McTorry for the Dem nod for 208th District Judge in an open race.

Also, Treasea Trevino didn’t make the cut for County Court #4, though she was a great candidate who was challenging the local Dem establishment with her race against Monica Singh. Don’t give up, Treasea! Also, Sonia Lopez ran a great race for JP Pct 1, falling short to Steven Duble. Sonia has a great future in local politics.

In San Antonio, Judge Peter Sakai won the Dem nomination over Ina Minjarez for Bexar County Judge. He’s not a bad guy; actually, quite beloved, so Bexar County will be alright once he defeats the Republican.

And in Congressional District 28, Jessica Cisneros was nipping at the tail of Nancy Pelosi’s anti-woman lapdog, Henry Cuellar, down by less than 200 votes most of the night. While Bexar County results showed a few boxes still out, they didn’t seem to change the final result. Newsflash: Nancy Pelosi will get nothing for Democrats from Cuellar, other than a “W” for selling out women, migrants, and poor people.

Anyway, the results are in and we have a ballot to support, while also having the ability to demand more from our candidates in the form of GOTV, issues support, etc. It should already be expected, though.

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Posted in 2022, Accion, Cultura, Democratic Stuff, Elections, Harris County, Historia, History, Local Politica, Media

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Race For Precinct 4 Is Almost Over, But…

Posted on May 23, 2022 | 1 comment

The Precinct 4 race for County Commissioner continues its negative track as Leslie Briones responded to Ben Chou with her own attack ad, which called out Chou’s self-crediting statement as the inventor of drive-thru voting. In addition, Briones offered up some receipts regarding Chou’s alleged acceptance of money from folks who work for Harris County vendors. Also, Briones pointed out that Chou and his supporters created a fake organization that violated all sorts of campaign finance rules. Though the receipts didn’t really resonate with me since they were small, personal donations to Chou, the rest of the ad did because everything else Briones states is true.

Unfortunately, a doctored photo of Chou on the headline of the ad is what has caused the race to go rather ugly, with charges of racism against Briones. Briones has apologized and gotten rid of the designer of the photo and ad, but Chou continues his attack against the Latina candidate, while not accepting the apology. As if either community isn’t under real attacks by forces who will effect racist and bigoted public policy if we don’t win this seat in November.

If Chou and his supporters were offended by the doctored photo, Chou’s use of an unflattering, grainy, black and white photo of Briones, a highly successful, professional Latina leader, may be equally offensive to some. It is to me as our Latina sisters are under relentless attack. But it’s part of the business as one campaign tries to paint the other as sinister and bad in order to convince voters to decide for whom to vote by way of artwork, instead of actual words. I mean, have you seen the imagery the Republicans create as they tear each other apart?

In this case, both campaigns are guilty of going negative. And both campaigns are guilty of trying “gotcha” politics as the election winds down because it may be that close of an election. Ultimately, it’s about who one believes and who presents a better story of themselves to convince whatever voters are still undecided. And, yes, doctored and grainy, unflattering photos are something that Democrats should avoid. Both campaigns are guilty of this. Above all, we seem to be bad at it.

I voted for Lesley Briones because she has a track-record as an executive, educator, attorney, and as a member of the judiciary. She has given of herself to her community and the community at-large. She is proven in all facets of leadership, whether as a decision-maker or as a paper-pusher. Above all, she makes herself accessible and is responsive. These are qualities we need on the Commissioner’s Court and Lesley is the only candidate who offers these qualities.

Vote on Tuesday!

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Posted in 2022, Cultura, Democratic Stuff, Elections, Harris County, Local Politica, Media

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The Stace Slate – 2022 Dem Run-Off

Posted on May 16, 2022 | Comments Off on The Stace Slate – 2022 Dem Run-Off

It’s that time again. Early voting for the 2022 Democratic Run-off begins on Monday, May 16 and continues through May 20. Run-off Election Day is on Tuesday, May 24. You can find your nearest polling location by clicking here. Need a sample ballot? Find yours by clicking here.

And for whom am I voting?

Here’s the Stace Slate:

Lt. Governor – Mike Collier

Attorney General – Rochelle Garza

Comptroller – Angel Luis Vega

Land Commissioner – Sandragrace Martinez

Judge, 185th District – Jason Luong (Incumbent)

Judge, 208th District – No Recommendation

Judge, 312th Family District – Clinton “Chip” Wells (Incumbent)

Judge, County Civil Court #4 – Treasea Treviño

County Commissioner, Precinct 4 – Lesley Briones

Races not on my ballot, but maybe on yours.

Justice of the Peace, Pct 1, Place 2 – Sonia Lopez

Congress, District 38 – Diana Martinez Alexander

State Rep, District 147 – Danielle Keys Bess

Others further away.

Congress, District 28 – Jessica Cisneros

Bexar County Judge – Ina Minjarez

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Posted in 2022, Accion, Cultura, Democratic Stuff, Elections, Harris County, Health Care, Historia, History, Las Mujeres, Local Politica, Media

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Are You Ready for the Democratic Run-Offs?

Posted on March 3, 2022 | Comments Off on Are You Ready for the Democratic Run-Offs?

Well, the vote counts are in, despite the whining of the Trumpy, Abbott-appointed Secretary of State and republinuts who probably started all the whining, and we can see who will be facing off in the run-off in a couple of months. This is what we see, so far, locally.

US Rep, District 38 – Diana Martinez Alexander, Duncan Klussman

Lt. Governor – Mike Collier, Michelle Beckley

Attorney General – Rochelle Mercedes Garza, Joe Jaworski

State Comptroller – Angel Luis Vera, Janet Dudding

Land Commissioner – Sandragrace Martinez, Jay Kleberg

SBOE – 4 – Staci Childs, Coretta Mallett-Fontenot

State Rep, 147 – Danielle Keys Bess, Jolanda Jones

Judge, 185th District – Jason Luong, Andrea Beall

Judge, 208th District – Beverly Armstrong, Kimberly McTorry

Family Judge, 312th District – Clinton “Chip” Wells, Teresa Waldrop

Judge, County Civil Court #4 – Treasea Trevino, MK Singh

County Commissioner, Pct. 4 – Lesley Briones, Ben Chou

Justice of the Peace, Pct 1-2 – Sonia Lopez, Steve Duble

Those in italics are not on my ballot, but maybe they are on yours. Either way, all of us will have a busy run-off ballot. Those in bold are folks I’m voting for and/or rooting for. Those races I haven’t picked, well, I haven’t learned anything about them, yet.

Outside of Harris County, eyes will be looking toward South Texas where there will be some interesting run-offs, including CD28 where Jessica Cisneros gets one more chance to unseat the old, searched-thru furniture that is Henry Cuellar. Kuff has a good round-up on all of the run-offs in Texas.

Kuff also expands on the coverage of the printer/paper ballot issues at Harris County. I agree that more voter education and election worker training is needed to ensure people don’t scuff their paper ballots while voting. Hell, even I held my paper ballot sheets gently and from a corner while voting on the machine because I worried about it folding or whatever. Ultimately, less that one percent of ballots were damaged, but counting them just added to the delays in results because Longoria and her staff are trying to ensure actual vote security.

What we really need less of is voter suppression from the Lege with laws like SB1, whose mail ballot issues caused even more delays for election staff. And maybe local news media that treats this story in an educative manner (Miya Shay), rather than in a sensational manner (the other reporters).

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Posted in 2022, Accion, Cultura, Democratic Stuff, Elections, Harris County, Local Politica, Media, Republinuttiness

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#StaceSlate – 2019 Run-Off Edition

Posted on November 19, 2019 | Comments Off on #StaceSlate – 2019 Run-Off Edition

The 2019 City of Houston Run-Off Election, scheduled for December 14, has shaped up into easy choices for truly progressive-minded voters. There is one of each (Dem and ‘Nut), for the most part, in the running on my ballot. I would have felt more warm and fuzzy with two Dems in each race, but progressive-minded folks have yet to realize that there are a lot more of us here in Houston to make that happen. That said, the easy choices on my ballot are:

Mayor Sylvester Turner

District F:  Tiffany Thomas

At-Large 1:  Raj Salhotra

At-Large 2:  David Robinson (inc.)

At-Large 3:  Janaeya Carmouche

At-Large 4:  Dr. Letitia Plummer

At-Large 5:  Sallie Alcorn

In those districts in which I don’t reside, I’m rooting for:

District H:  Isabel Longoria

District J:  Sandra Rodriguez

HCC1:  Monica Flores-Richart

District B:  Tarsha Jackson (ELECTION DELAYED)

The Special Election for Texas House District 148 will be held on January 28, so, I’m rooting for Democrat Anna Eastman to win the run-off in HD148. As people keep telling me, they are doing it all over again in March in the Dem Primary, but I agree with some of my friends who say HD148 voters can’t give away the seat to a right-wing, anti-Latino Latino just because their person didn’t make it to the run-off. Campos reports on Anna’s endorsements and they all look pretty good and diverse to me.

 

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Posted in 2019, Accion, City of Houston, Cultura, Elections

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Early Voting for Houston ISD and HCC Begins Today

Posted on November 29, 2017 | Comments Off on Early Voting for Houston ISD and HCC Begins Today

That’s right, some of y’all need to vote, again.

First of all, I misblogged the other day when I stated Alief ISD would have a run-off. In reality, the candidate with the most votes wins. So, DC-endorsed Natasha Butler, who won by 11 votes, joins Breaux, Nguyen, and Key on the board. Congrats to all of them. Serve the kids and the rest of us well.

Meanwhile, as many as 78,000+ voters will have the opportunity to elect a new HISD Trustee in District I. Voters will choose between Elizabeth Santos, who earned 45% of the vote in Round 1, and Gretchen Himsl. Another 55,000+ voters in District III will get to pick between Jesse A. Rodriguez and Sergio Lira. Almost 10,000 and over 3500 voted in District I and III, in Round 1, respectively.

As far as nods are concerned, I’ll say most of my friends are supporting Elizabeth Santos in District I, and my friends seem split in District III, but I’ve been rooting for Jesse A. Rodriguez.

In HCCS District IX, Preta VanDible Stalworth is the progressive candidate in the mix. And that’s all I’ll say about that. District IX is in Southern Harris County and stretches from around the Southwest Freeway to beyond 288 to zip code 77048. Around 100,000 voters get to choose in this one, though a little over 10K voted in Round 1.

With just a fraction of local voters eligible to vote in these races, you might ask yourself:  Can I vote in this one? Check and see if you have a ballot here. Then find your early voting location here.

So, get out and vote. It really does count in these low turnout elections.

 

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Posted in Accion, City of Houston, Cultura, Education - K12, Higher Education

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The May 24 Run-Off is Set

Posted on March 23, 2016 | Comments Off on The May 24 Run-Off is Set

donkey-fightThe Harris County Democratic Party recently had a drawing for ballot positions for the May 24th run-off. We’ve got more than a few races in which to choose those candidates we want on the November ballot. With a couple of months until the run-off, here’s your chance to study the candidates. I’m not sure if there’ll be another chance to record the candidates as I did in the first round, but I’ll try to get some video material from some of my favorite candidates in the near future.

Here are the candidates for the Run-Off that I’m watching:

Railroad Commissioner:  Grady Yarbrough, Cody Garrett

State Board of Ed. – 6:  Jasmine L. Jenkins, Dakota Carter

Judge, 11th District:  Kristen Hawkins, Rabeea Collier

Judge, 61st District:  Julie Countiss, Fredericka Phillips

Judge, 215th District:  Elaine Palmer, JoAnn Storey

Sheriff:  Ed Gonzalez, Jerome Moore

The NIMBY Races that I’m watching include:

JP 1-1:  Eric William Carter, Tanya Makany-Rivera

Constable Pct. 2:  Christopher Diaz, George Goffney, Jr.

Those in bold, I’ve decided on; however, the rest were races in which I was off the mark in my previous nods, so, I’m hoping to learn more about the candidates before deciding. Will things take a turn for the negative? Will there be attacks? Will it just be a regular run-off where voters vote by slate card??? Stay tuned!

 

 

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Posted in 2016, Democratic Stuff, Elections, Houston Politics Podcast, Local Politica, Uncategorized

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Joaquin Martinez Endorses Sylvia Garcia in SD-6

Posted on February 5, 2013 | Comments Off on Joaquin Martinez Endorses Sylvia Garcia in SD-6

Looks like the candidate that got the attention of DosCentavos back in December has made his choice in the SD-6 Run-Off. Joaquin Martinez has endorsed Sylvia R. Garcia for State Senate.

My goal in OUR SD6 race was to have a new voice at the table.

#ProjectMtz has brought a change to our political landscape and we want to continue the work of voter outreach, education, and most importantly, participation. A new coalition of the people and for the people is possible! This week has compelled me to look into the community’s best interest. My experience with one of Houston’s oldest and largest non-profits has guided my decision of endorsing Sylvia Garcia.

I feel that her strong Social Work background will allow us to pave the way towards building new, positive, and constructive relationships. Throughout my campaign for SD6, I truly appreciated Sylvia’s encouragement to stand up for what I believe in. As a young, progressive, and energetic Latino, I have the responsibility to be a part of a change in Houston politics. I regard Sylvia as someone who can empower many from our generation to participate in the dynamics of social progress. It is important to continue our involvement in the political process – and this is why I am asking all who supported me during my race for SD6 to show your support for Sylvia Garcia.

The turnout has been predicted to be LOW, but we will continue working from where we left off in our ongoing mission to increase our voter turnout, engage our communities, and inspire unified action. We do not have the date for the runoff election yet, but we will stay informed and engaged. I plan on showing my support for Sylvia by continuing to march these boots on the ground. I welcome all young, energetic individuals to join and help the work along.

Stay tuned to upcoming events and volunteer opportunities! Sylvia Garcia for Senate District 6!

Joaquin Martinez
#ProjectMtz

That’s a pretty strong endorsement. As always, keep an eye on this guy.

In a response to the endorsement, Garcia posted this on her campaign Facebook:

I admire the energy and enthusiasm he brings to politics and I deeply appreciate his support in the SD6 runoff election.

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Posted in Local Politica, Texas Lege

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Run-Off in SD-6

Posted on January 27, 2013 | Comments Off on Run-Off in SD-6

Looks like the Special Election to replace the late, great Senator Mario Gallegos turned out to be all about Sylvia Garcia and Carol Alvarado.

Garcia started out with a slightly stronger show in ballots by mail and even better in the in-person early vote to get her close to 50%. But it was Alvarado whose campaign made sure the Election Day vote was close, thus ensuring the run-off. In other words, no knock-out punch for Garcia in Round 1.

All in all, 5.64% of the 292,000 voters in SD-6 showed, which was slightly higher than I had predicted. Now, folks can start guessing whether there will be an increase in interest given that there are now only two, or if the usual thing will happen–even less voters will show up in Round 2.

I won’t go into any analysis because there’s not much to put under the microscope. I wake up on this Sunday morning just too damn cynical because when you look really look at things, the only winners were the the political and media consultants.

Oh yeah, and Joaquin Martinez, who I hear had an excellent celebration, along with mariachis!

Maybe Kuff has a less cynical view of things.

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Posted in Texas Lege

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