What kind of idiot thinks a $3 Million donation to a judge prior to an impeachment trial is proper? Patrick was acting (seriously) as the judge in the Attorney General Ken Paxton impeachment trial. He isn’t a judge. He isn’t an attorney. He has no law experience. He had to depend on his legal staff to rule on motions, objections, and other legal matters during the trial. But, nevertheless, he was the judge in the trial.
Just prior to the trial he received a $3 Million donation from an extreme right wing PAC, Defend Texas Liberty. This is the same group featured on a CNN investigation. It is funded by two Texas billionaires. Their goal is to transform Texas into a christian nationalist state by funding extreme white wing candidates against republican elected officials. As an example they funded the campaign for State Representative Bryan Slaton and won. (Slaton was eventually the 1st representative in 100 years to be removed from office for providing alcohol to an under aged staffer, porking her, and then trying to cover it up.) They have financed State Representative Tony Tinderholt. (He has been married 5 times!) You get the idea. They are just massive christian hypocrites.
So prior to the trial they just bribed the shit out of Patrick and it worked. After the cowards of the Senate refused to remove Paxton, Patrick took to the microphone. He could have thanked the Senators, said another fucking prayer, then adjourn. Instead he berated the House investigators, demanded an investigation of the investigators, and acted like the giant dick he is. All for $3 Million.
The billionaires are now setting their sights on the House Members who voted to impeach Paxton. They have unlimited money and they are going to spend it. It’s happening now.
The other two candidates have no idea what they are doing. Sallie does. She is one of the best Council Members on city council if not the best. Take a few minutes to review her website. She has served the City very well and should get another 4 years.
There are four candidates for At-Large 4. Only one is serious. Let’s weed out the non-contenders. Roy Morales. He runs for anything. Andrew “Drew” Patterson. Can’t find anything about him. John Branch. Has raised little money or interest.
Letiticia Plummer. She is the incumbent in the race. I expected a decent challenger in the race, one with money or associated with the white wing of the Republican Party. They never showed up. This is easy. Plummer deserves another term.
There are a bunch of candidates. Let’s weed out the non-contenders without comment. The following individuals are not running serious campaigns. Bernard “Bernardo” Amadi Ethan Michelle Ganz Richard Nguyen
Again I have my favorite but it’s a close one. I do not vote on a candidate because they will be the youngest candidate ever to win, or the first Mexican American, Black, Gay, Catholic, etc etc to win the office. If by chance there are two evenly qualified candidates I personally would choose the Mexican American, if one is running. One is running but it’s not close. Richard is by far the most qualified for the job.
Richard Cantu. Is my favorite. Cantu has excellent list of endorsements including Sheriff Gonzalez, Commissioners Garcia and Briones, Congresswoman Garcia, and many, many more. He has excellent experience with the City of Houston and as an elected official with the Harris County Department of Education. His website says it well: “Richard is a 30 year public servant, having held management and executive level positions at the City of Houston (Parks and Recreation Department & Mayor’s Office), and Baker-Ripley (formerly Neighborhood Centers Inc.). In May of 2000, Richard was appointed Director of the Mayor’s Citizens’ Assistance Office (MCAO), where he served for six years under Mayor Lee P. Brown and Mayor Bill White. Joining the East Aldine Management District in 2008, and in his current role of Executive Director, Richard oversees one of the largest management district’s in Harris County.”
Donnell Cooper. My second choice is Donnell. Donnell received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award given to those with over 4000 hours of volunteer services. He serves as president for The Greater Houston Frontiers Club, a national nonprofit organization that has provided more than $2 million in local scholarships to students in Harris County. What separates Donnell from Cantu is Cantu’s experience in City government and as an elected official.
Twila Carter. Twila has served as Senior Vice President of Community Relations of the Houston Astros and Executive Director of the Astros Foundation. She has served as Vice Chair for the Texas Council on Family Violence and Family Time Crisis and Counseling Center. She also serves on the Advisory Board for the Houston Area Women’s Center and is a former Board Member of Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse (AVDA).
Casey Curry. You might remember Casey as the meteorologist for a TV station in Houston. This is her first try running for office. She is up against some very talented and experienced candidates. She is just not ready for prime time, yet.
James Joseph. James has run for office a number of times. I’ve had doubts about his campaigns due to irregularities in his campaign finance reports. He has a great personal story but lacks in applicable experience for the office he is seeking especially running against other well qualified candidates. His campaign structure could also use some improvement.
Ericka McCrutcheon. Ericka is a business owner and is the President of a Kingwood civics club (HOA). Again, she lacks the experience with the City of Houston especially compared to others in the race.
Richard Cantu for Houston City Council At-Large 3.
Once again I have my favorite but Nick Hellyar has some great competition.
As with At-Large 1, there are some great candidates running for Houston City Council At-Large 2. Let’s weed out the non contenders.
Willie Davis. He tends to run for something, anything and loses. He hasn’t raised much money. He is endorsed by the Tea Party which tends to endorse far right wing candidates.
And the contenders:
Nick Hellyar. Nick is my personal favorite but he has some really talented people running against him. Nick has served as the District Director for a City Council Member and a State Representative. He has a great understanding of the budget and the issue affecting the city. He not only is a young candidate, he is a young candidate with applicable experience for the office he is seeking. It is a great combination.
Marina Angelica Coryat. As I have said, Nick has great competition. Marina served in the Solid Waste Management Department for the City of Houston. She is also very knowledgable about the budget and the issues affecting the city. She is trilingual. She has worked as Communications Director for Texas State Representative Senfronia Thompson. Like Nick she has excellent applicable experience.
Danielle Keys Bess. Bess has a great resume for the job. She doesn’t have experience working with the city like Hellyar and Coryat but could be a good Council Member nevertheless. She is well educated, a business owner and has ties (I believe in her role as a communications expert) with major political campaigns.
Holly Flynn Vilaseca. I like Holly but she is up against a couple of heavyweights with respect to experience in City Council. She is endorsed by some really great elected officials like Congresswoman Garcia, Commissioner Garcia, and Commissioner Briones to name just a few. (And they are heavyweights in the political arena) Holly’s expertise is in education and has served on the City of Houston Mayor’s Hispanic Advisory Board for Annise Parker and Sylvester Turner and has been featured in Latino Leaders Magazine. Would she be effective on Council? I have no doubts at all.
Obes Nwabara. Obes has run for the Harris County Department of Education and is now running for City Council. I think Obes is just not ready for prime time especially when he is up against some incredibly talented individuals. Obes has served as treasurer for a 2019 city council campaign, and being the campaign manager for a Harris County Judge. He might be one to watch in the future.
Would it hurt to put on a pair of fucking pants? FFS!
I’m at The Texas Tribune Festival in Austin. I’ve just listened to Congressman Adam Kinzinger raising the alarm (again) about what is happening to our country, the possibility of becoming a facist nation, Donald Trump winning again, the collapse of democracy, and possible violence in the upcoming elections. Many in audience will be working their asses off in the upcoming elections to stop this.
And yet you have to pick this time to pick a fucking fight about your right to look like a fucking douche on the floor of the United States Senate floor. What in the living fuck is wrong with you? With our democracy hanging on a thread you want to pick a fight about your right to look like a bum? Seriously?
Here is a tip. Besides the extreme far left of the Democratic Party most Americans do not agree with you. Put on some goddamn nice clothes, shut the fuck up, and do your goddamn job.
I have a favorite but there is good competition in the race.
The City of Houston has 11 City Council Members representing specific areas of the city. There are 5 At Large Council Members and if I can find out what their specific jobs are I will update this post. Unlike the other Council Members they represent the city as a whole, but what their specific duties are I can’t tell you. I’ll look into it.
There are 6 candidates running for At-Large 1 position. Of the 6 Kendal Baker and Eriq C. Green are not running serious campaigns.
Julian Ramirez. Is a former prosecutor in the District Attorney’s office. He is supported by a number of very right wing, Trump loving, “conservatives”. I use that term lightly. Nothing is conservative about Trump or those who support him. Nevertheless he has qualifications for the office. Would he bring that divisive conservatism into City Council? This is a non partisan race but we do not need someone that will bring their partisan politics into city council.
Melanie Miles. Melanie has raised a significant amount of money, although she has donated $50,000 from her own pocket. She has a good resume for the job as a small business owner and an attorney.
Leah Wolfthal. Another great candidate for the office. Young and experienced in the non profit arena as Executive Director of the Center for Urban Transformation in Houston.
Conchita Reyes. Another young candidate with excellent experience for the job. Here is a snippet from her website: “Conchita paid her own way through college by working for the Houston City Controller and now Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia. As a result, she was given the distinct honor of 100 team members of the Advance of the White House under the Clinton – Gore administration. Prior to building her own firm, Conchita was a fiscal administrator for the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Mir Fox & Rodriguez P.C. CPA Firm.
Personally I favor Reyes, but she has good competition.
When you need someone to address a legal issue, hire an attorney. When you need someone to run a $6 Billion city budget, hire an accountant. –Book of Common Sense Vol II.
The Houston City Controller: “serves as the City’s chief financial officer, certifies the availability of funds prior to City Council approval of City commitments, processes and monitors disbursements exceeding one billion dollars annually, invests the City’s funds, conducts internal audits of the City’s departments and federal grant programs, operates and maintains its financial management system, conducts the sale of public improvement and revenue bonds and produces an Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR).”
Unlike the Harris County District Attorney’s Office the Controller’s office is not in the news. The staff isn’t revolting. No one is calling for a make over. No one is calling for a change in leadership or direction. City Council Members and candidates say the budget is in good shape, but there are challenges coming in 2026 when the last of the COVID money runs out. Overall the office is in great shape.
There are 4 candidates running to replace Controller Chris Brown who is term limited. Three of them are accountants. One is an attorney.
Let’s weed out a couple. Chris Hollins. Chris is a personal injury attorney. He has little experience for the job of Controller especially when compared to the other candidates. He initially decided to run for Mayor, another office he had little experience for, especially compared to his major challenger, Senator John Whitmire. He eventually quit once Sheila Jackson Lee entered the race. Chris is counting on his status as an up and coming, young, progressive to get elected as Controller, yet the bottom line is that there are much better candidates with applicable educational and job experience. Of the four candidates he is the least qualified for the job. Chris should be using his talents for an office with “attorney” behind the office title, such as City Attorney, District Attorney, or maybe County Attorney when Christian Menefee runs for Attorney General.
Orlando Sanchez. Orlando has served for 6 years as a City Council Member and assigned to the Budget Committee. He was elected to the office of County Treasurer and served for 3 terms. He has the experience but is lacking in fundraising and interest. Orlando seems to be interested in pushing extreme right wing agendas in an office that is non-partisan. I personally discount his run because of that. We do not need this type of leadership especially when we have two excellent candidates, Nobles and Martin running.
The Contenders: Shannon Nobles. Shannon is my favorite. She graduated from the University of Houston with advance degrees in accounting and finance. She has worked for the Controller’s office for 20 years. She started by being assigned to work with specific Council Members concerning the budget. Under Ron Green she was appointed to Deputy Director for 8 years and under Chris Brown she was appointed to Deputy Controller for 8 years. Shannon can easily do the job because she has been doing the job. No one in the race has direct applicable experience in the job as Shannon has. This is what she does. This is what she studied for in college. This is what she has excelled at for her entire career. She is the most qualified candidate running for the office.
City Council Member Dave Martin. CM Martin is tough competition for Shannon. Martin also has an educational background in accounting and finance. He has worked for major accounting firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP, and Ernst & Young, LLP prior to joining City Council. He has been elected to the Humble ISD assigned to lead their finance committee. He worked with the Harris County Houston Sports Authority (HCHSA) where he was also Chairman of the Board Finance Committee. When elected to City Council he was appointed by Mayor Turner to lead the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee. As with Shannon, Martin lives and breaths accounting and could easily lead this office.
For Houston City Controller, vote for an accountant.
They aren’t laughing with you. They are laughing at you. This is who they are. The Republican Senators couldn’t find an ounce of intelligence, or morals, or a pair of balls to do the right thing, the obvious thing. Instead they let the biggest crook in the history of the Texas Attorney Generals office off the hook. They couldn’t hold him to the highest standard the office demands. They couldn’t hold him to the highest standard the Bible demands. They couldn’t hold him accountable because they were afraid of being kicked in the balls by those who control them, their donors.
They have been officially neutered. Paxton will return to office to fire some more people and continue screwing his mistress. Tony Buzbee will run for Houston City Council. Lt Governor Dan Patrick will take the $3 Million he received from a Paxton PAC, Defend Texas Liberty, and start an investigation of those in the house who brought the charges to the Senate.
As I said in the past, they were never going to have the balls, the moral fortitude to do the right thing. Today the Republican Party leaders are just a bunch of low life, lying, cheating, stealing, adulterer sympathizer, excuse making, rotten bunch of fucking bastards. They will let Paxton off.
What an incredibly fucked up, spineless, immoral, stupid, ignorant, lawless, party of pussies.
Spare me the “praise Jesus” crap Senator. You not only turned your back to corruption, you turned your back on christian values. You are nothing but a coward. Just a big fucking coward.
Middleton voted against every single article of impeachment even though the evidence was clear, crystal fucking clear on many of them, not all, but many especially illegally hiring a “special prosecutor”. I watched the entire trial and out of all the articles this one was clear. It was no contest and every Senator should have voted to remove him from office but only 2 did.
Money Mayes Middleton doesn’t have a single christian bone in his fucked up body. He is a CHINO, Christian in Name Only. A hypocrite. A republican. This is who they are. Maybe Middleton is also having an affair. I wouldn’t be surprised.
I have to agree. They have nothing. Almost. The Texas Tribune had a very short recap here. (even they were bored)
The most drama moment in the trial was Tony Buzbee saying the defense rests. The rest was boring and I’m not even sure what the defense was trying to do beside bore the shit out of the jurors.
The prosecution needs to prove only 1 of 20 articles of impeachment for Paxton to be removed from office. From what I watched, and I watched much of the trial, the issue of hiring of Brandon Cammack to conduct that bogus investigation is the one that is easy to understand and was pretty clear. He should go down for that alone. Luckily he has a bunch of Senators who are afraid of their shadow and will let him off.
The defense rested their defense of Paxton with time to spare to call more witnesses. I was wondering who they were going to find to actually come to the defense of Paxton. They found a couple that did their best to bore the crap out of the jury. They did their job.
It wasn’t the best day for the prosecution. The Texas Tribune has a great recap.
We were introduced to House lawyer Erin Epley yesterday. She was awesome. Fast, flowing and she took no shit from Oompa Loompa Tony Buzbee. The House should just let her close out the prosecution’s case because Rusty Hardin continues to be just plain awful.
The day focused on Paxton’s personal assistant, Drew Wicker, who was “like a son” to Paxton’s wife. He threw his dad under the bus but didn’t seem to enjoy it. He struggled to provide evidence that Nate Paul paid for Paxton’s home remodeling. Personally I thought this article of impeachment was going to be hard to prove, giving the Senators an out for voting to let him off by focusing on just one of the 20 articles of impeachment. That’s how they will justify their vote to the media and constituents. Focus only on one article of impeachment.
We also heard from his scheduler. He was clearly pissed. He filed suit against Paxton after being fired and refused to participate in a settlement. He didn’t want money. He wanted a public apology from Paxton and an acknowledgment that those who went to the FBI were not “rogue” attorneys. This was yet another strong, right wing, republican witness against Paxton.
Paxton’s mistress was waiting in the capitol to testify but was released after she said she would be taking the fifth. Rusty Hardin announced that the House had rest its case. He later realized he made a mistake.
Senators will probably start deliberations late Friday. They only need to rule in favor of 1 out of 20 articles to remove Paxton from office.
Used and abused. The Texas Tribune has an excellent recap here.
Paxton should be removed from office just for what he did to this young attorney who testified yesterday. One of the impeachment charges is that Paxton used his office to help a private citizen, Nate Paul. Brandon Cammack, an attorney from Houston, was hired by Paxton, even after his entire staff refused to do so, to investigate an issue on behalf of Paul. Cammack did the best he could with the incredible opportunity provided by Paxton. In the end Paxton and his new second in command, Brent Webster, took Cammack away from the Attorney Generals office, to a Starbucks, and fired him. They also told him he would have to “eat it” when he asked about being paid $14,000 for his time he spent on the investigation. Then they left him there to find his own way back to his car at the AGs office.
What an incredible dick. I actually felt sorry for the guy. Seriously who the fuck does that? Paxton had interviewed another attorney, former U.S. Attorney Joe Brown who had incredible credentials and experience. Instead Paxton personally hired Cammack, 5 years out of law school, who had never prosecuted a criminal case. Why? Because Paxton could control Cammack. Brown would have probably stopped any investigation Paxton sent him on and contacted the FBI. Cammack’s inexperience pushed him to issue 29 subpoenas even though he had no “badge” or paperwork giving him the authority and title of “Special Prosecutor”.
One of the attorneys who received a subpoena called the staff of Paxton and asked about Cammack. The staff had no idea that Cammack had been hired. They immediately had all the subpoenas squashed and sent a cease and desist order to Cammack. Cammack refused to move forward as he should have.
When the republicans in the Senate vote to let this crook off the hook, the Texas GOP will change their name from Grand Old Party to the Gang of Pussies.
What more do they need? Witness after witness have testified that Paxton used the office to help a private citizen, Nate Paul. They are all solid. They are all republicans, except for one. Paxton’s attorney’s continue to grasp at straws looking for something to give republicans cover and an excuse to let Paxton go. It isn’t working, or it shouldn’t be working.
Day five had more senior staff members testifying about his continued interference into Nate Paul’s affairs, as well as his own affair. Margaret Moore the former Travis County District Attorney testified about Nate Paul’s wild ass conspiracy concerning judges, FBI agents, and other law enforcement who were out to get him. She and others stated there was no evidence to back his claims. Nothing. Zero. They begged his attorney to provide documents to support his claim and they refused. They called it baseless and urged Paxton to stop pursuing the issue and his mistress. He didn’t listen to him, on both issues.
Unfortunately there is a time limit on testimony. Each side only has a few hours left before the republicans vote to let him off. The attorney Paxton illegally hired should be called. His mistress should be called. Nate Paul should be called. Paul’s attorney should be called. They won’t be. If you are interested you can view every day of the trial at the Senate website. You can also peruse though the 3400 documents provided as evidence here.
Paxton will not be calling any witnesses in his defense because he has none.
Clear Lake hasn’t had a City Council Member living in Clear Lake for many years. I believe the last was Addie Wiseman. That was decades ago. This year is no different.
District E covers Clear Lake and Kingwood areas, connected by a drainage ditch. Literally. Kingwood has more voters than Clear Lake and has been able to elect Council Members from that area. Currently Council Member Dave Martin is from Kingwood and is term limited so we have a chance to elect someone new.
There are two candidates running Martina Lemond Dixon and Fred Flickinger. This office is a non partisan position and we should expect our elected officials to be non partisan and leave their politics at the door. Unfortunately one candidate is an extreme right wing republican. He is self financing his campaign and endorsed by some of the most right wing of the area including CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen, the Texas GOP, Harris County Republican Party, and State Representative “Little Baby” Briscoe Cain. Much like Bowen, he will bring his extreme politics into city council.
Martina Lemond Dixon is also running. Unlike her opponent she has a history of public service. She is also a Republican. She is the chief executive officer of a small company, Board President of the HumbleISD School Board, Board Secretary of the Harris Central Appraisal District (HCAD), and most recently, was appointed Commissioner on the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE). She has a good resume for the office.
We have a choice in Clear Lake between an extremist from Kingwood or a Republican from Kingwood. The choice is ours. The choice is clear.
Paxton was warned about Nate Paul over and over again by multiple people. Today the Director of Law Enforcement David Maxwell a 30 year veteran of the Texas Rangers testified. It’s just getting worse for Paxton.
The Texas Tribune has a great recap. Here are my snarky comments.
Once again, the witnesses who testified today are right wing, “conservative”, republicans and they are rock solid. David Maxwell, a veteran of law enforcement, warned Paxton to stay away from Nate Paul. He refused to use the office of the Attorney General to investigate a non profit on behalf of Nate Paul. He testified that Paxton threatened to fire him if he didn’t. He never initiated the investigation and he was eventually fired.
Abbott’s defense once again was grasping at straws trying to nitpick his testimony. It didn’t work or it shouldn’t work. They tried to ask “Yes or No” questions that Maxwell couldn’t answer it was like this: Defense: Is it dark outside, yes or no. Maxwell: I can’t see outside. Defense: OBJECTION! Yes or No!
The witnesses so far are pretty solid. Each have told the same sequence of events. Paxton was warned, by multiple people not to associate with Nate Paul, yet he did it anyway. The witnesses so far are the whistleblowers who eventually went to the FBI and reported Paxton. They were all fired or demoted and eventually filed suit against Paxton.
That suit settled for over $3 Million but the Texas House refused to pay it. More coming Monday.
According to the Click2Houston there are 18 candidates running for Mayor of Houston and 12 shouldn’t be for a number of reasons. Running for Mayor isn’t a game. It requires money, lots of money. It requires experience in some aspect of governing such as prior elected official experience, or maybe experience working with the city, or experience in doing business with the city. With that in mind the only candidates worth considering are:
John Whimire
Texas House Member, Texas Senate Member
Sheila Jackson Lee
Former City Council Member, Congresswoman
Lee Kaplan
Businessman
Golbert Garcia
Attorney, Metro Board
Robert Gallegos
City Councilmember
Jack Christie
Former City Council Member
The rest below should really consider running for something that fits with their skill set. Until then focus on the candidates listed above for Houston Mayor.
The Texas Tribune has a great recap. Here are my snarky comments.
Once again the witnesses for the State were solid, right wing, “conservatives” and the Buzbee Bunch defending Paxton was grasping for straws on minute details hoping to give republican Senators a way to justify saying “I have my doubts”. His attorneys hammered the witnesses, unsuccessfully, on the letterhead that was used to fire an attorney that Paxton hired illegally to intervene in a suit his staff had warned Paxton not to get involved in.
They hammered one of the witnesses for not taking aside the “gentle, kind” Paxton prior to going to the FBI and telling him they were going to the FBI. Those who went to the FBI were later fired, or demoted. They left the office, sued Paxton, and was to receive a $3 Million settlement.
Most of the time I was left with the question “What is your point?”. The witnesses were solid. They gave Paxton multiple opportunities to remove himself from Nat Pauls dealings and lawsuits. He refused so they went to the FBI. Witnesses were hammered, unsuccessfully, about them going to the FBI without evidence of a crime yet they had been for days detailing their concerns. The FBI was to validate the complaint, determine if it has merit, and then investigate. The FBI will find the evidence, not the staff.
The defense is just trying to give republican senators an opportunity to let Paxton off the hook. Any little reason will do. Anything no matter how minute it is.
This is just awful. BTW if you want to read a great recap of the day visit The Texas Tribune. Here is my snarky comments on the day.
Paxton is just so screwed. I watched a number of hours of the trial yesterday. I pushed through the cross examination by Tony Buzbee waiting for his spray on tan to start dripping down his face. It didn’t happen. Buzbee attempted to put doubt in the testimony of the witnesses. That also didn’t happen. So far the witnesses are solid, right wing, republican, “federalist”, witnesses. They are telling the story of Paxton being warned over and over again about using the office of the Attorney General to help a donor, Nate Paul which is illegal. Yet he continued to do so.
Lt Governor Dan Patrick, looking like a post turtle, did his best to act like a real judge or lawyer. It didn’t work. (A post turtle is a turtle on top of a fence post. He doesn’t know how he got there. He doesn’t know what to do there. And he doesn’t know how to get off.) It is just awkward. Team Buzbee seems like they never tried a criminal defense case before. Buzbee is a personal injury attorney and he too seems like a post turtle. He didn’t help Paxton with his cross examination. He referred to the witnesses by their first names attempting to get a rise out of them. It didn’t work. They were solid. He wasn’t. The only thing Buzbee did was make the witnesses testimony more credible.
This morning Buzbee will attempt to cross examine another witness. It’s not going to go well.
Posted by johncoby 
Bay Area Houston 