As mentioned, Danielle Dick, candidate for Harris County Department of Education has not filed a campaign finance report which was due Oct 11, 2022. As of today no report has been filed. I believe that even if you did not raise money or spend money you are still required to file a report. If that is the case, then Dick is following in her husbands ethical foot steps.
Danielle’s treasurer, according to her previous report, is Joe Synoradzki who is her husband’s treasurer also. He is also the treasurer for Joseph Saldana who is also running for Harris County Department of Education Position 1. Joseph has also failed to file a report.
Not quite sure what this is all about. Maybe the Texas Ethics Commission can sort it out.
Danielle Dick is running for Harris County Department of Education. Her husband, Eric Dick, is currently on the board but will leave in January to pursue other interests. He ran unsuccessfully for the Harris County Republican nomination for County Treasurer. Even the Republicans had enough of Dick.
Last March Dick was fined $30,000 by the Texas Ethics Commission, which at the time was the 2nd highest fine in TEC history, for various reasons. His final order can be reviewed here. Usually complaints like Dick’s end in a slap on the wrist, a small fine, and a promise not to do it again. Unfortunately for Dick it ended in a large fine and the TEC referred him to the Texas Bar for possible disciplinary action.
Joe Synoradzki according to LinkedIn works at the Dick Law Firm. He is also the treasurer for Dick’s campaign and at this point should know the rules of the Ethics commission inside and out. He is also the treasurer for Eric’s wife Danielle and as of today has not filed an campaign finance report which was due earlier this month.
Usually not filing a timely report ends with a slap on the wrist, a small fine, and a promise not to do it again. Let’s see how this one plays out.
I was a bit disappointed (a bit). As advertised I was hoping to hear from City, County, & State Leaders on school safety and hear them defend their non action on limiting the easy access to assault weapons but that wasn’t what happened. There were no city, county, or state officials in attendance. That was disappointing since they have been in hiding ever since the Uvalde shooting that killed 19 children and 2 teachers.
But, all was not lost. The staff of CCISD did a great job on presenting their Safety Network. I took notes and will highlight the highlights. Since the Santa Fe shooting the district has spent $35 Million on hardening our schools and providing services to students and parents. They have added a total of 45 law enforcement officers to the campuses, created secure vestibules, panic buttons, door hardware for each classroom to secure the doors from inside or out, bus cameras, open door alarms, and security cameras on all campuses.
They discussed their apps available to the students and public called CCISD Alerts which is available for download. Their emergency protocol is consistent across the district no matter what type of emergency is being reported, a shooting, an emergency around the school, or a loose dog roaming the campus. The protocols for lockdowns, sheltering in place, etc as all the same.
I truly believe CCISD is doing the best they can in securing the school facilities given the limitations by our elected officials at the state level, who were not in attendance to explain these limitations. Unfortunately there are holes in the security that should be addressed.
As an example the most security for the campus is a fence that an 18 year old with an assault weapon could shoot through at kids playing at recess, or practicing football, or at band practice. Unlike the school classrooms the campuses are wide open. To compound this situation according to Texas law anyone (including criminals) can walk around in the open with a loaded assault weapon, wearing body armor, with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, large capacity ammo clips, and silencers and there is nothing law enforcement can do about it.
We were told at first there are no limitations on how close a possible shooter could come to the school but later we were told that the limit was 1000 feet if they had a license to carry. On the surface this sound reasonable but….how can you tell if that person has a license? Law enforcement cannot ask for proof of a license. They can only take action if that person breaks the law by threatening someone or shooting. This needs to be clarified. It makes absolutely no sense and should be addressed.
As I have said, I believe CCISD is reacting responsibly to the threats to our schools because of the lack of action by our elected officials on the State level. They are doing the best they can given the situation. It is sad that they have to become security experts just so that our elected officials can protect the rights of an 18 year old to buy assault weapons, body armor, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, large capacity ammo clips, and silencers.
It’s like they want to protect guns and bullets instead of girls and boys.
Greg Abbott is morally crippled. After 19 nine year olds were slaughtered by a gunnut with an AR-15 Abbott has refused to do anything about gun violence or at least try to make it harder for someone to buy a military style weapon, hundreds of rounds of ammo, body armor, and a silencer.
Now according to The Guardian, Abbott’s love for guns and his policy of access to guns has made it easy for Mexican Cartels to arm themselves at the expense of Texas children.
Mexican foreign affairs ministry legal adviser Alejandro Celorio Alcántaraestimates that half a million guns annually are purchased legally in the US and then brought into Mexico illegally. About 70% of guns seized in Mexico from 2014 to 2018 and submitted for tracing had originally come from the US, according to officials with the American bureau of alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives (ATF).
It is clear that Abbott and the Republican Party will not change their minds about easy access to military weapons even after the El Paso shooting, the Santa Fe shooting, Odessa shooting, the Sutherland Church shooting, and the Uvalde shooting. His love for guns and making money selling them to Cartel members is greater than his love for his own constituents.
The only person more pathetic than Abbott is the person who votes for him.
The vast majority of ethics complaints filed with the Texas Ethics Commission end with a slap on the wrist, a promise not to violate the law again, and a small fine. Then there are the fines against Matt Armstrong.
Matt Armstrong is/was the treasurer of a couple of GPACs in Flower Mound Texas. He is a political consultant for “conservative” candidates. He recently resigned as chief administrator for Denton County Precinct 1 Commissioner Ryan Williams. He has been the center of controversy according to the Denton Record-Chronicle.
He had 3 complaints filed against him in 2022 and the Ethics Commission has ruled and posted the sanctions on their website today. It’s not pretty. The TEC fined Armstrong $10,000, $15,000, and $12,500 for a total of $37,500. That fine is the 2nd highest fine in the history of the TEC with a $75,000 fine issued against Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole many years ago. Early in 2022 the TEC fined Eric Dick, candidate for Houston City Council $30,000 and referred him to the Texas Bar.
The final orders are a bit long and complicated but there seems to be a pattern to the results of the investigation. According to one of the complaints:
The pattern of behavior shows a deliberate effort by the respondent to evade disclosure and mislead the public. The respondent also ignored the Commission by failing to timely respond to the complaint and failing to participate in the preliminary review hearing.
I believe one of the worst things you can do when a complaint has been filed with the TEC is to lie, mislead, and/or ignore the requests by the TEC staff. It’s best to just pony up to the bar, admit you made a mistake, take a fine, and move on. After reading the complaints against Armstrong it seems like he didn’t do that.
Note to treasurers: Don’t mess with the Texas Ethics Commission.
Even Jack Morman, running for County Commissioner, has his own sugar daddies.
According to his campaign finance report Morman raised $457,000 from about 120 donors. $300,000 of the total was provided by 3 donors of $100,000 each for a total of 65% of his entire fundraising for the period. He also received $82,000 in in-kind donations by PACs.
The three sugar daddies include:
Alan Hassenflu who has made large donations to Mealer also, donated $100,000 as well as Richard Weekley, and David Modesett.
Greg Abbott like most republicans have a lot of sugar daddies, many of them out of state.
According to his latest reports Abbott raised $24.7 Million which includes two $1 Million donations, both coming from out of state, Nevada and California. Over 50% of his total donations came from just 55 donors for a total of $12.6 million. Each of them gave $100,000 or more in this period alone. 189 donors, who contributed $25,000 or more, provided a total of about 70%,. About $5 Million came from out of state.
He reported over 86,000 donations yet 70% came from those who can afford to drop $25,000. That is sad.
This is who Abbott is. Bought. Paid for. An NRA suck up. A morally Krippled, Khaotic, Kruel jackass of a human being. The head of the Texas KKK. Here is a list of his donors giving more than $100,000 in this period.
Texas State Representative “Little Baby” Briscoe Cain, pictured here in a recent photo at his 35th birthday, got a spanking by the Houston Chronicle.
The Chronicle endorsed his opponent Chuck Crews based upon his professional experience and the lack of professionalism of Baby Briscoe. From the Chronicle:
Fortunately, Democratic challenger Chuck Crews struck us as direct, capable and thoughtful, with a professional background that would help his constituents. A longtime petrochemical engineer, Crews said he’d put his extensive knowledge of the industry to use right away in the Legislature to make plants mechanically safer and environmentally cleaner for surrounding communities.
The Chronicle puts Baby Briscoe over their knee and gives him a good verbal whipping like his mom did at the Texas Democratic Convention. A few years ago he was flashing his concealed handgun and got his little ass thrown out of the convention center. His mother was called to pick him up. She stated:
“I am so sorry for my son’s behavior. I have told him to not play cops and robbers in the open and to never take his toy guns out of the house. I intend to whoop his ass once I get him home.”
(she really didn’t say that)
Baby Briscoe is an asshole. A Texas sized little asshole. He is a perfect republican. He is an election denier, a liar, a gun nut, a disrespecting little child. He acts like a child on the Texas House floor. He thinks he is cute. He is a child in a grown ass man’s body. Unfortunately his district will vote for a billy goat just as long as it has an R behind his name and Baby Briscoe has an (R) behind his name.
Unlike her opponent, Judge Hidalgo is raising the vast majority of her donations from small donors.
Mealer raised 46% of her $4.9 Million haul from just 19 individual republican sugar daddies with 9 individuals giving $1.7 Million with donations of $100,000 or more.
Hidalgo’s report contains about 1100 pages of donations. The reports provided by the County are not easy to read. They are not searchable so it was difficult looking through 1100 pages but I tried. Hidalgo raised about $1.5 million from approximately 5500 donors. She has $2 Million remaining Cash On Hand. I found 1 donation of $103,000, a couple of $25,000 donations and a few in the $1000 range but the vast majority of the donations were from small donors.
It’s pretty clear who each will represent on Commissioners court.
Well, David Weekley wasn’t lying about republican sugar daddies funding Alexandra Mealer for County Judge.
The reports provided by Harris County are difficult to read but I tried my best. I believe I missed some big donations and will update if needed. She has about 510 pages of donations with a remaining Cash on Hand of $1.7 Million.
According to her last report Mealer raised $4.9 Million a tad shy of what Weekley had promised. $1.7 Million came from 9 individuals including $120,000 from the MAGAt Mac family. Another $500,000 came from 10 individuals/PACs giving $50,000 each. 19 individuals/PACs gave Mealer 47% of her entire donations. The report is sprinkled with a number of $25,000 donors. Mealer definitely has the republican sugar daddy support.
Abbott has already blamed the 376 law enforcement officers who showed up at the shooting equipped with armor, shields, and weapons and yet stood around listening to children dying instead of doing their jobs. Many of them will now lose those jobs. Many might be having nightmares thinking of the sounds of kids dying. Many of them need to go to hell for what they did, along with Greg Abbott.
Instead of placing blame on Abbott and his NRA party for allowing a law abiding 18 year olds to have easy access to assault weapons, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, body armor, and silencers they just simply rolled over. That law abiding 18 year old went on to kills 19 children and 2 teachers.
The Superintendent and law enforcement know better. They know that easy access to guns was the root cause of this massacre but they seem to be ok with rolling over, losing their jobs, and losing their dignity just so an 18 year old can buy weapons.
Say what you want about Herschel Walker, because I will. Herschel is a perfect republican and one that republican voters can be proud of. He represents them in many ways. Let me give just a few:
Herschel is politically stupid. He, like his voters, are not ignorant. Ignorance can be fixed by reading a book or that thing you call “The Constitution”. No, Herschel is stupid, politically stupid and there is no fix for that. Talk to a republican about politics and you will see why he represents them well.
Herschel is a massive hypocrite. Hypocrisy has become a trait for republicans. They are proud of it. They run on it. They condemn abortion while paying for their girlfriends abortion. They defend the “Sanctity of Marriage” while screwing their intern or celebrating your 4th marriage. They call for fiscal responsibility while giving money away to their buddies. They flood the streets with guns then blame others for higher murder rates. They call for law and order while condemning those who defend law and order and praising those who incited violence on Jan 6. The list could go on and on…..
Herschel is a liar. Just like Trump. Republicans across the board are liars. They feed on their lies. They double down on lies even in the face of canceled checks, signed cards, and multiple kids from multiple women. The Republican Party has learned from Trump that lies work. Their voters believe the lies. No one tells the truth like a republican when it comes to classified documents, porking a porn star, immigration, gun violence, weather, family values, or anything they say. At this point everything they say is a lie.
Herschel is a UFO. Unfit For Office. Like many in the Republican Party Herschel has absolutely no business inside the chambers of the Senate unless he has a tour ticket. Herschel could join other UFOs like Boehbert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Gym Jordon and many others.
If Georgia voters are stupid enough to put Herschel in the Senate at least Texas won’t have the worst Senator in the Senate anymore.
You won’t see republican leadership denounce the defacing of political signs in Fort Bend and it Houston just like they have refused to denounce the racist comment made by trump towards Mitch McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao. They are silent. They have been ever since trump became their nominee. They not only tolerate racism, sexism, stupidity, corruption, and acting like a bunch of dicks, they encourage it. They think it is funny and have a silent laugh about it.
This is who they are. This is the new Republican Party. Racists, homophobic, Korrupt, Khaotic, and Kruel. The return of the KKK.
Maybe Mitch McConnell should get advice from Ted Cruz on how to defend his wife.
In another unhinged post on his “Truth Social” platform trump makes a threat to the Minority leader claiming he has a “DEATH WISH” and then tops it off with a racist slur aimed at his wife.
McConnell’s wife, Elaine Chao, was Trump’s Secretary of Transportation until she abruptly resigned after the Jan 6 insurrection. Trump referred to her as “Coco Chow”. This is like referring to a Native American as “Pocahontas” or a Mexican American as “Frito” or an Italian American as “Guido” or a German American as “Adolph”. I could go on and on.
It’s a racist slur. It’s what Trump does. He is a racist. He thinks this is funny and to many MAGAts it is. Hold your breath while you wait for the MAGAt republicans to condemn trump for his racist post or for Ted Cruz to defend trump.
Last night’s debate was a perfect example of why Greg Abbott does not want to debate again. He got a Texas sized can of whoop ass handed to him.
He just got his ass kicked trying to run on his lies and getting called out on them. It was a pathetic showing for someone who has been on the tit of the government his entire adult life, including 8 years as the Governor of Texas. He looked shaken. He looked unprepared. He looked like he was trying, and failing, to sugar coat his lists of failures on immigration, abortion, electricity grid, and every issue that was discuss.
Beto reminded the televised audience (there was no live audience as per Abbott’s demands) that Abbott has been in office for 8 years and yet has nothing but a list of failures, lies, stunts, and conspiracy theories to show for it. Here is just a few points about Greg Abbott’s Texas:
The full list can be found at Texas by the numbers. It ain’t pretty. There were too many points of misinformation and lies by Abbott to list. I highly recommend watching the rerun of the debate to see just how pathetic the governor looked. If this was a little league game it would have been called after 30 minutes. Greg Abbott truly looked crippled. Mentally crippled.
The next opportunity to see Abbott get his ass kicked is in November. That one is on us.
The time for screwing around is over. Beto needs to hammer Abbott, challenge his lies, and remind voters of his record.
In tonight‘s debate Beto should start every sentence with the following “you’ve been in office for eight years and yet you still haven’t accomplished anything on [the issue being discussed]”.
Beginning a sentence with this phrase can remind voters that after eight years Abbott is still complaining about immigration. You would think after 20 years of republican rule in the state he would’ve found a solution especially since they had a republican president and congress.
The cost of college education has skyrocketed. The cost of a home insurance and health insurance is also through the roof. After eight years of Abbott being governor our state brings up the bottom on education, teacher retirement, teacher healthcare, and quality of life. Texas is ranked number one for mass shootings. We are ranked number one in the number of rapes in the state. We are number one in the number of uninsured citizens.
Abbott has a record of incompetence and failure. Beto needs to say it. Over and over.
I was invited to participate in a program called Inside CCISD and I attended the first session yesterday. OMG! I am already impressed and can’t wait for the next sessions that will continue monthly through May. According to CCISD’s website:
For more than 10 years, INSIDE CCISD has provided a unique opportunity for parents and community members to learn about the Clear Creek Independent School District. Through lunch and learn meetings, participants meet District leadership, staff and students and go behind the scenes of CCISD’s infrastructure, programs and services, and exchange ideas about the challenges and opportunities for improvements.
Our first session was an introduction to the program, our CCISD Board Members, and self introductions. In the class were realtors, members of the Chamber of Commerce, parents, retirees, and others who have an interest in education. Board members in attendance were Michelle Davis, Jay Cunningham, Johnathon Cottrell, Jeff Larson, and Jessica Cejka. We also were provided a “State of the District” presentation by the interim Superintendent Karen Engle. Some interesting facts about the district:
The district covers 103 sq miles
2 Counties, Harris and Galveston
13 Cities
45 schools
41,000+ students
5,000+ employees
In 2020 CCISD lost 1400 students (3.5%), the first reduction since 1948!
Average salaries for teachers is $60,000
Their last budget included a 2-3% raise for teachers and support personnel
Tax rate was reduced due to property value increases
CCISD has 54 officers assigned to schools
5 additional officers were added for 2022-2023
$35 Million added for security since the Santa Fe shooting
The next session will be focused on school safety with City, County, and State Leaders. Needless to say I am going to be very interested in this session. I doubt anyone will bring up the elephant in the classroom, easy access to weapons used in mass shootings like Uvalde, Santa Fe, El Pass, Sutherland Springs, and Odessa. Schools across Texas are spending millions of our tax dollars just to protect the rights of an 18 year old to buy military style weapons. But…..I digress….
Each month I will give a report on the session. I really appreciate being invited!
Candidate for Harris County Judge, Alexandra MAGAt Mealer, is getting a bump in funding from one of the many sugar daddies of the Republican Party.
In the last filing period, County Judge Lina Hidalgo reported fundraising over $1 Million with 70% coming from small donors. MAGAt Mealer, on the other hand, raised $765,000 with just 7 individuals providing 67% of her total fundraising.
MAGAt Mealer’s donations came from the major sugar daddies of the Republican Party such as David Weekley the homebuilder and founder of Texans for Lawsuit Reform (Deform) and Mattress MAGAt Mack. According to a leaked email MAGAt Mealer will be getting a $5 Million boost from David Weekley which should be reported in the next week or so.
Mealer is a typical republican. She is an election denier (unless her team wins) and is a liar much like Trump, Abbott, Cruz, and other republicans and she will be loyal servant to the NRA. Campaign finance reports will be filed next week.
Parents of the children killed in the Uvalde shooting are not giving up and are demanding accountability for all the good guys with a gun who stood in the hallway afraid of the 18 year old bad guy with a gun killing kids. From the San Antonio Express:
I can’t imagine what the parents are going through. Many of us will not forget Uvalde. Or Santa Fe, El Paso, Odessa, Sutherland or any mass shooting under Greg Abbott’s watch. Unfortunately most Texans and all republican elected officials have moved on. They have provided thoughts and prayers. They have passed legislation to protect guns and bullets instead of protecting girls and boys. The Houston Texans wore Uvalde stickers on their helmets. That was the least they could do. Literally. The Houston Astros gave away tickets to a game to wash their hands of the massacre. Everyone has moved on.
Except for the parents. They are demanding accountability from those who allowed their kids to die. In November voters will have the opportunity to stand with Uvalde, besides just wearing a goddamn “Uvalde Strong” t-shirt, and hold those accountable that provided easy access to the weapons used in the mass shootings in Texas.
Unfortunately Texas republicans are cowards and will not call for action and take on the NRA. We will see if Texas voters are cowards in November.
Clear Lake’s “Representative” Dennis Paul had his annual fundraiser at the Webster Civic Center. A group of us greeted his donors with signs concerning gun violence, fixing the grid, and women’s rights, although it focused mostly on gun violence.
Dennis Paul, like all MAGA Republicans, has his nose buried in the NRA’s ass and will do nothing to protect Texans from being shot at church, concerts, parades, Walmart, or schools. After the Sante Fe shooting Greg Abbott and Paul promised action and then passed open carry so gun nuts could walk around with loaded assault weapons without a license and without training. From the Houston Chronicle:
Outside Paul’s event, Rhonda Hart, an anti-gun violence activist and the mother of Kimberly Vaughan, who was killed during the Santa Fe High School shooting in 2018, held her own sign and spoke through a megaphone as Paul supporters walked into the event. She was there, Hart said, out of frustration.
“On May 31, 2018, Greg Abbott promised us that our school shooting would be the last, and here we are four years later, and 19 more kids and two teachers were shot dead at Uvalde,” she said. “I’m frankly sick of this GOP being pro-life and yet so many people get un-alived on their watch. It’s disgusting.”
Four years later 19 ten year olds and 2 teachers were slaughtered in Uvalde after an 18 year old purchased an assault weapon and hundred of rounds of bullets. Afterward Dennis Paul did nothing. Absolutely nothing. He couldn’t even pull his nose out of the NRA’s ass for a minute to address the killings.
The quotes from the Chronicle are pretty good:
“We’re protesting the gun policies that our administration in Texas have passed to allow 18 years to buy AR 15 assault weapons,” “They refuse to pass common sense gun laws to protest citizens of Texas.”
“….the group criticized elected officials like Paul, saying they are choosing “bullets and guns instead of boys and girls”. “Our main thing is the kids because people are being killed and they’re not doing anything about it,” he said. “Voters have an opportunity to pick a side, who side are you on? Is it guns or is it families?”
“He (Paul) has a 100 percent approval rating by the NRA,” she said. “We need people to remember that there is another choice of people who care about communities and individuals instead of caring about lobby money. That’s where he (Paul) votes, he votes where the money is.”
Paul, the coward he is, said “I don’t know anybody outside,”.
Posted by johncoby 
Bay Area Houston 