Raising Campaign Cash: Houston City Elections. Semi-Finals

July 15, 2019

I have just a few candidates left who have not filed. Most of them are fringe candidates. This update contains the following.

Council Member Boykins raised 140,174 and has $69,782 COH. A pretty poor showing for the Houston Fire Fighters Union endorsed candidate.

Council Member Dave Martin District E raised 49,450 with 151,184 COH. His opponents have not filed.

Council Member Amanda Edwards raised $73,807 with $192,791 COH.

Leticia Plummer for Position 5 raised $64,519 with$43, 795 COH.

Kendall Baker raised $15,810 from his own pocket with $260 COH.

From Previous Posts:

Marcell McClinton for Position 3 raised $25,823 with $8,675 COH.

Christel Bastida for Postion 4 raised $1,103 with $750 COH and a $200 Loan.

Marvin McNeee for Position 5 raised $23,100 with $7,206 COH with a $30,000 Loan.

Sallie Alcorn raised $204,247 with $252,366 COH.

David Robinson raised $88,616 its $262,221 COH.

Mayor Turner raised $1,698,596 with $3,218,268 COH.

WOW! Raj Salhotra had a very strong showing for Position 1 with $220,377 raised compared to the incumbent Mike Knox with only $40,295. Raj has $178,536 COH compared to Knox at $41,171.

Bill King raised $684,842 including a $100,000 loan. He has $318,320 COH.

Chris Brown raised $66,611 with $234,350 COH.

Some people should not be running for office. This isn’t a game. Derrick Brozerunning for Mayor raised $1,379. Not even enough to by yard signs. Giang Nguyen raised $250 with a $20,000 loan. 

Erica McCrutcheon needs to take some training on how to fill out ethics reports. I believe she raised $5100 and has a $5000 loan from The Dunamis Group LLC which she owns.

City Councilman Mike Knox reports only $41,171 raised. I would have expected much more.

Emily Detoto raised only$2600 with a $500 loan.

Buzbee is self financing putting $5.5 MILLION of his own money into his account.

Michael Kubosh has reported raising only $43,000 with a $276,000 outstanding loan. $10,000 came from the FireFighters PAC.

CANDIDATE COH Raised Spent Loans
MAYOR
Sylvester Turner (inc) $3,218,268 $1,698,596 $1,362,879 $0
Kendall Baker $260 $15,810 $15,650 $0
Derrick Broze $1,190 $1,379 $188 $0
Dwight Boykins $69,783 $140,174 $93,219 $0
Tony Buzbee $5,140,725 $5,500,000 $1,814,754 $0
Anton Dowls
Naoufal Houjami
Bill King $318,320 $684,842 $580,062 $100,000
Sue Lovell
Demetria Smith
CONTROLLER
Chris Brown (inc) $234,350 $66,611 $36,522 $75,000
Amparo Gasca
District E
Dave Martin (inc) $151,184 $49,450 $18,939 $0
Sam Cleveland
Ryan Lee
Position 1
Mike Knox (inc) $41,171 $40,295 $45,555 $0
Michelle Bonton
Joe McElligott (withdrawn)
Georgia Provost
Raj Salhotra $178,536 $220,377 $30,340 $0
Position 2
David Robinson (inc) $262,221 $88,616 $0 $0
Willie Davis $807 $10,250 $3,051 $3,000
Emily Detoto $439 $2,600 $2,660 $500
Position 3
Michael Kubosh (inc) $122,870 $43,875 $20,319 $276,000
Janaeya Carmouche
Marcel McClinton $8,675 $25,823 $21,739 $0
William Dave Martin (withdrawn)
Goku Sankar
Position 4
Amanda Edwards (inc) $192,791 $73,807 $42,179 $0
Christel Bastida $750 $1,103 $51 $200
Tiko Hausman
Ericka McCrutcheon $2,875 $5,100 $11,625 $5,000
Position 5
Sallie Alcorn $252,366 $204,247 $75,393 $0
Brad Batteau
Paul Bishop (withdrawn)
Jamaal Boone
Catherine Flowers
Ralph Garcia
Marvin McNeese $7,206 $23,100 $45,893 $30,000
Giang Nguyen $20,241 $250 $8 $20,000
Letitia Plummer  $43,795 $64,519 $36,356 $0
Sonia Rivera $0 $2,260 $3,895 $1,695
Ashton Woods

Raising Campaign Cash: Houston City Elections. Update 4

July 15, 2019

Marcell McClinton for Position 3 raised $25,823 with $8,675 COH.

Christel Bastida for Postion 4 raised $1,103 with $750 COH and a $200 Loan.

Marvin McNeee for Position 5 raised $23,100 with $7,206 COH with a $30,000 Loan.

Sallie Alcorn raised $204,247 with $252,366 COH.

David Robinson raised $88,616 its $262,221 COH.

Mayor Turner raised $1,698,596 with $3,218,268 COH.

WOW! Raj Salhotra had a very strong showing for Position 1 with $220,377 raised compared to the incumbent Mike Knox with only $40,295. Raj has $178,536 COH compared to Knox at $41,171.

Bill King raised $684,842 including a $100,000 loan. He has $318,320 COH.

Chris Brown raised $66,611 with $234,350 COH.

Some people should not be running for office. This isn’t a game. Derrick Broze running for Mayor raised $1,379. Not even enough to by yard signs. Giang Nguyen raised $250 with a $20,000 loan. 


From Previous Updates:
Erica McCrutcheon needs to take some training on how to fill out ethics reports. I believe she raised $5100 and has a $5000 loan from The Dunamis Group LLC which she owns.

City Councilman Mike Knox reports only $41,171 raised. I would have expected much more.

Emily Detoto raised only$2600 with a $500 loan.

Buzbee is self financing putting $5.5 MILLION of his own money into his account. 

Michael Kubosh has reported raising only $43,000 with a $276,000 outstanding loan. $10,000 came from the FireFighters PAC.

CANDIDATE COH Raised Spent Loans
MAYOR
Sylvester Turner (inc) $3,218,268 $1,698,596 $1,362,879 $0
Kendall Baker
Derrick Broze $1,190 $1,379 $188 $0
Dwight Boykins
Tony Buzbee $5,140,725 $5,500,000 $1,814,754 $0
Anton Dowls
Naoufal Houjami
Bill King $318,320 $684,842 $580,062 $100,000
Sue Lovell
Demetria Smith
CONTROLLER
Chris Brown (inc) $234,350 $66,611 $36,522 $75,000
Amparo Gasca
District E
Dave Martin (inc)
Sam Cleveland
Ryan Lee
Position 1
Mike Knox (inc) $41,171 $40,295 $45,555 $0
Michelle Bonton
Joe McElligott (withdrawn)
Georgia Provost
Raj Salhotra $178,536 $220,377 $30,340 $0
Position 2
David Robinson (inc) $262,221 $88,616 $0 $0
Willie Davis
Emily Detoto $439 $2,600 $2,660 $500
Position 3
Michael Kubosh (inc) $122,870 $43,875 $20,319 $276,000
Janaeya Carmouche
Marcel McClinton $8,675 $25,823 $21,739 $0
William Dave Martin (withdrawn)
Goku Sankar
Position 4
Amanda Edwards (inc)
Christel Bastida $750 $1,103 $51 $200
Tiko Hausman
Ericka McCrutcheon $2,875 $5,100 $11,625 $5,000
Position 5
Sallie Alcorn $252,366 $204,247 $75,393 $0
Brad Batteau
Paul Bishop (withdrawn)
Jamaal Boone
Catherine Flowers
Ralph Garcia
Marvin McNeese $7,206 $23,100 $45,893 $30,000
Giang Nguyen $20,241 $250 $8 $20,000
Letitia Plummer 
Sonia Rivera
Ashton Woods

Tx Congressman Chip Roy (R): I'm not a racist……but….

July 15, 2019

Texas Congressman Chip Roy (R) in attempt to condemn the president’s racist tweet towards 4 Congressional women of color, stepped into the “I’m not a racist….but…” trap that many racists fall into. It truly shows Roy’s colors.

Chippy was doing just great until he got to the “but”. It’s not hard to call out a racist. He could have just said “POTUS was wrong to say any American citizen, whether in Congress or not has any ‘home’ besides the U.S. This is a racist statement and he should immediately apologize.” 
Instead he pivots into an unrelated, also racist, issue. BTW Someone pointed out that Roy didn’t direct this tweet toward @POTUS for fear he might read it.
Racists are cowards too.

What the (R) stands for

July 15, 2019

Racist. It stands for Racist, as in, Donald Trump (R).

The president of the United States Donald Trump is a racist. Everyone who will stoop to vote for him is a racist. You cannot support a racist and say “I’m not a racist…but”. No more. Either stand proudly with the republican party or step up and vote his racist ass out of the country.


Raising Campaign Cash: Houston City Elections. Update 3

July 14, 2019

Erica McCrutcheon needs to take some training on how to fill out their ethics reports. I believe she raised $5100 and has a $5000 loan from The Dunamis Group LLC which she owns.

From Previous Updates:

City Councilman Mike Knox reports only $41,171 raised. I would have expected much more.

Emily Detoto raised only$2600 with a $500 loan.

Buzbee is self financing putting $5.5 MILLION of his own money into his account. 

Michael Kubosh has reported raising only $43,000 with a $276,000 outstanding loan. $10,000 came from the FireFighters PAC.


CANDIDATE COH Raised Spent Loans
MAYOR
Sylvester Turner (inc)
Kendall Baker
Derrick Broze
Dwight Boykins
Tony Buzbee $5,140,725 $5,500,000 $1,814,754
Anton Dowls
Naoufal Houjami
Bill King
Sue Lovell
Demetria Smith
CONTROLLER
Chris Brown (inc)
Amparo Gasca
District E
Dave Martin (inc)
Sam Cleveland
Ryan Lee
Position 1
Mike Knox (inc) $41,171 $40,295 $45,555
Michelle Bonton
Joe McElligott (withdrawn)
Georgia Provost
Raj Salhotra
Position 2
David Robinson (inc)
Willie Davis
Emily Detoto $439 $2,600 $2,660 $500
Position 3
Michael Kubosh (inc) $122,870 $43,875 $20,319 $276,000
Janaeya Carmouche
Marcel McClinton
William Dave Martin (withdrawn)
Goku Sankar
Position 4
Amanda Edwards (inc)
Christel Bastida
Tiko Hausman
Ericka McCrutcheon $2,875 $5,100 $11,625 $5,000
Position 5
Sallie Alcorn
Brad Batteau
Paul Bishop (withdrawn)
Jamaal Boone
Catherine Flowers
Ralph Garcia
Marvin McNeese
Giang Nguyen
Letitia Plummer 
Sonia Rivera
Ashton Woods

Raising Campaign Cash: Houston City Elections. Update 2

July 13, 2019

City Councilman Mike Knox reports only $41,171 raised. I would have expected much more. Emily Detoto raised only$2600 with a $500 loan.

From Update 1:

Buzbee is self financing putting $5.5 MILLION of his own money into his account. 

Michael Kubosh has reported raising only $43,000 with a $276,000 outstanding loan. $10,000 came from the FireFighters PAC.

CANDIDATE COH Raised Spent
MAYOR
Sylvester Turner (inc)
Kendall Baker
Derrick Broze
Dwight Boykins
Tony Buzbee $5,140,725 $5,500,000 $1,814,754
Anton Dowls
Naoufal Houjami
Bill King
Sue Lovell
Demetria Smith
CONTROLLER
Chris Brown (inc)
Amparo Gasca
District E
Dave Martin (inc)
Sam Cleveland
Ryan Lee
Position 1
Mike Knox (inc) $41,171 $40,295 $45,555
Michelle Bonton
Joe McElligott (withdrawn)
Georgia Provost
Raj Salhotra
Position 2
David Robinson (inc)
Willie Davis
Emily Detoto $439 $2,600 $2,660
Position 3
Michael Kubosh (inc) $122,870 $43,875 $20,319
Janaeya Carmouche
Marcel McClinton
William Dave Martin (withdrawn)
Goku Sankar
Position 4
Amanda Edwards (inc)
Christel Bastida
Tiko Hausman
Ericka McCrutcheon
Position 5
Sallie Alcorn
Brad Batteau
Paul Bishop (withdrawn)
Jamaal Boone
Catherine Flowers
Ralph Garcia
Marvin McNeese
Giang Nguyen
Letitia Plummer 
Sonia Rivera
Ashton Woods

Returning to the Moon, safely, is not an option.

July 12, 2019

I have a theory about this

William Gerstenmaier, the longtime associate administrator for human exploration at NASA, has been reassigned to a new role as special adviser to NASA’s deputy administrator. The move signifies something of a demotion for Gerstenmaier at the agency. As head of the human exploration division, Gerstenmaier has overseen many of NASA’s biggest projects for human spaceflight, such as the operations on the International Space Station; the development of NASA’s next big rocket, the Space Launch System; and the Commercial Crew program, an initiative to launch astronauts to the ISS using commercial spacecraft.


Going from managing billions in project assets and hundreds of employees to an “advisor” means something wasn’t right. Gerstenmaier was the modern day “Right Stuff”. He knew what he was doing and was well respected. And he probably told the truth about a trip to the Moon by 2024.

Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), who chairs the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee said it very well

The Trump Administration’s ill-defined crash program to land astronauts on the Moon in 2024 was going to be challenging enough to achieve under the best of circumstances. Removing experienced engineering leadership from that effort and the rest of the nation’s human spaceflight programs at such a crucial point in time seems misguided at best. 

I will be more blunt. Going to the Moon by 2024 is not safe. We do not have a lander. We do not have a heavy lift vehicle. We do not have a service module. We don’t even have a completed Command Module. Going to the Moon with that schedule and the current resources means cutting corners and it’s not safe.

Gerstenmaier has been replaced with a yes man. That isn’t safe either. Returning to the moon safely is not an option. It is the mission.


Raising Campaign Cash: Houston City Elections. Update 1

July 12, 2019

It is official. Tony Buzbee plans to use his personal wealth to buy a Mayoral race. Much like Texas Representative out of Galveston “Money” Mays Middleton who spent over $2 Million of his own money to buy his seat, Buzbee has now donated a total of $7,500,000 to his campaign. $7,500,000.

Hopefully he will become like his other republican buddy, Kathaleen Wall who spent over $6,000,000 and lost in the primary. Buzbee is trying to be another Trump. He is loud, politically ignorant, rich, and an asshole. Just. Like. Trump.

Michael Kubosh has reported raising only $43,000 with a $276,000 outstanding loan. $10,000 came from the FireFighters PAC.

CANDIDATE COH Raised Spent
MAYOR
Sylvester Turner (inc)
Kendall Baker
Derrick Broze
Dwight Boykins
Tony Buzbee $5,140,725 $5,500,000 $1,814,754
Anton Dowls
Naoufal Houjami
Bill King
Sue Lovell
Demetria Smith
CONTROLLER
Chris Brown (inc)
Amparo Gasca
District E
Dave Martin (inc)
Sam Cleveland
Ryan Lee
Position 1
Mike Knox (inc)
Michelle Bonton
Joe McElligott (withdrawn)
Georgia Provost
Raj Salhotra
Position 2
David Robinson (inc)
Willie Davis
Emily Detoto
Position 3
Michael Kubosh (inc) $122,870 $43,875 $20,319
Janaeya Carmouche
Marcel McClinton
William Dave Martin (withdrawn)
Goku Sankar
Position 4
Amanda Edwards (inc)
Christel Bastida
Tiko Hausman
Ericka McCrutcheon
Position 5
Sallie Alcorn
Brad Batteau
Paul Bishop (withdrawn)
Jamaal Boone
Catherine Flowers
Ralph Garcia
Marvin McNeese
Giang Nguyen
Letitia Plummer 
Sonia Rivera
Ashton Woods

If you can't hear you can't be Hurd.

July 9, 2019


Texas Congressman William Hurd CD 23 seems to have forgotten that under the Obama administration Iran agreed to stop enrichment of nuclear material. 

According to the joint statement in Switzerland, the P5+1 countries and Iran agreed on a framework for a deal. According to this framework, Iran would redesign, convert, and reduce its nuclear facilities and accept the Additional Protocol (with provisional application) in order to lift all nuclear-related economic sanctions, freeing up tens of billions of dollars in oil revenue and frozen assets.


Trump, with Hurd’s backing, pulled the United States out of the deal without having negotiating a new one. Now Hurd is complaining that Iran is, once again, starting up their nuclear development. Duh! This is a problem Trump created, once again. He has no idea or capability to make any kind of international deal. Instead of having an international agreement we have nothing. And nothing is better than anything Trump can negotiate. Literally.

Hurd can’t hear the laughter of the international community. Or us.


Raising Campaign Cash: Houston City Elections. Part I

July 3, 2019

Campaign finance reports for Houston City Council candidates will be available soon. They are due by July 15th and most will wait till that day to make them available online. Some will issue press releases to show their strength. Others who are not viable will simply wait till the due date.

Watch this blog. I will be focusing on the race for Mayor, Comptroller, District E and the At Large seats. I will post Part II as soon as the following status changes:

CANDIDATE COH Raised Spent
MAYOR
Sylvester Turner (inc)
Kendall Baker
Derrick Broze
Dwight Boykins
Tony Buzbee
Anton Dowls
Naoufal Houjami
Bill King
Sue Lovell
Demetria Smith
CONTROLLER
Chris Brown (inc)
Amparo Gasca
District E
Dave Martin (inc)
Sam Cleveland
Ryan Lee
Position 1
Mike Knox (inc)
Michelle Bonton
Joe McElligott (withdrawn)
Georgia Provost
Raj Salhotra
Position 2
David Robinson (inc)
Willie Davis
Emily Detoto
Position 3
Michael Kubosh (inc)
Janaeya Carmouche
Marcel McClinton
William Dave Martin (withdrawn)
Goku Sankar
Position 4
Amanda Edwards (inc)
Christel Bastida
Tiko Hausman
Ericka McCrutcheon
Position 5
Sallie Alcorn
Brad Batteau
Paul Bishop (withdrawn)
Jamaal Boone
Catherine Flowers
Ralph Garcia
Marvin McNeese
Giang Nguyen
Letitia Plummer 
Sonia Rivera
Ashton Woods