What you can and can’t do at the polls.

October 22, 2024

It’s not hard to follow the law. (Unless you are Justin Hicks and Jimmy Fullen)

It’s finally early voting time. Go vote but do it legally or you might find yourself embarrassed and/or in jail. It isn’t hard to follow the rules. Here is a quick guideline to keep your ass out of trouble. BTW if you see someone violating the law, especially someone working the polls, find the presiding judge and ask them to resolve the situation. If that doesn’t work call the following number and report the incident. 713-755-6965. If it is a serious violation call the Constables at 281-488-4040.

Here are some easy guidelines to follow:

  • Don’t campaign within 100 feet of the door of the polling location. That’s easy. If you are going to push cards, or place signs, or hang around the polls do it outside of the 100 feet sign.
  • Wear appropriate clothes. Don’t wear anything that may be partisan in nature. If you think it is partisan, it probably is. Don’t wear your stupid MAGAt hat, or an NRA hat, or anything that has a slogan of any campaign. No campaign shirts. This is not a free speech issue. It is the law. Follow it or go the fuck home. (Fox 26 story)
  • No loudspeakers. You can’t use loud speakers or bullhorns near a polling location. I believe it is within 1000 feet. (3 football fields)
  • Do NOT intimidate voters. If you would like to spend a day in jail try intimidating voters. It works every time. Do not threaten them. Do not yell or stalk or stare down voters. It not only childish it is illegal.
  • No guns. And/or Duh. What are you? Stupid?
  • Don’t drive around the parking lot with your truck and stupid flags. That is not only dangerous, it is illegal.

Go vote.


Justin Hicks: He’s above the law.

October 19, 2024

You have to wonder if Justin Hicks is politically stupid or if he thinks he is above the law. Neither is a conservative value. From the Texas Ethics Commission (TEC)

Hick’s campaign treasurer and manager needs training on the laws governing campaigns in Texas. His $12,000 campaign loan from his treasurer (his wife) was omitted from his campaign report. He later amended his report after his treasurer (his wife) remembered she had donated $12,000 to his campaign. The Texas Ethics Commission is investigating this.

Now Hicks might be a target for yet more ethics violations. First Hicks used what looks like his official League City photo for his campaign mailers. The TEC wrote an opinion on using government resources for mailers. This includes printing, photos, or anything that public money was used for. You can compare the two pics from League City and his mailers.

And second. Justin is NOT running for Mayor Pro Tem. In fact there is not an elected position called “Mayor Pro Tem”. Materials provided by a campaign cannot use any other position other than the one running for. The TEC provides detailed guidelines for campaign managers and candidates. For instance if you are not the incumbent you must put FOR in specific height and width so voters know you are running FOR the position and you are not an incumbent running for re-election. It might be a nit but both of these complaints will be accepted by the TEC.

The TEC could assess a fine per mailer. It can be pretty pricey. Hicks might need another loan.


Galveston County precinct chairs refuse to endorse Justin Hicks

October 18, 2024

I don’t like Justin Hicks. It’s not the $175 fine I had to pay him as a result of his bankruptcy trial. If that fine by the Judge helps him pay his bills I am fine with that, but his attacks on others is what really bothers me. His book ban wasn’t about his Evangelical Protestant beliefs it was about attacking the gay community. It was a clear, not well thought out, attack on the members of the League City community including the family of his buddy CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen. (His siblings are gay) It was an attack on our families and friends. It was an attack on MY family and friends.

Hicks has been a bit desperate trying to show his community is behind him. He led a small MAGAt truck parade in his foreign made pickup securing the MAGAt vote. The so called “fiscal conservative” has been mired in bankruptcy unable to keep a job or pay his bills without being sued (He has 3 issues for non payment of credit cards and HOA fees). His book banning is akin to the facist movement in the 1930’s of Germany. (We all know how that ended) For a “proud conservative Veteran” his voting record is pathetic. These are NOT conservative values and the Galveston Republican Party agrees, refusing to give him their conservative endorsement.

Recently Hicks was proud of the endorsement from 9 precinct chairs of Galveston County including Andy Mann who tried unsuccessfully to drum up support from the party. The county has 64 precinct chair positions. Only 9 of the 64 chairs endorsed Hicks. Whomp Whomp.

League City voters have a duty to give Hicks the opportunity to spend more time with his employer and pay what he owes to other people just like everyone else does. There is a much better, well qualified conservative, candidate running. They can also annoy the media by eliminating the divisiveness brought to Council by Hicks and giving them nothing to write about.

Annoy the media folks. Annoy the media.


LTTE: Jimmy Fullen and Justin Hicks should follow the law

October 17, 2024

Dear Bay Area Houston,

League City council member, Justin Hicks and candidate for Sheriff Jimmy Fullen have a lot in common. Both are being investigated for campaign law violations concerning loans to their campaigns. Both have filed amended reports and both have added more controversy to their filings. 

Hicks failed to identify who loaned his campaign $12,000. His amended report now shows the loan was provided by his treasurer. His treasurer is his wife who forgot to list it on the handwritten report. The source of the loan is still a mystery. Since he has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, he and his wife have 3 suits for unpaid credit card debt, and a suit for HOA fees. 

Fullen correctly reported a personal loan of $100,000 to his campaign but never disclosed when it was paid off. It just disappeared from a subsequent report. In his amended report he stated the reason to amend as “personal loan from self was removed on form e”. In other words he never really loaned his campaign any money. It’s hard to believe his treasurer hand wrote in a $100,000 loan without getting the OK by Fullen. Falsifying a government document is a felony. Ask Hunter Biden. 
If Hicks and Fullen want to be in the Republican law and order club they might want to get their personal finances in order and start following the law. 


TDI Commissioner denies 10% rate hike by TWIA but allows 50% hike by private insurance

October 16, 2024

Go figure.

The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is a not for profit insurance provider covering only the “Tier I” areas on the Texas coast. They used to be the insurer of last resort but is now the only resort for most home and business owners. Over the last year TWIA has followed a process and requested a 10% increase in their rates. The final approval was from the Texas Department of Insurance. They denied the increase leaving TWIA underfunded by 38% for homeowners and 45% for business owners. God help them if there is another major storm.

So while the TDI Commissioner and our State Senator Mayes Middleton runs a victory lap for stopping a modest 10% increase the private industry has raised premiums by 25%-50%. TDI has approved all of these increases. Those with private insurance are getting screwed and those with TWIA will get screwed if a storm hits the Texas coast.

None of this makes cents. Senator Middleton filed a bill to end TWIA and allowing the private insurers to return to the coast and raise premiums by 50% with no oversight by the TDI. Private insurance companies do NOT want to return to the coast. Middleton’s bill failed to attract a cosponsor and died before the ink was dried.

You can read the long winded 12 page details of why the modest 10% increase was denied on the TDI website. TWIA issued it’s own comment below:


LTTE: Kim Ogg’s endorsement of Ted Cruz

October 15, 2024

Dear Bay Area Houston,

I saw an ad with Harris County district attorney Kim Ogg endorsing Ted Cruz. I am from Harris County. Let me tell you a little about Kim Ogg.

Like Ted Cruz Ogg is disliked by both parties. She is divisive, vindictive, petty, a camera hound. In her recent primary election she lost he race by 50 points, not 50 votes, 50 points. 

After the 2022 election she jumped on the mythical voter fraud bandwagon and publicly announced a criminal investigation. She recruited the Texas Rangers who wasted a year and a half of valuable resources. In the end, at an embarrassing press conference, she announced an indictment of one person for a crime that had nothing to do with voting. It was a huge embarrassing flop. 

Over the last four years she has engaged in a petty, juvenile fight with Commissioners Court especially with the County Judge. She ran to the press, much like what Ted Cruz does, to air her petty grievances. It was embarrassing.

The only person willing to accept a public endorsement by the likes of Kim Ogg is Ted Cruz. How fitting. At least Kim knows better than to attend and jinx Astros playoff games. 


Texas Ethics Commission vs. Derek Avery: A Case Study

October 14, 2024

It can be costly. Sort of.

Case in point Derek Avery of Dallas County. Avery was a candidate for Dallas County Commissioner. He lost. By a lot. He filed an Appointment of Treasurer in March of 2023. At least he got that right. Then he failed to file any other required campaign finance reports. Someone filed a complaint against him. The Texas Ethics Commission found evidence of violations, accepted the complaint and began an investigation.

It went down hill from then on. Avery refused to respond to the complaint. Usually the respondent (Avery) would write a response to the complaint, the TEC would access a fine and settlement, and that would be the end of it. Not so with Avery. He notified the TEC that he would be at the hearing. He no showed. He never filed any amended reports. No one knows who financed his campaign or how much money he spent.

For this the TEC accessed a fine of $10,000 plus another $2500 if he didn’t pay it. The TEC will then send it to the Texas Attorney General for collections. Lucky for Avery the AG’s collection department will send a collection letter threatening a lawsuit if the fine is not paid in 10 days. Then they will do nothing. At all. He will get away with it.

The Texas Ethics Commission is up for Sunset Review this next legislation session. Hopefully they will be given the authority to file suit for payment. Until then Avery is free to file for another office.

No Place but Texas.


Raising Campaign Cash: League City Mayor Nick Long’s PAC

October 11, 2024

This is kinda strange on a number of points.

League City Mayor Nick Long has a newly created political action committee, Bay Area Conservatives Political Action Committee. His wife, Kari Long, is the treasurer. This GPAC is supporting Hank Dugie County for Commissioner and Scott Higginbotham for League City Council. Missing from this list of supported candidates is Justin Hicks, Nick Long’s buddy. Strange.

In the latest report GPAC raised $6500 from 3 individuals. $5000 from Higginbotham, $1000 from Carl Joiner, and $500 from Senator Mayes Middleton. $4500 of this was given to the Hank Dugie campaign. Another $5000 was given to Parabellum Media LLC in support of Higginbotham. Why didn’t Higginbotham just give $5000 to Parabellum Media LLC from his own campaign account and not filter it through a 3rd party? He also didn’t report the $5000 donation on his campaign finance report. That is strange also.

In total the GPAC has raised about $23,000, $7500 coming from Jimmy Fullen, candidate for Sheriff, and $2500 from Hank Dugie which was later returned with an additional $2000 to his campaign. Again strange. Kari and Nick Long donated about $4000.

Strange. Poor Justin. Snubbed again.


Galveston Republicans rejects Justin Hick’s “conservative” values.

October 9, 2024

Ouch. That must hurt.

Even the Galveston Republicans have had enough of Justin Hick’s “conservative” values. Ever since being elected Justin has been the Corporal Chaos of League City Council. He constantly claims to be a “conservative” which made enough real conservatives cringe during an endorsement meeting. They refused to endorse Hicks. That had to hurt.

Hick’s Bankruptcy
Hicks is some kind of perverted form of conservative . He is fiscally irresponsible filing bankruptcy in December. He and his wife have 3 suits concerning credit card debt. (22-DC01-0796 for $4053.05, 22-DC01-0776 $1878.15, and 23-DC01-0447 $1722.88) His bankruptcy filings shows he owed South Shore Harbour HOA fees of $1749.24. He has claimed, on a number of occasions, his bankruptcy was caused by medical issues yet there are no filings with the court supporting this. His filings make it clear he was unemployed for a long period of time. Yet with all of this going on he somehow found $15,000 to fund his campaign. It doesn’t make conservative cents.

Hick’s Voting Record
Hicks is a veteran. (Thank you for your service) You would think a conservative veteran would have been first in line to vote his conservative values on every election. Voting records in the county show otherwise. He only voted in 2020. As we used to say in the Army: WTF Over? Judges are allowed to hide their voting records but I have never heard these privileges applied to Council Members. Maybe he would like to comment so I can correct this?

Ethics Investigation
Hicks has been playing games hiding his campaign cash prompting an investigation by the Texas Ethics Commission. This isn’t a conservative value. Neither is leading the book banning charge. Or raising nonexistent racist issues with the Chief of Police. Or firing librarians.

Hopefully the real conservatives of League City will also reject Hicks, thrown him out of office, so he can spend more time with his financial advisor.


Raising Campaign Cash: Jimmy Fullen

October 8, 2024

Jimmy Fullen has a lot in common with Justin Hicks. Both are being investigated by the Texas Ethics Commission. Both have amended their campaign reports. And both have added more controversy to their campaigns. You can read the details here and here.

As noted previously Fullen has removed his $100,000 loan from this campaign reports as if it never happened, probably because it really never happened. He padded his account making it look like he raised a shit load of money. He actually didn’t. In his latest report he has a loan balance of only $24,052 which came from Mark Henry. The $100,000 loan he claimed to have given himself magically disappeared.

He raised $47,400 with $10,000 coming from someone in College Station. He received from free advertising from Michael Barrow The Blues for $15,400. He spent $14,658 and has a Cash on Hand balance of $35,832.

Fullen’s ethics complaint is pending. Like the investigation with the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement it will not be resolved prior to the election. Fullen knows the law and he broke it.

Again.


Bay Area Houston

Hard hitting political commentary always full of wit in Houston Texas.

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