Tough questions (with answers) for CCISD candidates

April 17, 2024

Thanks to Albert Wittliff for answering these questions. I have not heard back from Trustee Jeff Larson but will update if I do.

Vouchers
How will the passing of a voucher bill affect CCISD? Do you support vouchers? Why/why not?
A: I oppose vouchers because they take already limited taxpayer funds out of the public school system and provide it to private organizations.  Those private schools can pick and choose their students and are not held to the standards of public schools.  As funds are reduced in public schools the only choice to address the shortfalls will be additional taxes or bonds.  So it will cost more to provide less.  Vouchers don’t work.  

Chaplans
Do you support allowing religious leaders to replace counselors in CCISD school? 
A: Religious choice is important for families and should be kept at home or in houses of worship.  School counselors need to be professionals focused on the skills needed to support students. 

Guns in school
Do you support arming CCISD employees? 
A: No.  As a career law enforcement professional I know that more guns create a more dangerous situation.  Accidents happen and when they involve guns it can be devastating.  Additionally it could provide access to a gun that wasn’t there before.  I don’t think the additional burden should be put on teachers and staff.  Having professional law enforcement officers in for form of SRO or SLO is the right way to address this need.  

Fundraising
School districts candidates across the state are being funded by out of district PACs including CCISD. Would you accept out of district PAC, partisan political donations, or help from out of district organizations?
A:  Out of district PAC money has no place in the non-partisan school board.    

Partisan politics
Partisan politics fueled by out of district PAC money has caused divisions within the community. Do you believe partisan politics has a place in CCISD?
A: The board should be moderate and cooperative, not partisan. 

Book bans. 
What are your thoughts about our public school libraries and the push to ban books?
A: Libraries are a cornerstone of any learning environment and should be staffed with professional librarians.  These librarians can make sure to curate the collections so that appropriate books are available at an appropriate age.  This should be done in collaboration with teachers and parents.  Further, there is a committee in place to address specific titles for review.  As a general rule, book banners (or burners) are on the wrong side of history.  

LGBTQ Issues
Our gay community has been under attack by anti-gay organizations some right here in the CCISD area. What are your thoughts about our gay community within CCISD including our teachers, parents, and students? 
A: I believe everyone has the right to live and love as they choose and everyone should be safe and respectful. 

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Posted by johncoby

Raising Campaign Cash: CCISD May 4th Election

April 15, 2024

The first campaign finance reports are in for the CCISD elections between Albert Wittliff and Jeff Larson. Jeff Larson raised $0 which makes me wonder what organization will be campaigning for him and whether they will be reporting the donations. Larson hasn’t filed a Code of Fair Campaign Practices.

Wittliff raised $1640 and spent $928. Both reports can be found at the Elections Website.

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The Ten Commandments….According to Trump

March 29, 2024

I’m going to hell for this.

Trump is hawking bibles during Holy Week. So I thought it would be appropriate to post the Ten Commandments according to your lord and savior Donald Trump. If you are a christian and you are not outraged about what Trump is doing you might want to go back to church and ask for forgiveness.

The Ten Commandments. According to Trump:

  • You shall have no other God’s before me, except for me, Trump.
  • Thou shall not make idols, except for me, Trump.
  • Thou shall not take the lords name in vain goddamnit.
  • Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy unless you have a MAGAt rally to attend.
  • Honor your father and your mother as my son, Darrel, does.
  • Thou shall not commit murder unless you are on 5th street in New York
  • Thou shall not commit adultery unless it’s with a 20 year old porn star and you can pay her off to keep her goddamn mouth shut.
  • Thou shall not steal unless its from veterans, the poor, your donors, or your followers who donated to the stupid wall
  • Thou shall not lie. LOL
  • Thou shall not covet unless you need a loan.

Thous shall not lie. ROTFL. Seriously. That is fuckin funny. Let’s us prey.

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League City Personal Finance Reports are online

March 13, 2024

All Personal Finance Reports for League City Council are available.

You can receive an electronic copy of the PFS by submitting an Open Records Request to the City Secretary or you can read them here. You can read them if you want but they are not very interesting except for Mayor Pro Tem Hicks. Hicks reported having been employed with TNM LLC out of Henrietta New York as a Projects Manager. He has a lot, I’m assuming that is his home, but the value is not listed. That’s it. I became interested in this TNM LLC and performed a search but could not find them. Hicks lists himself as a Project Manager. If you are looking for controversy this is all you will find.

The PFS should show more of the fiscal stability of each member including debts, lawsuits, liens, etc. The public should know if the individuals responsible for the fiscal well being of their city and stewards of their taxes are also fiscally responsible. It’s just common sense.

Other than that the PFSs are pretty boring. You can view Mayor Long and Mayor Pro Tem Hicks PFS here. The rest of the Council PFSs are here.

Believe me. They are boring.

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More Dick! It’s getting old.

March 12, 2024

I just can’t get away from Dick.

Harris County Department of Education Trustee, Eric Dick, is at it again. This time he is meddling in Harris County Democratic Party primaries. Dick is a republican. He is a MAGAt and yet he donated $25,000 to a PAC called Community Justice. The PAC has filed 3 reports raising $136,000 with $125,000 coming from 4 individuals/organizations including ERIC DICK for $25,000.

Dick joined lawyers from the law firms of Lowenberg, Posch & Nguyen, Spagnoletti, and Armstrong Lee & Baker. One of the candidates they supported was Erica Hughes against a very popular and excellent Judge Mike Engelhart. Hughes won. I’m begging to wonder if these law firms had a case in front of Engelhart in the past.

Dick seems to have enough money to meddle in another party’s primary but he doesn’t have enough to pay his $40,000 fine issued by the Texas Ethics Commission.

What a dick.

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UPDATE: Who’s funding the Harris County Democratic Endorsed?

March 11, 2024

You will be surprised.

Last month a group called Harris County Democratic Endorsed was sending texts with their endorsements. It looks as if it was coming from the Harris County Democratic Party. Their logo is very similar to HCDP as is their website which is hosted on WordPress. (rookies) Their endorsement is paid for by Community Justice PAC a PAC created late last year.

Here is what I found back in February:

They raised $50,000 from two individuals/entities, spent over $13,000, and has over $36,000 COH. Joshua Lee donated $25,000 and the law firm Push & Nguyen donated $25,000. Of the $13,000 $7626 was paid to Christian Alexander with a PO Box for JC National for consulting expense and $5000 to John Humphries with a PO Box for Loud Inc for a reimbursement for the the JRR Dinner.

Since then they have filed 3 reports raising $136,000 with $125,000 coming from 4 individuals/organizations including ERIC DICK for $25,000. Yes, that Eric Dick, the republican on Harris County Department of Education who has not paid his $40,000 fine by the Texas Ethics Commission. All of these top donors are associated with law firms, Dick, Lowenberg, Push & Nguyen, and Spagnoletti. Lee works for Armstrong Lee & Baker.

Community Justice spent $60,800 with $40,000 spent on “CONSULT”. One of the candidates Community Justice supported is Erica Hughes who defeated long standing Democratic Judge Mike Engelhart. I have to wonder if these law firms had any cases in front of Judge Engelhart. Here are the top donors

Dick ,Eric25,000.00
Lee ,Joshua25,000.00
Lowenberg Law Firm25,000.00
Push & Nguyen Injury Lawyers25,000.00
Spagnoletti Law Firm25,000.00
Ramji ,Adam5,000.00

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Who funded Takasha Francis against Judge Robert Schaffer?

March 8, 2024

We need to have a conversation about this.

Unlike Erica Hughes who ran against an excellent Democratic Judge, Takasha Francis actually has excellent experience for the job but it still make me ask “Why in the hell would anyone recruit and finance someone to challenge a great Democratic Judge who has served the Courts and the County honorably?”.

According to the Texas Ethics Commission Francis raised $24,500 including $5600 for legal services. She spent $18,018 with $5591 for Advertising, $1502 for Poll Workers and $3250 for fees, food, and fundraising.

As with the others I wonder who recruited her and financed her campaign. She won 55/45 against a very successful Democratic Judge. Surely there were other judges that needed to be challenged. Judge Schaffer was not one of those.

There needs to be a conversation about this. We lost a great Judge and we lost.

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League City Personal Finance Statements are now available

March 5, 2024

But they are not online.

The Republicans in Austin required elected officials in cities with a population of over 100,000 to file a Personal Finance Statement. The PFS for League City officials are now available. The city secretary is responsible for their storage and can be obtained by filing an open records request. If interested you can view Mayor Long’s statement and Mayor Pro Tem Hick’s statement here. Believe me, it’s boring.

After looking at what they are required to disclose I have to wonder why anyone would object to disclosing the information. You are required to identify who you are employed by but not how much you make. You have to identify investment assets such as mutual funds and how much they are worth if sold, up to $47,000. You are NOT required to list your financial stability such as your debts, bankruptcies, or liens against your property. You can see the entire list below.

Hick’s and Long’s PFS can’t be any more different. Hicks reported having been employed with TNM LLC out of Henrietta New York as a Projects Manager. He has a lot, I’m assuming that is his home, but the value is not listed. That’s it.

Long’s PFS is a bit more detailed. He has a job with Allianz Insurance Services, a home, many different investments such as mutual funds and interests in a number of business entities.

The purpose for a PFS is to provide transparency to the voters and residents. Elected officials should recuse themselves if they have a conflict with a proposed expenditure in the city and their investments. You would like to know if an elected official is voting to provide a contract to a company they own or one they have a significant interest in. It isn’t rocket science. It isn’t all that intrusive.

Here is what is required to disclose in a PFS. This list is from Hick’s PFS:

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Who is funding the Mexican MAGAt in Deer Park?

March 4, 2024

That’s Bianca Gracia meeting with Enrique Tarrio, head of the Proud Boys and Stewart Rhodes head of the Oath Keepers the day before the Jan 6 riot. Tarrio and Rhodes were convicted of seditious conspiracy against the United States by a unanimous vote by a jury. They are each serving over 20 years in prison.

Gracia is running for the Texas House against State Representative “Little Baby” Briscoe Cain, of Deer Park, pictured below with his mom and younger siblings. Cain was one of those republicans who voted to impeach Ken Paxton and has little if any accomplishments to brag about but as the Houston Chronicle has said:

We’re no fans of state Rep. Briscoe Cain and his botched attempt to lead the passage of a voter suppression bill, but we’ll take his buffoonery and occasional principled stand over the far edges of extremism. 

So who is funding Gracia? Since filing Gracia has raised over $173,000 which is nothing to sneeze at. $105,000 came from those giving $5,000 or more. Patrick Byrne of Utah and former CEO of Overstock, gave her $25,000. Over $100,000 came from out of state. Only $11,000 came from within Deer Park.

You can see her top donor below.

Contributor NameAmountCityState
Byrne ,Patrick25,000.00Park CityUT
Ebarb ,Travis12,000.00las vegasNV
Fromme ,Kellye10,000.00HudsonWI
The Trafalgar Group LLC8,500.00WilmingtonDE
Defiant Projects5,000.00ConroeTX
Moore ,Danny5,000.00Cripple CreekCO
Jackson ,Larry5,000.00CrosbyTX
Paolini ,Vivian5,000.00Deer ParkTX
Garza ,Lazaro5,000.00HebbronvilleTX
Pinedo ,Socorro5,000.00HesperiaCA
Elswick ,Roger5,000.00HoustonTX
Ebarb ,Travis5,000.00las vegasNV
Integrated Digital Strategies 5,000.00OrlandoFL
Integrated Digital Strategies 5,000.00OrlandoFL

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Raising Campaign Cash: CCISD Elections

March 4, 2024

CCISD Trustee elections for District 4 will be held on May 4, 2024. Candidates should raise money from within the district and refuse all PAC money.

Over the last couple of years school districts across the State have been flooded with out of district, special interest, PAC money. It used to be a school board election would cost about $2000 and a few signs. That has changed. In Keller ISD Patriot Mobile PAC spent $150,000 to elect three white wing MAGAts to the board. One has since resigned and one will soon. CCISD has had it’s own infusion of PAC money.

In 2023 Defend Texas Liberty, a PAC that has since become irrelevant due to their association with a known white supremacist, financed Peter Lauzon’s campaign with a $5000 donation. They attempted to donate to another candidate but she refused their donation. They donated $2000 to Trustee Scott Bowen who has refused to return it. Harris County Republican Party has also donated by sending out mailers.

School Board elections should be about three things and three things only, Students, Teachers, and Parents. Nothing else. This years election should be local. Candidates should pledge the following:

  • Will not accept PAC money
  • Will not accept out of district donations
  • Will not accept in-kind donations from partisan organizations
  • Will not self finance their campaigns

Trustee Jeff Larson and Albert Wittliff should both take this pledge. Raise money from within the district, from your neighbors, parents and teachers. Out of district influence must stop. This is our school district. We do not need meddling from white supremacist organizations or any political organizations in our elections.

You can find campaign finance reports for both candidates at the CCISD Elections webpage. Both candidates start the campaign with little or no funds. First reports are due April 5.

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