In Defense of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo

August 25, 2025

Do better ABC13.

ABC13 of Houston ran a bullshit “investigative” story titled “Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo spent about $43K on Paris trade mission, per campaign report“. For those who read only the title of a story to form an ignorant opinion let me give you a heads up. It’s a bullshit title, but an accurate article, if and only if you take the time to read. Here is a snippet:

Judge Hidalgo used donations to her political campaign to fund the trip. “The rules are very flexible on how the office holders can use their funds, just so long as they’re publicly disclosed,” said Jonathan Neerman, a campaign finance advisor who previously served as the Chairman of the Dallas County Republican.

Yep even a Republican says the title of the investigation is bullshit. Candidates and elected officials can use their campaign cash for official business. Many do it then submit receipts to the State, County, or City for reimbursement. And at least one, former State Representative Joe Driver, a Republican, has been caught cheating.

Driver spent his donors money on lavish hotels for official business. He then applied for reimbursement from the State but instead of returning the $50,000 to his campaign account, he kept it. He eventually plead guilty, received 3 years probation, but kept his $62,000/year pension and his state sponsored healthcare for himself and his wife.

Now that is an investigative story! Go read or watch the entire ABC13 story. There is nothing illegal or unusual about what Judge Hidalgo did.

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Posted by johncoby

Galveston County’s $43,000 Lawsuit Against Joseph Lowry: An Update

August 22, 2025

Galveston County had dropped their lawsuit against La Marque City Council Member Joseph Lowry. Sort of.

According to documents posted on the County’s website the suit against Joseph Lowry for over $43,000 in back taxes has been “non-suited” without prejudice meaning it has been dropped but could be refiled. (I secretly obtained a law degree from Facebook U to enhance my Undercover Investigative Reporter degree, also from FU) According to Channel 13 Eyewitness News:

Six Brother Concrete Pumping, owned by Joseph Lowry, was sued in early April by Galveston County, Galveston County Drainage District #2, Texas City Independent School District, and College of the Mainland. They say they’re owed $43,868.48 in back taxes from 2022 and 2023.

The suit #24-TX-0303 filed in the 10th Judicial District of Galveston County has now been listed as “Inactive” but I think it might have been dropped in order to add more delinquent taxes to the amount owe. According to the Galveston County Tax Office he is delinquent on his 2024 taxes for $10,033.65 which includes over $1308 in penalties. So maybe the suit will be refiled to include this delinquency for a grand total of 53,902.13. Or maybe he really doesn’t owe any taxes as he claims.

According to the Editor of the Galveston Daily News, Lowry has the money to pay the taxes and he should. You can browse the documents at the County Tax Office Account Number:  737826 and the County Court Records Case #24-TX-0303.

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La Marque Clerk Invalidates Recall Petition of Joseph Lowry

August 22, 2025

There are at least 20 (not 10) good reasons to recall La Marque City Council Member Joseph Lowry. You can read them here.

Unfortunately due to a clerical error that recall will not happen. In their first attempt at a recall petitioners fell short by just 7 signatures to put the recall on the ballot. Immediately afterward they refiled and provided over 200 signatures to the city clerk. Yesterday the county dismissed the petition because the forms used for signatures did not contained required information.

The forms used for signatures was provided by the City of La Marque. The Galveston County Daily News has a detailed article, if you have access to it. The petitioners have now asked the City to investigate how this was allowed to happen without any consequences to the City Clerk. According to the complaint:

I’d like to file an official complaint against the city clerk. I have filed for recall for Joseph Lowry and collected signatures twice. The first one came up a few short, okay, I’ll do it again because it matters to me. I turned in 218 signatures for recall on Friday. The petition forms provided by the city clerk did not meet state requirements to be a valid petition. They are missing columns. None contained the VUID or date signed column. 4/12 did not contain the required Date of Birth column. None of the first round of petitions contained the date of birth column either. 

Collecting signatures for a recall is a lot of work. It requires a lot of walking in the hot sun and time from your family especially if you are not using a paid service like they did in Texas City. It is tough work. For a city clerk to make a mistake like providing the wrong forms is unprofessional and could be illegal especially since the Texas Attorney General has a stick up his butt about election integrity.

The petitioners have a point:

This is incompetence, a disregard for professionalism, an unacceptable attitude, and one more example of employees lacking accountability. 

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Top Ten Reasons to Recall La Marque Council Member Joseph Lowry

August 11, 2025

Ok. It’s not 10. It’s 20.

Members of the community are collecting signatures to recall La Marque City Council Member Joseph Lowry and for good reasons. Lowry was elected to council in 2024 and started a shitshow of controversy. Prior to his election La Marque was a semi-quiet media target. Today a google search results in a number of controversies, most if not all, concern Lowry. Here are 19 good reasons to recall Lowry. (Please send corrections if any are needed)

  • Lowry was recently placed on a 5 year Domestic Violence Protective Order concerning his ex wife in Washington state. In the order Lowry must:
    • Not own, possess, or purchase any firearms
    • Must undergo a mental health evaluation
    • Must remain 1000 ft away from his ex
    • Cannot harass, threaten, or stalk his ex
  • Lowry plead guilty in 2006 to unlawful possession of pseudoephedrine with intent to manufacture methamphetamine and was incarcerated Case # 05-1-06568-7 KNT STATE OF WASHINGTON VS LOWRY, JOSEPH EDWIN. King County Case search
  • Lowry had a $10,000 1 year peace bond concerning threats made to a competitor. Galveston County 18-NTM01-1228
  • Lowry has a pending peace bond hearing concerning a resident of La Marque. He failed to show at the original hearing. Galveston County Case # 25-NTM03-1457
  • Lowry was sued for harassment by a Council Member resulting in an agreement to refrain from threatening or harassing comments that would give rise to criminal action on social media, newspapers, and any media outlet not explicitly stated herein. Galveston County Case # 22-CV-0993 
  • Galveston County and others are suing him for $43,000 in back taxes
  • When questioned about this he hurled profanity at the Galveston Daily News reporter before hanging up
  • Lowry received $50,000 in COVID grant money which is now under review. Claims have been made that he did not qualify for this grant money by listing a home address as his business address.
  • Lowry sued the City for violating his 1st Amendment rights. He lost.
  • Lowry sued his landlord of his gym for return of his deposit and more. He lost. Galveston County Case # 19-NSC01-0034
  • Lowry has a number of lawsuits pending against him. Galveston County Records search.
  • Lowry has been censured 2 times by City Council for harassment of Council members and constituents
  • Lowry and the Council was served with a Cease and Desist order by the previous City Manager for harassment
  • Lowry claims to be an “Undercover Investigative Journalist”. (He has a Facebook page)
  • Lowry has used his Facebook page to harass members of Council and members of the community
  • Facebook took the very unusual action and removed his Facebook page and his personal page.
  • Lowry tried unsuccessfully to recall the mayor
  • Lowry tried unsuccessfully to recall a Council Member (twice)
  • Lowry was behind a recall for the Dickinson Mayor using a PAC called Galveston County Connects. His wife is the treasurer

They are still collecting signatures to put the recall to a vote.

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Posted by johncoby

Christians Embrace Texas Senator Mayes Middleton’s Racist Comments

August 7, 2025

JESUS CHRIST! Literally.

Senator Mayes Middleton, who has doubled down on his racist comments towards State Representative Gene Wu, has been confirmed as the speaker for the Texas Faith Fest sponsored by Texas Values. Texas Values promotes their core “family values”:

Biblical, Judeo-Christian values does not include making racist comments, or porking a porn star, cheating on your spouse, stealing classified documents, killing police, starting riots, yada yada yada. You get the idea. So it shouldn’t surprise you that Mayes is their speaker along with the other top “christians”Greg Abbott, Ken Paxton’s wife, and others. Personally I think this group is nothing more than a lobbying group using Christianity as a front.

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La Marque Council Member Slapped with a Domestic Violence Protective Order

July 28, 2025

You can read the entire DVPO here. Womenslaw.org has detailed information about DVPOs here. It’s a long, detailed, article.

This is some serious stuff for Council Member Joseph Lowry. The hearing for this order was in Pierce County Washington and was concerning his ex-wife. This is not a criminal charge it is only a protective order and has requirements on Lowry. The DVPO requires the following:

  • Lowry is considered a credible threat to the petitioner (ex-wife)
  • Must not make contact, or harass physically or electronically with the petitioner
  • Stay at least 1000 feet from the petitioner (more than 3 football fields)
  • Do not distribute any intimate images of the petitioner
  • Must get a mental health evaluation
  • Do not obtain, purchase, or possess weapons or concealed weapons permit

As I said this is some pretty serious stuff. The DVPO includes a summary of the testimony provided by his ex and her daughter. It is graphic. Read at your own risk. The documents filed with the court can be found at the Pierce County Courthouse Case #25-1-01188-2. They have detailed witness testimony.

The DVPO states Lowry and his attorney attended the hearing virtually so he is aware of the DVPO and does not have to be served again. According to what I have read this DVPO can be enforced across the entire country including the part about possessing weapons. How this is accomplished is not clear but it seems he will have to surrender his weapons including the 50 caliber his wife wrote about.

More later.

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Posted by johncoby

La Marque Controversy Deepens for City Councilman

July 27, 2025

Lauren Flack of the Galveston Daily News is having a field day covering La Marque City Councilman Joseph Lowry. Today she reported on his Facebook page being removed and he didn’t disappoint, blaming everyone else besides himself with wild conspiracy theories. From the GDN:

Lowry believes the account was likely accessed by political opponents of his, he said. “I think they got access to it and they shut it down,” Lowry said. “Their thing is they want to silence me. They don’t want me to have a voice. “They got access. They shut it down. I mean, there’s nothing; there was no notices.”

That is looney tunes. Deleting a page in Facebook is hard even if you are the owner of the damn thing. Believe me I have tried! I eventually gave up and left mine up. No one got “access” to his site. Facebook removed it because people probably reported him for harassment on a daily basis. Or maybe Facebook was served with a threat of a suit. Lowry says the police are aware of it and an investigation is coming:

“Law enforcement is aware of it,” Lowry said. “I believe they’re working on it. They’re looking into it.”

The Police Chief begged to differ stating “Lowry is full of shit.”. Ok that’s now exactly what he said but he did say:

Police Chief Randall Aragon as of Friday afternoon said he wasn’t aware of any official report filed with the department on the matter.

Next article will be on his domestic violence protection order and when he is going to turn in his guns.

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Not a great week for La Marque City Council Member Joseph Lowry

July 26, 2025

It’s like a nightmare isn’t it? It just gets worse and worse. –The Color of Money

And it is getting worse for Council Member Lowry. Lowry isn’t the most lovable guy in La Marque. He enjoys posting tough guy pics of him and his guns. He used his Facebook platform, Lowry News Network, to harass people and make constant allegations about fraud and corruption. Facebook has since removed all of his pages including his personal page. He is being sued for harassment and defamation by members of City Council and a competitor. Those cases are pending. On Thursday he was a no show for a peace bond hearing. That is being rescheduled. Back in 2019 he had a $10,000 peace bond place on him by a Galveston County Judge. On Monday there is a special La Marque meeting which may shed light on his COVID application for $50,000. And yesterday it got worse. Much worse.

A Washington State Judge has issued a 5 year Protection Order in favor of his ex wife. (Read it here) But there is more. He ordered Lowry to get a mental health evaluation. This domestic violence protection order prohibits Lowry from purchasing or possessing firearms and the worst part of all this for Lowry is that the order is valid in all States. So if I am reading all of this right, Lowry has to get rid of his guns, has no voice on his Facebook platform, and is being recalled. That is bad. And sad.

I hope this mental evaluation of Lowry will help him to focus on his company and employees and move on. He should take a step back and resign from City Council and let this nightmare end.

It is sad but They came. They took it.

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Posted by johncoby

UPDATE: Peace Bond Hearing for La Marque City Council Member

July 24, 2025

Update: Lowry was a no show at the hearing. It will be rescheduled.

Today is another peace bond hearing for La Marque City Council Member Joseph Lowry.

Back in 2018 Hi-Tech Concrete Pumping Services applied for a Peace Bond against Joseph Lowry, Case No 25-NTM03-1457 | The State of Texas vs. Joseph Lowry. The records are buried in the Court system under the type “Non-Traffic Misdemeanor” instead of simply a “Peace Bond”. You can read the original complaint here. I had to look up the definition of a peace bond. From Texas Law Help:

According to the document filed with the court, which is in public record, Hi-Tech stated “Lowry threatens to shoot at Hi-Tech trucks and plots to cause severe damage to Hi-Tech Property”. These threats were disclosed by two witnesses, a former employee who worked out at the gym owned by Lowry and the General Manager of Hi-Tech. The judge issued a $10,000 peace bond which Lowry paid. After a year this money was returned to Lowry.

That was back in 2018. Today Lowry is in court again for another Peace Bond Hearing. The bond is being requested by Hayley Winkelmann. Hayley started the Recall Lowry petition which came up short by 6 signatures but she has refiled. Hayley is obviously concerned about her safety. Lowry seems to enjoy targeting her on his now deleted Lowry News Network. Details of why she is asking for a peace bond are not available at this time.

You can read the witness statements here and here. They are disturbing.

Screenshot

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La Marque update: City Councilman Goes Dark.

July 23, 2025
City Councilman Joseph Lowry

This is pretty strange.

The city of La Marque has added yet another controversy. Over the last few weeks the City Manager has resigned and has been charged with two misdemeanors and a felony. The Chief of Police is under scrutiny for the information he provided on his application for his job. And City Council Member Joseph Lowry, the drama queen of La Marque, is under scrutiny for a number of issues. Today yet another wrinkle involving Lowry has unfolded.

Last Monday during the La Marque City Council Meeting Harvey Freebird stated that the Facebook news network for La Marque has gone dark. Lowry News Network, run by Council Member Joseph Lowry, has been removed from Facebook. Lowry was famous (in his own mind) for his weekly “Facebook live, Facebook live” broadcasts. Facebook Live is about as popular as herpes at a hot tub party. No one watches Facebook Live, most have no idea what it is, or wants to know what it is, but for some it is their life. And now it’s dead. According to Lowry himself Facebook deleted his account. I’ve never heard of Facebook removing an account or accounts.

Lowry’s other personal Facebook pages and user IDs are also gone. His recently created account, JoJo Lowry, is gone. What happened that required his pages to be removed is not known but Lowry has been neutered. He has lost his voice. Maybe his attorney told him to remove everything since he is being sued by multiple people in Galveston County case # 24-CV-2218. Or maybe the City has recommended that he removes his pages due to legal issues against the city. Or maybe Facebook was subpoenaed by the various lawyers suing Lowry.

Or maybe Facebook has just had enough of his shit. Regardless. Facebook Live is Dead.

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