Bay Area Houston

Seriously, you just can’t make this stuff up.

Jared Woodfill, according to his campaign website, is a “former Chair of the Harris County Republican Party, President of Conservative Republicans of Texas, Proud Member of the Second Baptist Church, and devoted husband, father, christian”. Today a sex abuse lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention has been settled. According to The Texas Tribune:

The Southern Baptist Convention and others have reached a confidential settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused a former leader of sexual assault, ending a six-year legal drama that expanded victims’ rights in Texas, helped prompt a broader reckoning over child sexual abuse in evangelical churches and showed that a prominent conservative activist and Texas House candidate repeatedly downplayed abuse allegations.

Jared Woodfill is that House Candidate that repeatedly downplayed the abuse allegations and former Republican Judge Paul Dressler is the leader in the church. The details of the settlement have not been disclosed but the allegations are pretty damning. Here is the part about Woodfill knowing about the allegations from the Tribune:

In recent sworn testimony, Woodfill said he’d known since 2004 of an allegation that Pressler had sexually abused a child. Woodfill learned of those claims, he said, during mediation of an assault lawsuit filed against Pressler that he helped quietly settle for nearly a half-million dollars at the time. Despite his knowledge of the accusation, Woodfill continued to work with Pressler for nearly a decade — leaning on Pressler’s name and reputation to bolster their firm, Woodfill & Pressler LLP.
Rather than pay him a salary, Woodfill testified, the firm provided Pressler a string of employees to serve as personal assistants, most of them young men who typically worked out of his River Oaks mansion. Two have accused Pressler of sexual assault or misconduct.

SWEET HOLY MOSES! The Texas Tribune’s article is pretty damning in itself. Here is a snippet:

In 2017, Duane Rollins filed the lawsuit accusing Paul Pressler, a longtime Southern Baptist figure and former Texas judge, of decades of rape beginning when Rollins was a 14-year-old member of Pressler’s church youth group in Houston.

….Rollins filed the suit in Harris County against Pressler along with other defendants who he accused of enabling or concealing Pressler’s behavior — including the Southern Baptist Convention and Jared Woodfill, the former chair of the Harris County GOP and Pressler’s longtime law partner. ….The suit also showed that Woodfill, a prominent anti-LGBTQ+ activist, was aware of allegations that Pressler was a sexual predator but continued to provide him with young, male personal assistants who worked out of Pressler’s River Oaks home. 

This truly is some fucked up sh*t but then again Woodfill represents the Republican Party pretty well. Of course Woodfill claims he has not settled the suit although his attorneys say otherwise. Maybe he is doing what republicans do best.

Lie. Go read the article.

While Harris County Democrats were busy passing a useless resolution admonishing the District Attorney and worrying about pronouns, one of the Democratic Judges has been deemed ineligible to run for re-election. Go figure.

Judge of the 333rd Judicial Court, Brittanye Morris has had her application for re-election rejected. Morris, in 2020, ran against a very well qualified and excellent Judge, Daryl Moore, and won in the primary and in the general election. Moore was an outstanding judge. Morris came out of no where, had raised very little money, and really had no good reason to challenge an incumbent but she did. And she won. And now she lost because she is not on the ballot.

Why she has been declared ineligible to run has not been disclosed. I am hoping it is nothing but a technical error that can be successfully addressed. We will see.

Until then Democrats need to stop being distracted on stupid shit and focus on what fucking matters.

This just can’t be legal.

Eric Dick was appointed to the Harris County Department of Education in January 2023 after his failed attempt at running for Harris County Treasurer. His wife ran for the seat and lost. Now according to the Secretary of State’s website both Dicks are running for the Department of Education.

Eric Dick is running for his current seat Place 4 and his wife, Danielle Dick is running for Place 3. Neither are challenged in the primary. Danielle will be running against the incumbent Richard Cantu if he wins in the primary. Eric Dick endorsed Cantu in his run for City Council. Eric Dick will be unopposed in the general election so Dick is back. Again. Some of the precinct chairs of the Harris county Democratic Party was too busy voting on a worthless resolution against Kim Ogg instead of finding a candidate for the Board, so we get Dick.

Recently HCDE was made aware of Eric Dick’s run against the Texas Ethics Commission. The TEC fined Dick $30,000 back in 2021 and referred him to the Texas Bar for his conduct. His fine has since been referred to the Texas Attorney General for collection. He has since been fined another $10,000 for yet another campaign finance violation. BTW I filed both complaints but never expected such high fines. The $30,000 fine is the 2nd highest in TEC history 2nd to Harris County Jerry Eversole’s fine of $75,000.

If both advance to the HCDE there will be two family members on the Board.

Four years ago a “Democratic Socialist” entered the race for Harris County DA. She lost in the primary.

With the current District Attorney, Kim Ogg, on the ropes and being challenged by at least one candidate in the Democratic Primary I’m wondering if a socialist will enter the race. One did in Travis County and actually won back in 2020. I just don’t think Harris County is that far left. Democratic Socialists are not Democrats. They are socialists running in our primary especially in deep, deep, blue areas and they have seen some success putting in six members of The Squad in Congress. (Five very unsuccessful members. With 24 years in combined office they have passed 4 bills.)

In the past the socialists would run everywhere and would lose everywhere. Back in 2016 I wrote about Justice Democrats, an organization with Democratic Socialist ties:

Out of 80 candidates endorsed by JD, only 7 won. 2 were incumbents in deep blue districts. 1 was unopposed.  4 were all in very blue districts wiping out their general election opponents. It’s not like they were endorsing in tough competitive states like Texas, although those that did, lost. All of them. One raised over a $1 Million and lost 70-30 in the primary

In 2018 they focused on specific deep blue districts running young “progressives” and was more successful. I wonder if they are considering to try it again in Harris County. They might be waiting to see how the Mayor’s race ends up.

Even the Houston Chronicle is getting tired of the controversy. They are just re-using photos.

You won’t get me to defend Harris County DA Kim Ogg but the Harris County Democratic Party needs to vote on their resolution condemning Kim Ogg, stop whining, shut the hell up, and start working on raising money and preparing for the 2024 elections. You made your point. You don’t like DA Ogg for many good reasons. Most of us don’t but this stupid publicity stunt needs to end. Vote and move the fuck on.

In the end it will amount to a hill of refried beans. It will have the same affect as writing a letter to DA Ogg condemning her policies and getting some publicity out of it. It’s a complete waste of time and energy all while the Party is working to raise money, recruit candidates, and prepare for a major election in 2024. Instead of pitching in on these efforts they are whining about a fucking resolution.

So put the damn thing on the floor. Vote. Move the fuck on. Quit whining and sign up to volunteer for the campaign of her primary challenger.

This is getting old. And petty.

I’ve been critical of Judge Hidalgo for looking petty in her continued confrontation with District Attorney Kim Ogg. Ogg also has a lot of blame to share. Hidalgo recently added fuel to the fire by endorsing Ogg’s opponent. She didn’t need to do that. Not now especially after yet another Houston Chronicle article about the Texas Ranger’s investigation into her office. It looks petty. It is petty. She is better than this. She should be better than this.

But now a small, vocal, group of precinct chairs of the Harris County Democratic Party have to have their turn to piss on the campfire calling for a vote on a resolution condemning Kim Ogg. Hey, I get it. Ogg has lost support from the far left, and the left, and the middle. Even I, a former supporter of Ogg, have soured on her performance, mainly because of her continued public dramatic display of animosity towards Judge Hidalgo, Commissioners Court, and judicial candidates. These issues and discussions should have been behind closed doors not on the front page of the Houston Chronicle.

Unfortunately the small group of precinct chairs have to be on the front page of the Houston Chronicle and the Chronicle is eating it up as well as the republican MAGAts looking to regain the DAs office. From the Chronicle:

A committee of local Democrats had an unusually rousing evening on Wednesday when over 50 people attended a meeting with two dueling resolutions on the agenda – one from a group of over 100 precinct chairs calling on the party to formally condemn District Attorney Kim Ogg, and another from 23 of her supporters urging party unity instead.

By the way….there are over 750 precinct chairs in Harris County. The Party needs to do one of two things, pacify the small group of precinct chairs, pass the resolution, and then shut the hell up. Or just shut the hell up. We all have more important things to do. I doubt Ogg will ever get the nomination for DA in the 2024 primary. She has been unnecessarily caustic. Let the voters decide in March and quit with the drama. You have made your point, in public, on the front page of the Chronicle, and dramatically.

Just let it lie.

Why now?

Newsflash! Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo does not like Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg! I don’t know who is advising the Judge but she might want to consider a shake up in staff. This endorsement of Kim Ogg’s primary opponent, at this time, looks petty. It is appreciated, but it looks petty and in this day and age of politics looks, unfortunately, rules.

Why now? We are over 3 months away from the primary. Ogg and Hidalgo are coming off yet another round of fighting after the Texas Rangers continued their investigation of the failed COVID contract and with the Harris County Democratic Party moving to admonish Ogg. (Adding to the unnecessary drama) Endorsing Ogg’s opponent is ill timed. It doesn’t help anyone at this time. There is only one person who has entered the primary against Ogg at this time. What if another enters the race? Maybe one that Hidalgo would rather endorse?

If you have been paying attention, or reading the Houston Chronicle, there is a major disconnect between Hidalgo and Ogg. Both have attacked each other at Commissioners meetings, in public, and in print. The Chronicle is loving the infighting, so are the republican MAGAts. Throwing support to Ogg’s opponent at this time is really uncalled for. Why poke the bear? Why throw gas on the fire? Why now?

Ogg isn’t without blame. She has created a very bad look for the office. Many of her issues with Hidalgo, whether valid or not, could have been handled more discreetly, more professionally. Her role in the primary against well qualified attorneys was disturbing. Her reported use of her office against her opponents is also disturbing. It all looks petty.

And we all know looks rule.