Bay Area Houston

It’s not rocket science.

Leave it to the awkward dude in the suits 2 sizes too small to violate simple rules on sign placement. I’m talking about Scott Bowen who is running for State Representative after getting his ass kicked off the CCISD school board. Bowen’s buddies have put up signs around the district, 5 months before the election. There are rules governing the placement of signs. According to Click2Houston:

Texas law prohibits political signs from going up earlier than 90 days before an election and the signs must be removed within 10 days after the election.

Trying to find that specific law is difficult. The Texas Ethics Commission has a number of articles and pamphlets on the subject. Title 15 Election code is on the TEC website. It’s pretty easy to understand and simple to follow. There are restrictions on where to place signs for instance you can’t put signs on Government property including the fences surrounding the school, county property, or NASA.

There are restrictions for placing signs for good reasons. We don’t want to look at political signs 5 months before the election or 5 months after the candidate loses. There are also specific laws concerning the wording on signs. For instance a candidate must have the word FOR, as in Mr Smith FOR city council if they are a candidate for the office. The sign must have “Paid for by…” and the “”NOTICE: IT IS A VIOLATION OF STATE LAW (CHAPTERS 392 AND 393, TRANSPORTATION CODE), TO PLACE THIS SIGN IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY OF A HIGHWAY.” notices.

Harris County also has rules against putting up signs prior to the 90 days before the election. Bowen will be on the ballot in early March, 5 months from now. He has a conservative challenger, Bob Mitchell, who is currently following the laws concerning sign placement. Unfortunately There are no sign police and no organization to report violations. Houston used to have a sign patrol assigned to pick up signs in the medians but I have not seen those in years.

So Scott if you can’t follow the law, you shouldn’t be elected to make the law.

Well color me late to the game.

Bob Mitchell, the former President of the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership has filed to run against former CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen for State Representative. Bob is a conservative candidate running on the right issues. (Check out his website at https://www.bobmitchell4tx.com) He has experience. He has the political skills. He has political connections and is already supported by local conservative leaders, including Pearland Mayor Kevin Cole, Friendswood Mayor Mike Foreman, Seabrook Mayor Jim Sweeney, former Seabrook Mayor Thom Kolupski, Taylor Lake Village Mayor Jon Keeney, former Morgans Point Mayor Michel Bechtel, and former Houston Mayor Pro-Tem Dave Martin. That is an impressive list.

As a Democrat I would probably support a qualified Democrat if one chooses to be on the ballot but this district is so gerrymandered that a Democrat could knock on 25,000 doors, make over 20,000 phone calls, and raise over $400,000 and still lose by 15+ points. (I should know, I worked on that campaign) It would be a very tough race to win but the republican primary is different.

This primary will pit a conservative against a MAGAt. Mitchell vs Bowen. It could be one district where the Conservatives have a chance to take back their once great party or the MAGAts continue with their version of conservatives who brush off racism, out of control spending, screwing public education, and siding with insurance companies over the businesses and citizens in the Bay Area. Conservatives threw Bowen off the CCISD School Board. Maybe they will keep him out of the House.

Can Conservatives take back their party in House District 129? I hope so.