After Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee entered the race for Houston Mayor, Amanda Edwards dropped out of the race and endorsed her. Amanda then filed to run for SJL Congressional District knowing that if SJL did not win she might run for re-election in her Congressional seat.
SJL lost by over 30 points and a day later she filed for her Congressional seat. Kind of not cool but that is politics and it was a risk Amanda realized and took. So now what? According to the Houston Chronicle Amanda has outraised SJL 4-1 and SJL won her district in the Mayors race by only 2 points. Amanda has been working the district for months. She is raising money. She is young and very capable of doing the job. She has experience as a former City Council Member.
Sheila is Sheila. She had performed the job for many years. Everyone knows her but that loss in the Mayors race was huge. It was surprising and her performance in her own district has to be concerning.
Personally I wish SJL had ended the race for Mayor by endorsing Amanda and welcoming a new, well qualified, young, woman for the next Congresswoman for Congressional District 18.
The Good. Ding Dong Buzbee’s gone! After spending over $800,000 of his own money for a district race that usually costs at the very most $100,000 Buzbee got his ass handed to him. Again. In 2019 he spent over $13 Million of his own money to lose like a bitch to Turner and he lost like a bitch again. Even the rich white folk of District G knew better than to elect Buzbee.
More Good. Senator John Whitmire is the new Mayor of Houston beating Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee by 31 points. That was not expected. Maybe 10-15 points but 31? I still don’t understand why SJL entered this race. She is a lightning rod for the rabid right and lightning struck last night. To the 34% of voters who supported SJL, give Whitmire a chance. Yes he is a moderate but he is actually a progressive who moves the ball forward. He has a history of making progress. He is going to be good for the city.
More Good. Chris Hollins easily beats Orlando Sanchez. I can’t figure this one out. If those who voted for Hollins had voted for Sheila, Sheila would have been Mayor. Go figure. Well, Hollins was the least qualified of the entire bunch running for Controller and now he is Controller. As with Whitmire, let’s give him the opportunity to succeed.
The Bad. Juan Ramirez and Twila Carter won by just a couple hundred votes. Hopefully they will not be MAGAts on City Council coupled with Fred Flickinger and WIllie Davis to just cause chaos. There are a number of republican voting Council Members but they work well with others providing a good balance where needed. Hopefully Ramirez and Carter will fit in. I have my doubts about Flickinger and Davis.
The Ugly. What the living fuck Houston? Wille Davis over Nick Hellyar? Whether you are a Democrat or Republican Nick Hellyar was by by far the most qualified, most respected, most endorsed, candidate running for city council this cycle. Instead you voted for Willie Davis? I mean, come on man. That is just plain fucking ugly. Davis didn’t raise much money so someone had to finance his campaign. More on that later. With Davis there could be up to 4 MAGAt Republicans on City Council. That is enough to cause chaos.
Financial reports have been posted for the Houston City Council races, Mayor and Controller. Here is a rundown.
Mayor. Whitmire raised $1.7 million. Sheila Jackson Lee raised $498,000. There is a PAC supporting Whitmire that raised $576,000. More on them later. It’s clear the various PACs, at least 16 of them donating the max $10,000, believes Whitmire will win and many have joined them. These PACs include the Firefighters, Houston Apartment Association, Police Union, and many business PACs. PACs can only donate a maximum of$10,000. Individuals can donated only $5,000. SJL has only 1 PAC that donated the max allowed. Raising money doesn’t aways results in a win. Ask Tony Buzbee. Speaking of…
District G. Buzbee threw in another $300,000 of his own money into his campaign for a total of $850,000 in personal loans. He raised $48,000. City Council Member Mary Nan Huffman raised $158,000. As with Whitmire I think the PACs are banking on a Huffman win.
Controller. Hollins raised $330,000. Orlando Sanchez raised $82,000. Here are the rest:
As reported by the Houston Chronicle, republican political blogger, Aubrey Taylor, was indicted for Injury to Elderly by a Harris County Grand Jury. After the indictment Taylor filed a civil suit against the victim, Gerald Womack claiming Womack actually attacked him. You can read the civil suit here. It is quite an interesting set of possible alternative facts. But there is more to this….
Jared Woodfill In the civil suit he is represented by Jared Woodfill. According to the Houston Chronicle, in 2018 the FBI raided Woodfill’s office. I haven’t found any updates on that issue. Woodfill is also representing Steven Hotze charged with multiple felonies concerning a voter fraud conspiracy. He is representing multiple republican candidates claiming voter fraud in the 2020 elections. Both of them are closely associated with the Harris County Republican Party. Woodfill was the chair of the party from 2002-2014. Jared is also involved in an indictment of former State Judge Paul Pressler for sexual assault of a minor, his former bible study student. (You can read all the horrible details from The Texas Tribune here) and here is just a tidbit:
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.
Texas Tribune
Oliver Brown According to the Chronicle Oliver Brown is defending Taylor in the assault case. Brown, according to Laws in Texas, was indicted by a grand jury after being accused of trying to strangle his girlfriend. That case was eventually dismissed. LIT has more.
Aubrey Roshon Taylor I don’t get it. He went to Womack’s place of work and an assault happened. Taylor claims in his civil suit that he was the victim even though charges were only filed against him not Womack. If I had been assaulted by a 66 year old I wouldn’t have left the scene. I would have dialed 911, waited for the police to show up, and cooperated. His civil suit just doesn’t make sense. He is asking for $100,000 in his suit.
According to the Harris County District Court this isn’t the first run in with the law for Taylor. (Link here) The last indictment was in 2005. He had a couple of other indictments in 1990 resulting in probation and jail time. I’m glad that up until this latest indictment Mr. Taylor has served his sentence and has become successful. Good for him.
The Ugly. Who in the f*ck is Willie Davis? Davis is a right wing Pastor who tends to run for something, anything, and loses. He received 33% of the vote for At Large 2 and will head into a runoff with Nick Hellyar. Davis is endorsed by Aubrey Taylor the right wing blogger who was indicted for assaulting Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee’s campaign staff. Hellyar was endorsed by the Houston Chronicle. Hellyar knows what he is going. Davis does not. Go fuckin figure.
Leticia Plummer will go to a runoff with Roy Morales, another “run for anything” candidate who has lost many times over. That wasn’t expected.
Tony Buzbee goes to a runoff with the incumbent. For fuck sakes voters in District G. WTF? Are you that stupid to want Buzbee in office?
The race for Controller will go to a runoff. The lefties of the party want a progressive, young, candidate even if he is the least qualified for the job. The republicans want a MAGAt even though there is a great republican candidate on the ballot with excellent experience for the job. Hollins and Sanchez will go to a runoff in December.
The Bad. Clear Lake and Kingwood selected a MAGAt republican to represent them on Council. Fred Flickinger is a MAGAt republican. A full blown MAGAt. Let’s give him a chance like we gave Trump a chance in 2016. LOL. Look to the voters in Clear Lake and Kingwood to vote for Trump in 2024 even if he is in jail.
Conchita Reyes did not make the runoff. She was by far the best candidate for At Large 1. Miles, the Democrat/Republican will face Julian Ramirez in the runoff.
The Good. Lots of good in this election. Whitmire and Lee, as expected, will enter a runoff for Mayor. Both are capable of doing the job. One will win in December. As I have said in the past:
Unfortunately, like it or not, deserving or not, the Congresswoman is a lightning rod for the right much like Ted Cruz is for the left. But unlike Ted Cruz I doubt she would get boo-ed at a parade.
She might not get boo-ed that won’t help her win in December. Whitmire has a positive message and broad support in a non partisan race. Lee has the lefties who will stick with her but that probably won’t overcome the lightning rod affect.
Richard Cantu will be in a runoff with Twila Carter. He is the best for that position. Sallie Alcorn stomped her opponents.
All CCISD propositions won. Thanks to the voters in the district!
It’s pretty clear who the MAGAts are running for Houston City Council. There aren’t many. There are some true conservatives running such as City Councilman Dave Martin, Twila Carter, Martina Lemond Dixon and others. And then there are the MAGAt republicans. Two of them.
Tony Buzbee. What can you say about a guy who spent $13 Million in a losing effort for Mayor? Now he is spending $500,000 to run for a city council race. He is endorsed by former City Council Member Greg Travis who many called for him to resign because of racist comments he made. In his race for Mayor he attempted to court both sides of the aisle and failing miserably. He was boo-ed out of a Democratic Party meeting. He even lost an endorsement from Steven Hotze. And he had a fundraiser for Donald Trump. That is a MAGAt Republican. The Houston Chronicle has endorsed his opponent.
Fred Flickinger. Running for Houston City Council District E covering Kingwood and Clear Lake. Like Buzbee Flickinger is financing his campaign with over $100,000 of his own money. He is endorsed by the MAGAts of the party including CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen and State Representative Little Baby Briscoe Cain. The Houston Chronicle has endorsed his opponent.
There are two real conservatives running against the MAGAts. Vote for the conservatives.
What is with all the violence in the Republican Party?
A right wing blogger, Aubrey Taylor, who publishes an online publication called Houston Business Connections, (It’s a blog) was indicted yesterday for assaulting the chair of Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee campaign. He has ties to Steven Hotze an extreme far right influencer of the Harris County Republican Party who also has been charged with a felony, although much more serious. From The Texas Tribune:
Conservative activist Steven Hotze on Wednesday was indicted on two felony charges related to his alleged involvement in an air conditioning repairman being held at gunpoint in 2020 during a bizarre search for fraudulent mail ballots that did not exist, according to his attorney, Gary Polland.
A former Houston Policeman held an AC repairman at gun point because he thought the truck had thousands of illegal mail in ballots. He was also indicted. The AC repairman has filed a civil suit. This is some strange shit involving the US Marshalls, Texas Lt Governor Dan Patricks brother, and a recorded phone call. Do yourself a favor and read The Washington Post article.
Back to Aubrey Taylor. Taylor is accused of harassing and assaulting a 66 year old volunteer with the Lee campaign at the campaign office. Taylor is a relatively young buck. He has been charged with a felony assault of an elderly person. Taylor has retained Jared Woodfill as his attorney for a civil suit claiming he knocked the shit out of the old man in self defense. Jared is also representing Hotze. Jared was once the Chair of the Harris County Republican Party. Jared himself has had a run in with the law resulting in a raid by the FBI.
How fucked up is this? I mean seriously. As a blogger I’ve been known to be a bit extreme. I might have cussed the living shit out of State Representative Dennis Paul in the greenbelt behind my house after the Uvalde shooting but I would never resort to knocking the shit out of him. I mean, come on! Who does that?
This ought to be interesting. In the meantime Democrats should steer clear of this dude.
According to his latest campaign finance report Buzbee has raised just over $550,000, with $550,000 coming from his own pocket. When he unsuccessfully ran for Mayor in 2019 he spent $13 Million of his own money. He got his ass kicked.
In her latest report City Council Member Mary Nan Huffman raised $77,895, a pretty good amount for an 8 day out report and for a district race.
District G is a high rent district which includes River Oaks. Hopefully the voters are wealthy, not stupid.
Notes: Gilbert Garcia, running for Mayor, is self financing his campaign as is Fred Flickinger running for City Council District E. Lee Kaplan’s majority of his donations are from a personal loan. Other notables that are funding their campaigns with their own money include Melanie Miles, Julian Ramirez, Obioha “Obes” Nwabara, Ericka McCrutcheon, Roy Morales, Shannan Nobles, and Orlando Sanchez.
Fred Flickinger is running for Houston City Council District E (Clear Lake and Kingwood) against Martina Lemond Dixon. Both are Republicans. One is a MAGAt.
Flickinger has been endorsed by the extremists of the party including CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen who has ties to Defend Texas Liberty, State Representative “Little Baby” Briscoe Cain, an election denier, State Representative Dennis Paul, the coward of the Party, and True Texas Project the organization identified as “anti-government” by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Bowen has spent his time on the CCISD board being a disruption. He has embraced chaos. His connections to Defend Texas Liberty and white supremacists is extremely troubling. He is endorsing Flickinger and has endorsed Tony Buzbee in the past. Dennis Paul is considered “Furniture” in the Texas Legislature. He just sits there and does nothing while young members of the Executive Committee are shot to death. His greatest contribution are thoughts and prayers. Little Baby Briscoe Cain is an election denier who traveled to Pennsylvania to help Trump overturn the election.
Flickinger is a MAGA Republican and is self financing his campaign just like Buzbee. Flickinger would be another disruption on City Council. He would bring Scott Bowen’s chaos to the City. We don’t need chaos. We need common sense. We need someone who will work on a non-partisan basis to improve the services provided by the city.
Do yourself a favor, do your neighbors a favor, and don’t put Flickinger in office. His opponent is a very well qualified, experienced, conservative, candidate.
In a nutshell. I’m working on why I would vote this way for each listed below. I have posted my reasoning for City Races.
Houston City Council Mayor: John Whitmire Controller: Dave Martin District E: Martina Lemond Dixon At Large 1: Conchita Reyes At Large 2: Nick Hellyar At Large 3: Richard Cantu At Large 4: Leticia Plummer At Large 5: Sallie Alcorn
Let’s just jump in. Early voting starts tomorrow, Oct 23.
Mayor: Senator John Whitmire. I’m not happy that Whitmire received support from MAGAt Mattress Mac but we are at a time where the constant bickering needs to stop between various parts of the city. I believe Whitmire can make progress on that issue. He has the experience to do the job. He has a record of successfully reaching across the aisle to make progress, something many “Progressives” forget to do. Whitmire has championed progressive causes and has delivered throughout his career again something “Progressives” seem to have forgotten. I’m hoping his experience will result in a stronger police force while providing protection for all the citizens of Houston. I’m hoping for fair pay for our Firefighters. I’m also hoping that my recycling bin is picked up on time!
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has the experience to run the city. Unfortunately, like it or not, deserving or not, the Congresswoman is a lightning rod for the right much like Ted Cruz is for the left. But unlike Ted Cruz I doubt she would get boo-ed at a parade. Lee comes from a Congressional district that she can and has won by simply putting her name on the ballot. Houston is different, diverse, and unfortunately she will drive out the crazies to vote against her and will work against her if elected. If she doesn’t win I have to wonder if she would put her name on the ballot for re-election in her Congressional district. She would win.
Controller. Council Member Dave Martin. I’ve said my peace about the candidates. I initially thought the Deputy Controller, Shannon Nobles, was the best candidate and on paper she still is but she had an opportunity to screen with the Houston Chronicle but declined. It’s bothering enough for me to tip to Dave Martin. Martin has what it takes to be Controller. He has the formal education in accounting, the accounting background in the corporate world, and 8 years serving as Chair of the Budget Committee for the city of Houston. As I have said before, if you need someone to represent you in court hire a lawyer. If you need someone to manage your $6 Billion budget hire an accountant. Martin is an accountant. Chris Hollins is a lawyer. QED
District E (Clear Lake): Martina Lemond Dixon. She has the experience. She is well qualified to be a Council Member. She is a Republican but one that I believe everyone could work with in a non partisan way. She is by far the most qualified of the two running. Endorsed by the Houston Chronicle.
At Large 1: Conchita Shelly Reyes. An excellent candidate. Endorsed by the Houston Chronicle. Young, energetic, experienced. She is a great candidate running against other great candidates like Leah Wolfthal.
At Large 2: Nick Hellyar. There are some great candidates in this race including Holly Vilaseca, Marina Coryat and Danielle Bass but Nick, not only has a slew of endorsements, he has the applicable experience to be productive on day one. He is endorsed by the Chronicle.
At Large 3: Richard Cantu. Cantu has an excellent list of endorsements including Sheriff Gonzalez, Commissioners Garcia and Briones, Congresswoman Garcia, and many, many more. He has excellent experience with the City of Houston and is currently an elected official with the Harris County Department of Education. Endorsed by the Houston Chronicle.
At Large 4: Council Member Letitia Plummer. She is the incumbent. The Houston Chronicle has recommended another term. As do I.
At Large 5: Council Member Sallie Alcorn. The best candidate of the entire bunch of candidates running for At Large Positions. Endorsed by the Houston Chronicle because she is just an awesome City Council Member. By far one of the best!
The last time we saw Buzbee running for office he was trampled by Mayor Turner. Buzbee spent around $12 Million of his own money to get a Texas sized ass whooping. Now he is at it again challenging the incumbent Mary Nan Huffman.
As with his other campaign, Buzbee is self financing. So far he has reported raising $17,383, spent $259,946, has $7,437 COH, and loaned his campaign $250,000.
Mary Nan has reported raising $31,100, spent $37,937, has $99,398 COH with no loans.
The voters in Houston sent Buzbee’s rich ass packing 4 years ago. Hopefully the rich ass voters in District G sends his rich ass packing in November.
The Houston Chronicle has endorsed Richard Cantu for At-Large 3. From the Chronicle:
Perhaps it was coincidence that Richard Cantu, 54, sat in the center of the table at our screening with candidates for this race, but we found him to have the right mix of personal and professional experience while also seeming to speak to the largest groups of Houstonians.
Cantu is my favorite also. He has elected official experience as a Trustee with the Harris County Department of Education as well as applicable experience working with and in the City of Houston.
Still waiting for Donnell Cooper’s report that is now 10 days late. Next reports are due 8 days before the election. I’ll update this post as the results are posted.
NOTES: Gilbert Garcia, candidate for Mayor is self financing his campaign for over $3,500,000. Of the $277,911 that was raised this period, $250,000 was from his own pocket. Fred Flickinger, candidate for District E (Clear Lake) is also self financing for over $100,000. Have not posted yet. Donnell Cooper and Roy Morales.
Raised: Total money raised this period. Includes In-Kind donations. In-Kind: Something of value donated as opposed to cash such as used of an office space. Expenditures: Amount spent over the period. Loans: Outstanding loans. This may not be the total loan amount for the entire election period. COH: Cash on Hand. Money that is in the bank.
Another great (and easy) endorsement from the Chronicle.
The Chronicle gives way too much credit to Plummer’s challengers. All three shouldn’t be running unless they intend to be serious about running. As I have said before: There are four candidates for At-Large 4. Only one is serious. Let’s weed out the non-contenders. Roy Morales. He runs for anything. Andrew “Drew” Patterson. Can’t find anything about him. John Branch. Has raised little money or interest. The Chronicle highlighted their strong points even though they are not serious politicians. Bless their hearts.
From the Chronicle:
Plummer’s willingness to keep an open mind in a political climate where many elected leaders are content to operate in silos and echo chambers is a refreshing trait. She is both an independent advocate for the city and willing to be a check on the mayor. Plummer deserves a second term.
I’ve had my doubts about the Houston Police Officers Union (HPOU) ever since their former President, Joey Gamaldi, made a fool out of himself after a botched raid. That raid resulted in criminal charges filed against the involved police, but their endorsements this year seems to be pretty good.
They have released their endorsements for the 2023 Houston City races. On top of the list are Senator Whitmire for Mayor and Dave Martin for Controller. I’m glad they are supporting Martina Lemond for District E, the Clear Lake area. The other guy in that race is just a right wing nut job.
Unlike other organizations that endorse, the HPOU will support their candidates with mailers and manpower. Personally I would have endorsed Cantu over Carter. Melanie Miles is a good candidate, although I would have endorsed Conchita Reyes. They also endorsed Mary Nan Huffman over Tony Buzbee. That in itself is a good sign! Here are their endorsements:
Flickinger, 60, who helps lead his family’s hydraulic equipment company, seems to view problems (and solutions) through more of a partisan lens than Dixon, and we worry he’d function more as an obstructionist rather than a constructive coalition builder.
A vote for Dixon is a vote for a government where Democrats and Republicans can work together to improve citizens’ lives. Houston needs that. And so does the rest of America.
Seriously. I said it this way: “Unfortunately one candidate is an extreme right wing republican. He is self financing his campaign and endorsed by some of the most right wing of the area including CCISD Trustee Scott Bowen, the Texas GOP, Harris County Republican Party, and State Representative “Little Baby” Briscoe Cain. Much like Bowen, he will bring his extreme politics into city council.”
Personally I am just tired of the white wing lies, disruption, and stupidity of the far right candidates. We need someone who will put their political background in the background. Flickinger will not do that.
The other two candidates have no idea what they are doing. Sallie does. She is one of the best Council Members on city council if not the best. Take a few minutes to review her website. She has served the City very well and should get another 4 years.
Posted by johncoby 
Bay Area Houston 