Looks like another state senate seat is in play for Texas Democrats.
Chris Bell, who is not even a declared candidate yet, is leading Republican Austin Furse by nearly 14 percentage points. The Opinion Analysts poll shows Bell at 40% and Furse at 26.5%.
Even more remarkable, the poll shows Bell's name ID at 74.3 percent. Not only is that way higher than incumbent state Sen. Kyle Janek's name ID (which sits at 47.7 percent) but it also tops (though not significantly) the name ID of John Cornyn who comes in at 73.2 percent.
Janek's low numbers make it clear why his endorsement of Furse does not seem to be helping the young Houston money manager much.
Quorum Report has reported that Republicans such as former state Rep. Brad Wright have used these polling numbers to cast Furse as a weak general election candidate.
Bell has not made a final decision to enter the race (yet). But for those of us who saw him at last weekend's convention, he sure had the look of a candidate.
Meanwhile, the Austin Political Report has reported that Bell is "telling Houston lawmakers that he will run."
Count me in as one who hopes Chris Bell does jump into this race.
Jeanette Popp spoke at a press conference on the plaza of the Blackwell/Thurman Criminal Justice Center in Austin on Saturday, January 12. Popp urged the candidates for Travis County District Attorney to impose a moratorium on the death penalty in Travis County by not seeking the death penalty in any capital trials and instead using life without parole as an alternative to the death penalty. The above video was recorded after the press conference.
Jeanette Popp's daughter Nancy DePriest was murdered in Austin in 1988.
March 4, 2008, the day of the primary in Travis County, would have been Nancy's 40th birthday.
Jeanette became intimately familiar with the many flaws of the Texas criminal justice system after two innocent men, Chris Ochoa and Richard Danziger, were wrongfully convicted of her daughter's murder and spent 12 years in prison. They were exonerated and released in 2001. The City of Austin settled separate lawsuits with Danziger and Ochoa for $9 million and $5.3 million respectively in 2003. Danziger also settled with Travis County for $950,000. The actual killer, Achim Marino, was convicted in October 2002.
"The death penalty system in Texas is broken. The next DA in Travis County should reflect how the Travis County community's views on the death penalty have evolved in recent years and pledge that for now the death penalty is off the table within Travis County", said Scott Cobb of Texas Moratorium Network. "If we want to slow down the number of executions in Texas and reduce the risk of executing an innocent person, we need to elect a district attorney who will pledge to impose a moratorium on seeking new death sentences and a moratorium on setting execution dates for cases with existing death sentences. Certainly a DA candidate in Travis County who makes such a pledge will find a rich reward of votes in the Democratic primary", said Cobb.
For more information visit TMNPAC.org and contribute online through ACTBLUE.
As noted below, Democrat Dan Barrett has won the special election runoff to fill the remainder of Republican Anna Mowery's term given her resignation and retirement from the Texas House of Representatives.
Barrett won over Republican candidate Mark Shelton with 52.2% of the vote, outperforming the Democratic performance of the district by 13 points. Barret won the Election Day vote by 69 votes and won the election by 452 votes.
The GOP margin in the Texas House is now 79-71 thanks to Dan Barrett today and Kirk England switching parties last month in HD-106. The peak of GOP control was 88-62 after the first re-districting for the 2002 elections.
This proves the wind is behind Texas Democrats back for 2008 and we can win other GOP districts as well, like HD-52 north of Austin in traditionally Republican Williamson County. Congratulations to Dan Barrett, the HDCC, and TexBlog PAC for the stunning win tonight. BOR Editor Matt Glazer will be following up with his thoughts shortly.
Polls closed in Forth Worth at 7 pm but results in this race will likely take a while to come in as they report to Tarrent County and not the Texas Secretary of State.
7:30 PM - Points of Interest: Joes Burns is an endorsed candidate of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund though both candidates are Democrats.
8:00 PM - Joel Burns leads the Early Vote with 56%.
8:20 PM - Muse emails in the latest update and says Burns continues to lead 55%-45% after the first 8 precincts reported in but I don't have the number online to update the total votes as of yet.
The process of vetting and endorsing candidates is arduous and sometimes contentious, but when the GLBT community commits itself, works together, and, most importantly, when we speak out about our needs and our vision for the future of Houston, we win!
The Caucus was victorious in 16 of the 17 races in which we endorsed in the November general election and December runoff election, including the city council race for District D which encompasses the Montrose Area. Unofficial canvass reports from Harris County had Adams winning Montrose by about 800 total votes, receiving 88% of the vote in those precincts. The Caucus orchestrated an unprecedented get out the vote campaign that paid off big time. The GLBT Caucus also endorsed Jolanda Jones, At-Large 5 and James Rodriguez, District I for Houston City Council. With the election of this new generation of progressive, equality focused city leaders, the Caucus looks forward to helping Houston City Council move forward in granting equal rights to GLBT citizens.
Now that all the votes have been counted and things have turned out so well, I think we should acknowledge how important this election was for our organization. We grew this fall. Our screening committee invested a lot of time investigating the HISD bond. We took a big risk, being the first the civic organization to endorse the proposal, but our activism made the difference. Just like in Wanda Adam's race, Montrose and the GLBT block vote provided, in large part, the margin of victory.
I think Caucus President Jennifer Rene Pool said it best: "We are not a special interest group; we are a general interest group. That is why we endorsed in the HISD, county, and state bond elections as well. Our focus is on cleaner air, better public schools, increasing public safety, and electing quality progressive candidates. We want a better Houston for our families, and that starts by electing the best candidates."
(Don't forget that you can help this weekend in Dan Barrett's special election. The campaign can make best of you if you can help in person at any of the events listed below or in the comments. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
There is one week left. In 7 days, Democrats have an opportunity to win a very special election runoff and now Dan Barrett needs your help getting out the vote.
When someone asks if a Democratic presidential ticket can win in Texas...
When someone opines whether dismal Junior Senator John Cornyn can be taken out...
When someone asks if Harris County will sweep it's county wide races...
You can say, "Well, if House District 97 and Dan Barrett can take back a 'Republican' district in Tarrant County, it can happen anywhere!"
The Fort Worth Star Telegram endorsed Barrett this past Sunday because he is a unique candidate who is ready to change the Texas House and end the auto-craddick rule. Help take back the Texas House. Help Dan Barrett today and every day until December 18th.
Update: From Todd in the comments.
Many of us will also be doing GOTV block walking on Saturday as well.
You can meet at the TCDP HQ at 3004 W. Lancaster in downtown Fort Worth. We'll be heading out about 10am to start hanging GOTV lit on doors throughout HD 97.
Mid-Cities has carpooling running from all areas of our territory to get folks downtown to help walk. Check out the details here.
And a real-world phonebank on Saturday.
The phone bank will run Saturday and Sunday 1-5 p.m. at the Law Offices of Art Brender (600 8th Avenue Fort Worth). Beverages and snacks will be provided.
Already claiming endorsements from the TexBlog PAC and the Texas Progressive Alliance, Dan Barrett won a major victory today with yet another endorsement. Tomorrow voters will go to the polls as early voting begins in the Special Election runoff for House District 97. The Star-Telegram decided to make their recommendation first, though.
Their entire basis is one issue:
Democrat Dan Barrett has a ready answer for people who contend that the controversies involving Speaker Tom Craddick's heavy hand in the Texas House don't matter to the voters in District 97.
"Maybe only the most inside of political wonks know his name," said Barrett, who is facing Republican Mark Shelton in the Dec. 18 runoff, "but they are upset by a style of leadership that allows Craddick and the people he works with to exercise absolute control by fair means or foul."
Craddick's "politics of fear and intimidation" came to a startling climax in the last session, Barrett said, when the speaker declared himself the ultimate authority in the House, but this has been an issue ever since the Midland representative took the speaker's chair.
"That is so contrary to the very principle of democracy," Barrett said. Even if people aren't well-informed about the particulars of government, they still care what happens in Austin. "They want to make sure that things are going OK so they don't have to watch every single move. That's why they elect representatives."
That is entirely fine with me. The Star-Telegram mentions some other issues, but the other issues are virtually meaningless if the House's leadership blocks any progress on them. With Tom Craddick, the issue is what he wants, and we all know now that he wants his power intact before all else.
The newspaper's editorial board might sum it up best:
To paraphrase Barrett from a League of Women Voters forum, District 97 voters who think things are hunky-dory in Austin should vote for Shelton.
Unfortunately, the last legislative session was far from hunky or dory. Although Barrett is a realist in admitting that he alone, as a freshman legislator, can't change the status quo, he just might make a difference as part of a growing body of lawmakers who represent a growing number of Texans who are dissatisfied with House leadership.
The Star-Telegram recommends Dan Barrett in the Dec. 18 runoff for Texas House District 97.
The Dan Barrett campaign wants your help getting out the vote for Dan.
This weekend and next weekend the campaign will be block walking in the mornings and phone banking in the afternoons and Dan needs your help. Rep. Lon Burnam is coordinating the efforts and said all he wants for the holiday's is your help.
The information of when and where to blockwalk and phonebank is below the fold, but please contact the campaign via e-mail or by phone (817-332-2580).
For those of you that do not want to block walk there will be phone banking going on all day at several locations. In short they can put to work anyone who comes.
We can of course also provide them with ample quantities of food and drink.
"We believe that Dan Barrett will make an excellent addition to the growing numbers of Democrats in the Texas House of Representatives," said Vince Leibowitz, Chair of the Texas Progressive Alliance. "We are pleased to offer him our support," he continued.
In early November, Barrett led a field of seven candidates vying for the seat vacated by retiring State Rep. Anna Mowery, a longtime ally of Texas House Speaker Tom Craddick.
"Dan Barrett is a skilled, experienced advocate who will stand up for the needs of schoolchildren and their parents," said Texas Parent PAC board member Pam Meyercord of Dallas. "He will be a courageous, independent legislator who acts in the public interest and steers clear of divisive partisan politics."
Texas Parent PAC joins United Educators Association in supporting Barrett because of his strong stance in fighting for teachers and students.
Meyercord said Barrett will work to change the way the state house does business so there is real progress on solving problems and less political bickering in Austin.
[…]
"Unlike his opponent, Dan Barrett opposes taking money away from public schools to fund private school tuition vouchers," said Ellen Jones of Euless, a Texas Parent PAC board member. "Barrett understands that Texas taxpayers cannot afford to subsidize private schooling through voucher schemes. Our limited state and local funds must be used to strengthen public schools in every neighborhood so children can succeed academically and their communities and families prosper."
As the release points out, Barrett put himself through the University of Texas and Texas Tech Law School. His mother was an administrative assistant at an Austin elementary school and his father was on staff at the University of Texas. He has been an advocate in the courtroom fighting for municipalities and school districts in litigation in areas ranging from construction, insurance claims, and boundary disputes.
While Shelton is out arguing against CHIP and protecting Craddick, Barrett has been a leader in the community.
In Fort Worth, Barrett is known for his collegial leadership style and ability to bring people together to accomplish goals. He has been active in Leadership Fort Worth for the last 10 years, served as a member of the Board for Volunteers of America, and was president of four Tarrant County legal professional associations. From 1990 to 1997 he was a trustee on the board of Shakespeare in the Park.
