Jim Murphy is bitter that the voters in HD-133 took away "his seat." His strategy to take back "his seat" is to launch a series of dirty attacks that have been thoroughly discredited by partisan Republican and former Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector -- and staunch Jim Murphy supporter -- Paul Bettencourt.
State Representative Kristi Thibaut has worked her entire life to fight for Texas families. She's fought to lower utility rates, insurance rates, and college tuition. She's championed job creation and worked hard to protect homeowners from foreclosure. She is a State Representative who is trying to improve the lives of Texas families. Jim Murphy, on the other hand, is a partisan hack who resorts to dirty attacks to hide the fact that he supports public policies that harm Texas families, Texas workers, and Texas children.
Murpyh's attacks are utterly predictable -- slinging mud about the fact that Rep. Thibaut worked as a (hold your breath) lobbyist for ACORN. I know, I know -- the horror. Except for the fact that Paul Bettencourt has said ACORN is a legitimate operation.
Although nearly 40 percent of the 35,000 voter registration applications submitted in Harris County by a community-organizing group accused of fraud in other states were rejected, there is no evidence of intentional manipulation of the voter rolls here, according to the county's voter registrar.
Voter fraud is a perennial political boogeyman of the Republicans, similar to the way fears of rigged elections, registrars purging voters and ballot-stealing voter machines are employed by Democrats. Like a good rumor, they persist because they're based on a kernel of truth.
But large-scale conspiracy this does not appear to be. These paid canvassers, many low income folks themselves, are more likely motivated to pad their stacks to collect a paycheck than to join in a sinister plot to swing an election.
But even if investigations in other states do turn up evidence of a coordinated effort to commit fraud, Harris County apparently has nothing to fear.
"There's no Dallas Cowboys football team. President Roosevelt has not been re-registered. We've done a cursory check," says Paul Bettencourt, Harris County voter registrar.
In fact, Bettencourt, a Republican, says he has a healthy relationship with ACORN. When there's a problem, he meets with the group's officials to work it out. And there have been problems this election cycle.
So the extremely partisan-Republican former Harris County Tax-Assessor Collector who supports Jim Murphy says there is no problem. A factual evaluation of the voter registration rolls show there is no problem. What, then, is Jim Murphy actually talking about? Why is he in the gutter slinging mud like just another typical politician?
While Jim Murphy tries to take back "his seat" that the voters stole from him, Rep. Thibaut will continue to proudly do the work her campaign has always done: fight for the real issues that matter to Texas families.
We can't kid ourselves. Kristi Thibaut is a tough race. The Texas Tribune says it is a possible pick up for the Republicans. Luckily, Kristi has been working hard for 2 years and fighting for her district and major reforms across Texas.
Today, she released her campaign ad and makes the case for her to continue standing up to special interests and continue working hard for her family and ours.
I wish there were more hours in the day to talk one-on-one to voters about their concerns related to high utility rates, job creation, and preserving small class sizes at public schools. However the reality is that as a candidate, I depend on television ads - like the one above - and mail pieces to help me reach those I cannot visit with personally.
Kristi is in a tough race and she is a quality candidate and fantastic legislator. Let's do our part to make sure she continues to fight for the middle class, teachers and families of Texas.Donate today and keep her ad on the air.
Ed. note: The following is one of twenty races we are featuring in the Texas Political Report. Annie's List provided research and analysis for this race.
District 133 is situated in the west side of Houston, outside the 610 Loop. The district has two distinct communities. The southern half is centered in the Alief area, with significant Latino, African-American, and Vietnamese populations. The northern half contains the wealthier, Anglo Memorial community. A majority minority district, Rep. Thibaut and Jim Murphy have been battling back and forth to represent it since 2006, when Murphy won against Thibaut. In 2008, Thibaut claimed victory by just 497 votes. This decidedly middle-of-the-road district split 51.9% for Obama in 2008 and many analysts say it has a small "undecided" swing voter population, meaning elections often rely on who can get the most voters to the polls.
In the Legislature, Rep. Thibaut has proven herself as one of the most effective and aggressive members of the Texas House. She was named ‘Freshman of the Year' by her peers in the House Democratic Caucus and served in key roles on two conference committees that tackled foreclosure rules for struggling homeowners and university entrance requirements. Meanwhile, Jim Murphy has moved farther to the right in what appears to be an attempt to sweep up surge voters in an tough year for Democrats, but a fire destroying all the Harris County voting machines has brought attention to the election, and that, coupled with Bill White’s popularity in the county should spin turnout for both sides.
Why Rep. Kristi Thibaut Will Return Next Year
Rep. Kristi Thibaut has a strong record in her first term in the legislature going into Round Three with Murphy, and she knows her opponent. She has the mixed blessing of incumbency, a great team, and a strong field plan. She has used the office to help her district in concrete ways, including hosting job fairs, school supply drives, a Veterans Benefits District Fair and more. Rep. Thibaut is running an aggressive grassroots voter contact program and we should look for a healthy amount of advertising on cable TV as well. A Harris County district, where Bill White took more than 85% of the vote for mayor – twice – Thibaut could also be helped out by turnout for the governor’s race. This race will be a close one to watch all the way until Election Day, as -- along with Rep. Diana Maldonado in HD 52 -- Thibaut is one of the top targets for Republicans this November.
Republicans control the House so there should be a Republican slant in the committees and with Republican chairs. Seems logical.
Texas Insider has a story outlining exactly where the Gang of 11 were put:
District 7: Rep. Tommy Merritt - Chair of Public Safety
District 10: Rep. Jim Pitts - Chair of Appropriations
District 15: Rep. Rob Eissler - Chair of Public Education
District 17: Rep. Byron Cook - Chair of Environmental Regulation
District 44: Rep. Edmund Kuempel - Chair of Licensing & Administrative Procecures
District 60: Rep. Jim Keffer - Chair of Energy Resources
District 65: Rep. Burt Solomons - Chair of State Affairs
District 66: Rep. Brian McCall - Chair of Calendars
District 83: Rep. Delwin Jones - Chair of Redistricting
District 99: Rep. Charlie Geren - Chair of House Administration
District 121: Rep. Joe Straus - Speaker of the House
That means the gang of 11 control the three most important committee's Calendars, Appropriations, and State Affairs.
Texas Insider aptly describes the committees as:
Calendars - controls the order and placement of bills on appropriate calendars.
State Affairs - oversees bills on hot button social issues such as abortion rights and Voter ID.
Appropriations - jurisdiction over all bills that request money to or from the state treasury.
That makes sense, the Gang of 11 chose Straus and with the Democrats, pushed Straus to victory. What doesn't make sense are the hyper partisan committee creations Straus made.
The best example is Criminal Jurisprudence which is filled with conservative Republicans who pushed for tort reform. Another committee that signaled how dismissive Straus was to Democrats is the Elections committee. As one lobbyist pointed out, the Elections committee under Todd Smith could produce some very scary legislation.
Phi has already aptly pointed out the structure of the Elections Committee virtually guarantees voter ID legislation gets to the floor.
Straus has marginalized key House Democratic leaders too.
After Rep Jim Dunnam secured nearly 70 votes for anyone to challenge Tom Craddick, he is placed on Environmental Regulation and Transportation. Dunnam did get a nice megaphone to attack Rick Perry's refusal to accept federal aide as Chair of the select committee on Federal Economic Stabilization Funding, but it comes with out a natural base of support unlike State Affairs or Regulated Industries.
Another good example is Rep. Senfronia Thompson. Thompson was a candidate for Speaker and an early endorser of Straus. She is currently serving her 17th term. What committee assignments did she receive? Insurance, Licensing & Administrative Procedures (Vice Chair), and Local & Consent Calendars (Chair). The Local and Consent Calendar Committee is were non-controversial bills go if they have received unanimous support in committee. This is a thankless job and is one of the weakest chair positions Straus could give out. Rep. Thompson is too good to be chair of this thankless committee.
Straus also showed that he was willing to be as partisan as past Republicans. He painted a nice target on freshmen Democrats giving them lower weaker committees. Democrats like Kristi Thibaut, Robert Miklos, Chris Turner and others will do incredible work in smaller committees. One Democratic freshman got some solid committee assignments-Diana Maldonado.
Maldonado was placed on the powerful State Affairs committee and Defense & Veterans' Affairs.
As the same lobbyist put it, this is because Williamson County is trending too rapidly to the Democratic Party. Maldonado won a tough election in an open race. Now she is an incumbent and Annie's List incumbent at that. With work from WilCo and Travis County Democrats, Diana should be fine.
On the other hand, Todd Hunter is being propped up.
After winning a close election against Juan Garcia, Hunter was given three committee assignments and one chairmanship. Hunter will be on the General Investigating & Ethics and Insurance Committees and will chair Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence. This is a double slap to Democrats. Garcia campaigns on reforming the Insurance Commissioner's office and making that an elected position and was backed by the Texas Trial Lawyers Association.
Now we know how Straus feels about both of those things.
Straus is better than Craddick. That is absolutely true. However, Straus as Speaker shows how important it is for us to take back the House. If we want to really stop Voter ID, reregulate tuition, or provide insurance for all of Texas' children, a Democrat needs to hold the House gavel.
This is a rematch of last year's race, where Thibaut ran a strong race but couldn't close the overwhelming partisan gap in the district. She's showing much, much stronger fundraising this year, though, and Murphy's record in the House isn't anything to brag about in a year of Republican failures.
However, for now, we do not have enough information on the race to know if she has gotten close enough to Murphy in the polls to flip the seat. Right now, Thibaut is the "last Democrat in" the "lean Republican" category -- but a strong Democratic tide atop the ticket and in Harris County could still put her over the top if she is able to make enough contacts in the next three weeks.
We hope to have more with this race later in the week, once we have some final interviews with Harris County activists.
Here are some other links that previous coverage of the race on Burnt Orange Report:
(Ed. note: The following is part of our ongoing series focusing on how Democrats won in Texas. Our first part focused on the work the Houston GLBT PAC did on the Ellen Cohen race. Today's piece is the second in the series. - promoted by Phillip Martin)
"Annie's List is changing the face of power in Texas politics by changing the playing field for women candidates."
That one line from the Annie's List website perfectly describes the focus and triumphs of one of the more successful Democratic organizations in Texas. Five of the seven new Democrats in the Texas House at the start of the 80th Regular Session will be women, and each and every one of them were Annie's List candidates.
Following the 2002 elections, Republicans regained the Texas House, and the number of Democratic women Representatives dropped to fourteen. In just two election cycles, that number has grown back to nineteen. This election cycle, Annie's List donated over $250,000 to their five targeted candidates:
Valinda Bolton in HD 47 ($80,000, won)
Paula Hightower-Pierson in HD 93 ($55,500 won)
Harriet Miller in HD 102 ($28,500, lost)
Kristi Thibaut in HD 133 ($25,500, lost)
Ellen Cohen in HD 134 ($23,500, won)
$10,000 to Katy Hubener in a special election in HD-106 last spring.
$10,000 to Democrat Rep. Donna Howard, an Annie's List candidate they helped elect in a special election last spring
For a better understanding of the success of Annie's List, I sat down with Robert Jones, Political Director for Annie's List, and the five field workers that he helped train to run their five targeted campaigns this election cycle. Each of the five workers are in their early twenties, and though all had some experience volunteering for campaigns before, none had ever taken on the role of helping run a campaign.
"There is no field where young people can gain experience and responsibility quicker, especially with training, than in politics," said Jones. "Hiring young adults is important for a number of reasons. They can adapt quickly and are eager and excited to work. And, to be honest, since they are an in-kind contribution from our PAC, it adds a level of accountability about how our contributions are used on the race."
To continue reading this story, click on the "There's More" link below.
This morning they endorsed Demcorat Allen Vaught in HD-107 in Dallas. I've received a media advisory putting us on notice for a pending endorsement in San Antonio. Assuming they are going to keep with this Democratic string, that probably means one thing- Joe Farias is next up in HD-118. Faris is running to retain Carlos Uresti's seat now that he's the next Senator from SD-19.
Also, word has it that Parent PAC will be making a suprise Austin area endorsement tomorrow. Of course, that can mean only one thing and I think that thing is called Valinda Bolton.
