(What's going on in Big D? James Van Sickle is here to tell us. - promoted by Katherine Haenschen)
While speculation and bargaining continue for how the 2012 maps for Congress, State Senate, and State House will look, I wanted to take some time to look at the contested Democratic Primary races in Dallas based on current filings. Once the maps are finalized, I will post another article discussing changes we get when the filing period reopens for a brief period of time. It should also be noted that this article will be discussing only races contained solely within Dallas County and not any statewide or multi-county campaigns. All tables in this article are sorted by Contributions in descending order.
United States Congress, District 30
Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson is currently serving her 10th term (20 years), and is actively campaigning for another term in office. So far two candidates have risen to challenge Congresswoman Johnson in Democratic Primary. State Representative Barbara Mallory-Caraway (HD-110) filed for a ballot position, along with Taj Clayton who is a litigator at international law firm Fish and Richardson.
It should be noted that only the below table only looks at reporting period totals between 10/1/2011 to 12/31/2011.
In theory, State House Districts 110 and 107 should be hot primary races. The ongoing issue regarding our maps is putting all of that into question, however. Regardless of how the maps come out, District 110 will be a hot race because it will be to replace Barbara Mallory-Caraway as she runs for Congress. HD-110 is a safe Democratic district with a large African-American population. Right now there are three candidates for HD-110, but this could easily change depending on how those maps lines come out. Once the maps for 2012 have been finalized, I will put together a follow-up article discussing who is and who is not running for each State House district in Dallas County.
District Judge, 162nd Judicial District
The 162nd Judicial District has been held by Lorraine Raggio since her initial election in 2004. Judge Raggio announced her retirement, several candidates have announced or filed for this seat.
Phyllis Lister Brown is currently a municipal judge in the City of Dallas. According to the city charter, city appointees and elected officials must resign their position when seeking higher office. Judge Brown has argued that she does not have to do so given past precedence of when municipal Judge Elizabeth Frizell ran in 2006 for higher office. Dallas City Council voted on January 18 to remove Phyllis from office. Phyllis' lawyers filed a restraining order against the removal, and the city attorney appealed this order. Now it appears that this will be going to court to decide whether Judge Brown gets to keep her seat on the municipal bench or be removed. (See Judge Phyllis Lister Brown Will Soon Get a Shove Off the Bench or a Day in Court)
In the interest of transparency, it should be noted that I am providing technology and communications support to Maricela Moore in this race.
Criminal District Judge, Count No. 4
John Creuzot is the incumbent judge for Criminal District Court 4, and has served since 2008. Judge Creuzot has indicated that he will be retiring and not seeking re-election. So far two candidates (JR Cook and Dominique Collins) have filed to run for this seat. Races for the criminal bench tend to be low dollar affairs compared to their judicial counterparts in Civil Court (i.e. 162nd Judicial Court).
In the interest of transparency, it should be noted that I am providing technology and communications support to JR Cook in this race.
Sherriff
In 2008, Lupe Valdez solidly won re-election in both Primary and General elections. Sherriff Valdez has remained very popular in local Democratic circles. In 2011, Dallas County Jails passed inspection for the 2nd year in a row, which was a top issue for Republicans and other opponents in 2008. An individual named Charlie J. Thomas has filed to run against Lupe in the Democratic Primary, but I have no information about his candidacy at this time.
County Commissioner, District 1
In 2010, Democrats gained majority on the Dallas County Commissioner's Court, and have subsequently redistricted District 1 to be a Democratic-opportunity district. This seat is currently held by Maurine Dickey who along with her husband owns the Dickey's BBQ franchise. Originally, it was rumored that there were over 7 potential candidates interested in running. Since the map was finalized, that number has now sized itself down to 3.
In the interest of transparency, it should be noted that I am providing technology and communications support to Theresa Daniel in this race.
County Commissioner, District 3
Commissioner District 3 had been held by John Wiley Price since 1985. On June 27, 2011, FBI agents searched Commissioner Price's offices and home, and were looking for documents relating to fraud, bribery, money laundering, and tax evasion allegations (See Commissioner John Wiley Price's Office, Home Searched). The investigation is still ongoing, and no charges have been filed against Commissioner Price. Commissioner Price has drawn three opponents in the upcoming 2012 Primary.
While Bennie Brown did file the required January 15 campaign finance report, they failed to mention the $1,250 filing fee paid to the Dallas County Democratic Party in the campaign finance report. According to Dallas County Elections Department, neither Betty Culbreath nor Micah B. Phillips filed their January 15 campaign finance reports. All candidates are required to file campaign finance reports on January 15 and July 15 each year as long as they have a treasurer appointment on file.
Commissioner Price wrote "N/A" under the Cash On Hand line item for his campaign finance report, which is why I left question marks under that section.
DCDP County Chair
In a previous article, I had mentioned that an individual named Lymon King was looking to run for County Chair. Mr. King has since decided against running in 2010, and made this announcement through a robocall to his supporters. No one else has indicated about a run for County Chair so it appears that Darlene Ewing will be starting a fourth term, which she announced will be her last as County Chair.
Unopposed Countywide Races
Here is the list of countywide offices up for re-election in 2012 that so far do not have a primary opponent.
Wake up Texas Democrats. There is no real need to have our primaries before school lets out for the summer. There is no real need to have our primaries before the State convention. A case can even be made that there is no need to have our primaries before the National Convention. It is the Republicans who need to have their primary as soon as possible.
Due to Perrymandering by Republicans in the legislature that precluded Texas from being a part of Super Tuesday, Texas media outlets have lost out on untold millions in Super Pac campaign advertising. Even if the Texas Presidential Primary is held in April, it may be too late. The Republican nomination may be decided and Texas will have lost a chance to benefit from Citizens United. Do you really think GPS-Crossroads will sink money into the Texas General Election for the Republican Presidential Nominee? Hardly.
The Republicans need to hold their Presidential Primary as soon as possible; preferably before their State Convention. Democrats can wait it out. Here is a plan for the TDP to submit in lieu of an agreement on district boundaries.
County/Senate District Conventions will be held either May 12 or 19 without holding Precinct Conventions. Conventions will be open to all registered voters wishing to declare as Democrats for the election cycle. Those attending the Democratic Conventions would be precluded from voting in the Republican Primary.
The boundaries of the most recently implemented District Plan (as used in 2010) will be used. County Conventions will select a slate of delegates to attend the State Convention. If a new map is approved prior the State Convention, and a Delegate is in a new District, that delegate will be added to the slate of delegates of their new District at the same status (Delegate or Alternate). Should a conflict arise due to available slots, Delegates will be determined by those with the most consecutive cycles voting in the Democratic Primary, and if a tie still exists, then the delegate will be determined by a coin toss.
If maps are approved after the State Convention, then the slate of delegates to the National Convention will be adjusted using the same rule.
But wait, don't we need to determine our candidates for Senate, Congress, State House, Judges and other down ticket races? No. More than likely Democratic candidates will be out spent in the General Election. Why give that money more time to have an effect. Democrats should work to limit the General Election Campaign to the shortest time possible. This will go a long way to counter Super Pac spending.
Our candidates can use their Primary funds to raise doubts about the suitability of Republican incumbents and shed light on the Republican agenda. In races with several Democratic candidates, those campaigns should tag team the Republican incumbent; not attack fellow Democrats.
Politics is a contact sport and Democrats need to start playing hardball or get out of the game.
If Farouk is such a red hot "CEO" already, what does he need with being Governor?
If he has 100,000 private sector jobs in his back pocket, why will the title "Governor" get those jobs filled faster?
Does Farouk plan to have Texas taxpayers subsidize his commercial ventures? If not, then what is he waiting for? JUST DO IT, Farouk, if you can.
Farouk knows how to market low tech hair dryers to vain ladies in a niche market. Does that mean he knows how to put everyone to work making solar panels?
Are we to believe that Farouk alone holds the keys to the mysteries of the "Green Economy?"
Last night was the deadline to file for the Democratic and Republican primaries, and both Democrat and Republican incumbents are facing challenges from both the left and the right. In Brazos County and throughout the rest of the Brazos Valley there are several notable candidates, and what takes place in March is going to greatly affect the complexion of the election in November.
The campaign for the Republican nomination for Congressional District 17 is much more crowded than it was last year. Last year's Republican nominee, Waco businessman Rob Curnock, is joined by fellow Waco businessman Chuck Wilson, College Station nurse Timothy Delasandro, Houston businessman Bill Flores, and Texas A&M security expert Dave McIntyre. The Republican primary will probably be between Curnock and McIntyre, however, Flores is well funded and will be able to spend more than the other candidates. Democratic Congressman Chet Edwards is going to have a financial advantage over whichever Republican emerges from the primary. How the Republican primary evolves is going to greatly affect the general election in November and whether or not a Republican candidate can serious challenge Edwards.
Texas State Senator Steve Ogden had announced his retirement and State Representative Dan Gattis appeared to be the front runner to receive the Republican nomination for the vacated Senate seat. However, after Gattis withdrew from the campaign for personal reasons Ogden decided to run for reelection and facing a primary challenge from Ben Bius. Ogden will be campaigning as his experience as a State Senator, but the budget and the economy are going to be central issues in the campaign.
Texas State Representative Fred Brown is facing a primary challenge form three candidates; former Brazos County Tax Collector Buddy Winn, former candidate for Brazos County District Attorney Rick Davis, and Blinn College professor Blanche Brick. During the 2008 election Left of College Station reported on the almost unopposed Republican, who only faced a Libertarian opponent in the general election. However, during the primary Brown will face a longtime Brazos County public office holder in Winn, and candidate that will pull no punches during the campaign in Davis. Brown's record as a legislator will be the focus of the primary debate, including the dubious distinction as being named by Texas Monthly as being a piece of furniture.
Since we apparently are in a slow period of good Democratic news while waiting for the Texas legislature to convene here's a nice diversion. Apparently the last hearing was held on the Texas Two-Step. The advisory committee should be coming up with a conclusion and suggest possible changes to the process. The Express-News ran an article in Sunday's edition and Jaime Castillo provided commentary in today's edition. In Jaime's column today he mentioned the challenges Bill Sinkin would have had to have endured to participate in the system. Anyone who knows Bill Sinkin must know how painful it was to sit on the sidelines for this election. The man has been my inspiration since I first met him after having moved to San Antonio 20 years ago.
(Interesting, I wonder what that means for the Texas Two-Step... - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
In what looks to be an interesting venture Obama plans to propose a commission to review the presidential selection process, possibly diminishing the role of the superdelegates. In a post from the Washington Post "David Plouffe said the campaign will ask the national convention delegates in Denver to approve a resolution approving the establishment of a 35-member Democratic Change Commission." Another change would include redrawing the primary and caucus calendar.
I know we've debated this issue in here several times but it looks like the Obama camp is proposing a review possibly leading to changes. Many of the changes listed in the post adddress issues that have been discussed in here such as allowing absentee voting for caucuses, avoiding the bunching of states on particular days, and a review of the calendar from the current traditional one. This is a good sign and something that will hopefully avoid the situation of 2008. We'll see what happens next week at the convention.
Note: It was my initial intention to liveblog the first hearing of the Texas Democratic Party Primary/Caucus System Committee, chaired by Senator Royce West. Unfortunately, I ran into some internet problems, but here is a report of what I saw, including pictures, that continues after the jump.
The movement to end the Texas Two-Step, as many have been saying for a long time, is about a lot more than Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
For those who were still trying to paint this as Clinton “sour grapes”, the first speaker at the “End the Texas Two-Step” press conference was quick to put that to rest.
“I’m not sure that it matters,” Peter Nolan began, “but I am and was a supporter of Barack Obama.”
Nolan is right: it doesn’t really matter. His support of Obama is only relevant because some have tried to dismiss those opposed to the Two-Step as bitter Clinton supporters. That is just not the case, and anyone who attended the hearing can attest to that.
And Nolan wasn’t the only Obama supporter at the hearing. I happened to be sitting next to Amy Esdorn, a graduate student who was unable to attend the caucus because of her class schedule.
Esdorn conceded that while Obama may have benefitted from the two-step system in the short run, the results of the primary were really irrelevant at this point.
“[Ending the caucus] is exactly the kind of change Barack Obama stands for,” she said.
“My vote should not count more than someone from the Rio Grande Valley or El Paso just because I’m from Travis County,” Martha Smiley said during the press conference.
Johnnie Limon of Austin held one of the more humorous signs to be seen at the hearing. “Two-Step at the Broken Spoke, One Step at the Polls,” his sign read.
Wendell Scott, a Gonzales County resident who wrote the anti-Two Step resolution and voted for Barack Obama, held a sign that said, “TDP leaders violate their own rules.”
Sue Berkel, a Clinton national delegate, stressed that the caucus could stay in place as a means for delegate selection, even if popular vote became the only means for delegate allocation.
Senator West called the meeting to order just before 10:2am.
To read about what happened during the hearing and to see more pictures, click "THERE'S MORE"
The Waco Tribune-Herald editorial board has come out against the the prima-caucus system the Texas Democratic Party used to allocate delegates in this year's primary.
Texas Democrats have their own version of the Texas two-step that is unpopular and undemocratic.
This version of the two-step needs fixin’ before the next big dance is called in 2012.
The Tribune-Herald notes that we failed to make any changes to the system at last month's convention. However, I do not really fault the party for this. Too many personal feelings from the presidential race were still left over. The last thing we needed at that time was a battle along Obama vs Clinton lines.
It had been so long since the outcome of a Texas Democratic primary had any impact on the outcome of a presidential race that the flaws with the party’s two-step primary process went unnoticed.
The early state primary competition has generally settled on a nominee before Texas Democrats had an opportunity to cast ballots for their favorite candidates.
This year, however, contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama was still neck and neck when Texans turned out to the polls for the March 4 primaries.
Unlike Republican voters, or Democratic primary voters in other states, Texas Democrats were required to cast ballots for the candidate of their choice when the polls were open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and then turn around and convene in precinct conventions, or caucuses, later that evening if they wanted to take full advantage of their opportunity to support their candidate.
This process, which actually is a lot more complicated than it sounds, generated a great deal of confusion and hard feelings on primary night. It also resulted in Clinton winning the popular vote and Obama picking up more Texas delegates once the final tally was determined long after the primary election.
Texas Democrats who voted for their favorite candidate during the day but could not return later that evening to attend their precinct conventions ran the risk of seeing their vote diluted through the extra step of the caucus system.
The purpose behind the caucus system was to increase party participation among Democrats. This year it increased turmoil and feelings of being disenfranchised.
Democratic leaders need to pick one system or the other — just not both.
The first meeting of the committee chaired by state Sen. Royce West will be at the Austin Community College Health Science Building 9000 in the Multi Purpose Hall room 8500 in Austin on July 7, 2008 at 10:00am. The campus is located at 3401 Webberville.
(This would be an appropriate step in getting the El Paso SD-29 delegation properly adjusted to the right delegate allocation and correct the incorrect at-large distribution there. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Obama supporter, Black Democrats of El Paso President and former Family Court Judge Don Williams and El Paso County Democratic Party Chair Danny Anchondo were guests on a local talk radio program Saturday morning to discuss the March 29 convention in SD29, during which Williams announced he intended to officially challenge the seating of the El Paso delegation to the State Democratic Party Convention.
Mr. Williams opened his remarks by stating that he is first and foremost a Democrat, that he would vote for the Democratic candidate in November, and that this dispute is, largely, a "family" dispute. As with any family that has disputes, we Democrats are, first and foremost, a family that unites in common purpose.
But he went on to say that as a 50-some odd old black man, he had some serious issues with oppression, and he characterized what went on at the Senate district caucus as "oppression."
He then stated he had filed and intended to pursue, an official challenge to the El Paso delegation with the Texas Democratic party. He gave Chairman Anchondo and the radio host a copy.
Nelda Spears got 74.28% of the vote to Glen Maxey's 25.72%. In this down-ballot race, Nelda got 115,322 votes. Once again, Nelda Spears got more votes than any other candidate in a contested race, except for Barack Obama who got 116,137 votes.
The Tax Collector's race was the 31st race listed on the ballot. As might be expected, there was some ballot drop-off from the Presidential race, where 185,596 people voted, but 155,322 people voted in the Tax Collector race.
There were more ballots cast in the Tax Collector's race--way down the ballot--than any other race except the Presidential race. There were more people voting in the Tax Collector's race than the 2nd-on-the-ballot race for U.S. Senator (139,537 votes) and the 27th-place District Attorney's race (140,310 votes).
Nelda won more than the election. She kept her integrity and her dignity. She stayed out of the dirty, deceitful political games that Glen Maxey wanted to play. The enormous turnout in this race and the trouncing Nelda gave Maxey is a testament to the standards that Democratic voters have set for their political candidates and for their office holders.
If Glen Maxey wants to sell anyone political consulting services in the future, he will have a lot of explaining to do about how he conducted his own campaign and why he lost so big. Maxey did not win a single one of the 210 precincts. Running against Nelda was a bad idea in the first place and Maxey's negative campaign tactics turned a bad idea into an unmitigated disaster for himself.
The big lesson for elected officials is:
Do your job well, and the politics will take care of itself.
