DFA Endorses In Crucially Important Race In Texas

by: Katherine Haenschen

Wed Feb 24, 2010 at 03:59 PM CST

For Governor and Agriculture Commissioner, DFA echoed the earlier BOR endorsements of Bill White and Hank Gilbert. No real surprise there: both are the only candidates in their respective races with the knowledge and skill to succeed at the job they're running for. It's the Diane Trautman endorsement we all need to pay even closer attention to, because of the vital importance of the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector to not just Democrats, but the very concept of democracy here in Texas. From DFA's announcement:

Diane Trautman for Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector
Volunteer, Contribute, Get out the Vote

Diane Trautman is a fighter. Nearly toppling an entrenched incumbent in 2008, she's running for office again, determined to return public trust to an office that has been plagued by scandal.

Diane is working to bring more open, honest leadership to Harris County and to protect the voting rights after thousands were dropped from voting rolls and thousands more provisional ballots weren't counted in a timely manner. Diane is the sort of reform candidate Harris County needs.

In 2008, Trautman challenged incumbent Paul "Illegal Voter Registration Rejection-palooza!" Bettencourt, who was sued for allegedly rejecting seventy thousand voter registrations for frivolous reasons. (If you're unaware, voter registration in Texas is conducted by the county tax office.) In what I am sure can only be described as a complete and utter coincedence most of those rejected would-be voters were younger, residents of minority areas, or registered by 501(c)3-sponsored groups like Houston Votes. In short, voters who were likely to vote Democratic were overwhelmingly rejected.

Bettencourt won in 2008, largely because of huge name ID. Every Harris County property owner writes a tax check with his name on it. This was frustrating, given that Obama carried Harris County. Compounding the frustration was Bettencourt's resignation from the office less than five weeks after election day. The man hadn't even been re-sworn in to office yet. Fishy. The majority-Republican Commissioner's Court of Harris County was able to appoint his replacement, who of course was--wait for it--another Republican who has largely continued similarly shady practices. Kuff makes a good point: had the Democratic candidate for County Judge won in Harris County, the Court could have appointed a Democrat.

Meanwhile, the lawsuit against Bettencourt was settled in October. The Tax Office ensured that it would no longer exceed the seven days allowed by state law to process a registration or send the voter a letter explaining what was wrong with the form. The settlement also eliminates the many technical challenges made by the local office to voter credentials. The Harris County Tax Office--and newly appointed Republican Leo Vasquez--basically said it was a baseless suit. From their Press Release (emphasis mine):

"It's all about good government, and this agreement should finally put the baseless allegations behind us," said current Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector and Voter Registrar, Leo Vasquez. "This was the worst example of a nuisance lawsuit and ill-informed lawyers run amok. As I have always held, this lawsuit proved to be completely without merit."

He got one thing right: 70,000 minority voters' registrations are a total nuisance to the Republican Party of Texas.

Meanwhile, the former incumbent has opened a private tax advisory firm, where Paul "The Taxman" Bettencourt can help you lower your appraisal, thus reducing the important tax base used to fund our public schools. (He actually calls himself "The Taxman." I am 100% not kidding.)

This is the culture of corruption Diane Trautman is running to change. From Trautman's website, emphasis hers:

The interim tax assessor has had problem after problem in running the office including top employees having conflicts of interest, resisting requests to hand over voter registration records, impeding the voter registration process, and failure to properly staff vital parts of the office. As a result, I believe that public trust in the integrity and services provided by the Harris County Tax Office is at an all time low.

Diane Trautman needs our attention. Harris County's Tax Assessor-Collector needs our attention.

Let's get back to Bill White, another important Democrat in Houston. Assuming he's the nominee for governor, it is vitally important that Houston gets out to vote in November. It's also important that would-be Democratic voters are able to register and exercise their basic Constitutional rights. Thanks to Paul Bettencourt and Leo Vasquez, minorities and would-be Democratic voters have a harder time getting registered, and thus can't exercise their rights. And while we can't elect Trautman before we elect Bill White, we can watch the Harris County Tax Assessor's office very, very closely this cycle. We can fund voter registration efforts in the area. We can make sure Trautman has the support she needs to ride the pro-White wave in Houston, where he has won in the past with overwhelming margins. We can elect both of them together, for the good of Texas now and in the future.

So much riding on a tax assessor race. Hell, so much riding on a County Judge race that could have prevented Vasquez' appointment. We can never say this enough: in so many ways, local races such as this can have a tremendous impact--even on a statewide and national level. As Democrats, we need the strong Democratic numbers from Houston to Turn Texas Blue--in 2010 for Bill White and Hank Gilbert, and in 2012 for Barack Obama. As Americans, we need Diane Trautman to ensure that every Harris County voter--no matter their race, age, or likely partisan identification--can register to vote without unnecessary difficulties.  We can take Texas back, and that starts with making sure that every Texan who so chooses can cast their ballot.

Electing Diane Trautman is a great way to start.