Politex

Alvarado expresses "disgust" at effort to push him out of governor's race (updated)

Felix Alvarado is ending the year with a resolution to stay in the governor's race.

The Fort Worth educator posted a lengthy statement on his blog today alleging that he is being pressured to drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination in favor of "the anointed candidate." who Alvarado believes has yet to prove his leadership.

I emailed Alvarado and asked if "the anointed" one was former Houston Mayor Bill White. 

He emailed back, "I think it's pretty clear who I am referring to."

In his blog post, Alvarado wrote, "Words cannot explain the disgust that I feel. What is even more disgusting is that responsible people, those who consider themselves leaders, put the mandate of the party above the needs of the people they represent.  This is utterly disgusting. This is, however, politics as usual."

Alvarado also described as "offensive" those who suggest he's only running because he's Hispanic. Some Democrats have privately expressed concern in recent weeks that Alvarado, despite having low name recognition statewide and little funding compared to other candidates, might secure a sizable percentage of the Hispanic primary vote because of his name.

"I am proud to be an American of Hispanic heritage," Alvarado wrote. "I need your help to bring real change to government and I am confident that together we can win."

-Aman Batheja

Former school board president jumps into state house primary

 Former Mansfield School Board President Joy Keller filed this week to run as a Republican for the South Arlington state house seat currently held by Democrat Chris Turner.

Keller will vie against former state Rep. Bill Zedler for the party’s nomination, further crowding an already busy primary ballot for the Tarrant County Republican Party.

Keller, 48, served on the Mansfield school board for 12 years, four as board president, before stepping down in 2007. She currently works as an insurance executive in Dallas and is a certified public accountant. 

Keller said she is making her first foray into party politics. Zedler, a self-employed investor, has been active in local Republican circles for over a decade. He lost the District 96 seat to Turner in 2008.

Keller said she hoped to keep a positive tone in her primary campaign against Zedler.

“I think Bill served well for three terms but because he’s not an incumbent, it’s a good opportunity to come in,” Keller said.

District 96 includes South Arlington, Crowley, Kennedale and parts of Fort Worth, Mansfield and Burleson.

-Aman Batheja

Councilman launches money bomb site for Medina

Haltom City Councilman Anthony Reed is hoping to spark an explosion in campaign contributions tomnorrow but the money's not for him.

The 22-year-old launched MedinaMoneyBomb.com earlier this month to encourage supporters of Republican Gubernatorial candidate Debra Medina to donate to her campaign on Tuesday, Dec. 29.

Medina’s camp has promoted the site on Facebook and Twitter though Reed is unaffiliated with Medina’s campaign.

“I really think Debra Medina is the only true conservative of the candidates,” Reed said.

In 2008, supporters of Texas Congressman Ron Paul’s presidential bid gained national attention for attracting millions of dollars in donations in one-day “money bomb” events.

Reed said the approach is an exciting way to engage supporters.

“I think people like to be part of an event,” Reed said. “It’s kind of a motivating factor when people get to see what they can do together as a team.”

Reed said he picked Dec. 29 for his money bomb because it’s the anniversary of the day in 1845 when Texas was annexed as part of the United States.

-Aman Batheja

Deli owner Katz to file for Lt. Gov.

Two weeks after former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle surprised many by filing to seek the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor, Austin deli owner Marc Katz plans to add his name to the primary race on Wednesday.(See correction below)

Katz announced in September his plan to make his first run for statewide office, targeting Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst. He is the owner of Katz's Deli in Austin.

Katz was one of several statewide candidates who spoke at a Democratic gubernatorial forum held at TCU in Fort Worth in November. Katz is currently featuring this video of his speech at the event prominently on his campaign's home page.

*An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Katz filed for lieutenant governor on Monday.

-Aman Batheja

Earle running for Lt. Governor

After flirting with a run at governor, former Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle decided Friday to shoot for the next highest office by filing to seek the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.

Earle, who was raised on a ranch outside of Fort Worth, said he concluded that the governor is too encumbered by "ceremonial duties" while he would have a much greater role in shaping policy as lieutenant governor, which presides over the state Senate.

Outgoing Houston Mayor Bill White's decision to run for governor as a Democrat also likely helped shape Earle's plans.  "He's got a lot more money than I've got," Earle told PoliTex.

With no advance notice, Earle quietly filed his paperwork at state Democratic headquarters late Friday.  He said he plans a formal announcement after the holidays, when he will spell out his campaign themes.

Republican Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst has filed for re-election.  Austin deli owner Marc Katz has also announced for the post as a Democrat.

Earle took a wait-until-later approach when asked his views on Dewhurst's performance in the job.  But he hinted at his likely plan of attack by saying, "The idea of government by a few doesn't sit well with me."

-- Dave Montgomery

Tarrant County Democrats land a contested primary

While the Tarrant County Republican Party saw a strong stream of candidates file for a place on the ballot earlier this month, local Democrats had to settle for a trickle.

In the first couple of days, four incumbents -- all members of the Texas House -- filed for re-election and one challenger, Lisa Woodard, filed to run for Justice of the Peace, District 8.

No one else filed for the next two weeks.

Finally, community activist and frequent Forest Hill candidate Charlotte Hogan-Price jumped into the JP-8 race today, making for the party's first local contested primary.

We already know for sure that there will be contested local primaries on the Republican side for District Attorney, County Clerk, and at least three but probably five State House seats. Other Republicans have signaled plans to jump into local primaries but haven't made it official just yet.

Candidates with either party have until Jan. 4 to file for a spot on the March primary ballot.

You can see the Tarrant GOP's ballot so far here. The Tarrant Democratic Party's ballot list is here.

And both parties will have contested races at the top of the ballot. The statewide candidate lists are available here for Republicans and here for Democrats.

-Aman Batheja

Oh, Snap! Reid orders Dems to Shut Up Cornyn -- and all Republicans!

Sen. John Cornyn was some kind of ticked off yesterday -- there he was asking for additional time to speak when - gasp - the only senator in the chamber, Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, who was the presiding officer, objected. No one remembers that ever happening and a few minutes later, a still ticked off Cornyn tried again. And Begich objected - again! When Cornyn pointed out the obvious, that no one else was waiting to speak, Begich relented. What gives? Well, another major league ticked off senator, Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-N.V., tired of GOP delaying tactics on the health care reform bill -- sitting through the reading of Sen. Bernie Sanders', I-Vt. amendment stands out -- ordered the presiding officers, who are Democrats, to block any move by Republicans, however routine, to use more Senate time. The same thing happened to Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who has been a thorn in the side of Democrats on health care, who was objected down by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., when he was the presiding officer. Lieberman actually laughed. An incensed Sen. John McCain said he's never seen anything like it - Sen. Carl Levin,D-Mich., said, oh, yeah, it happened to Cornyn. Reid told members they get 10 minutes, and 10 minutes it is! -- Maria Recio

Death penalty leader: Texas or California?

The days of Texas proudly holding on to its "conveyor belt of death" moniker may be numbered.

Texas juries sent nine people to death row this year, our lowest tally since 1974. That follows a nationwide trend of juries opting for the death penalty less often, according to a new report from the Death Penalty Information Center, an anti-capitol punishment group.

Texas accounted for eight percent of the country's death sentences, in line with the state's population.

Now consider California.

The Golden State doled out 26 death sentences this year, up from 14 in 2008, according to the report.

California makes up 12 percent of the US population yet was responsible for 25 percent of the nation's death sentences in 2009.

But when it comes to executions, Texas is still the national leader.

Texas executed 24 people in 2009, nearly half of all of the executions in the country.

Meanwhile, California has had their executions on hold since 2006 while courts review their lethal injection procedure. Their death row is the largest in the country, with over 600 inmates.

Here's a look at the sentencing data from both states.

-Aman Batheja

Kinky defends qualifications for agriculture commissioner

He wears a cowboy hat and presents a rustic persona, but does Kinky Friedman meet the legal qualifications to become state agriculture commissioner, the position he is seeking in the March 2 Democratic primary?

That was a question posed in Capitol Inside, an online political news publication, which cited a requirement in the Texas Agriculture Code that the commissioner must have recent experience in the agriculture industry. But, as he filed for the race Wednesday, the Austin author-entertainer strongly defended his qualifications, saying that he has strong ties to rural Texas and has spent most of his life on a Hill Country ranch that his family has owned for more than a half-century.

Friedman, wearing his trademark black hat and Western-style apparel, also pointed out that he was an agriculture extension director with the Peace Corps in Borneo for two years. Friedman’s campaign later released an opinion from San Antonio attorney Abel Dominguez saying that Friedman’s ranching operations satisfies the qualification requirements.

“There may not be a lot of cattle but he does raise and sell them,” Dominguez said.  Friedman also satisfies the requirements by growing cattle feed and providing open space for indigenous wild animals, the attorney said.  Friedman also operates the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch.

The Democratic race for the agriculture post is shaping as one of the most contentious primary fights for the post in years, matching Friedman against Whitehouse rancher Hank Gilbert. Both men were candidates for governor but shifted to the ag race after Democratic heavy-weight Bill White, the outgoing mayor of Houston, entered the governor’s contest. The winner will meet Republican incumbent Todd Staples, who is seeking re-election to a second four year term.

After signing his filing papers at the state Democratic headquarters in Austin, Friedman told reporters he wants to expand the department’s reach and become a vigorous advocate for the needs of rural Texans. One potential project will be the creation of bio-fuels farmers cooperatives championed by Friedman’s best-known supporter, Texas music star Willie Nelson.

 

-- Dave Montgomery

Secessionist candidate ends bid in Texas governor's race

Secessionist Larry Kilgore of Mansfield is pulling out of the Republican primary race for governor and throwing his support behind Houston-area GOP activist Debra Medina.

Although the Republican primary race has been billed as a showdown between incumbent Gov. Rick Perry and his leading challenger, U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, Kilgore told PoliTex that he believes his withdrawal will help propel Medina into a run-off.

With Kilgore out of the race, the March 2 GOP primary race is now a three-way contest between Perry, Hutchison and Medina, former Republican chairwoman in Wharton County.  Medina has recently made an issue out of being excluded from a Jan. 14 debate to be aired in North Texas by public TV station KERA/Channel 13.

Kilgore, a 45-year-old telecommunications consultant, focused much of his campaign on his belief that Texas should withdraw from the union and create own nation because of widespread popular resentment over the federal government.  

He said Medina espouses similar views by endorsing nulllification of unpopular federal regulations, thus appealing to many of his supporters.   "We're both fighting for similar type items," he said in a telephone interview.  "And, if I get out of the way, that'll make it easier for her to get in the run-off and she can go up against either Rick or Kay."

Kilgore's prediction runs counter to the prevailing view that, if there is a run-off, it would be between Perry and Hutchison.  But Medina, bolstered by additional support from Kilgore backers, would get credit for forcing that run-off by keeping one of the headline candidates from getting more than 50 percent of the vote.

"It looked like there was more support going her way and I wanted to go her way too," said Kilgore.

Kilgore, who announced his decision on Facebook, has been active in conservative Republican politics since the 1990s, challenging U.S. Sen. John Cornyn in the 2008 Republican primary.  He ran for governor in 2006 and got nearly 8 percent of the vote in a four-way Republican primary dominated by Perry.