Posts Tagged ‘Texas’
TX: Census Kicks off Redistricting Fight
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 02:36 Written by rslcpol Friday, 12 March 2010 12:53
Cross posted at REdistrictingMAjorityProject.com
From R.G. Ratcliffe at the Houston Chronicle.
The U.S. Census forms arriving in Texans’ mailboxes next week will start the decennial dance over whether cities such as Houston or San Antonio get new seats in Congress through redistricting.
While the Census is nonpartisan, the redistricting process is highly political. How districts are drawn can determine whether they are competitive or are solidly Democratic or Republican.
Texas currently sends 20 Republicans and 12 Democrats to Congress. If the state gets four new seats, they likely will be split: two Republican and two Hispanic Democratic.
But the GOP also is likely to look for ways to reconfigure the districts of Democrats Chet Edwards of Waco and Lloyd Doggett of Austin to make it difficult for them to win re-election in 2012.
Experts’ early looks at Census estimates point to a potential new congressional district in northwest Harris County. That could be alluring to state Sen. Dan Patrick, R-Houston, who represents the area in the Legislature.
Tags: Texas | Posted under Blog | No Comments
TX: Dems Running for Lt. Governor Agree With Eachother
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 03:08 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 18 February 2010 02:17
From Dallas Morning News:
The prospect of challenging the wealthy, well-financed Republican incumbent who has held the state’s No. 2 post since 2003 has not deterred three Democrats from seeking their party’s nomination for lieutenant governor.
The candidates – Linda Chavez-Thompson, Ronnie Earle and Marc Katz – are competing in a quiet campaign in which they agree on most of the issues and on their top priority: beating David Dewhurst.
“If the lieutenant governor had been doing his job, I wouldn’t be running for this position,” said Chavez-Thompson, a former executive vice president of the AFL-CIO and vice chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee. “What I’ve seen in Texas the last few years has really made me angry. We have a lieutenant governor who doesn’t care about everyday working Texans.”
Tags: Texas | Posted under Lieutenant Governor News | No Comments
Texas Attorney General Takes on EPA Over Greenhouse Gases
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 03:11 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 17 February 2010 01:13
From Statesman.com:
Texas fired off another salvo in a struggle with Washington over environmental regulation Tuesday, filing a suit in federal court to prevent regulation of greenhouse gases.
Gov. Rick Perry and Attorney General Greg Abbott are trying to get the federal Environmental Protection Agency to back away from a finding last year that greenhouse gases are a threat to public health. The finding sets the stage for regulation of the gases, which scientists have linked to global warming.
The Texas officials say curbs on greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide could cost state businesses and homeowners and jeopardize jobs. Texas leads the nation in carbon emissions. And they argue that the EPA had based its finding on faulty science.
Tags: Texas | Posted under Attorney General News | No Comments
TX: Democrat Lt. Governor Candidate Late to Report
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 03:34 Written by rslcpol Thursday, 4 February 2010 02:03
From Chron.com:
Marc Katz has yet to file his campaign finance report that was due on Monday.
The flamboyant Austin restaurant owner is seeking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor and is running in the March 2 primary field with retired Travis County district attorney Ronnie Earle and retired AFL-CIO executive vice president Linda Chavez-Thompson.
Earle reported contributions of $14,076 on his report required to be filed 30 days before the election. Most of that – $11,371 – came from the Texas Democratic Party.
Tags: Texas | Posted under Lieutenant Governor News | No Comments
TX: Guilty Plea Ends Democrat’s Political Career
Last Updated on Wednesday, 29 September 2010 03:37 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 3 February 2010 01:31
From the Dallas Morning News:
State Rep. Terri Hodge, D-Dallas, pleaded guilty early this morning to lying on her tax returns in connection with the FBI’s Dallas City Hall public corruption investigation, an act that ends her 14-year political career.
Hodge, 69, now a convicted felon, is dropping her re-election plans, and will resign her position as District 100 representative in the Texas House when she is sentenced. At Wednesday’s hearing, U.S. District Judge Barbara Lynn said she wanted sentencing to occur as soon as possible.
“Ms. Hodge will have pleaded guilty today to a felony and will still be representing her district,” Lynn said. “I’m not real keen on that notion.”
Tags: Texas | Posted under Dems Behaving Badly, State Legislature News | No Comments
Texas Attorney General Abbott talks Cornhusker Kickback on Sean Hannity Show
Last Updated on Wednesday, 6 October 2010 10:28 Written by rslcpol Monday, 11 January 2010 02:36
Tags: Texas | Posted under Attorney General News | 1 Comment