Monday, April 01, 2019

The Weekly Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance suffers fools happily today (but only today).


Yesterday it marked the Transgender Day of Visibility with its many LGBTQ allies.


Lou Weaver at Equality Texas celebrated while the Texas Freedom Network has a call to action regarding Texas Lege bills hostile to LGBTQ employment protections.

Beto O'Rourke formally began his run for the White House in El Paso on Saturday, and then Houston at Texas Southern University, and ended the day at the Capitol.




The Texas Tribune asked -- and answered -- the question of whether O'Rourke broke his pledge not to take fossil fuel contributions.

In other election-related developments ...

Voter registration: Thursday is the deadline to register to vote for the May 4 uniform election.

SD13: Houston commercial financier William Booher established a campaign committee for a potential challenge of Sen. Borris Miles (D-Houston) as a Republican.

CD14: Pearland educator Adrienne Bell re-authorized her campaign committee for a potential rematch against U.S. Rep. Randy Weber (R-Pearland). Bell raised more than $200K for her 2018 race, which she lost, 59%-39%.

CD20: Former Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (D-San Antonio) is considering a run for the seat expected to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-San Antonio), who is expected to challenge U.S. Sen. John Cornyn (R).

Mission: The 13th Court of Appeals overturned a lower court ruling that ordered a new mayoral election, which will let stand Armando O’Caña’s June 2018 runoff victory over incumbent Beto Salinas. In October 2018, District Judge Bonner Dorsey found clear and convincing evidence that at least 158 illegal votes were cast in the runoff, one more than the final margin of 157 votes. Dorsey ordered a new election but stayed his decision pending appeal. Salinas is expected to appeal to the Texas Supreme Court.

Charles Kuffner analyzed the state's House districts from 2018's election results in order to find a way toward a Dem majority in 2020, and Daniel Cohen, writing at Egberto Willie's blog, calls for full engagement in the Pearland ISD elections next month.

Stephen Young at the Dallas Observer picks out the best, the worst, and the 'other' from the Dallas Morning News' voter guide.

Border and immigration news once again took over the Texas headlines last week.  After two accounts in last Monday's Wrangle reported that inland border checkpoints were closing and detention facilities were full due to an influx of migrants, the issue exploded nationally after photos of migrants crowded into an Aushwitz-styled enclosure under an El Paso bridge were published.


Trump declared he would cut off financial aid to three Latin American countries and threatened to close the border with Mexico to stem the tide.

In a follow-up to last week's news regarding the fire at Deer Park's ITC facility ...


Socratic Gadfly looks at criticism of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez from both her right and her left and analyzes what's legitimate and what's not.

Grits for Breakfast posts the ways you can get thrown in jail for a traffic ticket.

Better Texas Blog wants to end surprise medical bills.

Bonddad insists that the Mueller report did not find 'no collusion'.

Latino Rebels catches up with Librotraficante Tony Diaz in Houston.

And Houston Strategies reports that Mayor Sylvester Turner and the city's firefighters have reached a Prop B compromise ... just in time for April Fools Day.

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