Candidate filing for the 2022 primary in Texas closed Monday evening, and there were more than a few late developments in what is set to be a busy election cycle.#TXlege #TX2022 https://t.co/cLdjtU19Eh
— Texas Tribune (@TexasTribune) December 14, 2021
I'm so old I remember when Warren G. Harding (not the former president) got elected state treasurer, and Gene Kelly (not the deceased dancer, as Barbara Radnofsky will attest) almost -- well, not quite -- got elected US Senator.
Will the candidacy of a little-known Lockheed Martin desktop engineer prove confusing to some voters?
— Bob Garrett (@RobertTGarrett) December 13, 2021
‘Rick Perry’ is running for Texas governor against Greg Abbott but it’s not the Rick Perry you know.#TxGov #2022Elections #txlege https://t.co/xBZy8Ngdas
Anything that pisses Dave Carney off is worth a few laughs. Update: Such as the Bum Steer of the Year award.
With the February freeze, the Capitol invasion, and the ongoing pandemic, 2021 was the year that turned to 2020 and said, “Hold my beer.” Suffice it to say, we had a lot to work with when deciding the 2022 Bum Steer of the Year. https://t.co/LbWkgH9Tfn pic.twitter.com/X9jsGMx7bZ
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) December 14, 2021
The downside is that serious candidates will again be forced to beg for attention from the state's political reporters while they chase the 'not that Rick Perry' story. As long as you can accept that we live in an oligarchy on the days when it isn't a plutocracy, you won't be too disillusioned. More blunt: Just stop with the 'democracy' shit already.
The Dems' three-candidate field includes a TSU professor, a north Texas lawmaker, and a 2018 challenger who came within five percentage points of beating Dan Patrick. https://t.co/WyouGra70y
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) December 14, 2021
Not fond of but not surprised by Collier's overuse of the royal 'we' in his statement here. He really ought to be called a 'perennial' -- or 'frequent' -- candidate in that dismissive tone that some use.
The progressive movement in South Texas is strong! From left to right:
— Dani Marrero Hi (@danimarr94) December 13, 2021
✅ @MichelleVforTX
✅ @JCisnerosTX
✅ @RochelleMGarza
Let's goooooo!! 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/WrzTai1gtJ
We'll wait and see re: "progressive". Far too much co-opting of the word by Democrats, certainly Texas Democrats. I question whether Latinas in South Texas not named Jessica Cisneros are breaking the mold, but I'll keep an open mind.
Not a surprise for anyone paying attention #txlege Democrats worry their grip on Hispanic vote is loosening https://t.co/Cl8QTFzmgc
— harvey kronberg (@HKronberg) December 13, 2021
If elected, he'd take office 40 years after the end of his most recent term in the Texas House... which was before some current members were born. #txlege https://t.co/D27synBGUe pic.twitter.com/cDpJsUXw0J
— Jasper Scherer (@jaspscherer) December 14, 2021
An update to TX-07:
Well, that didn't last long. A few hours after Javed told me he wasn't about to pull out of the race, he did exactly that amid a lot of political pressure for him to back out.
— Jeremy Wallace (@JeremySWallace) December 15, 2021
Fletcher now has clear path to Democratic nomination. https://t.co/mI8TunPs4c
On Tuesday, Javed acknowledged he was being asked to get out of the race but said he was determined to stay in it. Several hours later, Javed declared he had pulled out, too, with no further explanation.
And one additional morning-after reaction.
With 31 lawmakers moving on, Texas Legislature has room to get redder https://t.co/9I9USLoGtB via @houstonchron #hounews
— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) December 14, 2021
Really hoping the Democrats in John Whitmire's Senate district see fit to send him off to his previously-announced '23 H-Town mayoral campaign.
One of the most active people against the @TxDOTHouston plan for I-45 is aiming for state senate gig. if she wins, she'd definitely get to speak at @TxDOTCommission meetings earlier. https://t.co/nBNjxlekaH
— Dug Begley (@DugBegley) December 13, 2021
The Dean is going to have to put a lot of lipstick on his pig if he loses his last run for re-election to Austin. And I will be here for it.
Truth to tell, however, there are bigger wads holding office that need to be ejected next year. Let's consider the professional evaluations of Beto's latest tactic.
What do you know? @BetoORourke's now arguing that @GregAbbott_TX didn't trust law enforcement when pushing the bill to let people carry handguns with no paperwork:
— Scott Braddock (@scottbraddock) December 14, 2021
"This governor really does not trust law enforcement" #TxLege https://t.co/UhFOOmCUcu
Seems like it might be effective.
Abbott also keeps taking money away from police. Every budget that he has been in office, I believe, he has cut funding from state police.https://t.co/05VVPS7fAR
— Julie Gilberg | Vote, vote, vote 🗳️🗳️🗳️‼️ (@joolytron) December 14, 2021
Someone might fact-check Ms. Gilberg's claim, but regardless, enough evidence stands up to point out the governor's hypocrisy on defunding the police, especially in Austin. Watch to see if this gains traction among LEOs.
Not sure @LivingBlueTX made the point she thought she was with this headline (but a good article anyway, Michelle!) https://t.co/AoT0oJujgX #TXLege #TXGov #TX2022
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) December 13, 2021
I teased Michelle good-naturedly about her header and she took it in stride. Her blog is outstanding from a civil rights perspective. A little too heavy on the blue shilling for me, but that's because I'm Green now. Delilah Barrios gets my support, money and vote for Texas governor.
Most likely scenario for the Nov. #TX2022 gubernatorial ballot.@GregAbbott_TX (@TexasGOP)@BetoORourke (@texasdemocrats)@Mark4Gov (@LPTexas )@DelilahforTexas (@TXGreens)
— Mark P. Jones (@MarkPJonesTX) December 14, 2021
Abbott & Beto still have to win primary
Tippetts & Barrios still have to be nominated by convention#txlege
One last filing update, intersecting with the criminal and social justice news (which follows).
Apparently Damien Jones has filed to run for #txlege #HD147 in the Republican Primary now. #Election2022 #Texas
— Holly Hansen (@hollyshansen) December 13, 2021
Three Local Democrats Indicted For Election Fraud In Texas House Races https://t.co/8maFew3XTU
... Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg announced grand jury indictments of three local Democrats -- Richard Bonton, Natasha Demming and Damien Jones -- connected to two election fraud schemes tied to local Texas House of Representatives races in House Districts 142 and 132.
You can read on at the link.
.@LinaHidalgoTX, @SylvesterTurner face possible felony corruption charges https://t.co/RZ0hpzzPuR #HouNews #HTX
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) December 14, 2021
Nothing particularly new here; an aggregate of stories that have been ignored by the Blue crew for reasons that are patently obvious.
Updates from Texas Monthly's Mike Snyder and the Chron's Matt Schwartz.
The leader of the Harris County government seemed to have weathered a controversy over a contract for vaccine outreach, but in mid-November the district attorney issued subpoenas concerning the bidding process. https://t.co/N397203KRd
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) December 8, 2021
12 potential Hidalgo challengers among dozens who file for Harris County races https://t.co/PfGjC7bDB2 via @houstonchron #hounews
— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) December 14, 2021
Lawyers say they can’t find ex-HPD chief Art Acevedo ahead of trial in sergeant’s death https://t.co/ZIRQKEXkci
— Houston Chronicle (@HoustonChron) December 12, 2021
Just plain weird. Update:
Look where @ArtAcevedo turned up #HouNews https://t.co/KwwKHn5vZX
— Forever in debt to your priceless advice. (@PDiddie) December 15, 2021
The law says state agencies must meet regularly to develop strategies that improve lending to low-income communities, but it's been four years since they last met. https://t.co/mg1DdOLKdK
— WFAA (@wfaa) December 13, 2021
Katy ISD's school board is under fire again for continuing to block websites that provide resources like counseling and suicide hotlines for LGBTQ+ students. https://t.co/De9eHiSz4A
— ABC13 Houston (@abc13houston) December 14, 2021
The San Antonio Current is on top of one Alamo City school district's willingness to pull library books off the shelf.
The 14,000 Kroger workers around Houston with UFCW Local 455 who almost struck on Thanksgiving appear to be right back on the edge of a massive strike. If negotiations don’t go well on Wednesday, be ready for action, the union says. pic.twitter.com/kKA4cKGtpX
— Jonah Furman (@JonahFurman) December 14, 2021
The latest in climate.
“We live in a world of warmer, more violent weather. Stronger storms, longer droughts, heavier floods, larger fires,” notes the editorial board. “The planet is sending an SOS.” https://t.co/JECiJ4QMrd pic.twitter.com/OVJGika7SD
— New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) December 13, 2021
"We're currently witnessing a great deception, where the companies most responsible for catastrophically heating the planet are spending millions on advertising campaigns about how their business plans are focused on sustainability," @ClientEarth https://t.co/2AP1orbOlp
— Paul Dawson (@PaulEDawson) December 13, 2021
W/out black start: “It would be the equivalent of going back to the Stone Age, it really would,” said Pat Wood, the former chair of the PUCT. “That was just a shock to me.... If those plants are not secure, then our system’s not secure.” #txlege #txenergyhttps://t.co/kqGEf3rs0F
— Doug Lewin (@douglewinenergy) December 14, 2021
Tomlinson: Exxon, Aramco CEOs show Big Oil's arrogance toward climate crisis https://t.co/J8NUOc9yVl via @houstonchron #hounews
— Matt Schwartz (@SchwartzChron) December 8, 2021
Thousands of facilities that are considered large sources of toxic air pollution submit yearly reports on chemical emissions.
— ProPublica (@propublica) December 14, 2021
But the EPA has never released this data in a way that allows the public to understand the risks.
So we did. https://t.co/dROx6MWsxf
This one is giving me flashbacks to TPC, but not because its big or destructive. The same private environmental firm that TPC hired is monitoring air for Nederland Tank Wash, and the city has been publishing reports with permission from the company.https://t.co/XPdVbXNcYb
— Jacob Dick (@jd_journalism) December 14, 2021
Bloomberg Quint reported on two mysterious plumes of methane appearing on satellite above some East Texas oil and gas fields. Update: ExxonMobil says it will use satellites to monitor the Permian Basin for methane leaks. On the bright side, Environment Texas has a list of the top ten wins for the state's ecology this year, and the AP recounts the many coal-fired plants closing after the implementation of new federal wastewater guidelines.
Power producers that say they will shutter coal-fired units as a result of the new rule include Atlanta-based Southern Co. and Houston-based NRG. Southern, which operates electric utilities in Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi, said it will shutter two-thirds of its coal fleet, including units at the nation’s two largest coal-fired power plants, Scherer and Bowen, both in Georgia. NRG said it plans to stop burning coal at its domestic plants outside Texas, and install new pollution controls at its two Texas plants.
Texas is losing groundwater at nearly twice the maximum sustained rate — and that rate is likely to increase unless the state changes course. Read more: https://t.co/9MBCpWdkLH @EDFtx @MeadowsC4Water #txlege
— EDF Growing Returns (@GrowingReturns) December 13, 2021
That's enough for today. Closing with one soother.
Meanwhile, in Texas. . .
— Texas Monthly (@TexasMonthly) December 13, 2021
Two escaped sheep led San Antonio Animal Care Services officers on a thirty-minute foot chase alongside a highway before police blocked off traffic so that the animals could be herded safely back home.
More Texana news: https://t.co/eNO1x9OcFC