Brainy Endorsements: Ann Harris Bennett

In 2010, Harris County voters had the opportunity to elect Ann Harris Bennett to the office of County Clerk. Given the cartoon aspects of the performance of the extreme conservative who let the Red Tea Tide carry him in two years ago, there is now buyer's remorse even on the part of Harris County Republicans, who turned out his clown car sidekick in the county tax assessor's office, Don Sumners.

Bennett will be the Democrats' nominee for tax assessor/collector in 2012, and the other options... well, aren't.

Former Houston city councilman Mike Sullivan represents "proven conservative values", according to what proven conservative dipshits like Paul Bettencourt say.

Former tax assessor Paul Bettencourt said the ousting of incumbents such as Sumners and District Attorney Pat Lykos showed GOP voters want candidates that have “more conservative perceptions of how the office should be run,” adding voters clearly identified “job performance issues.”

There is no such thing as being more conservative than Don Sumners. There isn't one inch of space to his right. You can stop trying to wedge yourself in there (and please stop talking about how being conservative is a good thing, while you're at it).

“I think that I represented conservative values on Houston City Council, I represented conservative values on Humble ISD board of trustees, and my long history in the party and track record have proven attractive to Republican voters,” (Sullivan) said...

Enough. We have all had enough -- too much, actually -- of 'conservative' in Harris county government. It's time for some balance.

It's time for some common sense. Pamela Crawford at Style:

Ms. Bennett, a native Texan, is no stranger to the county system. She served as court coordinator for 14 ½ years in the 55th and 152nd Civil District Courts for both Republican and Democratic judges in court administration. She also was a 12-year legal secretary for plaintiff and insurance defense law firms in Houston working primarily in tort litigation. Her background with the courts and law firms indicates she understands how integrity, transparency and accountability are a crucial part of a daily routine. Her legal experience tells me she understands how to manage technology andr documents. As an attorney, I appreciate that she clearly understands how the legal process works.

Via Stace, Bennett's press release in the wake of Sumners' breakdown in mailing voter registration cards last spring...

“Harris County seems to have been the testing ground for vote suppression tactics used against minorities and that cannot continue. Restoring faith in the integrity of the voter registration process will be a priority of my campaign and my administration when elected...”.

And from Bennett's website:

It’s been almost fifty years since passage of the Voting Rights Act and yet, from voter registration irregularities to illegal redistricting plans, we too often continue to see examples of the need for the legal protections afforded under the Voting Rights Act. While I could not be more thankful for those protections, I intend to end the questionable practices of the past and restore faith among Harris County voters in the voter registration process. The voter registration process should be simple, secure, accessible and most of all, it should never leave citizens questioning its integrity.

There is also a Libertarian in this contest, but he seems to be running an invisible campaign. All I could find was this Meetup profile.  Maybe Democrats should e-mail him or call him -- see the first link in this paragraph -- and ask when he's going to get started campaigning.

Once again, as clear a choice as it comes on your Harris County ballot. Let's get it correct, not right, this time.

Earlier Brainy Endorsements:

Nile Copeland for the First Court of Appeals
Alfred and GC Molison for HD 131 and SBOE, respectively
Henry Cooper for HD 148
Keith Hampton for Presiding Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Barbara Gardner for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Don Cook for Congress, 22nd District
Max Martin for Congress, 36th District
Remington Alessi for Harris County Sheriff

Brainy Endorsements: Remington Alessi

Remington Alessi is the Green candidate running for Harris County Sheriff, against incumbent Democrat Adrian Garcia and Republican Louis Guthrie. There is no Libertarian candidate.

Alessi is the Green most likely to strike fear into the hearts of Democrats, as he is running a, shall we understate, unconventional campaign that provides a striking contrast to typical law enforcement candidates like Garcia and Guthrie.

As both a new activist and a cynic, I have little trust for politicians and despise their hypocrisy. Justice is important to me, and I believe that justice goes beyond retribution – justice is fair, understanding, and humane. We need a system that more accurately reflects that reality, and I feel that the Harris County Sheriff's Office is a good place to start. My education and expertise makes me a qualified choice, because where I lack experience as a beat cop arresting people, I am uniquely aware of macroscopic law enforcement issues that my opponents are ill-equipped to address or even recognize. Refocusing the HCSO to better reflect an institution of justice and public service is central to the needs of the people of Houston.

I will let you go read his issues page that includes thought-provoking positions on the influence of the private prison industry on public policy; the squandering of law enforcement resources in prosecuting vice crimes; the actual tax contributions of undocumented workers; bringing law enforcement out of the Dark Ages and the need for better mental health services as a response to crime; and transforming prison-to-work programs.

Two recent news items, this one from Scot Henson at Grits on private prisons, and this one from the Chron on state Sen. John Whitmire's evolving views on incarcerating prostitutes, reinforce Alessi's positions.

Here are a couple of excerpts from the issues section, along with a few videos of Alessi speaking about some topics of the day in various fora.

I propose that the HCSO no longer dedicate law enforcement personnel to enforcing (marijuana) possession laws. We have far too many more pressing problems on our plate to be wasting resources on perpetuating policies that are no more reasonable than those that were responsible for the prohibition of alcohol nearly a century ago. This is doubly so when we consider the glaring problem of budget crises that currently plague all levels of government.

On the topic of vice crimes, prostitution bears mention. Obviously many people have moral issues with prostitution. But then, the fifth commandment instructs believers to honor their father and mother, and we don't lock people up for failing to adhere to that. Going beyond traditional moral issues, we still have to ask ourselves about the practicality of enforcing either of these issues. Judging from the fact that making prostitution illegal has done nothing to stop it, we should ask whether or not it is worth our time when we simultaneously are in a position of limited resources and other issues like human trafficking come into play.

The first video is from a recent Houston City Council meeting where Alessi spoke on the homeless-food sharing ordinance.

Due to the defunding of state and local mental health institutions during the past decade, approximately one quarter of the Harris County Jail's nearly 12,000 inmates require mental health services, and of those, roughly ninety percent have been placed in the Harris County Jail have been placed there before.

This is a glaring problem, and requires that the HCSO meaningfully address this issue by creating more humane conditions for these individuals who have been abandoned by society. The cruel and inhumane treatment of those least among us is, at its heart, a moral issue, but financial issues should be considered as well in the spirit of pragmatism. Valuable resources are dedicated to this policy of criminalizing the mentally ill, and the Harris County Jail's eleven full time psychiatrists are laughably understaffed and unequipped to provide proper care to inmates with mental health needs.

Here Alessi spoke about unions, and strikes, following one of the street actions associated with the recently-concluded Houston janitors' strike (Alessi's remarks begin at about the 1:45 mark).



I've previously mentioned in passing -- in my endorsement post for Henry Cooper against another Democratic incumbent, Jessica Farrar -- the disagreements I have with Sheriff Garcia. His vigorous support of a bad Obama Administration immigrant policy, Secure Communities, is at the head of the list. Describing himself proudly as having evolved into a conservative in terms of its enforcement would, of course, be another.

That last is just more of the bullshit I am sick to death of: your typical Democrat thinking that acting like a Republican is going to get Republicans to vote for him. It's not going to work any better for Garcia than it did for Tony Sanchez in 2002, or Bill White in 2008, or James Cargas in 2012.

Meanwhile, the actual Republican in the contest, Louis Guthrie, is nothing but a joke.

Guthrie, who now works for the Liberty County Sheriff's Office, received four letters of reprimand and two suspensions during his tenure with Harris County. He caused two traffic accidents, loaded his weapon with improper ammunition at an off-duty job and pressed a prisoner about his allegiance to the Nation of Islam, according to sheriff's office records.

He was suspended one day in 2002 for engaging in "horseplay" with two other deputies at a training exercise. He was also suspended 15 days, which was reduced to 12 on appeal, and ordered to anger management counseling after he used excessive force with a man he was escorting from a bar at closing time while on an off-duty job.

Guthrie's termination stemmed from a July 2008 incident at a car wash in Humble, where his wife alleged $17 had been stolen from her car. The May 2009 termination letter states Guthrie, who was off-duty, arrived at the business driving his cruiser and in uniform. He blocked the entrance to the car wash and circled part of the facility in crime scene tape, then detained the employees and took their driver's licenses to check for warrants. Some of these decisions may have been illegal acts of official oppression, the letter states.

Note in this last video that Alessi reports some positive response from Libertarians for his campaign.



Here is Alessi's Facebook page and his Twitter feed. It's pretty obvious to me that outside of blind red-and-blue partisan voters, the choice for Harris County Sheriff could not be more clear.

Prior Brainy Endorsements have included the following:

Nile Copeland for the First Court of Appeals
Alfred and GC Molison for HD 131 and SBOE, respectively
Henry Cooper for HD 148
Keith Hampton for Presiding Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Barbara Gardner for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Don Cook for Congress, 22nd District
Max Martin for Congress, 36th District

The Big Wind Wrangle

The Texas Progressive Alliance is ready for the big winds of swirling moist air -- both of them -- coming from the general direction of Tampa as it brings you this week's roundup.

Off the Kuff published interviews with Congressman Gene Green and Congressional candidate Jim Dougherty.  

BossKitty at TruthHugger was interrupted while researching the abomination of H.R. 1096: Sanctity of Life Act of 2011, Questions and Permutations, to comment on the recent shootings in New York: Do You Feel Better It Wasn’t Terrorism? Then came the sad news that Neil Armstrong escaped the bonds of earth for the last time: He Stopped The World On July 20, 1969.

The GOP's answer for everything is trickle-down. WCNews at Eye on Williamson on the latest on transportation's Forgotten Mission: Texas' trickle-down transportation policy.

The legal action by the Harris County Democratic Party to remove DA nominee Lloyd Oliver from the November ballot places the rest of the party's candidates in an unfortunate and unnecessary quandary, posits PDiddie at Brains and Eggs.

Neil at Texas Liberal discussed litter in Houston bayous. This post also featured the famous crying Indian anti-litter PSA from the 70's.  

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme knows that the Romney/Ryan racist welfare ads and jokes are par for the course for the republicans who built that d*mn fence as a monument to racism and fear.

Brainy Endorsements: Max Martin

Max Martin won the Democratic Party's primary to represent Texans in the 36th Congressional District (after clicking, zoom and drag to see a closer view of the map). It includes the Southeast Texas counties of Orange, Newton, Jasper, Tyler, Hardin, Polk, Liberty, Chambers, and the eastern part of Harris, including the Houston suburbs of Clear Lake and Baytown. It is a new district, one of the four awarded to Texas as a result of the state's growth after the decennial census of 2010.

The Republicans nominated Louie Gohmert's kissin' cousin, Steve Stockman. He was TeaBaggin' before it was cool. Though Stockman served a single term and hasn't been in Congress since 1997, he posted signs during the Republican runoff that said "Re-elect Congressman Stockman". Republicans are as wary of the guy as everybody else, despite the fact that his returning to Washington is considered all but a foregone conclusion.

There is also a Libertarian candidate, Michael "MKC" Cole. He has a compelling life story, and presents a good option for those conservatives in the district who are intelligent enough not to vote a straight R ballot.

But Martin is by far the best choice, and here's a few reasons why, from his FB postings.

"Max at the Planned Parenthood rally the Monday following the AIDS walk (8/17/12). Ask the keynote speakers Sheila Jackson Lee and Al Green what they think about Democrats campaigning for Libertarians. That's me under the "c" in care."

A bit on tax policy:

The real problem isn’t these numbers, it’s the hidden ones. The .1%, like Mitt Romney, who have migrated their incomes to total capital gains. They pay a top rate of 15% and nothing towards the social security system or Medicare/Medicaid. To make thing even worse, they want to reduce that 15% to 0%. You know, for the “Job Creators”. Give me a break! We will never balance the budget without an income system that requires everyone, out of poverty, to pay, and to pay progressively more the more they earn. That’s the way it was for the 70 years before 1986 and that’s the way it should be now.

He supports the 2nd Amendment, Planned Parenthood, and the Occupy movement. He was also one of the only Democrats on the ballot who spoke in favor of Lissa Squiers, when she was under assault from the James Cargas/Hector Carreno slime machine. Here's what he wrote after that pathetic, fawning, not to mention plagiarized-from-Cargas-himself endorsement...

Regarding The Houston Chronicle’s endorsement of James Cargas for U.S. House of Representatives in the Texas 7th district, posted in the editorial section on Friday, July 20, 2012, I feel compelled to disagree with several aspects of the writer’s assumptions. I have been in contact with Lissa Squiers on a steady basis over the last few months and find her to be a formidable opponent to upset the obstructionist incumbent, John Culberson. From her blue collar background, to her family commitment in raising children in the public school system, to her drive to propel herself to earn an MBA from the University of Houston, Lissa has exhibited a tireless ability to set goals and make them happen.

The author states, “Lissa Squiers’ approach of taking the strongest position possible and unapologetically charging forward” as a reason to not consider her for the position for which she seeks, when in effect it is the foundation for which the Democratic Party is standing proud in support of the needs of the many over the wants of the few. This article seems to think what the Democratic Party needs is more Republican thinking candidates. Nothing could be further from the truth. Lissa Squires has fought long and hard for herself and her family and she’ll do the same for the citizens of the 7th district.

Yes she would have, Max, but at least the voters of the 36th have a chance to elect you.

To be sure, most of the Democrats in places like Orange County and Hardin County have given up and flipped parties. The communities are in strong support of Keystone XL. There are precious few East Texans that haven't drunk the Tea, and if the Libertarian manages some success in leeching support from Stockman, there might be a chance for Martin to prevail. A slim one for sure, but as a retired aviator Martin understands that flying is all about throwing yourself at the ground from extreme heights at high velocity... and consistently missing.

Show some support for sanity and a few progressive values if you live in East Texas. Or even if you don't. Because the last thing we need in Washington right now is Steve Stockman 2.0.

Update: Charles Kuffner has his audio interview with Martin up.

Previous Brainy Endorsements include...

Nile Copeland for the First Court of Appeals
Alfred and GC Molison for HD 131 and SBOE, respectively
Henry Cooper for HD 148
Keith Hampton for Presiding Judge, Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Barbara Gardner for the Fourteenth Court of Appeals
Don Cook for Congress, 22nd District

Sunday Legitimately Funnies

The quandary of Lloyd Oliver for Democrats on the ballot

His lawsuit to remain on the ballot has the potential to be destructive for the Harris County Democratic Party's candidates and their November prospects.

On Friday, Houston attorney Lloyd Oliver filed a lawsuit seeking to prevent the Harris County Democratic Party's attempts to oust him from the ticket.

"They're not going to put any candidate on the ballot. They just shut the whole thing down," Oliver said.

The lawyer called the move an attempt by party officials to disenfranchise voters.

"They are the elite of the Democratic Party. They trump the voters and that's wrong," Oliver said.

I mentioned earlier in the week that I didn't think this would damage races down ballot, but I have to rethink that. I see no percentage in Democratic candidates, especially judicial candidates, supporting Lewis and Martin Birnberg in this petty vendetta. Unless they -- those on the ballot and not in the backroom -- opt to distance themselves quickly from it.

See, Democrats are obviously one thing, and democracy is another quite different one.

You would like to see the members of the Democratic Party always supporting democratic principles, but the fact is that doesn't always occur. It's part (a small part) of why I cannot call myself a Democrat any longer. I can and will heartily support many Democratic candidates, but I will no longer fall blindly in line behind a party's orthodoxy. It has simply produced too much cognitive dissonance for me.

Most Americans agree with me, by the way. Since about half of all residents of this great nation do not vote in any election, it would stand to reason that they don't hold either major political party in high regard. Since about 40% of the remaining half of our countrymen vote for the Bloods, and about 40% vote for the Crips, that leaves a solid 10% of voters -- or 5% of all Americans -- who report themselves as "undecided" for the two gangs to fight over. That percentage, again very roughly, is approximately the amount of support minor parties like the Greens and Libertarians and Independents have generally shared in presidential elections past (only Ross Perot and George Wallace in my lifetime have been exceptions to this rule).

The daily skirmishes in that battle -- more tit-for-tat in my humble O -- is what the traditional media reports, via several outlets, on a 24-hour basis. Here is today's example.

It gets worse for democracy, as we know. Because of the Electoral College, that 10% of registered/likely uncommitted voters is scattered throughout a dozen or so "battleground" states, which is why the two Corporate Parties must raise and spend vast sums of money to pay for Corporate Media advertising in order to sway this small number of lowly-informed "undecideds".

Most Democrats and Republicans are, at this stage of the cycle -- about 60 days before the start of early voting, and about 75 days before Election Day -- turning their focus away from persuasion and toward mobilization. 'Get Out the Vote', as it is called. 'Let's get more of our people to the polls because there are going to be a lot of those nasty  _______ voting, and we've got to overcome that'.

The methodology of GOTV differs a bit between Republicans and Democrats; the GOP wants to keep their base in a perpetual state of fear and loathing while simultaneously making efforts to ensure that fewer folks get to cast a ballot, particularly those with a little extra pigmentation in their skin. Whereas Democrats want more people to vote, on the theory that many non-voters will vote Democrat... if they can be convinced to get up and go do it. In 2012 this premise is particularly valid.

A digression, but a necessary one to illustrate my point.

Fort Bend and Texas Democratic Party officials have disavowed two-time Congressional nominee Kesha Rogers, but none of them have tried to remove her from the ballot (yet). Way back in 2010 when this uncomfortable situation arose the first time, I assembled a few views in this post, the most eloquent by my friend, occasional co-poster, and former SDEC committeeman John Behrman.

One is left with the supposition that ignoring Rogers' call for Obama's impeachment -- while taking legal action against Oliver's favorable remark about DA Pat Lykos -- is just garden variety hypocrisy and not a decision made on any racial and/or gender considerations of the two candidates.

Ultimately the Dems are going to have to mitigate this away in some fashion (just as they did their legal efforts to keep the Texas Green Party off the ballot in 2010). If they lose it, Oliver has made them look incompetent; if they succeed, they appear wildly and discriminatorily undemocratic. In the short term it grows increasingly likely that this effort will cost them votes... and contests they might otherwise win in an Obama-turnout-swollen year.They cannot afford that.

Many undercurrents have trended in their favor lately: the inept Romney campaign; the choice of the controversial Paul Ryan as running mate; the policy positions of the top of the ticket that motivate seniors, women, and minorities, particularly Latinos, to support the Dems are just a few. The vast extremism of Texas TeaBaggers, from Ted Cruz and throughout the Congressional and statehouses races, has never been more apparent.

But this obnoxious, internecine squabbling turns off voters -- especially voters of the undecided, uncommitted variety -- to a tremendous degree. The Democrats look like childish siblings fighting over a trinket when they do things like this. And for a political party that is already on life support in Texas, it is just plain ridiculous, not to mention foolish.

This is to say nothing of the nonsensical choice to leave the District Attorney's race empty. Since they are meeting in county convention this morning, the assembly of precinct chairs could, if they were in agreement to do so, select another DA nominee.

All of this leaves Harris County Democratic candidates in an unpleasant quandary. Either they publicly disavow the actions of their party's chair and previous chair to arbitrarily remove a duly elected nominee -- one of their ticketmates -- over a technicality, or they try to ignore it (not a good option either, since silence is consent). I don't consider that publicly announcing support for Oliver against local party leaders is really an option.

Unless this matter resolves itself fairly quickly in time to smooth over the unpleasantries, other Democrats are going have to run away, hard, from this ill-conceived legal action on the part of Birnberg, Lewis, and Dunn, or else they stand to be tarred with the same broad brush.

That would be the brush with the oligarchic paint on it. Low-information, low-participation voters get this even when they have no idea what an oligarchy is.

Update: Charles very cautiously -- and maybe only slightly -- agrees. I also checked to see if there was any news made at yesterday's Harris County Democratic convention, but it looks as if the activities were limited to boosting morale.