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May 23, 2020 10:00 AM
Any hint of speaker politics aside, the significant backdrop is disagreement over whether SB2 taxing limits are canceled out by Gov. Abbott’s disaster declaration in all Texas counties; Abbott now says he does not read the law that way but the language seems pretty clear
A handful of GOP Texas
House lawmakers including some in retiring Speaker Dennis Bonnen’s
leadership team along with Freedom Caucus members spent some of this week slamming the Republican Galveston County Judge after he said
he was glad the speaker is not coming back.
County Judge Mark Henry,
who recently asked Gov. Greg Abbott to use his disaster powers to freeze
property values at 2019 levels, was quoted in the Galveston
County Daily News as saying Bonnen has been “hiding behind his keyboard.”
Henry added that he’s glad the speaker chose to not seek reelection. That was
after Bonnen said Judge Henry’s property values proposal is a “horrible idea.”
There’s apparently been
bad blood between the two of them for some time, which shouldn’t surprise anyone
given the escalating tensions between state and local governments. Bonnen, as quoted
in the Daily News, said “My valuation doesn’t cost me one penny in property
tax, his tax rate does.”
After that, some Representatives
whose districts are 250 miles away – and one who is situated nearly 600 miles
away – from Babe’s Beach along the seawall piled on the GOP County
Judge.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright May 23, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 22, 2020 8:10 PM
We're told the Republican is calling around, gauging support ahead of a possible June 1 announcement
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May 22, 2020 2:59 PM
Annise Parker, head of Victory Fund, backs Davis’s opponent; Davis said she appreciated the correction
A national LGBTQ group led by former Houston Mayor Annise
Parker has apologized for calling Rep. Sarah Davis, R-West
University Place, an opponent of LGBTQ rights in a fundraising e-mail.
The e-mail was sent by the Victory Fund,
the political action arm of the Victory Institute, which promotes
electing LGBTQ candidates to public office. Parker, a Democrat has run the
organization since 2018.
Among the candidates they’re
supporting is Davis’s Democratic opponent, attorney Ann Johnson, who is
bisexual. Johnson is listed as a “spotlight candidate running against an-LGBTQ
incumbent.”
Johnson is also backed by Parker, who fundraised for
Davis’s 2018 opponent Allison Sawyer and is an ally of Houston
Councilmember Ellen Cohen, whom Davis defeated in the Tea Party wave of 2010.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By James Russell
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Copyright May 22, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 22, 2020 11:31 AM
New hires, agency news, promotions, a resignation, and thoughts and prayers for a legend in Houston politics
Did this week seem to drag
on forever or did it whip right by? Answers seemed to vary across the
community. Maybe it all just feels extra strange because this is the first big
holiday weekend since the pandemic began. If you’re
trying to get away for a few days, please be safe. It’s
hard to figure out what’s open and what’s closed. The more creative you are,
the more fun you’ll probably have but that’s been true
the entire time we were all locked down.
Meantime, there’s been another uptick in career news this week.
Congrats to those who found new ventures. You can tell the Texas Capitol
community about your career news, or gossip about someone else, by sending the
scoop along to ksbraddock@gmail.com.
Use POTM in the subject line. Please and thank you.
Here’s the Memorial Day weekend edition of People on the
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright May 22, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 22, 2020 11:15 AM
Republican Voters in western Travis County have a choice between a longtime activist who’s passionate about social issues, specifically sex ed, or an Austin police officer interested in a range of things including tax policy, infrastructure, and public safety
AUSTIN – As restrictions
on movement and commerce are lifted across Texas and people begin to make individual
decisions about how to once again interact with the outside world during a pandemic,
candidates for the Texas House are similarly making choices about
how to communicate with voters ahead of the July 14 runoffs and the general
election in November.
One fundamental aspect of
campaigning – block walking – highlights just one of many sharp differences between
the candidates vying now to be the GOP nominee to take on Rep. Vikki Goodwin,
D-Austin, this fall. One of them, social conservative activist Jennifer
Fleck, has resumed knocking on voters’ doors as of Mother’s Day weekend
while Austin Police Department Senior Officer Justin Berry
is taking a more reserved approach.
The candidates could perhaps
not be more dissimilar, with Fleck taking heat recently for arguing the
coronavirus is part of a divine plan to prevent public school students from
learning about gender identity and Berry making headlines by talking a suicidal man off the Congress Avenue Bridge
in Austin. But the one who wins the runoff
in western Travis County may be part of a larger GOP effort to regain territory
lost in the 2018 cycle to Democrats.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright May 22, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 22, 2020 11:12 AM
The consensus among economists is this isn’t the time to worry about public debt and government should spend whatever it takes to get people comfortable spending money again since about 70% of the economy is based on people “buying stuff”
This morning’s news of
Texas unemployment at 12.8 percent is nowhere near the end of the bad economic
news, per experts.
At a biweekly Zoom
conference of the Texas Business Leadership Council, economist Jason
Schenker warned that the US economy will most likely not reach December
2019 levels until the middle of 2022. Schenker also reported that US
unemployment is really about 25.8% with Texas
unemployment about 17.3%.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Jon Fisher
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Copyright May 22, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 22, 2020 9:16 AM
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Copyright May 22, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2020 8:36 PM
Full statement from
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner on the passing of Keith Wade:
“Keith and I go back 46
years to our days on the campus of the University of Houston.
After I was speaker of
the student government, he was president. Our journey in politics started there
on the UH campus.
Throughout his life,
Keith championed the causes of labor, people who have been disenfranchised and
he advocated for the rights of people to vote. He was instrumental in so many
campaigns in all levels of government. And that is true in my case as well. He
was actively involved in my 2015 campaign and when I ran for re-election in
2019.
Keith served as a
special advisor to both me and Mayor Annise Parker.
This is a sad day for a
lot of people because Keith wasn’t just a consultant
or a Special Advisor. He was a friend and a brother.”
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Copyright May 21, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2020 7:26 PM
The $1.2 billion in
federal funding to public schools in Texas under the CARES Act –
the federal response to COVID-19 – appears to be focused on
low-income school districts, with some potential for COVID-19-related funding
this fall.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright May 21, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2020 3:25 PM
The filing is right here.
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Copyright May 21, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2020 2:34 PM
“Because the primary runoff has been delayed until mid-July due to the Coronavirus pandemic…the window to conduct the CDEC meeting and elect the replacement nominee is just three weeks.”
Republican Party of
Texas Chairman James Dickey
on Thursday afternoon said that the nomination process will go forward for a replacement
candidate on the ballot for Rep. John Ratcliffe, who was just confirmed as
Director of National Intelligence.
“President Donald Trump
made an excellent decision placing a Texan in charge of our intelligence
community,” Dickey said. “We look forward to electing a Republican candidate
who will follow Congressman Ratcliffe’s excellent example in CD4!”
In an afternoon email to party
faithful, Chair Dickey said that “Because the primary runoff has been delayed
until mid-July due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the new County Executive
Committee terms begin August 3, 2020, which means the window to conduct the
CDEC meeting and elect the replacement nominee is just three weeks.”
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright May 21, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2020 1:56 PM
For the answers to key questions about what happens next, some Republicans turned to veteran GOP elections attorney Eric Opiela, who said Ratcliffe’s name needs to stay on the ballot at this point on the elections calendar
Editor’s note: The full
legal memo circulated among some Republicans is available to our subscribers at
the end of this story – SB
Now that he has been confirmed
by the US Senate as Director of National Intelligence,
it has been conventional wisdom that Rep John Ratcliffe, R-Heath, would
be replaced on the ballot and that new Republican would be chosen by a local
committee of GOP party bosses to face the Democrat in the race this fall.
But according to a memo that’s been circulated among some Republicans and obtained by
Quorum Report, that may not be so easy.
Some Republicans in the
district wanted the answer to two key questions:
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Scott Braddock
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Copyright May 21, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2020 1:33 PM
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Copyright May 21, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 21, 2020 11:58 AM
She tweeted: "Greg and I have tested positive for COVID-19. We began to exhibit symptoms last week, despite diligently complying with stay-at-home rules. Thankfully, this has not interfered with #SCOTX work, as the Court is working remotely. We are grateful for your thoughts & prayers."
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Copyright May 21, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 20, 2020 5:48 PM
Dewhurst, 74, reportedly suffered broken ribs. Leslie Ann Caron is facing criminal charges in Harris County
Here's the
latest from KHOU TV:
HOUSTON — Former Texas
Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst is recovering from injuries after two
alleged attacks by his "live-in" girlfriend, the Harris County
District Attorney's office told KHOU 11 News.
Court records show
40-year-old Leslie Ann Caron was arrested and charged with injury to an elderly
person.
From the DA's Office:
Caron is accused of kicking Dewhurst, 74, in the ribs during an argument on May
13. Dewhurst told police she left their home but came back on May 17 and kicked
him in the ribs again. He said Caron also hit him with a pot, scratched him and
bit him. Dewhurst went to the doctor and X-rays confirmed he had two broken
ribs.
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Copyright May 20, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 20, 2020 5:45 PM
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Copyright May 20, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 20, 2020 5:10 PM
This comes one day after a federal judge allowed for expansion of the franchise and on the same day the Texas Supreme court heard arguments in the state-level case. Dizzy yet?
Developing....
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Copyright May 20, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 20, 2020 1:40 PM
Here’s their letter.
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Copyright May 20, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 19, 2020 5:45 PM
Paxton vows quick appeal: “The district court’s opinion ignores the evidence and disregards well-established law. We will seek immediate review by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.”
Here’s the order from Federal Judge Fred Biery.
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Copyright May 19, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 19, 2020 4:25 PM
The FEC now has enough commissioners to enforce campaign finance laws for the first time since Aug. 31
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Copyright May 19, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 18, 2020 6:20 PM
Abbott talked quite a bit about the number of Texans who have recovered from COVID-19, but it is a statistic medical professionals avoid when discussing the disease because it is an unreliable indicator
Gov. Greg Abbott on
Monday continued loosening restrictions on Texas businesses as the state now
enters Phase 2 of his plan for commerce during the COVID-19 pandemic
including the opening of youth sports, day care centers, local bars and professional sports events.
Abbott, in a Texas
Capitol news conference today, touted what he calls a "positivity
rate" for COVID-19 patients, a 7-day rolling average that has dropped
from almost 14 percent in mid-April to just below 5 percent on Sunday.
Democrats were quick to
say Abbott is fudging the
numbers and, they say, Texas hasn’t met the White House guidelines
for moving forward with lifting certain restrictions.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright May 18, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 18, 2020 5:57 PM
"All individuals known to have been in direct contact with this person and/or the exposed areas are being tested and asked to self-isolate until a negative test result is received"
One of the DPS
troopers stationed at the Capitol complex has tested positive for
COVID-19, Texas House Administration Committee Chairman Charlie
Geren told members and staff in a note tonight.
“Our office has received
notification that a DPS Trooper stationed within the Capitol Complex has tested
positive for COVID-19,” Geren said.
The rest of the story, subscribers only
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Copyright May 18, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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May 18, 2020 1:54 PM
Sen. Charles Perry, former Sen. Bob Duncan and former Sen. Phil Gramm all now support Winegarner; President Trump has endorsed Ronny Jackson, his former physician, for the seat being vacated by Rep. Mac Thornberry
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Copyright May 18, 2020, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved
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