Nineteen Black Women Running For Harris County Judicial Benches

One of the other interesting things I'll be watching on Election Night 2018 is the developing story of nineteen Black women who are running for various judicial benches in the most populous county in Texas, Harris County. 

This story has been building since the March Texas primary, when these women won their various judicial primary races.

One of the stories that was overshadowed in the 2016 election is the fact that Harris County, which had been trending purple over the last few cycles, went undeniably blue that year and is on track to do so again in less than 60 days.

Harris County provides 25% of all the votes cast in a Texas statewide election. The other reason why these 19 Black women running is important for our community is because in addition to providing judicial leadership that reflects our community, winners of judicial seats, since they are countywide races, are looked at as potential candidates by the parties for statewide and federal races.

These women are not only part of the historic wave of Black women running for office in this 2018 cycle, they are also sending the undeniable message that Black women are the base of the Democratic Party, they deserve to be listened to, and also hold public office.  .

For you people who claim that you #TrustBlackWomen, your best bet for proving that you do precisely that would be to commit yourself to the action starting during the early voting period on October 22 and closing on November 6 to electing all nineteen of these well qualified Black women candidates for the judicial benches they are running for 

Our Harris County courthouse judges need to reflect the diversity of the 5 million people who live in the most populous county in Texas and the third most populous county in the US. 

Electing these 19 women, Dedra Davis, Maria Jackson, Latosha Lewis Payne, Shannon Baldwin, Erica Hughes, Ronnisha Bowman, Tonya Jones, Cassandra Holleman, LaShawn Williams, Ramona Franklin, Lauren Reeder, Angela Graves-Harrington, Sandra Peake, Lori Chambers Grey, Linda M. Dunson, Germaine Tanner, and Michelle Moore would be a huge step toward making that diversity in the courthouse a reality

Trust Black women means electing Black women to public office.

Trans Peeps, We Gotta Put In The Work To Get Elected

While I am happy to see this explosion of trans candidates running for office, and the TransGriot 2018 endorsement post is coming soon, bear in mind that just because you're trans doesn't mean I'm automatically going to endorse you. 

I not only look at your platform, I'm also looking at the viability of your campaign.   What's your fundraising look like?   Have you been doing the nuts and bolts stuff like talking to the various constituency group in your area?   Have you been participating in the local debates?  Who is (or isn't)  endorsing you?  Will you be able to translate the platform you campaigned on into concrete policy if you are elected?   

Deciding on whether to run for office is a challenging proposition that requires hard solid thinking before you enter the race and an ironclad commitment to doing the hard work necessary to run a credible campaign.   There's also the possibility that no matter how hard you work on a high quality campaign, the voters may choose someone else on Election Day.

And as trans people who are stepping up to run for office, we need to take those decisions seriously.  It's an undeniable fact we need trans folks sitting at the governing tables at every level of government. 

We're in a time period in which being trans is considered a positive in the political world, and there are so few trans folks in office on a national level that when a trans person runs, it's not only newsworthy, there is a potential if they are elected of making history and becoming a possibility model for our trans kids watching their race.

Make no mistake about it,  running for office means that you are applying for a job in which your bosses are your constituents.   But running for office means that we have some things we have to do on our end. 

We have to raise funds to pay for the campaign.  We have to seek out endorsements and interview with multiple screening committees for them.  We have to interview with newspaper editorial boards.  We have to talk to our potential constituents to find out what their issues are in order to serve them better if elected. 

And like it or not, because we have more scrutiny on us as trans candidates, we must run our campaigns foe whatever office we run for with the utmost integrity and once we're elected, serve in a way which will make our community and our supporters proud of us 

Before the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the number of Black elected officials nationwide at all levels of government was miniscule.   By 1970, the first year those numbers began to get tracked, there were 1,463 of them up to the congressional level.  That had ballooned by 2011 to 10,763 Black elected officials that included President Barack Obama (D) and Massachusetts Gov Deval Patrick (D) 

Rep. Shirley Chisholm ran for the Democratic nomination for president in 1972, and was fought by the political boys club at the time every step of the way.  Nothing was handed to her on a silver platter

Just because we're trans and have a demonstrated need for representation at all levels of government as an oppressed class of people,  and we have a leg up on the trust issue because of the unapologetic way we live our lives,  doesn't mean that people should just hand us an endorsement when we show up.  We have to earn it. 

We also have to earn people's votes,  Bur in order to be sworn in to serve  in whatever office we run for in January, we gotta put in the work from February to November to get elected.

Danielle Skidmore Gets Endorsed By Texas Equity PAC

Danielle Skidmore is one of the wave of trans candidates in this 2018 election cycle who are   #TransformingPolitics by running for various offices across the country and making history in some cases while doing so..

Skidmore is running for the District 9 seat on the Austin City Council, taking on incumbent Councilmember Kathie Tovo, who has been there since 2011.

Some good news in this ongoing Austin city council race for her. 

She has been endorsed by the Texas Equity PAC, the political action committee for Equality Texas.  The Texas Equity PAC seeks to elect pro-equality candidates like Danielle in local and state races.

Danielle was obviously thrilled to get the endorsement, and had this to say about it.

"I am honored to receive the endorsement of a group that has supported Mary González and so many others who inspire my fight for equality. We have a chance to make history here in Texas, but can't do it without the support of every day Texans contributing what they can to carry us to victory!" 

Danielle is not accepting PAC money for this council race, so if you wish to support her, you can send donations for her campaign via this link.

Here's hoping I hear some more good news from the ATX concerning her campaign on November 6.

Shady Behavior By Presley In HD 29?

One of the reprehensible tactics used by the Texas Republican Party as they clawed their way from somnambulant minority party status to a majority by 2002 was having people run in the Democratic Party primary. 

In the 70's and 80's, that basically meant you would win in the general election because of the Democratic dominance of the state at the time if you won your contested Democratic Party primary race.

That GOP ringer person would after capturing the nomination, either wait until after they had won the November general election, then switch parties and declare they were 'now a Republican' after using Democratic Party resources and funds to get the office, or after winning the Democratic nomination, wait until it was too late to take their name off the ballot or for the Texas  Democratic Party to replace them to cite some reason to withdraw from the race, allowing the Republican candidate in that race to basically run unopposed.

When I saw this FB message from James Patrick Presley announcing that he was ending his campaign for the Pearland area HD 29 seat south of Houston, it not only sent deja vu vibes of back in the day Republican meddling in our Democratic primaries, but pissed me off on multiple levels.

Patrick Presley

          23 hrs

Friends, Family, Voters, and fellow Candidates,
With my deepest apologies, I regret to inform you that I will no longer be pursuing the position of State Representative, HD 29, as it is no longer within my best interests. I have made this decision within the last two weeks. I am not being threatened or coerced to do this. I know this will come as a shock to many, and that many will be upset with this decision, but please allow me to explain: 

When I decided to run for this office, I had the complete belief and motivation that if I gained the full support of the Democratic Party in this area, I could win this office with moderate stances and a voice of reason/unity. Freshly coming from the Libertarian Party, and even after winning my primary, this is not what has happened. I have been talked about behind my back, lied about, misrepresented, misunderstood, and unsupported. I have tried to explain multiple times that my former beliefs from my time in the LP were no longer my beliefs, as they quickly changed the more I researched specific areas of psychology pertaining to political viewpoints. My current political standings label me as a centrist, moderate, independent, and left-of-center. None of this mattered in the mind of the Democratic Party. As a Republican friend of mine told me, “When you won your primary, we were worried. When we saw how the Democrats reacted, we were relieved.” 

I no longer feel the need to explain myself. I no longer feel the desire to talk about moderate viewpoints to a group who only wishes to hear progressive stances. I will no longer feel the stress of having to spend my own money against a $500,000 tank. I simply do not have the influence and support within my own party to win this race. I would rather spend my time, money, and resources on myself, my education, my friends, my family, and possibly some wonderful candidates we have within the Democratic Party. I am particularly excited about Beto, Mike Collier, Kim Olson, Sri Kulkarni, Eliz Markowitz, FJ Jones, and Robin Burgess. (This is not a complete list of who I will vote for, but Criminal Justice Reform (Judge Reform) and Education Reform are my top priorities). 

I would like to specifically apologize to Dylan Forbis for taking this opportunity away from you. You have been nothing but helpful and kind to me this entire time. I messaged Dylan one day with absolute excitement and motivation that I could raise $100,000. He told me I was being too ambitious. I didn't believe him, but he was correct. I still believe need YOUNG REPRESENTATION in our government. I hope the next candidate the Democratic Party chooses is young (Below 40), influential, and a community leader. Preferably a veteran and a business owner. 

From here I will continue to go to school on my GI Bill. I hope to go to Physical Therapy school in the next couple years. I need a high GPA, and I may be required to move to find a school that is right for me. This is another reason it is not best for me to pursue this office. I will continue to preach Criminal Justice Reform and Education reform. 

However, I will not be pursing any type of office in the near future. I do hope to sit down with Ed Thompson to discuss my concerns within the state of Texas. Hopefully we can come to agreements. He has been very kind to me and already told me he would vote to repeal section 22.06 of the penal code (Deemed unconstitutional: Outlawing Homosexuality). This would be progress, but understand that this is not a reason I am not pursuing this position. We need Criminal Justice Reform, Education Reform, Father's Rights, and Healthcare Reform. 

I wish to not be harassed. If you feel a certain way about this decision, you are free to discuss it. Do not tag me, do not message me, and if you so choose, delete me from social media. However, I hope that we can understand and remain friends/acquaintances.

Yeah Patrick.  I do wish to discuss it. 

Presley beat Dylan Forbis back in March to get the nomination, and this situation has the unpleasant stench of Presley being a ringer for several reasons. 

Presley was a Libertarian, I'm  highly skeptical until they have spent at least five years in the Democratic Party that your change of party affiliation is genuine. 

Because we have been burned by GOP fake Dem ringers in the past. I and other Texas Democrats are justifiably skeptical of people from the right who join the party until we feel comfortable that your claim of seeing the political light is genuine and you have paid your dues in this party.

Just donating money to the Kentucky Republican Party combined with his conservative stances was enough to sink Andrew White's bid to get the Democratic nomination for Texas governor 

If  Presley wasn't sure he was committed to campaigning all the way until November, he should have never jumped into the race in the first place.

Another thing that is pissing me off about this late drop out and fueling my suspicion that he was a ringer is that under the Texas Election code, a political party may replace its candidate after a withdrawal if that candidate:

*Falls “critically ill” and would not be able to execute his or her duties if elected
*If no other party has a nominee for the position that is being contested,
*If the candidate withdraws because he or she was elected or appointed to another office. 

Since Presley's withdrawal from the HD 29 race doesn't fall under any of those parameters, it looks like for the second time since 2014, unless Democratic Party attorneys find a way out of this mess, Ed Thompson is going to go unopposed in a general election for his HD 29 seat.

That's disappointing and disrespectful to the 4056 Democratic residents of the district who voted for you over Dylan Forbis to be the Democratic nominee to take on Thompson.  

As you acknowledged in your comment, you not only took away an opportunity for Dylan to possibly serve HD 29 as its elected state rep, more importantly, you took away a historic opportunity for the Texas trans community, a community demonized in the last session by Potty Dan Patrick and Locker Room Lois Kolkhorst, to possibly place for the first time ever a trans representative in the Texas Lege. 

So yeah, that reason more than anything else besides wanting to see more Democrats in the Texas legislature in the 2019 session is why I'm definitely pissed about what you have done.

Christine Hallquist Attempts To Make More Vermont Trans Electoral History

Four primary elections are happening today in the states of Connecticut, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Vermont.   In addition to seeing what transpires in some races key to who holds control of the US House and Senate, the American trans community's eyes will be on Vermont as another trans candidate attempts to make electoral history. 

Back in 2000, the late Karen Kerin made history in the state by winning the Republican nomination for Vermont's US House seat.  She subsequently got blown out in the general election by Bernie Sanders.

A conservative who was a perennial candidate in the Green Mountain State, Kerin was also the 2008 Republican candidate for attorney general, and lost Republican primary election races for the US House in 2002 and for attorney general in 2006. 

In her last race in 2010, Kerin was making her second run as a Libertarian candidate for Vermont attorney general.  She had previously run as a Libertarian for attorney general in the 2004 election cycle   

Kerin passed away in 2014 at age 69.   

Now as we fast forward to this crucial 2018 election cycle, another Vermont trans person in 62 year old Christine Hallquist has stepped up to run in the Vermont Democratic Party primary race for governor.

Her platform includes Medicare For All, access to better education and more high wage jobs.

The former energy executive is running against three other candidates in James Ehlers, Brenda Sigel and 14 year old high school student Ethan Sonneborn. 

Sonneborn is eligible because Vermont does not require candidates to be of voting age.

If Hallquist wins the nomination, she would make electoral history on two fronts by becoming the first out trans person in the Green Mountain State to win a Democratic primary for any office. 
She would also become the first out trans person nationally to win a major party nomination for governor 

She would also take on the winner of the Republican gubernatorial primary race between incumbent Governor Phil Scott and Keith Stern.

Early voting has already occurred in Vermont, so it will be interesting to see what transpires when the polls close later this evening.


TransGriot Update:  Hallquist did make history!   She won the Democratic primary, and will take on the incumbent Republican governor Phil Scott in the fall.   

I'm Midterm Election Ready - Are You?

One of the informational nuggets that emerged from the MomsRising #NN18 panel last week was making sure that you are registered to vote for this critical to our democracy 2018 midterm election.

Our panel  moderator Kristin Rowe Finkbeiner pointed out that the staff of MomsRising recently checked their registrations.  Two of them discovered to their horror that despite being active voters, they had been chopped from their local voting rolls. 

So before November 6 gets here, please check to make sure you're registered to vote before your state's deadline day, and keep checking it on a regular basis for the next 91 days.

This is going to be crucial,  especially if you live in a state with a Republican secretary of state or a county with a Republican voter registrar.   The GOP knows they are going down hard, will be desperate to purge people off the voter rolls, and the conservative controlled SCOTUS will look the other way as they do so. 

I had concerns about mine since I just moved, but with my new license arriving on Monday and my new voter registration card arriving yesterday combined with me spotting my name on the county Harris Votes database, I'm midterm election ready and will be cross checking it all the way to the October 9 deadline date to register in Texas.

And yes, I plan to be at the polls for the first day of early voting in Texas on October 22 

So handle your electoral business and make sure you are midterm election ready.

Will Kim Coco Make More Electoral History This Saturday?

Kim Coco Iwamoto is no stranger to making electoral history in her home state of Hawaii.

She was twice elected to the Hawaii State Board of Education in 2006 and 2010, becoming the first out trans person to be elected to a statewide office.   Now the former member of the Hawaiian Human Rights Commission is attempting to become the lieutenant governor of the Aloha State

She has a contested Democratic Party primary election that she has to get through first that takes place on August 11.   There are four other Democratic candidates besides Iwamoto in the lieutenant governor's race, and should she win this still tight race that is up for grabs, that will put her one step closer to becoming Hawaii's lieutenant governor.

Iwamoto has been endorsed by the UNITE HERE Local 5 union that reps over 11,000 Hawaiian hospitality, health and food service workers and the Maui Times.    The Local 5 endorsement is considered a major one in Hawaiian politics, and she has been surging in the polls in the runup to the election with a lot of people still trying to make up their minds about who will be their next lieutenant governor. 

Here's hoping that happens for Kim Coco and for our community.   We'll find out if it does this Saturday.

LaDon Henry's Nevada Legislative Bid Falls Short

I wrote a post back in April in which I talked about Ladon Henry's attempt to become the first ever trans state legislator in Nevada and the first ever trans masculine one in any state legislature..

He was seeking the District 42 state assembly seat, which is in the Las Vegas area and a undeniably blue one with a 2-1 Democratic registration advantage. 

Henry and the other candidates in the race for the Democratic nomination in this district were seeking to replace retiring Assemblywoman Irene Bustamante Adams (D) who declined to seek a fourth two year term.  The winner of the primary would become the next representative of this district because no Republican filed to run for it.

The Nevada primary election was held on June 12, and unfortunately Henry didn't win.   Alexander Assefa captured 55.32% of the vote (1399)  to become the next District 42 representative with Kathleen Lauckner getting 34.12%  (863) of the cast ballots.

Henry did get a respectable 10.52 % (267) of the ballots cast in this race, but I'm sure he'll tell you he would have rather won this race.

Will he run again two years from now?   That's a question only Henry can answer.   

Fran Watson Runoff Election TX State Senate Bid Falls Short

One of the bummer results from last night's Texas party primary runoff election races is that Fran Watson's historic bid to become only the third African American woman to be elected a Texas state senator ended last night.

Had Watson won, she would have not only stayed on course to become the third African American woman state senator, she would have possibly become the first ever openly LGBT one in Texas history.

Texas State Senate District 17 is split across three counties, Harris, Fort Bend and Brazoria.   Despite Watson taking an early lead by winning the Brazoria County portion of the district, the same didn't happen in Harris and Fort Bend counties. 

Rita Lucido will get the Democratic nomination for Senate District 17 and will get a rematch with the incumbent senator Joan Huffman (R).  Best of luck to her this fall.

But I do wish to take a moment to congratulate Fran Watson for a job well done in her first campaign for public office.  She forced a runoff with the favored Lucido.  7,659 Texans voted for you across three counties in this runoff election  and 12,621 did so on March 6. 

Countless other #TeamFran people supported you in your historic bid to become a Texas senator along with several organizations .

Fran. you didn't lose.   We Texans lost by not having a quality person like you repping Senate District 17 when the next Texas legislative session starts in January   We need more progressive leaning people and politicians who will put the people first.  We need your thoughtful, eloquent voice resonating in Texas senate hearings and the Texas senate chamber during floor debates.

I have no doubts that it will happen for you.   Unfortunately it wasn't last night.

Fran, just a note from our history for you and everyone else to peruse.  Barbara Jordan (who you were frequently compared to) lost her first two bids for the Texas House in 1962 and 1964.   She eventually won that historic 1966 state Senate race and every campaign after that until she retired from Congress in 1978. 

Something great is in store for you.   It's going to be interesting to see exactly what that is.

It's Texas Primary Runoff Election Day!

It's Texas primary election runoff day!   So rise and shine and handle your business at your regular precinct if you didn't do so.

There were 33 March primary races in which the candidates didn't get more than the 50% they needed to declare victory and move on to November,  Those candidates who advanced to this runoff want and need your vote.  There are two runoff candidates, one from each party, who are incumbent state House reps.

So starting now until the polls close at 7 PM CDT (7 PM MDT for you peeps in El Paso and the portion of West Texas in the Mountain Time Zone), you need to handle your electoral business.

Bring your yellow voter registration card and your photo ID.   There are some races I'll be watching after the polls close .

The big one is the Democratic gubernatorial one between Dallas County sheriff Lupe Valdez and Andrew White. 

The US House District 7 battle on the Democratic side between Laura Moser and Lizzie Pannill Fletcher. to see who takes on the incumbent Rep John Culberson in the fall.

I'll be watching to see if Fran Watson gets a step closer to becoming only the third African American woman ever elected to the Texas Senate as she faces off against Rita Lucido in the TX Senate District 17 race.   Winner will take on incumbent transphobe Joan Huffman (R) 

I'll also be watching the US House District 22 race between Sri Preston Kulkarni and Letitia Plummer and the San Antonio area US House District 23 race between Gina Ortiz Jones and Rick Trevino

On the Republican side, I'm watching the US House District 29 battle between the beauty queen and the transphobic bigot.   Phillip Aronoff is taking on former Miss Venezuela Carmen Montiel, with the winner facing off against TX state senator Sylvia Garcia. 

I want to see if the pattern continues of Republican candidates who deploy transphobia in their primary races end up losing them.

The US House District 2 race to replace the retiring Rep. Ted Poe has gotten contentious between state Rep. Kevin Roberts (no relation) and former Navy SEAL Dan Crenshaw. 

Roberts was the frontrunner on March 6 with 33% of the vote, but Crenshaw leapfrogged several GOP candidates with longer political resumes by capturing 27% of the vote.

And he's making the GOP establishment supporting Roberts nervous

While Roberts has the backing of longtime conservatives Steven Hotze and Terry Lowry, Crenshaw picked up the endorsements of influential Houston conservative talk radio host Michael Berry over the weekend and former Texas governor Rick Perry.

We'll find out what happens after the polls close later today.   But no matter what party you support, go handle your business

Texas Primary Runoff Election Starts Today

Early voting for the Texas party primary runoff elections start today and runs until Friday for the May 22 runoff election date

The race that is getting much statewide attention is the Democratic gubernatorial runoff between Lupe Valdez and Andrew White, but there are other candidates trying to get to represent their party in the fall.

There are several races we are watching in the Houston area.   One is the state Senate District 17 race in which Fran Watson is seeking to become only the third Black woman in Texas history to be elected to the state senate. 

Who were the previous two?   Barbara Jordan (1966) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (1986

But to make that trailblazing history, she has to get past Rita Lucido in a district that covers parts of Harris, eastern Fort Bend and Brazoria counties. 

If Fran is successful in advancing from the runoff, she'll then take on the incumbent transphobic Sen. Joan Huffman (R). 

The US House District 7 race is another one Houston area political junkies are watching between Lizzie Pannill Fletcher and Laura Moser.   This race started with six candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in this race to take on Rep. John Culberson (R) 

Depending on who you support (and I'm supporting Moser), voters are pissed at the two surviving candidates for one reason or another.   But only one will survive to take on Culberson in the fall.

The other local race I'm watch is the District 29 Republican one between Carmen Maria Montiel and Philip Aronoff in which the winner will take on Sen. Sylvia Garcia (D), who beat six candidates back in March to secure her spot on the fall ballot

Aronoff has my undivided attention because of the transphobia he unleashed to get into this GOP runoff, and you know I want him to go down in flames.   But then again Texas GOP primary voters have repeatedly shown their racist tendencies when an Anglo candidate goes up against a Latinx one.

Montiel is a former Miss Venezuela who emigrated to the US.  Even if she beats the odds and winds May 22, Garcia will be a formidable opponent. 

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Early voting starts today and runs through May 18.   If you don't handle your electoral business this week, you'll have to wait until May 22 to do so. 

But whether you do it this week on on May 22, just do it.   Exercise your right to vote.       

Texas Municipal Elections Today

Today also happens to be the day set aside for municipal elections in Texas.   Polls opened at 7 AM and will be open until 7 PM CDT/MDT.

Just an FYI, if you're in line when the polls close, stay there until you get to cast your ballot.

There are some key ones I'm watching, one in suburban Pearland and another in the town of New Hope, TX, northeast of Dallas.

In New Hope, Jess Herbst will be attempting to get reelected as mayor of the town of 524 residents.  She was mayor pro tem when the previous mayon Johnny Hamm died.   After being appointed as mayor, came out as trans.   Now she's running her first campaign as a out trans person against Angel Hamm, the wife of the deceased mayor and two other candidates. 

We'll see if she was successful in getting reelected when the polls close, because in New Hope, the most votes wins.

The other Texas municipal elections I'm watching are both in Pearland.  Dalia Kasseb makes her second attempt to get elected to a Pearland City Council seat.

The Pearland ISD has two races that could determine control of the school board and lead to the ousting of their homophobic and transphobic superintendent Dr. John Kelly

One of the school board candidate challenging a PISD incumbent board member is Daniel Hernandez, the imam of the local mosque

And as you probably guessed, Islamophobia and dirty tricks have been deployed in both those races.

Here's hoping the fair minded citizenry of Pearland turn out and send a message to the haters that Pearland is a diverse city, and representation on the school board and on city council need to reflect that .

We'll know for sure what happened when the polls close and the votes get counted.

TransGriot Update:  While Dalia made the runoff in her council race, Jess wasn't as fortunate on election night.