Texas primaries will be coming this March 1, but there is early voting. In Harris County (Houston) that begins Tuesday Feb. 16.
My county has one of the longest ballots in the country. Most judges are elected countywide for 4-year terms. Some in Presidential years, others in off years. There must be some 40 races on the ballot. It is difficult to make informed decisions about the judgeships. Even lawyers are known to say so.
At this time I cannot write about all the primary contests, but diaries can be revised and I can come up with more information in the next 2 weeks.
I am voting in the Democratic primary. In fact I have signed some nominating petitions for Democrats and that makes it illegal for me to vote in the other party's primary. There are some interesting Democratic races, albeit many unopposed ones. The hcdp website has a complete list of Democratic primary contenders in Harris County. If you are interested in the Republicans you can go to the GOP site. The Texas Secretary of State site has listing of candidates in all 254 Texas counties but I forget how to find the webpage.
I am following all the endorsements of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus. Screening panels interview candidates and endorsement meetings are usually attended by a fair amount of debate.
My own State Representative is Jessica Farrar, District 148. Lots of good reasons to vote for her. She is being challenged by professional homophobe Dave Wilson. Enough said?
Lane Lewis is seeking re-election as Harris County Democratic Party Chair. I would not change the guard in a Presidential year. I have attended many good Brown Bag Lunches under his stewardship, with good speakers. Last year he conducted the Harris Democratic University, a series of classes on political action.
There is one contested Democratic primary for US House in the Houston area. Adrian Garcia is challenging incumbent Gene Green in District 29. Garcia promises to be less conservative on human rights issues than Green. Garcia served on the Houston City Council, then was elected Harris County Sheriff in 2008. Last year he had to resign when he chose to run for Mayor of Houston.
Ed Gonzalez is running for Harris County Sheriff. The incumbent is a Republican who was appointed recently to fill a vacancy. Gonzalez is a police veteran; he served several terms on the Houston City Council. Not long ago I saw him speak at the Harris County Democratic Party's Brown Bag Lunch. I particularly thought he answered questions well; he was asked by several people about when cops should shoot and I thought he answered well.
Kim Ogg is running again for Harris County District Attorney. She got 47 % two years ago in a year bad for Democrats. She has been executive director (1999-2006) of Crime Stoppers, a neighborhood crime-watch group. See also website.
Brandon Dudley is running to challenge the incumbent Republican Harris County Assessor and Collector of Taxes. This official supervises voter registration.
State district courts are trial courts for major cases.
Randy Roll was a Criminal District judge 2009-2012. He is running now for the 179th Criminal District Court. This court tries felonies. He has a Juris Doctorate from the South Texas College of Law. He has 28 years experience in criminal law practice, some 8000 cases. In his previous term he relieved a backlog of cases left by his predecessor. He tried some 110 cases. He did not have any case reversed on appeal. He made sure grand juries reflected Harris County's diversity. He is married to attorney Damon Crenshaw, who has previously run for a judgeship. Yes, on June 26, 2015, after 31 ½ years together. Let’s keep marriage equality going, not let it be a political liability. Roll knows 4 foreign languages and was a volunteer translator in 1980 for the Russian Olympic Track Team in Houston.
Josephina Rendon was a Civil District judge 2009-2012 and is running for the 165th Civil District Court. In the 1970's we knew each other while working in the University of Houston library. In a Caucus screening some colleagues kidded me that she was my girlfriend. I replied that she was married, to Ruben Rendon. She has her degree from the University of Houston Law Center. She was appointed in 1980 by the Houston Mayor as the city's first woman Civil Service Commissioner. She has done much work in mediation and has taught about it. She has served more than once as a Houston Municipal Judge; she currently is.
Greg Glass is running for the 351st Criminal District Court. His law degree is from the University of Texas at Austin Law School. He has had 42 years experience in criminal defense. He has been certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization in Criminal Law since 1983 and is the only candidate with this certification in the Democratic primary for this bench. In 1984 he tried and reversed one of the first Harris County cases on the grounds that the prosecution unlawfully struck black jurors from the venire panel to keep them off the trial jury.
George Barnstone is running for Harris County Civil Court at Law # 1. I know him from some 15 years ago when we served together on the board of Houston ACLU. He has practiced law some 20 years, has his degree from the University of Houston Law Center. He once served on the national board of Pacifica, taking part in rebuffing an attempted hostile takeover of Pacifica. His mother Gertrude Barnstone, served on the Houston school board in the 1960's. Also running in the primaries is a married couple. F. Richard Leach is the other Democrat. Gloria Cantu Minnick is a Republican. Too weird for me, even if I had not the opportunity to vote for a candidate I know.
Harris County is divided into 8 Justice of the Peace precincts. Each has 2 JP's and one Constable.
Dale Gorczynski is retiring as JP, Precinct 1, place 1. The Caucus endorsed Eric William Carter to take his place. He has a Juris Doctorate from the South Texas College of Law. Also has a BA in political science from The University of Texas at Austin. He is currently a named partner of The Carter Law Firm. He has tried hundreds of Medical Fee Dispute Resolution cases before the State Office of Administrative Hearings in Austin. His brother Kyle Carter is a Civil District Judge.
Alan Rosen is seeking re-election as Constable, Precinct 1. Disclosure: I was employed 6 days by his campaign in 2012 to do phoning. I rarely do politics for the money. I have made no plans to do so in 2016. In the last 4 years I have gotten good feedback from people who have had dealings with him. I have seen him speak at political meetings and have been well impressed. He has kindly hosted fundraising parties for the Caucus at his house. A constable is in law enforcement, also in serving civil notices.
A Texas county is divided into 4 Commissioners’ precincts and these elect Commissioners to the county’s governing board. That is presided over by a County Judge, elected countywide, who has very few judicial duties. These precincts are not the same as JP precincts. Jenifer Pool is running for Commissioner in Precinct 3 on the west side. She has run for the Houston City Council. She meets the public well and has served on city civic boards. Electing a transgender person to public is a step toward making an America that accepts its diversity.
Now you may be wondering about the Presidential primary. There are 8 candidates on the Democratic ballot in Harris County. The Caucus made no effort at endorsing and I would have opposed an effort to do so. Yours truly is reserving judgment, may not decide until I am at the voting machine. I suspect Texas will be solidly for Hillary Clinton at the convention, may put her over the top. I suspect Texas will be on the losing side in November and I think the local races are what matter for Houston voters.