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April 2008 ArchivesApril 30, 2008Justice Medina's Wife Indicted... AgainA Houston grand jury has indicted Texas Supreme Court Justice David Medina's wife on arson charges. The indictment alleges she burned down the home she shared with Justice Medina in Spring. This is the second time Francisca Medina's been indicted. In January, a grand jury indicted Francisca AND her husband, but then-DA Chuck Rosenthal dismissed the charges. See the link above for the full H-Chron story. Delisi's Done DealAs expected, Governor Rick Perry has tapped his former chief-of-staff, Deidre Delisi, to chair the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees TXDOT. She replaces Ric Williamson, who had planned to step down before dying recently of a heart attack. Delisi was picked for the commission along with William Meadows of Fort Worth. Their terms expire Feb.1, 2013. Perry's statement: "Texas faces serious challenges in providing a transportation infrastructure that will sustain our state's rapid pace of population and trade growth," said Gov. Perry. "Both Deirdre and Bill have the integrity and expertise to ensure that these needs are met efficiently and responsibly. I am confident their contribution to the commission will maintain the momentum of the late Commissioner Ric Williamson's pioneering vision, and secure comprehensive transportation solutions that will reduce traffic congestion, improve safety and keep our state's doors open to economic growth and success." April 29, 2008Almost No One Turns Out To Early VoteLess than half a percent of registered voters in Travis County cast a ballot in Monday's first day of early voting for Austin's municipal elections. AISD school bonds and three city council seats are among the items on the ballot. Election day is May 10th, which is Mother's Day weekend, which may dampen turnout even more. A total of 1765 Austinites voted early yesterday, and that includes 131 mali-in ballots received by the Travis County clerk. The Randalls at Research and Braker saw the highest first-day turnout, at 165 voters. Meanwhile, poll workers at the Round Rock ISD Performing Arts Center probably had to find other entertainment on Monday. Only three ballots were cast there all day. So if you live by that polling place, go show those workers some love and cast a ballot, if they are awake. Remember you can vote anywhere during early voting, so long as you have your registration card or ID. Austin Chronicle endorsements April 28, 2008Breaking: US Supreme Court Upholds Voter IDBy a 6-3 vote, the high court upholds voter ID laws in Indiana, which experts expect will fuel stronger voter ID movements in other states. Last session, eleven Democratic state senators in Texas blocked a voter ID requirement from becoming law. You might recall that, since State Senator Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, had to come back from liver transplant recovery in order to vote against it. This is new, so there's not a whole lot on it yet, but here's Indiana's WRTV-TV: WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled Monday that states can require voters to produce photo identification without violating their constitutional rights, validating Republican-inspired voter ID laws. Lost in TimeDemocratic political flack (hack?) Harold Cook told me last week he started a blog. But he told me over beverages at The Belmont, so that information clearly didn't make it anywhere until now. Welcome to the club, Cook. Because Google Is AwesomeWonder how HRC, Obama or John McCain did in Palo Pinto County, Texas? Or perhaps Ochiltree County? Or your own county? Google has a new module that shows you the county-by-county vote breakdown in each state in the presidential primaries. Click on this link for a much bigger version. Then, just click on each county on the map for the breakdown. You can share it with your friends or add it to your own page. Google keeps coming out with cooler and more advanced gadgets, they're all pretty streamlined and intuitive. My hope now is that they create some sort of chili cheese dog finder for me, so I have easier access to my favorite food. April 25, 2008Those Crazy BloggersWell, as you might have read, the Democratic blog Burnt Orange Report turned five years old. I can't believe it's only been around that long, actually. It feels like much longer. Just kidding.
Where else to celebrate your fifth birthday but at a bar? The blog threw itself a party at Scholz's and even let State Rep Jim Dunnam and his band, The Bad Precedents, provide the musical entertainment. (That band isn't the same without State Senator Bob Deuell on the drums.) Other guests included former House Speaker Pete Laney, State Rep. Elliott Naishtat, and Democratic candidates galore. Partygoers passed around a gigantic "get well" card for Congressman Lloyd Doggett, since he broke his leg in a bike accident this week. I signed it since I am a constituent and I'd like his assistance with keeping the grass from overgrowing on the esplanades. I would take this to my city councilmember if we had single member districts, but we don't, so I just bother Doggett's office. Things got a little crazy toward the end, when we all witnessed Texas Democratic Party chair Boyd Richie break it down to "La Bamba" and "Twist and Shout". Check out the short photo gallery below: April 24, 2008Councilmember Kim Loves The Sharper ImageEach member of the Austin City Council gets a budget of about $260,000 a year, most of it for the member's salary and salaries of his/her staff. The rest goes for office expenditures like notepads, city-related travel, etc. A 2007 review by the Austin American-Statesman showed that Jennifer Kim spent more on non-payroll expenditures than every other member. But what exactly did she buy? Kim's expenditures, obtained from a TPIA request, show that she is a big fan of The Sharper Image. And traveling. And the self-help book, Discover Your Strengths. Some notable uses of taxpayer dollars: "I spend what I need to out of my budget to be able to do the job. And in the beginning, it was a brand new office, a brand new staff, there were a lot of things that we needed," Kim said when asked about the expenditures. See the full expense report from 2005 to present. The video story's at six. April 23, 2008The Other MontfordWe've blogged about Mindy Montford quite frequently, as she made a expensive run for Travis County District Attorney. But lately, attention is being shifted back to her father, former legislator and current AT&T exec John Montford. The SAXN reported Governor Perry threw out Montford's name as a good candidate for UT chancellor. Some bloggers have suggested that it would serve Perry politically to give Montford something to keep him busy so he doesn't make a run for Governor in 2010. Here's what Allison Castle, spokesperson for Governor Rick Perry had to say: "This John Montford thing is being blown out of proportion. The Governor has a lot of respect for Mr. Montford. But it's a decision made by the board, not by the Governor." Montford served in the Texas Senate until 1996 -- which means we literally dusted off some old video here in our Capitol bureau and found classic John Montford on the Senate floor from 1995. Check it out tonight on the nightbeat. April 22, 2008Penn-less Clinton Carries PennsylvaniaHRC stays alive with a ten point win in Pennsylvania, the same margin by which she won Ohio. The delegate experts estimate she'll net about 12-16 delegates out of the Keystone state, so she closes the gap in the delegate race a little. But unless she seriously pounds Barack Obama in Indiana and NC, she's still going to have to count on the superdelegates to come through. You have all the far-more-qualified national bloggers and writers to rehash Pennsylvania for you. I'm just here with a random question. On CNN's map of the states won by each candidate -- Obama's in one color, HRC's states in another color, did y'all notice that Texas was the only state in crazy stripes? Clinton won the Texas popular vote, Obama won the delegates, so we got stuck with the ugly stripes. Leave it to us to do what it takes to stand out -- even on CNN's crazy interactive maps. Pennsylvania Votes, FinallyWow. The last time actual voters cast actual ballots in the presidential race was in Texas and Ohio on March 4th, which in campaign time feels like nine months ago. The WaPo has an overview of the Pennsylvania contest. Who is the Rocky Balboa character in this race? Clinton has already compared herself Rocky, while St. Edwards University political scientist Brian Smith has argued that Ivan Drago is a better fit for HRC. Now this new video is out, casting Obama as Rocky: Remember, Rocky lost at the end of the first movie. April 21, 2008Quotable HochbergWe stopped by the House Public Education committee hearing today, where members were taking testimony about teacher retention. During the lunch break, I said hello to State Rep Scott Hochberg, D-Houston. When I asked what was going on, part of his reply was this: "Well, I don't own any apartment complexes." (Referring to a recent spate of stories about his fellow Houston lawmaker, Hubert Vo, who's been dubbed a slumlord for the poor condition of his apartment properties.) UPDATE 8:29am: To be clear, Hochberg didn't say this right off the bat, but more toward the middle or end of a two minute chat. He's not going around answering "How are you" with "I don't own any apartments". :) License to Love
Last night I met a gal named Rachel, who, as it turns out, is a fellow political blogger here in Austin. And, as it turns out, her Texas license plates say "Obama". You gotta be pretty quick to go ahead and sign up for those plates before Austin's Ian Davis (head of grass roots "Texans for Obama"). Rachel's blog is here. I'll add it to my blogroll later today. April 18, 2008ABC Backlash Spills Onto UsKVUE is an ABC affiliate. As you might know, ABC hosted a high-rated presidential debate Wednesday night. The first hour of the debate featured no issues; rather, questions about candidate gaffes and associates and other assorted campaign back-and-forths. It's resulted in a pretty big backlash --an online petition and a call for a boycott of ABC, and some emails like this to me: I am a 58 year old Vietnam Vet and I have been a dedicated watcher of ABC/KVUE News for a long time. As much as I love Christine, Tyler and especially Quita Culpepper, I will have to boycott your station for a long long time. You should be ashamed of ABC. I am. ABC had an opportunity to do something really important. Instead you acted as Republican hacks. The off-topic questions George S. and Charles Gibson asked were ridiculous. What about the economy, the war, the politicalization of the justice department and a hundred other issues?Sigh. We don't have anything to do with what ABC anchors ask in debates, so I hope that any boycotters only boycott ABC News, and not the local news. But I realize we are an ABC affiliate. Sigh. April 17, 2008Again in '10? The ResponsesSCENE: At work, almost nodding off to sleep after a lunch of chili cheese dogs at my favorite Austin hot dog place, Dog Almighty Suddenly, a blast from The Quorum Report: PERRY TELLS MORNING NEWS HE WILL SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2010 (Everything from QR comes in all-caps, so I feel like Harvey is yelling at me at all times. Kind of like listening to the sound of Cantonese.) DMN's story is here, Star-Telegram's story is here. Within the next twenty minutes come responses from US Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, both of whom were expected to be contenders for governor in 2010. Both statements make it seem like they don't really care. Hutchison: Dewhurst: Not to be left out, the Texas Democratic Party chair, Boyd Richie, blasted out a response, too: "Given the current State of the State after five years of absolute and failed Republican rule, there's no reason to think Governor Perry's record would earn him more than the 39% he received in 2006." Is he really running, or is this just another way to remain relevant ahead of the 2009 legislative session? Perry still does have a lot of money in his campaign kitty... but I guess we won't know until we know. State Rep. Borris Miles MugshotHey, look! State Rep. Borris Miles turned himself in on misdemeanor deadly conduct charges last night. Not a bad mugshot:
Later that night, at an invitation-only Christmas party at the St. Regis Hotel, an apparently intoxicated Miles pulled a gun again, called himself a "thug" and "gangster" and forcibly kissed another man's wife. He lost his seat in the Texas House in March. Here's some KHOU video of Miles from last night. April 16, 2008Philadelphia Debate: The Liveblog8:56pm: And with that, this night of low key sparring is over. It's been real. Over and out. 8:52pm: Obama goes with his standard "this is a defining moment, we need a new kind of politics" argument. Talks about the record numbers of people he's pulled in who haven't participated before. "If we're going to deliver...on healthcare, on jobs, on education... it's absolutely vital we form a new political coalition in this country. That's what I've been doing in this campaign, that's what I'm going to do as President." 8:50pm:For the closing arguments, each candidate argues why he/she is more electable. Clinton goes with her "we need a fighter back in the White House" argument. "You can count on me. You know where I stand," she said. 8:44pm: If viewers have actually made it past the beginning part of this debate and stuck with it through the end, they were rewarded. The dialogue got much better when time started running out. 8:40pm: Things are getting more animated, and Clinton's displaying her impressive command of the issues as they discuss dependence on foreign oil. She touts her plan for independence, Obama says his plan's like hers, displays command but is not as smooth as Clinton. His performance tonight seemed a little bit "off", but neither tripped up big time, so as the Washington friend said, is anyone moving the ball? 8:30pm: Now we move to gun talk. Clinton's getting nailed on whether she favors licensing of handguns. She argues state's rights on this one. 8:25pm: My reporter friend from Washington just called. Me: Why aren't you watching the debate right now? 8:22pm: The candidates seem less restrained in engaging each other when it comes to debating the issues, rather than sideshows. During the early part of the debate, when they were getting asked about the controversies of the past few weeks, each wanted to "stay out of" the other one's problems. Get them talking about Social Security, they get a little feistier. The Purge, Part 12If you are a new reader, The Purge is a meandering series on open government -- on state government email retention policies, in particular. I haven't updated The Purge since January, so here's a brief recap: The Purge started in the early days of this blog, when I read that Missouri Governor Matt Blunt took a bunch of heat for his office's policy of deleting emails every two weeks. Which led me to start a journey on this platform, asking questions about the Texas retention policy. What did we learn? Texas state agencies each get to set their own retention policies, so long as they follow the Texas Public Information Act. What is the Texas governor's policy? Emails get purged every seven days. But -- employees of the office are asked to save the emails they think are considered public records. The Purge has more recently become a chronicle of the odyssey of John Washburn. Wisconsin computer whiz/open records advocate John Washburn read the first Purge entry, and began a quest for all the emails in the office of Governor Rick Perry starting in November, when he programmed a twice-weekly request for emails from four-day periods. But he was priced out -- the emails cost thousands of dollars to process, according to the Governor's office. Washburn did receive four days worth of emails, which led to a few stories. But he also retained notable First Amendment attorney Joe Larsen, who helped filed a complaint to Travis County DA Ronnie Earle's office. Today, the AP's April Castro learns Earle's office has rejected Washburn's complaint. Excerpted: Larsen, who argues that the e-mail deletion policy is in violation of Texas public information laws, said he'll take the complaint and request for an injunction to Attorney General Greg Abbott for review.To follow The Purge blow-by-blow, click on the Open Government category in the right rail. Video: Mr. Vo's NeighborhoodAfter the Houston Chronicle's series of reports on State Rep. Hubert Vo, D-Houston, and the numerous dilapidated apartment complexes he owns, the conservative group Texans for Fiscal Responsibility (Michael Quinn Sullivan's group) has created its very own parody of the Vo situation called "Mr. Vo's Neighborhood", with Vo starring as a very bad Mr. Rogers. Not a beautiful day in Vo's neighborhood. Haiku is the New Press ReleaseLast week I covered City Council, and it reminded me you can pass the time and convey your feelings about council meetings with simple haikus. For example: Please no new business But a consultant for Austin City Council candidate Randi Shade proved that haikus aren't just for city council meetings. They can be used to reach out to press, as well. Here's his poem for Shade: Election Day nears So I invite you to spread your news through haiku. The haiku-press-release could be the hottest new hybrid since french fries and ice cream. (You know you love that combo.) Philadelphia Fight NightIt's been so long since the Democratic presidential candidates debated! Some of us thought the Ohio debate on February 26th might be the last one in the primary cycle, but no. I guess this will be the fourth time that Obama and Clinton face off without other candidates on stage. The 90 minute debate is set in Philadelphia but will be on ABC tonight, starting at 7pm Texas time. Here's a preview. UPDATE 10:56am: The Texans for Obama grass roots group is going to host a debate watch party tonight at Scholz's if you don't want to be alone. UPDATE 1:21pm: I'm dusting off the ol' liveblogging fingers and will be back with you to liveblog tonight's Philadelphia debate starting just before 7pm (so long as I can make it home by then). As usual, I will be instant-messageable all through the liveblog on Googletalk as "elisehu", and AIM as "elisewho". Oh, and Facebook has "Facebook Chat" now, but I don't think I'll be on that. Alternatively you can email me your thoughts at ehu@kvue.com. April 15, 2008Cornyn's Got The BenjaminsThe re-election bid of US Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, won't be cash-strapped. His first quarter fundraising is at $2.2 million, and $1.6 million of it came since the March 4th primary which decided his Democratic opponent (State Rep. Rick Noriega, D-Houston). Individual donors? 7,121 Average donation this cycle? About $309. Cash-on-hand? $8.7 million "We're grateful to the thousands of Texans who are coming forward and showing support for Sen. Cornyn and his positive message for Texas," campaign Manager Rob Jesmer said. April 14, 2008State Rep. Borris Miles IndictedState Rep. Borris MIles, D-Houston, lost his seat last month to the man he had replaced for one term, Al Edwards. Now, he's been indicted on charges of deadly conduct for the whole gun-toting, another-man's-wife-kissing incident that reportedly happened last Christmas. Here's the Houston Chronicle: Texas state Rep. Borris Miles was indicted today on two counts of deadly conduct stemming from a night of alleged bizarre behavior last December. Monday Morning DiversionPeter Gibbons: Let me ask you something. When you come in on Monday, and you're not feelin' real well, does anyone ever say to you, 'Sounds like someone has a case of the Monday's? Lawrence: No. No, man. [Expletive] no, man. I believe you'd get your ass kicked sayin' something like that, man. -Office SpaceThings have slowed considerably in the world of Texas politics now that the primary and runoffs are finished. We've got the state conventions to look forward to in June, but I'm not sure how to get through May. Anyway, if you find yourself suffering a "case of the Monday's" this morning, here's something that might help you lighten up. It's a compilation of television reporters getting owned: Sure am proud of the brave men and women in television news. Huffington Post said the video is another point in favor of being a blogger. April 11, 2008Capitol Press Corps Colleague Goes to Dark SideMy good friend and fellow state political reporter, Mike Rosen of Austin's Fox 7, is headed to flackdom. Rosen confirms he's headed to the office of US Rep Michael McCaul, R-Austin, to be his communications chief.
"Most of all I'll miss Mike's ability to remain calm under pressure, talk non-stop to fill whatever news hole they throw at him and be the consumate news professional. What I will not miss about Mike - is having to compete against him!" -KEYE-TV political reporter Keith Elkins "Mike's adherence to fact and disregard of conventional wisdom has no place in a Republican congressional office." -Democratic consultant Jason Stanford "I'll miss his 10-minute questions at press conferences. They educated me on "I'll miss comparing baby pictures on the floor of the House. Oh, and trying to teach him - a professional television journalist - how to use YouTube. Good luck, Mike!" -State Rep. Mark Strama "I'll miss his deadpan "You Don't Impress Me" facial expression." -Laura Stromberg, Kinky Friedman for Governor press secretary "I will miss Mike Rosen because he was the second best dressed person at Fox 7." -Fox 7 producer John Craven We can certainly remember Mike for his multiple liveshots on the South side of the Capitol and his unflappable style. But if you start missing him, let's not forget he's preserved on film forever, as the "US journalist" who interviews "Marianne Pearl" played by actress Angelina Jolie in the flim A Mighty Heart. Rosen has his own page on movie website imdb.com and everything. We'll miss you at the Capitol, Mike! If you want to write a line or two about what you'll miss about Mike, email me and I'll add it to this post, or leave it in the comments. UPDATE (Sunday 1:39pm): I didn't make this clear earlier, and I noticed it was a pretty glaring omission - Rosen will stay in Austin for his new job -- he doesn't have to go to DC. So that's awesome. April 10, 2008City Council Day"Some days you don't get the juicy stuff. You get city council." -Photog friend JL Watkins Our esteemed city hall reporter Kevin Peters recently left for the bright lights and odd smell of Houston (he's working for sister station KHOU-TV). Which means I'm helping fill in occassionally at Austin City Hall. Today was my first city council meeting. I briefly considered going up on the dais and sitting in Jennifer Kim's seat to see whether anyone would notice. By the time we left, I felt we'd been there for several hours, but realized we were actually only there for 90 minutes. What happened? It was like entering a strange time vortex. Then I remembered - a photog-blogger at my previous station passed his time at city council by writing haikus, so I thought I'd share some particularly applicable ones:
Address the council? or... This is so boring. Here's mine for today: Agenda is long If you were also at city council today and writing haikus, please share them in the comments below. Vo No!This blog's occassional guest character Matt Stiles uncovered some really nasty apartments owned by State Rep Hubert Vo, who says he's going to clean them up, fast.
Here's a pretty visual account of the apartment insides: Residents at perhaps the most deteriorated property, the Northpoint Apartments on Lyerly, were surprised to learn that a wealthy public official owned their dilapidated units.Vo took complete responsibility, but the campaign of Vo's general election opponent, Greg Meyers, is already seizing on this, making sure these articles get into the hands of other folks who pay attention to politics. April 9, 2008Travis DA: The NumbersHere's a look at how the candidates fared on April 8th versus March 4th, via Google Docs. Our Rocky-metaphor-loving poli-sci guy, Brian Smith, had a little extra time and put the Travis County DA race numbers into excel so we could take a closer look at what happened last night. What the numbers show: The numbers that gave Montford hope heading into the runoff are the election day totals in the primary. (Again, see the spreadsheet.)There, she beat Lehmberg by about four hundred votes. But combine that with the early vote total in the primary, and the head-to-head shows Lehmberg was up on Montford by six points. Assuming zero drop-off in primary turnout to the runoff, Montford already had to make up ground. But we all expected there would be A LOT of dropoff. That dropoff would widen Lehmberg's lead by math alone (fewer total voters, larger percentage difference). So without dramatically expanding the runoff electorate or changing a bunch of hardcore Democrats minds about Lehmberg, Montford would lose. The margin, however, was surprising. I thought Montford would fare better because of her personality, skills on the stump and television ad blitz. Smith points to three keys to Lehmberg's victory: 1.) Small electorate, dominated by "solid" Lehmberg supporters versus Montford's election day "casual voters" 2.) Endorsements of Lehmberg by outgoing DA Ronnie Earle and third place finisher Gary Cobb. 3.) Accusations about Montford's ties to GOP special interests hurt bad in a Democratic runoff. A fellow reporter observed this morning that the margin of victory proves any link to the Republican lobby is "radioactive" among Travis County Democrats. While the anonymous-blog-flap muddled the clarity of that line of attack, I guess it happened too late and didn't do enough to change voters minds. Lehmberg says now that it's all over, she and Montford "are still friends". Montford said last night she's taking a look at what's next for her professionally, but that she "loves being a prosecutor". Your thoughts? April 8, 2008Video: The New Travis County DAWell, this isn't KVUE quality video, it's just shot from the little camera I keep with me at all times. It's the end of Rosemary Lehmberg's thank you speech after it was clear she won the runoff race for Travis County DA. Lehmberg doesn't officially start her new job until January of 2009. Mindy Montford, meanwhile, says she's going to take some time before deciding what's next for her professionally. "I've devoted my whole professional career to being a prosecutor so I'd like to continue that but we'll see at the end of the day. Tomorrow we'll re-evaluate," Montford said. BTW, the sweetest moment caught on our lapel microphone was one with her little boy, right after she conceded the race. "Mommy, I'm proud of you," said Montford's four-year old son, Ford. Liveblogging Runoff Night9:23pm: I'm gonna shut this thing down for now. The dog total at the Montford party has dwindled to two. There haven't been any dogs here at the Lehmberg party, but Lehmberg did mention that one of the first things she's going to do now that she's won is hang out with her puppy. 9:21pm: Crowd at the Lehmberg party is still strong. We're in line for a Lehmberg interview but it may have to be after our live hit on the Nightbeat. 9:16pm: Lehmberg's campaign manager said Mindy called, but the two candidates haven't actually spoken to each other yet. Lehmberg has been tied up with back-to-back press interviews. 9:12pm: Mindy Montford has called Rosemary Lehmberg to concede the race and wished Lehmberg well. Our photog Justin reports this from Montford HQ, via text message: "Crowd thinning. Chips almost gone. Campaign signs falling down. Strange amount of stuffed jalapenos left." 9:03pm:"One of the things this campaign has really done for me, is it has really built my trust in people like you, who get out and work for what you care about," Lehmberg said. "The people in Austin want their district attorney to have Austin values." 8:46pm: Montford has not officially conceded yet, but Lehmberg has turned off the music and is about to speak to the crowd now. "It's been an adventure," Lehmberg said. 8:37pm: 41% of precincts are in. Lehmberg has actually increased her lead to 65% over Montford's 35%. 8:2pm: About 150 to 200 people are at the Montford party, and partygoers decided not to wait for results to pop open the champagne. There's free champagne all around at the Montford HQ. The candidate is reportedly in the back room talking to some campaign folks. One more dog just showed, so the dog total is back at four. Here's a shot from the Montford party, and what looks like the side/back of Montford's head:
8:17pm: At the Montford party, there's a nice selection of snacks - fajitas, rice, beans, chips and salsa, and a keg. Our crew reports no one has hit the keg yet. Only three dogs left at the party now. 8:15pm: OK now we have a little music kicking on the back deck. It's "Start Me Up" by the Rolling Stones. Here's a look at the scene at Joe's.
8:09pm: Things are hoppin' here at the Lehmberg party, but it's a lot of sit around and wait until more results come in. Her campaign manager, David Butts, is 7:48pm: Our crew on the scene reports a total of four dogs are at Mindy Montford's election night party. Not sure if that includes Montford's own beagle and mix, which were featured in a campaign commercial. 7:47pm: Former DA candidate Gary Cobb arrives. 7:43pm: Earle, on Lehmberg's likely ascension to his post: "She's smart. She can read and write, add and subtract. All that." 7:41pm: Outgoing DA Ronnie Earle walks in as I am in a dark part of the bar. Me: Hi Ronnie! 7:30pm: Lots of pantsuits at this Lehmberg party. 7:25pm: Lehmberg just arrived to cheers. She looks like she's crying (happy tears). I would have pictures had I not loaned my camera out to another reporter to take pictures of the Montford party for me. "We may have done it," I heard Lehmberg say to someone she was hugging. 7:23pm: Our photographer at the Mindy Montford party reports there's a healthy but subdued crowd at her campaign party... lots of people inside, not a lot of people outside. Just like the Lehmberg party, the candidate is not there yet. 7:18pm: Early vote totals show Lehmberg dominated 64% to Montford's 36%. That's early vote only. 7:17pm: It took nearly an hour to drive from Far West Blvd to the Lehmberg party here at Joe's, but I'm here... the candidate, however, is not. Expect Early Vote Results EarlyWe'll know who wins the early vote in the the Travis County Democratic runoff at seven o'clock straight up, says the Travis County Clerk's public information manager Mary Fero. Only 11,584 people cast ballots in the five days of early voting. That's 2.1% of registered voters. As a comparison, early voting for the March 4th primary was at 97,706 in Travis County. (Here's some video from my early voting location back then.) Expect complete results between eight o'clock and eight thirty. Running OffIf you are able to peel yourself away from C-SPAN's live broadcast of the Petraeus testimony, don't forget to vote today. In Travis County the race to watch, of course, is the Democratic runoff for Travis County District Attorney. Since there is no Republican in the race, the winner tonight will be the next Travis County DA. In Williamson County there's Bryan Daniel versus Dee Hobbs in the Republican runoff to fill outgoing State Rep. Mike Krusee's seat. The winner will face Democrat Diana Maldonado in the fall. Polls close at 7pm tonight. Both DA candidates will be partying tonight as we await election returns. You can find Rosemary Lehmberg and her supporters at Joe's Bar and Grill near 6th and West. Just a few blocks northeast, Mindy Montford and her supporters will be partying at her campaign headquarters at 1304 Lavaca Street. April 7, 2008APR Returns, Pink Dome DepartsThe hottest political blog of the weekend returned to the internets today, with a rumor about former State Rep Glen Maxey being up for the UT Chancellor job. It looks like the blog will continue as Austin Political Report, despite my suggestion that recently unmasked blog owner Kelly Fero hold a contest to rename the blog something that better reflects its owner. Meanwhile, Charlie Ray of Pink Dome penned his last post for awhile. My first encounter with the blog was in 2005, when I was working in South Carolina. The governor of my home state was still miked up when he called a reporter a "Mofo" following a satellite interview. Pink Dome put out a line of t-shirts to commemorate the incident and I checked 'em out and became a reader. We'll miss you, Charlie! (But I think he is doing a great job over at our competing television station as its new media director. He took a lot of "bloat" out of the site. He's like a laxative for websites. That's a compliment.) April 6, 2008Strategists DepartOK, so he didn't inspire anywhere near the kind of fascination (and vitriol) as Clinton strategist Mark Penn, but Penn and Austin strategist Kelly Fero share something in common this weekend - they were both asked to leave by the female candidates they were working for. DA candidate Rosemary Lehmberg announced Friday she dismissed Fero from the campaign, after we learned that yes, the rumors were true, he is the man behind Austin Political Report and doh, the Lehmberg campaign with which he was employed cited questionable information from the then-anonymous blog he owned. House Parliamentarian Terry Keel is none too pleased, since the questionable information was that Keel is working for Lehmberg opponent Mindy Montford. (He says he definitely isn't, and has filed a criminal complaint over this.)
Penn, meanwhile, has been the object of much negative attention because I guess he doesn't really get along with the rest of the staffers and he may or may not be responsible for squandering Clinton's invincibility in the race for the White House. He also refused to give up his outside contracts, like one with Colombia which was in direct opposition to Clinton's interests. This is just what I read from other people's original reporting. When I got up close to him at the Texas debate my only observation was that he was a sweater. (Not like the clothing, but like the perspiration.) Back to Fero. What happens to APR now? I think the blog should stick around and Fero should really OWN it, especially now that the secret's out. I think it helps the blog's credibility because when you know who's writing it you can calibrate your expectations accordingly, not to mention the fact that anonymity is usually anathema to credibility. Change the name to Fero Vision, perhaps. No, wait, now that I am thinking about it, he should have a naming contest so readers can submit ideas for blog titles. It's all about interactivity, ya know? April 3, 2008Revisiting Tom DeLayWeird. Right after I posted about the latest in the topsy-turvy runoff race to replace Ronnie Earle, I saw a piece on The Huffington Post called "Whatever happened to Tom DeLay?" Retiring Travis County DA Ronnie Earle famously prosecuted former House Majority Leader DeLay for his involvement in TRMPAC... but if you've already forgotten, this piece looks back, and looks ahead. Excerpted: DeLay asked for a quick trial. But he hasn't gotten one, in part because of appeals. Texas courts threw out the charge that he and two associates conspired to violate state election law. But the courts are still considering appeals from the other two indicted with him for money laundering. The next decision on their appeals will almost certainly affect his case, and could be appealed further.Questions about the DeLay case have certainly come up in the runoff race, and both ladies running to replace Earle have said they will not dismiss the case. P.S. Too bad you can't pick your own nicknames. I, too, would like to be called "The Hammer". But it just doesn't stick. |
