County Chair reform effort gains support of Rules commitee

Though a platform plank to allow a county executive committee to select its own county chairman failed in the platform committee, there's still hope for reform.

Thanks, Dan, for the input!

The Republican Party of Texas Convention's Temporary Rules Committee approved a rule allowing a county executive committee to request the State Republican Executive Committee (SREC) officials committee to investigate whether a county chair has abandoned the office due to "moral turpitude."

"I think it gives you the ammo you need," said committee member Dan McDonald, a former Travis County GOP Secretary and now Hays County GOP Secretary.

According to McDonald, the proposed rule -- subject to the delegation and future action by the permanent rules committee and SREC -- reads as follows:

Legislative priorities draft approved by temporary platform committee

The 31 members of the Temporary Platform Committee of the 2016 Republican Party of Texas Convention came up with a list of "Legislative Priorities" this evening. When approved, this list will appear as a subset of the official state platform. 

From highest vote count to lowest, here are the priorities:

Mackowiak trumps O'Reilly on alleged candidate support

Travis GOP Vice Chairman and Austin/D.C. political consultant Matt Mackowiak must have been busy this week.

We'll let Washington Post opinion columnist Erik Wemple tell the story of what happened ...

Last night, [Bill] O’Reilly was attempting to defend his own honor against an opinion circulated in the Hill newspaper, by Republican consultant Matt Mackowiak. “Fox hosts Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough, radio host Laura Ingraham, even Rush Limbaugh and Matt Drudge all worshipped at the altar of Trump,” wrote Mackowiak, “either out of personal friendship and loyalty or desire to have access to him for ratings. They failed to hold him accountable for his statements, actions, contradictions and lack of policy substance. They built him up.” 

So just how did the King of Cable News refute this charge?  [...] That back-and-forth was part of perhaps the worst performance on cable news over the entire 2016 primary campaign.

County Chairman reform plank rejected by RPT platform committee

A proposed state platform plank designed to help county parties avoid the leadership situation that Travis County GOP finds itself in was defeated in committee at the Republican Party of Texas convention today.

According to TJ Scott, the Senate District 14 Convention platform chair back in March and a state delegate at this week's convention, a "platform subcommittee made it shorter and passed it, but the full platform committee struck it."

This was the version that was passed by Senate District 14 convention:

"County Chairman Election -- The Texas Election Code should be changed to eliminate the position of County Chairman of a political party as a publicly elected official, and the rules of the Republican Party of Texas should be modified to elect County Chairmen by a majority of votes in the county executive committee."

Platform compromise reached (for now)

The Platform Committee of the Republican Party of Texas Convention met Monday and today to set up the ground rules of how to adopt the many components (or "planks") of the 2016 Texas GOP platform.

After a spirited back-and-forth on what is traditionally a slow day prior to the convention, the committee came up with a compromise the (hopefully) satisfy shorter-platform advocates and supporters of something closer to the status quo.

Below are some voices from the convention in Dallas from various perspectives. Yours are welcome in the comments section, as always.

2/3 rule passes GOP state convention hurdle (UPDATE: back to majority)

According to State Republican Executive Committee member Mark Ramsey, the effort to slim-down and narrow the Texas Republican platform cleared its first mile marker this afternoon. 

Supporters of this provision argue that the platform, as it stands, is somewhat of a laughing-stock to critics, and that a more succinct statement of beliefs would draw in a larger coalition of voters and be more respected by members of the Texas Legislature and Congress. 

Political diversity increasing in East Austin

Texas House District 46 candidate Gabriel Nila appeared at a forum hosted by Africans who emigrated to the United States, garnering some press in a newspaper serving the Austin black community.

Diaspora Vote, founded in 2010, invited all eastern Travis County candidates to participate in a non-partisan forum to "create a dialogue between the candidates and elected and appointed officials regarding local issues."

Nila, as it happens, was the only Republican to attend, joined by the Green Party's Flashe Gordon and Democrat Arthur Simpson (both running for Travis County Commissioner Court Precinct 1) and Precinct 1 Constable incumbent Danny Thomas, a Democrat.

Read the Villager article here (PDF file, page 8, screenshot above):

What is interesting is that notoriously absent Dawnna Dukes, the Democratic incumbent for HD 46, was not present, considering she is a celebrated advertiser of the Villager (see bottom-right corner -- click for larger view):

CruzFiorina.com directs to Travis GOP Vice Chairman's fundraising page

If you haven't done so by now, click on CruzFiorina.com. And, no, we're not taking a side in the primary (yet)!

Because of this clever fundraising tactic by Travis County Republican Party Vice Chairman Matt Mackowiak, the Ted Cruz presidential campaign now has to use CruzCarly.com -- at least until Matt sells or donates it to the Cruz campaign. In the meantime, his anti-Leukemia fundraiser is getting a lot of national publicity.

For Mackowiak and his wife, Suzanne, there is much personal motivation in raising funds for cancer research.

Cancer research is personal for me.  I am raising funds to name a permanent research grant in honor of my wife Suzanne’s late father, former Shelby County Judge JohnTomlin.  He died almost seven years ago from pancreatic cancer.  I never had the chance to meet him and seek his blessing for marriage to Suzanne. This grant will live on in his name forever.

Judge Tomlin and Suzanne (Tomlin) Mackowiak

Fiorina not only has Austin roots but a Texas Republican heritage

Fiorina

Though only in Austin through the age of 2, Ted Cruz' announced running mate and former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina has not only some deep-reaching Texas roots, but a noteworthy connection to Austin and a strong tie to GOP politics in a time when the Democrats had a solid lock on the Lone Star State.

You can read the Jonathan Tilove's excellent rundown of her Austin connections in the Austin American-Statesman. There's even a mention of a speech to the Travis Republican Women by her father about ending the one-party regime.

According to the article, Fiorina's father, Austin attorney Joseph T. Sneed, was a pioneer in the Texas Republican party with ambitions of one day being on the Supreme Court. He became the lone conservative dissenter on the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals -- arguably the nation's most liberal federal court. Justice Sneed's most recognizable moment came when he broke a tie and basically appointed Kenneth Starr to prosecute the Bill Clinton impeachment proceedings.

From the Statesman article:

Troxclair uses city transportation audit to expose lack of Uber/Lyft foresight

District 8 City Council member Ellen Troxclair (Southwest Austin) is making good use of Monday's audit report that calls into question the city's approach to transportation problems.

In a letter to city transportation Director Rob Spillar, Troxclair heaped another log on the fire: Is the city prepared and equipped to make good on new regulations designed to ratchet down on Transportation Networking Companies such as Uber and Lyft?

These proposed regulations are on the chopping block on the May 7 local election ballot -- a vote Yes would support the status quo, whereas a vote No would support expanding regulations.

We include Troxclair's letter below. If you haven't voted yet, we strongly encourage you to review this.

The rest of the GOP Primary season at-a-glance

Is there any stopping the Trump Train?

While there's no shortage of speculation on that subject, we thought it might help to present the remainder of the GOP Primary season incredibly simple to understand. See below for our handy table.

Remaining States (as of 4/27/16), how many GOP delegates are at stake, and some notes:

IN 57 (No Kasich per deal with Cruz)
WV 34 (Heavily favors Trump)
OR 28 (No Cruz per deal with Kasich)
CA 172 (Fiorina as VP pick may help Cruz)
MT 27 (May favor Cruz)
NJ 51 (Heavily favors Trump)
NM 24 (No Cruz per deal with Kasich)
SD 29 (May favor Cruz)

__________ 

TOTAL: 422 delegates left. 

Austin ISD weeds out the Republicans from short list of Robert E. Lee school name successors

It was nothing short of vindication that Donald J. Trump and Robert E. Lee himself were the two top vote-getters in Austin ISD's online poll to re-name Robert E. Lee Elementary.

A good share of the 15 pages of submissions were serious. However, a large number poked fun at this ridiculous scenario. That the reputation of an honorable man such as General Lee -- though a product of his time, a classic example of a forward-thinking man who was gracious in defeat -- would be swept-up in a nationwide witch hunt against anything related to the Rebel flag or the former Confederacy is a slap in the face to we Southerners. One can honor Lee while still opposing what the South stood for.

Then things got a little more ridiculous. Case in point (via Twitter):

"Disgraceful?" Surely she doesn't mean all of them!

May 7 Local Election: More than just Uber and Lyft

Ok, so you may not be the Sixth Street type who routinely needs to hail an Uber or Lyft driver at 2 a.m. You might not even live in Austin.

But you should still prepare yourself for the next election, because the May 7 local ballot is more than a decision about the fate of transportation networking apps and ridesharing regulations in the big city. What else is on the ballot, you ask? Well, that depends on where you live (for instance, if you're in Volente, transportation is an issue with a decision regarding whether to extend a tax to operate Cap Metro). And you may not even have a ballot for this election.

See below for every race appearing on ballots in Travis County.  Have your voter registration card handy and be ready to find your precinct number (if you don't already know it by heart -- see below for a sample voter registration card or click here to find your precinct) and see which races affect you.

Early voting runs April 25 through May 3, with election day Saturday, May 7.

HD 46 Republican nominee has stronger chance in Eastern Travis County

The Republican challenger to 11-term Texas House of Representatives member Dawnna Dukes has a stronger chance than ever of upsetting the Democratic stranglehold on eastern Travis County.

According to the Austin American-Statesman, allegations of Dukes' use of staff for unpaid, mandatory "charity" work is under investigation:

Governor: You can thank an Austin Republican for most recent amendment to U.S. Constitution

Watson

A policy aide for Austin City Councilman Don Zimmerman received some high-profile praise for his role in resurrecting a Constitutional Amendment effort no one ever thought would gain enough momentum to be ratified.

Greg Watson, a former longtime Texas Capitol staffer and a Travis County GOP Precinct Chairman, was lauded by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during the March 31, 2016, Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute (TCCRI) Policy Orientation. Abbott, who supports what's known as an Article V Convention, used Watson's story as an example that amending the Constitution can be done.

Abbott's remarks are below in video form and in print. But first, here's the text of the 27th Amendment -- introduced in 1789 and finally ratified in 1992 some two centuries later.

Post office 'not happy' with stamp price decrease; but they should be ecstatic!

Here's a basic economics pop quiz for our readers: 

Prices go down when:

   a. A bureaucrat says so
   b. The feds "stimulate" the economy
   c. An industry is bailed out by the taxpayers
   d. Competition is allowed to flourish.
   e. None of the above

Who's on the 2016 Republican Primary Runoff ballot?

Though May 24 is still a way's off, it's time to be thinking about who Central Texans will support on the GOP Primary Runoff ballot.

Travis GOP Chairman James Dickey produced a helpful flyer recently -- the text of which we include below. There are no local runoff races in Travis County (unless you count Senate District 24 as local). These views do not constitute endorsements on behalf of the Travis Tracker.

* * *

The Runoff is Coming!

Republican voters in Texas have at least three more choices to make in the 2016 Republican Primary Runoff Election.

The last day to request a ballot by mail is May 13. Early voting will be held May 16-20. Election day will be Tuesday, May 24, 2016.

Only 3.5% of registered voters participated in the 2014 Lieutenant Governor race Republican primary runoff. That means your vote in this runoff will carry 10-20 times the weight it would carry in a general election. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to be informed and have a significant impact.

Educrats beware! School finance reform gaining momentum

Education finance formula in Texas (artist's crude rendering!)

Monday shaped up to be an encouraging day on the public education reform front in Austin. 

In Northwest Austin, Texas State Board of Education Member Ken Mercer, Austin ISD Trustee Julie Cowan, Round Rock ISD Trustee Terri Romere, and Peggy Venable of Americans for Prosperity-Texas gathered with the Northwest Austin Republican Women to discuss the future of education policy.

Meanwhile downtown, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) rolled out an easy-on-the-eyes position paper on education finance and how the system must radically change from a district-focused approach to one that puts the students first.

From TPPF's paper:

'Trailer Park' gang grill incoming Travis GOP chair

Robert Morrow has made the Travis County Republican Party the focus of local, national, and even international media attention. Now he's the star of the most recent episode of Austin Public Television's long-tuning "Trailer Park Show" -- which may end up being his most revealing and candid interview yet.

If you want to get a feel of what objections there are to Morrow's viewpoints, the plans he has made so far, and his knowledge-level of county party affairs, here it is in a single, one-hour video package. You can even see here that he doesn't care about the Republican Party at all, which drew a few confused looks and questions from the panel about why he ran in the first place.

Lack of voter education is the greatest April Fool's prank of all

There's no need to play an April Fool's prank on our Tracker readers. We're living through a joke right now.

One of the candidates speaking at the Travis GOP's Runoff Roundtable Thursday night was Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5, contender Brent Webster. Webster, a Williamson County prosecutor with a long history of conservative activism, has much in common with the moderator of the forum, Travis GOP Chairman James Dickey. Dickey and Webster both woke up March 2 to some surreal electoral conclusions: that they had come in second against opponents who had barely lifted a finger to campaign.

We'll have some coverage on this all-too-rare forum for our runoff candidates soon. But for now, we post this analysis from our Friday, March 4 posting, followed by Dickey's thoughts on the matter via a flyer he distributed Thursday night.