Austin-area Republicans to challenge one-party monopoly in Travis County

Filing period closed for the 2020 primary ballot in Texas. In left-leaning Travis County, Republicans have struggled to hold on to their enclaves of support, but are confident that an improved economy under President Donald Trump as well as a carefully orchestrated and well-funded ground game will improve the chances of local candidates.

Below are the candidates who have filed by deadline (the final list is subject to many qualifying factors, so it is not final). But first, here are some takeaways at first glance:

There is a Republican incumbent on the local slate, Geoffrey Puryear, who was appointed by Gov. Greg Abbott to sit on the bench of the newly created 460th District Court. Another well-known incumbent, Chief Justice Jeff Rose of the Third Court of Appeals, is seeking re-election for the appeals court which covers the Austin area.

Becky Bray made headlines as a top fundraiser in the multi-way race for Austin City Council District 8 in 2014, and now has the blessing of outgoing Precinct 3 County Commissioner Gerald Daugherty as his successor.

Returning candidates include Martin Harry, who ran for Justice of the Peace in 2018, and Marilyn Jackson, who in 2010 ran for a Texas House seat. Harry is now in the running for District Attorney and Jackson for Tax Assessor-Collector.

Texas House District 47 will, as expected, be the prize fight as five very active and funded candidates are seeking to take back the seat former Rep. Paul Workman held for several years before being unseated by a Democrat. Each candidate has so far presented a united front, running on their own merits to unseat the freshman Democrat incumbent.

We'll have more to say on these candidates as primary season moves forward.

Flannigan hosts anti-Props A, B campaign event at city-funded field office

A Facebook Event for a Sunday afternoon caught our eye several weeks ago. Rather than drop it like its hot, we ruminated on it. But we had an election to worry about and kept our cool.

Now, a month after a neighborhood campaign event hosted at the City of Austin District 6 Field Office recommending voters reject Travis County proposition A and City of Austin propositions A and B, it's on us if we do not say something about how this whole situation stinks.

Given, we're not attorneys nor are we qualified to give legal advice to Austin City Council member Jimmy Flannigan or "Team D6," but we are wondering how a city-funded Field Office was allowed to become the base for a political campaign for and against local ballot propositions from the Nov. 5 election. Literature, customized for Travis County and Williamson County residents, featured Flannigan's campaign logo and "recommendations" (which are actually worded "vote no" or "vote yes").

November 2019 Constitutional Amendment and Local Election Results

Statewide propositions
With 100% of precincts reporting ...

Proposition 1: Municipal judges serving multiple cities 34-66% (No)
Proposition 2: $200M for water development loans 66-34% (Yes)
Proposition 3: Disaster-damaged property tax exemption 87-13% (Yes)
Proposition 4: State income tax ban 73-27% (Yes)
Proposition 5: Sporting goods sales tax to parks, historic sites 86-14% (Yes)
Proposition 6: $3B cancer research increase 67-33% (Yes)
Proposition 7: $300M school fund cap increase 75-25% (Yes)
Proposition 8: Flood control grants 79-21% (Yes)
Proposition 9: Gold depository property tax exemption 54-46% (Yes)
Proposition 10: Retired K-9 ownership 93-7% (Yes)

Source: Texas Secretary of State election night results

County and local

Last-minute help for those confused by the H.O.T. mess of Propositions A and B (oh, and county Prop A!)

There are a many benefits to early voting -- shorter lines on election day and picking a day and time that works best for the voter among them.

The benefit of waiting until election day to vote in a low-turnout election is that it gives time for complicated measures to be discussed -- especially amid concerns that the ballot language may have been awkwardly or even deceptively worded. In the case of Austin voters, many have waited for more clarity on city propositions A and B and county Proposition A, and how they interrelate.

For the last-minute voter, we put together this quick analysis of what it all means, as well as our recommendations.

Austin Women's Answer To Mass Violence Prevention: Go Shooting (and get good at it!)

Grassroots gun rights activists and Moms Demand Action agreed on a couple of things during a Texas Senate committee meeting on mass violence Wednesday.

It is not masks or violent video games that are to blame for the uptick in mass killings.

Moms Demand Action, of course, puts the onus on the proliferation of firearms.

Republican women who live in and around the Texas Capitol, however, had a solution of their own:
Go shooting. And get good at it.

November 2019 Election Guide is finally here!

After months of research, discussions with legislative staffers and local leaders, the Travis Tracker releases its recommendations in the 2019 November election.

Early voting begins Oct. 21 and goes through Nov. 1, with election day being Nov. 5. The Tracker's recommendations and/or that of other conservative organizations are below each endorsed proposition or candidate in red.

This article is a work in progress. If you know of any other organizations offering endorsements or wish to contest a position please weigh-in via the comments.

(Remember: When in doubt, leave it blank!)

Mayor: Build more shelters and maybe we'll clear the sidewalks

In a previous article we reported that Mayor Steve Adler's plan all along was to build a homeless shelter in each district of the city. The recent, allowed explosion of homeless encampments over the summer was a tactic to make the problem more visual -- rather than hidden inside homeless camps in wooded areas -- and, we would assume, make the case for a major boost in public funding.

That plan is now starting to unfold and the overall picture is becoming clearer.

This morning, the Mayor and Council released a document previewing the next phase of the city's efforts to attempt to alleviate homelessness. In short: if Austinites behave (e.g. devote enough tax dollars to build new shelters and transition homes) then they can have their public spaces back.

KTBC-TV's (FOX 7) Casey Claiborne broke the story this morning of the preview document, which was this morning posted to the City Council's publicly view-able message board. Read the whole document here. We include some relevant text below, with a few edits for emphasis and due to formatting limitations:

City of Austin: Ask Questions About Homeless Camp Cleanups, You May Be Helping Terrorists

A lifelong Austin resident and former City Council candidate had a few questions about the infamous homeless camping ordinance.

She filed an open records request to the city, asking for the cost of cleanups for homeless camps and which dates the cleanings are scheduled.

The response from the city included an inquiry to the Texas Office of Attorney General, which cited a portion of the state government code:

"Those documents or portions of documents in the possession of governmental entity are confidential if they identify the technical details of particular vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure to an act of terrorism." (emphasis ours)

Austin Mayor Allows 'Adlervilles' To Spread To Build 10 New Homeless Shelters

The solidly liberal Austin, Texas, City Council and Mayor Steve Adler rolled the dice on its homelessness policy this summer.

Before going on vacation, the City Council lifted regulations which prevent camping in public places -- the wildly unpopular "homeless camping ordinance" which led to the rise of what are being colloquially referred to as "Adlervilles."

Since then, there has been an explosion of homeless camps at highway underpasses, in front of public buildings and businesses, on pedestrian rights-of-way, along with a sharp uptick in violence -- particularly near the city's downtown homeless resource center, but in places this activity has never been as-prevalent before.

This comes on the heels of controversy over opening a second, $8.6 million homeless shelter in largely residential South Austin. But that's not where the plans stop. At the last Council meeting (June 20), according to Community Impact News each of the city's 10 Council districts are expected to have a shelter in the near future:

On the ballot: 10 constitutional propositions to be decided in Nov. 5, 2019, election

In addition to several local races and ballot options, Texans will vote for or against 10 amendments being proposed to the Texas Constitution this fall.

The order the propositions will appear on the ballot -- from headline-grabbing items such as a prohibition on state income taxation to smaller ones like allowing for the transfer of police service dogs to caretakers -- was determined Tuesday via a random drawing by Deputy Secretary of State Joe Esparza for the Nov. 5, 2019, election.

The propositions are:

Allen West To Explore Bid To Lead Texas GOP; RPT Chairman James Dickey Seeks Re-election

This article originally appeared in The Hayride on July 4, 2019:

Among his many credits, Republican Party of Texas Chairman James Dickey is, without any doubt, a political survivor.

But now Dickey may face his most spirited challenge yet from a well-recognized national figure.

Lt. Col. Allen West, a former Florida Congressman and sought-after public speaker who moved to Texas to work with a conservative think-tank, announced he is exploring a run for Texas GOP party chair. West made his video announcement Wednesday evening after teasing a major announcement for several weeks and hinting that he may seek a U.S. Senate seat, a Congressional district, or the state party chairmanship.

Homeless Camps Now Protected In Austin (But Renting To Them Costs $500)

This article originally appeared in The Hayride on July 3, 2019:

It is now legal for vagrants to camp on the front of your property in the capital city of Texas.

By contrast, renting that space to a homeless person for a month in Austin requires an annual fee of $500, proper insurance, a certificate of occupancy, and payment of hotel occupancy taxes (and for some reason a license to drive a motor vehicle).

A new homeless camping policy is the latest example of an all-Democrat City Council maintaining its war on private enterprise while giving those who do not pay property taxes more rights.
The brewing political battle in Austin just took center-stage with a tweet from Gov. Greg Abbott.

2019 Democratic Debates Bingo card to relieve pain for political addicts

Let's face it: the "clown car" is crowded and two nights of debates can be a grueling experience for political observers of a conservative persuasion to suffer through. The buzz words will be flying as each candidate attempts to stand out from the field of would-be Trump-challengers with what little time is allotted to each candidate on the debates, to be held Wednesday, June 26, and Thursday, June 27.

Spare the Mylanta: the Tracker has the cure for the pain our fellow political junkies will be feeling. Below is a bingo card you can play with your friends while you watch.

Simply print off a copy (or save it to your smartphone) ... and try to enjoy!

Wendy Davis to challenge Chip Roy for CD 21

UPDATE (7/22/19): Davis announced this morning she would run -- three weeks after she said she would make an announcement.

During an award ceremony this evening rewarding journalists who support liberal causes, a progressive philanthropist announced former state Senator Wendy Davis will be running in the Democratic Primary in Texas Congressional District 21 with the hopes of unseating freshman Congressman Chip Roy. 

Though not exactly a secret, at the current moment the announcement seems to have been premature, with Davis telling a Dallas reporter via Twitter she would be announcing her next move in about three weeks.

Roy has become a conservative favorite of late -- especially for his lone stand against a pricey disaster recovery bill that his congressional peers were not given any time to properly read and study. 

Local Elections Results: The Conservative Push-back Begins

It wasn’t just Star Wars Day (“May the Fourth Be With You” and all that) and Cinco De Mayo contributing to the extra energy in the air over the weekend in Texas.

Saturday was Local Elections Day — the results of which signal that a conservative push-back against recent liberal gains in the “urban suburbs” has begun. Nowhere was that more apparent Saturday night than in Texas’ own capital (see some examples below).

Turnout was low as expected, with well-under 10 percent of the electorate turning out in most of these school board, city council, and utility district elections. This is par for the course in municipal elections, and at least one election is hanging by ONE VOTE as of the time of writing. In many cases, local political parties had to refrain from endorsements — often, a multi-candidate race will feature candidates from the same party running against each other.

Your May 2019 Conservative Local Elections Guide [UDPATE: With Results]

UPDATE: Winners indicated by a check mark below.

Travis County results
Williamson County results
For other results see neighboring county links below.

* * *

Below are the races appearing on ballots across Travis County. Early voting is from April 22 through May 2, with Local Election Day on Saturday, May 4.

See polling places and other official information here.

This is a running list which will feature any key conservative endorsements or our own. Feel free to leave a comment with your recommendations, as always.

This year, we have woven in to this list of Travis County ballot races a few Williamson County-hosted races that cut slightly into Travis County. If a race is not on this list -- even if it's a MUD or water district election -- please let us know in the comments and we'll be sure to list it.

Casar ordered to pay Pressley legal costs (which means Pressley wins her election integrity case)

UPDATE: (4:14 p.m.) A separate court document indicates the amount of the legal costs Casar must pay may be a significantly lower amount than previously reported. We will update this post when the actual amount is determined.

From Dr. Laura Pressley's new election integrity advocacy group True Texas Elections:

AUSTIN — In the Texas Supreme Court, costs are awarded to the prevailing party and Austin City Council member Greg Casar has been ordered by the highest Court in Texas to pay Dr. Laura Pressley ... [for] costs incurred in her landmark Supreme Court election integrity case.  

Ask too many election integrity questions, get fined $100,000 ...

... but that may be changing soon, thanks to the hard work of Dr. Laura Pressley and a recent ruling by the Texas Supreme Court.

As a cringe-worthy side note, Pressley's 2014 Austin City Council election opponent, Gregorio Casar, is claiming victory because the state Supreme Court ruled Pressley's election contest is moot because Casar has now entered his second term in office. However (a BIG however) the Court seems to have given a green light to future legal questions regarding ballot integrity.

This is welcome news for anyone who has ever wondered if all votes are counted or if voting machines can be trusted, but has been too intimidated by hefty fines and years in court (as Dr. Pressley has endured).

As a bonus: a related judgment orders Casar to pay back Pressley's supreme court costs, though the amount has not yet been determined.

Read more about this development in a press release from Dr. Pressley: