HD-51: Marilyn Jackson files to challenge Rep. Rodriguez

The news just keeps getting better in Travis County!

Marilyn Jackson, a travel consultant from east Austin, has filed with the Republican Party to challenge incumbent Democrat State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez. This is HD 51, where the last time a Republican even appeared on the ballot was 1998.

Breaking: Jack McDonald not running in CD-10

Congressman McCaul will not be facing Jack McDonald in the Nov. 2010 general election after all. Texas Tribune has the full press release.

No word on whether the Democrats will put up another candidate in what had been considered one of the top priority districts for the DCCC, but this late in the game, don't expect anyone serious to come forward.

So. Victory? I think so.

McNamara throws in hat to challenge Biscoe

Mike McNamara has filed to run for county judge with the Republican Party in Travis County today.

McNamara represents the first Republican effort to challenge the incumbent Democrat Sam Biscoe since 2002, when former Travis County Commissioner Bob Honts ran.

LSR piece on HD 47 primary

Be sure to check out today's Lone Star Report if you have a chance (subscribers only - but really, why aren't you a subscriber?). A good breakdown of where Paul Workman and Holly Turner are on the issues can be found on page eight, and intrepid reporter Mark Lavergne has a wonderful page one story about the race.

It's your money, so your opinion matters

The Austin American Statesman printed an editorial this week that left a lot of people, on both sides of the political aisle, a bit flabbergasted. And with good reason, since it is the biggest load of b.s. ever published by a publication whose industry once stood with the people against the tide of big government.

Y'all know my position on taxpayer-funded abortions, so I won't get into that further. The reason the Statesman's Dec. 14 editorial left me fuming was that it made the claim that taxpayers don't have a right to dictate how tax dollars are spent.

Central Health (and the Statesman got one thing right - that does sound like something out of the Kremlin) made the decision to budget money for clinics in low-income areas of Travis County that provide abortions. The Statesman claims that taxpayers who disagree with how the money is going to be spent do not have a right to weigh in - first, because abortion is legal and falls under "health care" and second, because we elect officials to decide how to spend our money and our input ends there.

The editorial went further. "Are you against the current wars? Sorry, you don't get to earmark your tax dollars toward some other expenditure. Not a fan of mass transit? Sorry, you can't tell government to funnel your tax dollars elsewhere."

Then: "Your recourse is at the ballot box. If you oppose abortion choice, vote for like-minded candidates who will work to ban it."

Well. I think this has to be disputed.

First of all, we don't elect the officials at Central Health - they are appointed by the county commissioners court. And I think that if there is an entity that gets to decide how tax dollars are spent, the officials in charge of said entity must be elected.

And we should always have a right to weigh in! We should be doing so at every opportunity! That's what lobbying really is, folks. It's chiming in and stating to your elected officials how you feel. Whether they decide to go with your ideas or not, that's when you go to the ballot box. But you do have the right, and the OBLIGATION, to tell your elected officials what you think about the decisions they are having to make.

Central Health, again, is not an elected board. But that makes it even more important that citizens weigh in, and are informed about what decisions Central Health is making with regards to tax dollars.

It is patently wrong for the Statesman to brush aside public comment as though it were simply a nuisance, and it is appalling that Central Health feels they should not be held more accountable for their decisions. If the board at Central Health doesn't want to hear from the public on how the money should be spent, maybe they should find a new source of revenue. Because that's OUR money they are spending.

My Disclaimer Post

As the primary season begins to really heat up (filing ends January 4 at 6pm!!), I feel like it's time to come clean and put up an official disclaimer.

I am currently serving as the executive director for the Travis County Republican Party. I won't be giving detailed commentary about the Republican primary races in Travis County for this reason. I'll give you the basics - who are the candidates, where you can get more info - but I'll refrain from editorializing about the candidates.

I've been rather circumspect about some of the other Republican races happening in Texas, and this is partly why. I figure, you can get your information elsewhere if you're looking for opinions. I hope my fellow conservative bloggers will pick up the slack in this regard - by all means, dig and comment away! It should never be just the Democrats who get to comment on Republican races.

Now, this isn't the reason why I haven't been posting as much. As readers know, my mother is suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, and I've been out of town and out of pocket a lot while she's been in the hospital. My duties at the TCRP keep me pretty busy as well, and primary season means more of that.

Alrighty then. Back to regularly scheduled programming.

More filing news: Dan Neil files for HD 48

Joining the growing list of Republican candidates in Travis County, Dan Neil officially filed for HD 48 this morning.

More about Dan at his website.

TCRP Chairman Dr. Rosemary Edwards files for re-election

Dr. Rosemary Edwards has filed for re-election as Travis County Republican Party chairman!

I know this is a one-liner and therefore less earth-shattering as a blog post, but substance is coming. Check back later tonight.

Travis County tax dollars could pay for abortions in low-income areas

The Travis County Health Care District, which is largely funded by property taxes, is having there Board of Managers meeting today to decide whether to approve contracts allotting $450,000 in tax dollars to specific abortion providers in low-income areas of Travis County.

Y'all, I can't stress enough how insane this rings. Even if you're pro-choice, are you really okay with tax dollars paying for abortions, in areas that specifically service low-income areas, which are largely populated by minorities?????

This is rather last-minute, I know, but you can register your disapproval by calling 512-978-8000 or emailing info@traviscountyhd.org. And you can join others who are showing up to make their voices heard at the meeting today at 5:30.

WHAT: Travis County Healthcare District Board of Managers Meeting
WHERE: 314 West 11th Street, Austin TX
WHEN: 5:30pm Thursday, December 10th

Paul Workman joins HD 47 primary

Paul Workman has filed paperwork with the Travis County Republican Party to run for state representative in HD 47.

That brings us up to two candidates in Travis County, both in the same house district. Southwest Austin is a hotbed for Republican issues these days and this race is on a lot of "to-watch" lists, as the expected Republican turnout is higher there than in most other places in Travis County.

Holly Turner files for HD 47

The first Republican candidate in Travis County has filed - Holly Turner, who announced for HD 47 last week, has officially entered the race as of 10:30am today.

Day 2 - Bill White announcement coming

It was only a matter of time - former Houston mayor Bill White is set to make an announcement about his campaign today, and the Chron thinks it'll be he's running for governor.

It's a crowded field on the Dem side, with Farouk Shami (I saw an ad for him last night), Felix Alvarado, Kinky Friedman, and Hank Gilbert. White is the only one other than Friedman with widespread name recognition that could carry a heavyweight campaign in the general (and it seems like the left is none too thrilled to welcome Kinky into the fold), so this is going to be an interesting race to watch.

Which reminds me - the Republican Party of Texas released a great ad on Bill White this week.

Learn more about Bill White's history of being anti-taxpayer. White refused to enact the Houston Taxpayer Bill of Rights after it was passed by the voters. White and the Houston City Council had decidedly different ideas about whether the city should pay taxpayer-funded dues to the Texas Municipal League.

And let's not forget - Houston is broke.

Texas can't afford Bill White, whether in the Senate or the Governor's mansion.

Yawn: Watson files for reelection

In the "no surprise there, but damn it anyway" category, State Sen. Kirk Watson has filed for reelection.

Apparently, much to the chagrin of the lefty community in Travis County.

Tarrant County Republican House primaries already jumping

All the spittin' and clawin' expected in Tarrant County got off to a rousing start this morning. Remember, this is the county that originally spawned the Texas Local Option Transportation Act during session. State Rep. Vicki Truitt was the House sponsor of the bill - she's from Southlake, which is in the northern part of Tarrant County. Meanwhile, Tarrant County is also home to House Elections Committee Chairman Todd Smith - voter i.d. was the legislation that rocked his committee and office all session.

Threats went back and forth between pro- and anti-TLOTA camps about primaries developing against opposing or supporting legislators. Should be interesting to see what kind of candidates emerge.

So, expect Tarrant County to be the most interesting place to be during the primary season.

Reps. Charlie Geren, Mark Shelton, and Vicki Truitt all filed for reelection. Charles Scoma, a previous candidate for HD 91, has filed to run against Rep. Kelly Hancock in that district, and Rep. Todd Smith has drawn a challenger in Jeff Cason.

UPDATED 4:59pm: Lookee there! Bill Zedler has joined in the fun, taking a shot as his old seat, HD 96. And HD 91 has Republican Barbara Nash joining in to challenge Paula Pierson.

(all filing info courtesy PoliTex)

Perry today, Hutchison Monday, House/Senate ongoing

Governor Perry has filed for reelection.

The Star-Telegram's blog is reporting that Senator Hutchison will file to run for governor on Monday.

The Texas Republican House Committee has a running tally of Republican House candidate filings. Check that out here.

If you really want to know what the Democrats are doing, Burnt Orange Report has a list here.

Primary filing begins today!

Think we'll have any big surprises?

If you are interested in running for office and have questions about filing, check out the Secretary of State's nifty Candidate Guide.

I doubt I'll get any "breaking news" but I will have a post up later today that I will update with relevant Travis County and statewide primary filings, Republican and Democrat.

Remember, filing goes until January 4 at 6pm. All bets are off until then!