Just when it seems like we finally got the 2010 elections out of the way, and our newest members of the Judiciary sworn in, we are already hearing talk about the 2012 election.
As you all know, the 2008 Election swept out all but one of the Republican Incumbent Judges and replaced them with their Democratic challengers.
And, of course, 2008 also gave us Pat Lykos -- the gift that keeps on giving.
Even though we are just in 2011, and the election of 2012 is, uh, about 23 months away, speculation and announcements have already begun. Clearly, the Republicans will be seeking to regain the benches lost, and there are rumors and innuendos flying all over the place about who is going to run for what bench.
Thus far, the only person I know who is "officially" running is Felony Chief Prosecutor Brad Hart, who has announced he will be running as a Republican for the 339th District Court. There are very strong indications of others running as well. You need only to look at the comments section of my previous post for that.
I have to say that I was amused that somebody posted there were only "certain courts" that the Republicans were "targeting". Give me a break, man. The Republicans will be targeting all of them! That's just politics.
I imagine that whatever happens in Harris County will depend much more on what is going on in Washington than what is happening here locally -- no matter how many ads Gary Polland runs of Judge Kevin Fine's tattoos. I have spoken to several people whom I consider to be much more knowledgeable about the Harris County political climate than I am, and I have heard them all speak with absolute certainty that their party was going to win.
In my opinion, guessing what the November 2012 election is going to turn out like has about as much chance of being accurate as predicting the 2013 Super Bowl, at this point.
Of course, the biggest question on everybody's mind (at least those who read this blog) is going to be the race for the District Attorney. With all of the butt-kissing that Pat Lykos has gotten from the Houston Chronicle and her die-hard Blue-Haired supporters within the Republican Party, she is is probably feeling pretty invincible.
The big question on that is, will Kelly Siegler run again?
I don't know if she will or not, but I certainly hope so. If you add up all the votes that Kelly got in the general primary and the run-off against Lykos, she crushed Lykos by thousands of votes. My friend Black Ink seems to be pretty optimistic about the idea with this post.
If Kelly doesn't run, I'll be praying for a Mike (Anderson) Christmas (Announcement).
The bottom line is this, however -- focusing on who is going to run for what office can drive us all crazy all year. There are so many different factors that can change between now and the filing deadline at the first of 2012. People can announce. More people can announce. People can drop out. People can change races.
It is all very entertaining to watch and learn, but absolutely impossible to predict the outcome.
My advice to you (as always) is get involved. There will be some great candidates that deserve your support. Don't take for granted that the rest of the public will know what you know about them. Get politically active and let your friends and family know that you'll have recommendations and thoughts for them when it comes to voting. Start an e-mail chain.
If you've got good candidates you support, help them campaign and raise money.
More importantly, if you know of bad candidates, run against them. Or find somebody who will.
The election of 2008 showed us all what happens when apathy infiltrates the System. The election of 2010 showed us what we can do when we get off our butts and work for good candidates.
My hope is that 2012 will look a lot more like 2010 than 2008 and that good candidates on both the Republican and Democratic sides of the ballot get into office.
Now, let the gossiping about who is running for what office continue . . .
24 comments:
I don't think it's any secret that Black Ink would like Kelly to run in 2012. I enjoyed his Homer-esque tale of Chuck and Patty, and Kelly was the only one I could see wearing Kevlar boots, based on the Graves case.
In any event, I'd rather read a thousand analogies by Black Ink than another opinion by J. Cochran invoking Alice in Wonderland.
You are right about all Judges having opponents. Most of the Democrats will have primary opponents hoping for a repeat of the election that swept Democracts in.Republicaans will probably have them too.
Channel 11 news reported on their noon broadcast today, 01/11/2011, that Adrian Garcia is announcing a $5000 cash reward to inmates who snitch on other inmates. This is very concerning to me since it seems that inmates wanting money just might be willing to make up something about another inmate in order to obtain bail or attorney money for him/herself....hence, furthering the condemnation of innocents. Isn't there a law against this sort of thing? Can Adrian Garcia really do this? I'm an interested reader of your blawg and not a legal professional, so would be interested to know your input as well as the input of your professional readers. Thank you.
Fishing Musician, I just heard a pin drop and that's precisely why Patsy is sitting where she is today. How's that for an Ink-like analogy?
HCRP Chairman is recruiting judicial candidates. He is first going to retreads like Palmer. She will run for something. I hear a former R Judge will be running for the 177th and Palmer won't beat her. Look for Palmer in a different race.
Wonder who else will run. Danny Dexter, Lloyd Oliver, Jim Leitner? Hmmm......
Heard former R Judge running for bench she lost and Thomas running for 176th
Re: " Channel 11 news reported on their noon broadcast today, 01/11/2011, that Adrian Garcia is announcing a $5000 cash reward to inmates who snitch on other inmates."
So let me get this straight: "X" Snitches on "Y". "W" finds out about it and (snitches) on "X" and then BOTH "X" & "W" collect a reward because the Sheriff doesn't like snitches? Wow Crazy.
Rage
KS has grown over the past 2 years and by all accounts for the better.
It is as if "fate" has groomed her for another run at Harris County DA.
KS didn't choose $$$$ white collar crime at a big firm or any criminal defense work. Instead, she choose do be a Special Prosecutor in counties that were outgunned by big city criminal defense attorneys. The state of Texas learned what KS winning was all about and it wasn't the bullshit put forth by Pat Lykos and the Houston Chronicle.
Pat Lykos also has exposed herself for what she is and what she is not.
KS has grown over the past 2 years and by all accounts for the better.
It is as if "fate" has groomed her for another run at Harris County DA.
KS didn't choose $$$$ white collar crime at a big firm or any criminal defense work. Instead, she choose do be a Special Prosecutor in counties that were outgunned by big city criminal defense attorneys. The state of Texas learned what KS winning was all about and it wasn't the bullshit put forth by Pat Lykos and the Houston Chronicle.
Pat Lykos also has exposed herself for what she is and what she is not.
Rage, not sure you understood what was reported. X goes to jail, Y is in the same cell, so Y reports that he was told by X that he did some crime out on the street (other than what he is in for or he just says X admitted guilt to him) and Y is given a financial reward by the sheriff for providing the information that X supposedly said to him/her.
Anon 3:10,
Rage may not be the sharpest tool in the shed but the credibility of jailhouse snitches for dollars is as crazy as Adrian.....common sense, amazingly, is on Rage's side this time.
My sources from the 6th floor reported that Lykos & Lietner have met with judges to presumably "get their take" on who will be running, how they would be a goos resource to her and things of the like... She is fishing with a HUGE lure to see who may run against her trying to see what unfolds.
It is safe to assume she is scared. She has every reason to be and we wold love to see an Anderson announcement or a KS announcement around here... Talk about a breath of fresh air!!! Someone needs to get the smoke smell out of the 6th floor!!!
Where is the Judge the voters threw out and then used her cronies to get back on public trough as Jail Czar? .Old Politicans do not just fade away like old soldiers,they just get on another gravy train. Where is she in all this jail business?
Anon 9:23 p.m.,
The judge you allude to is Judge Caprice Cosper, who was one of the best, if not THE best judges on the bench according to both prosecutors AND defense attorneys. She didn't use any cronies to achieve her new position. She was specifically requested due to her devotion to making the criminal justice system work better.
She has been instrumental in working on jail overcrowding and planning the logistics for the new Public Defenders Office.
The fact that you would act like she was anything less really indicates that you don't have the slightest clue what you are talking about.
Anon 8:16,
I agree with both of your choices as a breath of fresh air for leadership at HCDAO. The questions are 1st would either of them run and 2nd which candidate would be most viable.
Can Mike raise the kind of money Kelly can and is he up to putting himself and family through the kind of personal dirty tactics Lykos is infamous for and Kelly can attest to?
Maybe Kelly and Mike should meet and discuss a plan of attack? One thing for sure is you don't want them both to file and dilute the vote. The goal afterall, is to restore integrity, quality and pride to the office.
The problem we seem to ignore is that Kelly and Mike are both disgusted with the Harris County Republican Party insiders, and for very good reason. Also, each of them is set to live comfortably without the political bullshit.
Who could blame them for saying fuck it? Can anyone forget the bullshit Kelly had to endure not only from Lykos but also from the majority of ADAs who were content to talk quietly but not walk the walk? I agree with Black Ink that Kelly would be an outstanding DA but I disagree with him that her mind is made up. I believe if Kelly felt that she truly and I mean truly had sincere broad support from the troops this time around, she would run and represent us as hard as any one could. If Kelly still reads this blog, the paltry support by commenters tells her otherwise.
Mike is a great guy that everyone I know highly respects. Mike would be a great DA too but I don't think Mike is up to the unmitigated bullshit that will be required-few would be.
So unless the ADAs collectively take the risk to personally invest in one of these guys I suggest we continue our quiet prayers for a miracle.
From the Po-Po side of things, I really hope Kelly jumps in. In my 20+ years in Law Enforcement I dont think I've ever seen the ADA's, to be fair not ALL of them, as scared to take on a tough case as they are right now. We need someone like Kelly. Someone with the stones to occasionaly say, fuck em', let's go to trial.
Po Po,
Is law enforcement going to stay home or vote this time? Patsy's hope is that there's another run-off and only the blue hairs bother to vote.
Kelly Siegler in 2012!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Kelly,
That witch can't fire us all and if you decide to run for DA there are more than a few of us who will openly walk for you and be proud to work for you. We know you would be an incredible DA and everyone realizes what's at stake now.
If I lose my job because I support you well then I guess I'll do defense work for a year or so if that's what it takes. Please run Kelly the office misses you more than you could possibly know.
I would not say this except I know Lykos already knows this, if Kelly or Mike were to announce for DA, Lietner would file immediately with Lykos' blessings. Lykos knows she can not win the primary outright so she would seek to split the vote and then try to win the run off. Lets face it, most voters did not want Lykos and do not want Lykos but they have to show up to vote.
I have put aside money ready to give to a good candidate who runs against Lykos. In addition, I will work for any good candidate who runs against Lykos. Harris County was once the most respected DA's office in Texas. It is time to gain that reputation again.
If Kelly files I'm on the team as well. And fuck Jim Leitner.
I am a huge Lykos hater and an even bigger Kelly fan.
Most cops don't live in Harris County so it doesn't matter if they vote or not.
Kelly cannot win in the primary because of the types of folks who turn out in primaries. If she were to run she would subject herself and her family to the same tired moral innuendos and slander that were used in 2008. Then she would lose again, sadly. Remember, Kelly had a much better organization than Lykos, and she still did not win. Kelly will never get the paid slates.
Lykos has 100k in the bank. She has fundraised every year since her election and will continue to do so.
Lykos remains lip-locked with the Chronicle. She will continue to enjoy a free ride. The public has no clue how that office has been run into the ground.
Time to face the music folks. The glory days for the HCDA's office are long gone.
The chances of some kind of white knight rescue are pretty slim.
The courthouse crowd's all a talking;
Looks like Patsy might be walking.
Little Jimmy Leitner shitting in his pants;
Everybody's dissing him no one likes his stance.
Whatever Kelly's thinking;
I don't have an inkling.
I sure do wish she'd give it a shot;
But I don't blame her if she lets us rot.
I'm one of the ones who sat in the corner;
While the Lykos lies worked her over.
2012 can't come fast enough;
and I'll stand up and be tough.
I've seen the Lykos tragedy;
We must fight for a remedy.
So if you decide to answer the call;
We'll be behind you one and all.
We miss you Kelly.
Anon 3:33,
1. Lykos' perfect storm of 2008 was a once in a lifetime event.
2. Voters are tiring of corruption.
3. One on one Kelly beats Lykos in any primary.
4. Multiple candidates put them in a run-off. Kelly can win a run-off because the numbers are so small and no one will take 2012 for granted. The "few" cops that do live in Harris County alone would have made the difference in 2008. They'll vote this time and we just need a win not a landslide.
4. Kelly can raise money--lots of it.
5. Kelly has star power and her recent handling of the way she dismissed death row inmate Graves is big....now the main Lykos lie that Kelly is a win at all costs prosecutor will be put in perspective.
6. Chuckie is old news.
7. Lykos now has a very poor record to defend.
Times, they be wayyyy different this go round.
Re: the snitch reward thing - Thanks for clearing that up for me but just one more question: What if AFTER "X" snitches on "Y" - THEN "W" also snitches on "Y" - in that case would Both "W" & "W" split the 5K?
Rage
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