This just in --
According to harrisvotes.com, Marc Brown has defeated Danny Dexter for the Republican Nomination for the 180th District Court.
After a 1600 vote deficit from early voting and absentee, Marc came from behind and won by about 900 votes.
Excellent job, Voters!
And it looks like Terry Lowery, Gary Polland, Steve Hotze, and whoever the schlub that runs P.O.L.I.C.E. Inc. just proved that competency and integrity shines through over paid political endorsements.
Marc, I couldn't be any happier for you.
44 comments:
I so agree. I couldn't be happier. The voters finally got it right!
You know it. Thanks to all who worked so hard.
Edward D. Porter
Woo Hoo for Marc!!!! Congratulations to him and to all his supporters.
Reality: Marc got the most votes on the most important of days: ELECTION DAY!
Dexter won on absentee & early voting days. All the endorsement fliers had played out for both candidates by election day. Pure grass roots efforts, this blog, mucho positive grapevine - word of mouth, ultimately saved the day.
Obviously Marc is the best candidate for the position and someone needs to begin lining up to go after the traffic ticket and "conflicted" judges who rode in on the Obama Express. I am NOT a fan of Party affiliated judicial elections. But until it changes, good work Murray and m
Mark MR. HOLMES and all the big hitters who aren't $ WHORES! Job well done. I can only take credit for 3 votes.
I want to thank everyone of you who helped with this campaign. It was your hard work and generous support that won this. Next stop, November.
Marc Brown
I predicted this victory. This is a sign of things to come. Our party was slapped in the face and new leadership is rising to the top. Dan Patrick and more reasonable minds are gaining control and the old guard that lost its vision and became to greedy is losing steam. My pct alone made the difference in the election. I met with Dexter and met Marc. Marc clearly was the better cadidate. Congrats to Marc and our party, another great representative to lead the way. I also hope you all convince a qualified candidate to run for DA.
I was attacked relentlessly on this site but I put party before personal attacks. Marc Brown was the best and that is what our party needs. Give credit where credit is due please and you are welcome.
COMPETENCY PREVAILS! Good job all; and anon 12:47 your 3 votes were counted.
"I was attacked relentlessly on this site but I put party before personal attacks. Marc Brown was the best and that is what our party needs. Give credit where credit is due please and you are welcome."
I will give credit where it is due--to Marc Brown. You get credit for being a dumbass whose party accidentally stumbled onto a good candidate.
I wonder how Mr. Hooper is doing this morning.
What does Mr. Hooper have to do with this? His horse lost in the primary.
His mare lost in the primary and his gelding lost in yesterday's runoff. Who would we like him to support in November?
Shame on Danny Dexter for presenting himself as a candidate for any kind of Judge. From the beginning of his "career" in Law, he has over-estimated his abilities and ignored those people trying to teach him.
As Clint Eastwood said, 'A man's got to know his limitations'. Are you listening Danny?
Marc has killed two birds with one stone:
1. He will be an excellent Jurist for the citizens of Harris County.
2. He can now escape the worst run D.A.'s Office in Texas.
Congratulation's Marc !
Congratulations to Marc and all his supporters. The voters could not have picked a more qualified candidate.
Losing once wasn't enough for Mr. Hooper. He worked early vote polls last week and a Kingwood poll yesterday for Dexter.
Oh, come on, guys. We can ease up on old E.F.F. U.P. now that the primaries are over. Besides, he's announced that he is going to be forming a P.A.C. to defeat some Republican judges he doesn't like (which makes it kind of hard to understand why Lykos keeps dragging him around to Republican functions like he was her grandson or something).
I don't know why, exactly E.F.F. U.P. would need to form a P.A.C., though. Looks like if he wants a candidate to lose an election, he ought to just support them.
Anon 8:57,
Insulting APC in this regard undermines and detracts from the mission.
If people like APC can share in our celebration and are embraced for their support it makes our cause that much stronger.
The goal is good government.
CONGRATULATIONS TO MARC BROWN!!!
Murray - It is obvious why Lykos takes E.F.F.U.P. to Republican functions: She needs an escort and E.F.F.U.P. doesn't have to take time off work. Keep us apprised of EFFUP's PAC initiatives. No doubt he will target our most ethical & competent judges.
Dear Hotze, Keep your money,
Dear Lowry, Keep your money,
Dear Polland, Keep your money,
We the voters of Harris County will keep our candidate, Marc Brown.
The former chair, assuming he still practices, will have to look to another judge for potential court appointments because Danny Boy won't be supplying any - his well ran dry on 4/13/10- congratulations to Marc - his election was earned and not purchased.
The former chair will get plenty of appointments in the Juvenile courts, which remain the ultimate pay to play venue.
Thanks to all who worked for Marc Brown's victory. Campaign 101:have a good candidate, have a good message and have sufficient funding. While Dexter excelled in funding, Brown over-compensated on the firt two. Lots of grassroots support. We worked hard and we worked smart.
Mary Jane Smith
Congratulations, Marc. It should have been a blowout in your favor given the gaping disparity in qualifications, but well done and good luck in November. You'll make a great district judge.
Shane Phelps
Who ran Dexter and Palmer's campaigns? Two massive failures by the way.
Wasn't it Steve Brewer who ran Rachel's?
Steve Brewer, same guy who brought us Pat Lykos. Actually he ran Kelly's camaged which was so bad..... well, as I sad, he brought us Lykos.
In the latest Texas Conservative Review, the Gary Polland rag, which came out today, Polland claims he has an 86% success rate with his most recent endorsements. Who is Polland kidding?
I am reading off of his run-off sheet,the one you pay for.
He endorsed:
Rick Greene LOST
Dan Huberty
Dianne William LOST
Danny Dexter LOST
James Lombordino
Jeff Williams
Jared Woodfill
That’s a 57% win rate. That is a failing grade. Truth in marketing? Shame on me for saying Polland would deceive anyone.
Does anyone know how many Capitol cases or murder cases Susan Brown tried while at the DA's office?
Nice Job Mary Jane Smith. And more importantly, nice job to Mr. Newman. There is no longer a debate about whether this blog is a player in the blogoworld. Mr. Newmam, I guarantee that the political consultants of the county will be coming to you for your endorsement (if it hasn't already happened).
I hope you stay the course. Integrity and honesty creates a following and you have that now.
People like APC (agree with him or not) made a difference in a vote decided by less than 1000 voters. People like APC also have time to read these blogs. APC is one example of how powerful this blog has become. You educated somebody who at a minimum was very set in his ways.
Like they say on American Idol, you have had your moment and you are now a STAR! You were the difference in at least 2 of these elections.
re: Anonymous
Does anyone know how many Capitol cases or murder cases Susan Brown tried while at the DA's office?
April 16, 2010 5:25 AM
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Danny/Don- does it really matter whether Susan tried any Capital cases? She was a well-trained and qualified candidate when she became a Judge. That really is the difference.
This was a great victory for Marc and his supporters. I don't want to take anything away from Marc and all those people who worked so hard (I did tell everyone I know to vote for Marc) but someone mentioned Polland. It just strikes me Polland does not live by those views he espouses in the Conservative Review. He appears to live on public handouts (court appointments). Why isn't he building a private practice that is based on those conservative fundamentals promoted in the CR? How about finding clients that walk in the door and pay from their pocket rather than the taxpayer's pocket?
I disagree that lawyers who take appointments are taking "public handouts." They are contract lawyers who get paid for their work.
All candidates need to be heavily supported financially. Many have defined the terms of the negative campaign that is to come. Bill Whited/ Kelly have gotten the field of candidates they wished to go against. All of our major political machines have no opponents. This was done tactifully in Harris County and most suburban counties in Texas. Bill Kelly thinks he needs 56% in Harris County to win Texas. If he wins by 50.1% no Republican judges will survive. Get your checkbooks out because its going to be real expensive and well funded Judge campaigns on the Criminal side are going to be hard to come by. You may want to write checks to Chris Daniel, Stan Stanart, and Don Sumners, because they have no money either. The courthouse crowd $250 dollar days are over. You need to write checks for $5000. Now is the time to step forward and contribute. Murray I know will max to everyone, the rest just need to follow his lead.
Anon 3:08 p.m.,
Thank you for your post. I find statistics like the one you posted to be really fascinating. I think anyone who reads what is written here can tell you there isn't any political science to what I write, and I don't make predictions on how I see elections turning out.
I just make recommendations on how I think they should turn out.
I'm very curious to see how the Bill White factor will turn out in November. Qutie frankly, I'm a big fan of our former Mayor, but I don't vote straight-ticket for anybody. Sadly, I know that most sheeple do seem to vote straight-ticket.
If somebody is looking for me to be a big sponsor/donor to the campaign, I don't think they will get that far with me.
And if I did have the money, I wouldn't be giving it to Chris Daniels. Loren Jackson is doing a freaking amazing job as District Clerk, and he has my support and will probably get a check, as well.
As I've said before, I don't think partisan politics should have a place in the Criminal Justice System. The vast majority of candidates I will be supporting in November are Republican, but I think there are some good Dems to be considered as well.
More on that later . . .
Anon 9:06 My apologies for being a poor wordsmith. I too accepted court appointments when I first began practice and was grateful for the appointment. I too worked hard for my clients whether they walked through the door of my office or stood behind steel and plexiglass. But never did I view court appointments as an entitlement. That was the point of my comment. For one who espouses those Republican ideals of free enterprise and less government, Polland seems to live differently. Polland appears to view the court appointment system as an entitlement. That does not appear consistent with his political view.
Let me help the politically naïve here. Gary Polland is running the Republican effort here I would not bad mouth him. Second, and I am sure Judge Lykos is laughing her but off because now she gets to get rid of Denise Bradely, Mark Brown, Don Smyth, Susan Brown, Paula Goodhart, and Bill Harmon when Bill White sweeps Harris County. She also has the perfect excuse to let them go under the budget cuts and say you wanted to be a Judge? Now I know Murray does not want to write checks but the rest of you may want to get a low interest loan on the ole homestead. There is a Bill White freight train coming and as it runs over a bunch of people you just may have Judge Lykos sitting on the caboose waving bye, bye. I could see Murray with his drinking problem didn't think this through real well. I am thinking Murray is not the guy to ask Judge Lykos to campaign for the aforementioned Judge candidates. I thought I would help by pointing out the obvious so you all can sleep better.
Anon 8:27 am,
Bill White is a non factor. You keep dreaming about the democrats winning anything. We are well funded and are focused on victory. It will be a straight republican sweep and the citizen of Harris County will benefit from it. Judge Lykos is probably upset about losing the talent but I am sure she would be happy to keep it if they lost- and- that won't happen.
The democratic party is a joke. It starts at the top. Obama is now the worst president in the history of the US ALREADY!
Go back to sleep because you are dreaming!
Anon 8:27, Hey Don Hooper, does Lykos still take you to Republican events when you are advocating the defeat of Republican candidates? What does that make Lykos? We all know when you post so why hide? Why don't you "man up" and sign your name?
Leave Don Hooper alone! He has a cross to bear in life that is bigger than anyone who reads this blog could imagine... We work with her daily.
And no, this is not bitterness. Ask around and you can confirm. Rachel and the 6th floor gang have egos that are beyond the most arrogant of us. Shameful!
Although continuing to bash Don Hooper is fun, the primaries are over and his "horse" lost the race. Until he puts himself out there again with another one, I say it's time to let him deal with his own devil.
Aggie Pct. Chair: It's just that type of drivel that has driven many Reagan era republicans, and other reasonable people, away from the party and why the republicans now must rely on crackpot religionists, empty-headed teabaggers, and bigots to fill out their rally crowds. The democratic party, as pathetic and pandering as it is, has a long way to fall to match the utter inanity of the republicans over the last five years. The fact that an absolute idiot like Randy Roll sits on a district bench because he had a (D) next to his name is a testament to how fall the republicans have fallen - and they've yet to get up as far as I can tell.
And while you might like to think President Hopey is the worst president ever, if the election were held today he would soundly defeat any of the likely republican challenger (Palin, Romney, Gingrich, Pawlenty) by a very wide margin. Many of us don't cotton much to Ol' Hopey's ideas, but what party androids like yourself fail to grasp is that people don't vote against anyone - they vote for them. Swing voters still have no earthly idea what John McCain stood for, and I bet he don't know either.
Right-thinking people, like Murray, wouldn't care if their candidate was a member of the whig party as long as they express some semblance of intelligence, have some sort of record, and manage not to publically drool.
And while Bill White has a case of anti-charisma that would bore a room of actuaries to death, at least he isn't out rallying the pitchfork and torch crowd about meaningless bullcrud like succession. Memo to Governor Goodhair: the question was settled in 1865, sorry.
You might think that beefing up a candidate's "conservative" cred is all one needs to do to win in Texas, but Marc Brown didn't out-"conservative" Danny D, he out-experienced him, and the voters surprised the rah-rah "party faithful" like yourself by picking the right person and telling the Gary Polland's of the world to go pound sand. Perhaps you like to think the running of the State of Texas, her courts and other offices, ought to be decided by some big football game of politics, red verus blue, but people who actually like to see the best candidate win will surprise the small minded party twerps in both camps every time.
Just sayin'.
Roscoe P. Coltrane
Hey Brother Roscoe,
Given your noble political views how the heck do you explain and rationalize the Lykos fiasco?
Just sayin'.
Answer:
1. JBH stood up for Marc Brown but stood down for Kelly Siegler.
2. Rosenthal's stench was smeared all over Kelly but not Marc and voters did in fact vote against that stigma.
3. Your pure heart is admirable but politically naive.
I have to disagree Just Sayin'.
Kelly's problems as a candidate weren't confined to her failure to pivot on the issue of her "association" with the Chuckster. And after all, Bradford tried to make a lot of hay in the general election about the same issues, and even with a favorable "hopey changey" wind at his back, the people chose Pat over his incompetent butt. Even without Saint Johnny's golden endorsement.
And while I, like a lot of folk familiar with the CJC circus, supported Kelly over Pat in the runoff - it certainly wasn't based on her campaign. Pat laid out a clear vision to make all sorts of specific changes to the office, and even if they were mostly dumb ideas, at least Pat had a articulated vision -- perhaps only due to her medication -- but that's another story.
What was Kelly's respective platform? Don't cheat and go look at archived copies of the Chron or ask Murray neither. Think about it. What was her platform during the campaign other than "I can sure beat the shit out of Dick Deguerin at trial"? Okay, that's very impressive. We get that you have a 20 year record of kicking butt in front of juries, but that means exactly what to the average voter trying to select the DA of the fourth largest jurisdiction in the USA?
There isn't anything worse than a candidate who isn't sure why they are running -- or as I think was the case Kelly — sadly can't express it. Think Fred Thompson. A lot of that is just Kelly's demeanor, but it has an effect. She's no dream political candidate to begin with and she didn't give the people any reason to vote for her.
Also, however hard it is to admit, Pat ran a pretty effective campaign -- especially given the limitations of being a nutcase. She managed not to do anything nearly as dumb as, say, calling parishioners at one of the largest churches in town "screwballs" and then waffle on saying sorry about it. And while Pat said all the right things about cleaning up the perceived mess at the HCDAO, and 2008 was the "change" election, Pat also expressed ideas about what she would do once she won.
Now before y'all get all pissed off, let me say again that I think Kelly'd have made a better DA, that I understand that she really did have some ideas that could have improved the office (though I ain't sure what they'd be since she didn't run on them), and that maybe she really did want the job.
What I'm saying is that wasn't communicated to the world outside of the insulated CJC community.
Roscoe P. Coltrane
Brother Roscoe,
I agree that Kelly is a prosecutor and not a politician. That was a refreshing appeal to me and most voters.
Kelly almost won outright in the general even with 4 candidates. Close didn't count though. Apathy and poor voter turnout won the day for Lykos.
The DA's office is better served by an individual familiar with the prosecutorial system who puts service and justice over self serving politics. The DA needs to have the proven ability to understand the dynamics of trying difficult cases as well as routine basics. Administrative/management issues need to be premised on this basic understanding. That general message was self evident.
Kelly also had a specific multi point plan/message on revamping the DA's office addressing those concerns she had 1st hand knowledge of but could never implement during her tenure because of Rosenthal's disagreement. The Chronicle chose to mention the specifics of Kelly's plan only once while publishing Lykos' dumbfounded schemes on a regular basis.
In short, Kelly's message was successfully quashed by a local media who traded journalistic integrity to partner with a political hack. Snippets of a rock star prosecutor's 20+ year career were sensationalized out of context. The media highlighted non issues, 1/2 truths and even flagrant lies to detract voters from the real issues of competence.
I always thought it ironic that Lykos and the media portrayed Kelly's incredible ability to win the difficult cases as a bad thing. Kelly's dedication and ability were labeled as "win at all costs" instead of "justice at all costs". Her hard work and ability were mocked. In reality winning at all costs at the expense of justice is exactly what Lykos and the media in fact did. How hypocritically vile!
Their defamatory portrayal of Kelly as a Chuck Rosenthal clone was a gross distortion of facts. Kelly and other top ADAs did their jobs well in spite of that son of a bitch and anyone who was privy to the inner workings at the time damn well knew that.
So blame Kelly all you want for being genuine and a poor politician. I praise her for that.
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