March 2022 Primaries
Feb. 15th, 2022 09:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
livingdebI was going to vote in the Republican primaries this year because a lot of races in Texas are basically decided in this primary. But reading about all the candidates was making me sick and angry. In the races I looked at besides Governor, I hated everything that every candidate stood for.
Republican Primary
Still, I have two recommendations.
Texas Governor - Abbott - He at least occasionally does something decent, then freaks out because his supporters yell at him and pulls back. His two main opponents actually like being extremist horrors.
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - Glenn Hegar - Even the left-leaning Austin Chronicle likes him best; they won't even endorse a Democrat.
Democrat Primary
I have 40 races to research. I am tired. I am just going with people who are informed, hoping they are choosing people who aren't overly corrupt or jerks, though they do have biases toward progressives in general.
Texas Governor - I loved Beto at first four years ago. I've since lost touch. Except I saw that on 2/2/22, he tweeted "I will keep the lights on in Texas. This guy (Abbott) clearly can’t." That sounds like crappy political lies--No, he will not keep the lights on in Texas. Change doesn't happen that fast. Plus there will always be smaller problems like fallen trees and, you know, people not paying their bills.
Most of his actual plan sounds fine: to weatherize all elements of the grid, connect to the national grid, provide backup generation at critical facilities like nursing homes, and invest in targeted energy efficiency programs. Then there's also some progressive things that conservatives might not like how he wants to start with low-income Texans most in need of ratepayer assistance and provide immediate relief and protection for ratepayers (okay, I don't even know what that means).
And he's pro-easy voting (and registration) and pro-choice and anti climate change.
I'm just going to go with the Austin Chronicle's endorsement and vote for him.
Texas Lieutenant Governor - Mike Collier (endorsed by the Chronicle--they call Matthew Dowd a vanity challenge and Carla Brailey and state Rep. Michelle Beckley issue-free.)
Texas Attorney General - Rochelle Garza. Two endorsements, Chronicle? Between Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski, per the answers given in vote 411, I like Garza better. (Jaworski is weirdly focusing on getting high school students to vote--I guess some of them are over age 18--and may be pro-choice only before a fetus becomes viable outside the womb.)
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - Janet Dudding. No Chronicle endorsement (for the Democratic primary) because they like GOP incumbent Glenn Hegar as the only competent statewide elected official. But they also say "Janet Dudding is the actual accountant among the three candidates in the Dem primary," so I'll go with her.
Texas Commissioner of the General Land Office - Jay Kleberg (endorsed by the Chronicle)
Texas Commissioner of Agriculture - Susan Hays (endorsed by the Chronicle as 'a highly competent, dedicated, and ethical lawyer')
Texas Railroad Commissioner - uncontested, but Warford didn't bother answering vote411's questionnaire, so I'm abstaining. Actually, none of the unopposed people answered, so they probably weren't asked. I'll still abstain.
Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 3 - unopposed
Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 5 - unopposed
Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 9 - unopposed
Texas Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5 - unopposed
Texas Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6 - unopposed
Texas State Board of Education, District 5 - Rebecca Bell-Metereau (Chronicle endorsement)
Texas Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 4 - Rosa Lopez Theofanis - endorsed by the Chronicle, though they liked all the candidates.
FYI, if you're voting in Texas U.S. Representative District 35, I do recommend Greg Casar as supremely not corrupt and pro-little guy. He was my City Council Member. I should warn you that his policies do lean pretty far left.
Texas U.S. Representative District 37 - Lloyd Doggett - I love him--he votes against stupid ideas even when everyone else is swept away by them (like the Patriot Act). He used to be my Rep. Then he got re-districted away from me. Now he's redistricted back to me. This is the person I am most thrilled to be voting for. (Also endorsed by the Chronicle.)
Texas State Representative District 46 - Sheryl Cole is unopposed.
Texas State Senate District 14 - Sarah Eckhart is unopposed.
Travis County Judge, 147th Criminal District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 201st Civil District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 250th Civil District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 261st Civil District Court - Daniella Deseta Lyttle (endorsed by the Chronicle as a slightly better fit than her opponent)
Travis County Judge, 299th Criminal District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 331st Criminal District Court - Chantal Eldridge (endorsed by the Chronicle)
Travis County Judge, 403rd Criminal District Court - Brandy Mueller (endorsed by the Chronicle)
Travis County Judge, 419th Civil District Court - Catherine Mauzy - Per a friend who works with the Democratic party, "Catherine Mauzy has my full support.
Not only is she an excellent judge, her opponent is plainly attacking this race as a personal axe to grind. It's extremely unusual to run for one District Court while you already hold a different District Court seat. Should we fail to re-elect Catherine Mauzy, Governor Abbott will have a chance to appoint a District Judge to fill the vacancy Mauzy's opponent would leave. So, not only would we lose the great Judge Mauzy, we'd get a right-wing jurist appointment, too.
Don't let this happen. Keep Judge Mauzy, and let's work hard to primary Judge Connor in '24 when her term ends.
https://www.facebook.com/1096367885/posts/10224747042398865/"
And a commenter to her post linked to this back story: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2022-02-11/judge-vs-judge-in-the-419th-district-court-primary/
(Also endorsed by the Chronicle.)
Travis County Judge, 459th Civil District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 455th Civil District Court - Laurie Eiserloh, per a neighbor who has worked with her and finds her extremely competent. Also endorsed by the Chronicle.
Travis County Judge - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 1 - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 2 - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 3 - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 4 - Dimple Malhotra (Chronicle endorsement)
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 5 - Mary Ann Espiritu (Chronicle endorsement)
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 6 - Denise Hernandez (Chronicle endorsement)
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 7 - unopposed
Travis County Probate Judge - unopposed
Travis County District Clerk - unopposed
Travis County Clerk - Dyana Limon-Mercado (Chronicle endorsement). This person is replacing Dana DeBeauvoir, who I have worked under and who was awesome. "A release from the clerk's office said DeBeauvoir was excited for [Rebecca] Guerrero to take over as clerk in the interim and believes she will be a "competent and hard-working leader," but she is not running. So I guess I will go with the Chronicle's endorsement.
Travis County Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 - Nick Chu. Per a friend of mine who is active with the Democratic party, "Nicholas Chu has my full support for Travis County JP 5.
We served on the State Democratic Executive Committee together, and I know him to be exceptionally smart, kind, and an extremely capable Justice of the Peace. There is absolutely NO reason to replace him, and certainly not with an unserious candidate who happens to be a woman.
We got into this Connor mess because Travis County voters didn't recognize that the woman in the race for Tim Sulak's seat was the WRONG choice, and we lost a great judge. Don't let this happen to Nick Chu."
Travis County Treasurer - Dolores Ortega Carter is running unopposed.
Republican Primary
Still, I have two recommendations.
Texas Governor - Abbott - He at least occasionally does something decent, then freaks out because his supporters yell at him and pulls back. His two main opponents actually like being extremist horrors.
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - Glenn Hegar - Even the left-leaning Austin Chronicle likes him best; they won't even endorse a Democrat.
Democrat Primary
I have 40 races to research. I am tired. I am just going with people who are informed, hoping they are choosing people who aren't overly corrupt or jerks, though they do have biases toward progressives in general.
Texas Governor - I loved Beto at first four years ago. I've since lost touch. Except I saw that on 2/2/22, he tweeted "I will keep the lights on in Texas. This guy (Abbott) clearly can’t." That sounds like crappy political lies--No, he will not keep the lights on in Texas. Change doesn't happen that fast. Plus there will always be smaller problems like fallen trees and, you know, people not paying their bills.
Most of his actual plan sounds fine: to weatherize all elements of the grid, connect to the national grid, provide backup generation at critical facilities like nursing homes, and invest in targeted energy efficiency programs. Then there's also some progressive things that conservatives might not like how he wants to start with low-income Texans most in need of ratepayer assistance and provide immediate relief and protection for ratepayers (okay, I don't even know what that means).
And he's pro-easy voting (and registration) and pro-choice and anti climate change.
I'm just going to go with the Austin Chronicle's endorsement and vote for him.
Texas Lieutenant Governor - Mike Collier (endorsed by the Chronicle--they call Matthew Dowd a vanity challenge and Carla Brailey and state Rep. Michelle Beckley issue-free.)
Texas Attorney General - Rochelle Garza. Two endorsements, Chronicle? Between Rochelle Garza and Joe Jaworski, per the answers given in vote 411, I like Garza better. (Jaworski is weirdly focusing on getting high school students to vote--I guess some of them are over age 18--and may be pro-choice only before a fetus becomes viable outside the womb.)
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts - Janet Dudding. No Chronicle endorsement (for the Democratic primary) because they like GOP incumbent Glenn Hegar as the only competent statewide elected official. But they also say "Janet Dudding is the actual accountant among the three candidates in the Dem primary," so I'll go with her.
Texas Commissioner of the General Land Office - Jay Kleberg (endorsed by the Chronicle)
Texas Commissioner of Agriculture - Susan Hays (endorsed by the Chronicle as 'a highly competent, dedicated, and ethical lawyer')
Texas Railroad Commissioner - uncontested, but Warford didn't bother answering vote411's questionnaire, so I'm abstaining. Actually, none of the unopposed people answered, so they probably weren't asked. I'll still abstain.
Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 3 - unopposed
Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 5 - unopposed
Justice, Texas Supreme Court, Place 9 - unopposed
Texas Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 5 - unopposed
Texas Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 6 - unopposed
Texas State Board of Education, District 5 - Rebecca Bell-Metereau (Chronicle endorsement)
Texas Justice, 3rd Court of Appeals, Place 4 - Rosa Lopez Theofanis - endorsed by the Chronicle, though they liked all the candidates.
FYI, if you're voting in Texas U.S. Representative District 35, I do recommend Greg Casar as supremely not corrupt and pro-little guy. He was my City Council Member. I should warn you that his policies do lean pretty far left.
Texas U.S. Representative District 37 - Lloyd Doggett - I love him--he votes against stupid ideas even when everyone else is swept away by them (like the Patriot Act). He used to be my Rep. Then he got re-districted away from me. Now he's redistricted back to me. This is the person I am most thrilled to be voting for. (Also endorsed by the Chronicle.)
Texas State Representative District 46 - Sheryl Cole is unopposed.
Texas State Senate District 14 - Sarah Eckhart is unopposed.
Travis County Judge, 147th Criminal District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 201st Civil District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 250th Civil District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 261st Civil District Court - Daniella Deseta Lyttle (endorsed by the Chronicle as a slightly better fit than her opponent)
Travis County Judge, 299th Criminal District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 331st Criminal District Court - Chantal Eldridge (endorsed by the Chronicle)
Travis County Judge, 403rd Criminal District Court - Brandy Mueller (endorsed by the Chronicle)
Travis County Judge, 419th Civil District Court - Catherine Mauzy - Per a friend who works with the Democratic party, "Catherine Mauzy has my full support.
Not only is she an excellent judge, her opponent is plainly attacking this race as a personal axe to grind. It's extremely unusual to run for one District Court while you already hold a different District Court seat. Should we fail to re-elect Catherine Mauzy, Governor Abbott will have a chance to appoint a District Judge to fill the vacancy Mauzy's opponent would leave. So, not only would we lose the great Judge Mauzy, we'd get a right-wing jurist appointment, too.
Don't let this happen. Keep Judge Mauzy, and let's work hard to primary Judge Connor in '24 when her term ends.
https://www.facebook.com/1096367885/posts/10224747042398865/"
And a commenter to her post linked to this back story: https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/2022-02-11/judge-vs-judge-in-the-419th-district-court-primary/
(Also endorsed by the Chronicle.)
Travis County Judge, 459th Civil District Court - unopposed
Travis County Judge, 455th Civil District Court - Laurie Eiserloh, per a neighbor who has worked with her and finds her extremely competent. Also endorsed by the Chronicle.
Travis County Judge - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 1 - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 2 - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 3 - unopposed
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 4 - Dimple Malhotra (Chronicle endorsement)
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 5 - Mary Ann Espiritu (Chronicle endorsement)
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 6 - Denise Hernandez (Chronicle endorsement)
Travis County Judge, County Court at Law No. 7 - unopposed
Travis County Probate Judge - unopposed
Travis County District Clerk - unopposed
Travis County Clerk - Dyana Limon-Mercado (Chronicle endorsement). This person is replacing Dana DeBeauvoir, who I have worked under and who was awesome. "A release from the clerk's office said DeBeauvoir was excited for [Rebecca] Guerrero to take over as clerk in the interim and believes she will be a "competent and hard-working leader," but she is not running. So I guess I will go with the Chronicle's endorsement.
Travis County Justice of the Peace Precinct 5 - Nick Chu. Per a friend of mine who is active with the Democratic party, "Nicholas Chu has my full support for Travis County JP 5.
We served on the State Democratic Executive Committee together, and I know him to be exceptionally smart, kind, and an extremely capable Justice of the Peace. There is absolutely NO reason to replace him, and certainly not with an unserious candidate who happens to be a woman.
We got into this Connor mess because Travis County voters didn't recognize that the woman in the race for Tim Sulak's seat was the WRONG choice, and we lost a great judge. Don't let this happen to Nick Chu."
Travis County Treasurer - Dolores Ortega Carter is running unopposed.
no subject
on 2022-03-01 02:11 am (UTC)no subject
on 2022-03-01 04:08 am (UTC)