It’s Getting Ugly Out There

I’ve been watching the local GOP primary process as it wends its way to May 29th with interest mainly because, outside of the KP/Kesha race, the Democrats have no primary opponents, in my area at least.

And on that race, I was very disappointed today to see that something I spotted yesterday afternoon has been undone today when I had my camera ready to capture the moment. Apparently some Republican joker decided to support Kesha Rogers’ campaign by planting one of her lawn signs in his front yard, right next to a Mike Elliott for Judge sign.

It seems the Republicans have glommed onto the movement in the Fort Bend County Democratic Party to get the word out on bat-guano crazy Kesha Rogers so we don’t have an embarrassing repeat of 2010 when she won the Democratic nomination to oppose Pete Olson for the CD-22 race. Someone in the GOP decided it would be funny to promote her race.

Kesha Rogers has had Republican supporters, only now it seems they have reconsidered their position and took the Rogers sign down.

The fun race to watch in Fort Bend County has been the 4-way race for County Sheriff. And I noted today that the Fort Bend Star, a local newspaper that makes no bones about its disgust for one of the candidates, Craig Brady, has a poll out. They ask readers to register their preferences among the 4 candidates. The publisher has made an endorsement for ABC (Anyone But Craig).

Here is a screenshot of the vote as of 5:30 PM today.

This pretty much jives with the sign wars. Signs for Troy Nehls pretty much dominate the front lawns.

Here’s a bit of mischief that I think we Democrats can visit on the Brady Campaign. It’s kind of fun. If you are a Democrat, you can still vote at the Fort Bend Star for the Sheriff’s candidate of choice. Now who you vote for is strictly up to you. I have only one suggestion. ABC.

Sheriff Albatross Endorses Nina Schaefer

Oh no.

The Fort Bend Herald, the very newspaper that took Fort Bend County Sheriff Milton “Albatross” Wright to task for endorsing Richard Raymond for District Attorney here in Fort Bend County, is now reporting that the sheriff is now getting behind Nina Schaefer in her runoff bid to unseat Wright’s least favorite DA, John Healey.

Getting an endorsement from Wright these days is akin to having a dead albatross hung around your neck.

Mainly because the Herald had such negative comments on the sheriff’s endorsement, and mainly because Wright’s champion came in dead last in a 3-way race, this is really bad news for Nina Schaefer.

And apparently Richard Raymond no longer thinks that Nina Schaefer is “too liberal for Fort Bend County.” According to the same article, Richard Raymond, Schaefer’s former opponent, is also endorsing her.

I actually ended up rooting for Schaefer on Raymond’s recommendation that she was too liberal, but now wonder whether your typical die-hard primary runoff voter will have the same partiality.

So all you can hope for now is that your typical Republican diehard primary runoff voter will see the endorsements for what they are: an anyone but Healey endorsement.

Frankly, I am not optimistic.

HB 1184 Would Allow More Texas Counties to Create a Civil Service Commission

Gee, just when you think there is nothing new under the sun, something new under the sun appears. My State Rep, Dora Olivo, has filed HB 1184, a bill that would allow, among others, the Fort Bend County Commissioners Court, or the voters of Fort Bend County, if they fail to do so, to create what is called a Civil Service Commission.

This is a group of elected county officers who oversee all county employees, with some exceptions. But one group that is not excepted under some circumstances mainly predicated on the county’s population, is the county sheriff’s department.

So this is good news, huh?

Well, not according to County Judge Bob Hebert, or County Sheriff Milton Wright. FortBendNow files their objections:

“County Judge Bob Hebert could not be reached for comment Friday afternoon, but his office has drafted a resolution opposing Olivo’s bill.”

And

“‘It’s not necessarily a bad thing,’ Sheriff Milton Wright said of civil service. ‘It protects people from a sheriff or police chief who’s vindictive. We’re just against doing it on this short notice.’”

Short notice? Has the Sheriff not read the bill?

The Commission doesn’t simply appear in September. The County Commission makes it happen. And absent that, and it looks like Judge Hebert would definitely want it to be absent, the county voters could create such a commission.

Surely, not a possibility until November.

Or really, not a possibility until after the 2010 census confirms what everyone already knows, that Fort Bend County has well over half a million souls within its boundaries now.

So . . . "short notice" Sheriff Wright? Are we a little nervous about something?

Like how Montgomery County has organized its Civil Service Commission, perhaps?

As in this part of their county civil service regulations:

NEPOTISM

2.14 State Law: A county employee shall not be hired in a manner that would violate state laws against nepotism or any local rules that have been passed prohibiting nepotism. Elected officials/department heads or their appointees are prohibited from evading nepotism rules by trading favors in appointing relatives for each other. Such trading is prohibited by State Law and constitutes grounds for immediate removal from their office or position.

Or is it just the whole thing about giving all of that power up to another separate commission that can do things, and investigate things outside of the influence of, say, the County Judge?