Tom Pauken Speaks To Downtown Houston Pachyderms

Posted on by
Reply

L to R: Sophia Mafrige, Alvin Walker, Tom Pauken, Ed Johnson, Ann Lee, Tom Zakes

L to R: Sophia Mafrige, Alvin Walker, Tom Pauken, Ed Johnson, Ann Lee, Tom Zakes

Tom Pauken, candidate for Texas Governor spoke to the Downtown Houston Pachyderms Thursday, 6-6-2013. Interest was high with nearly sixty in attendance to hear Mr. Pauken. It was one of the largest crowds seen recently. Political club attendees like to hear political speakers that interest them. Tom Pauken fits that bill. Learn more about Tom here.

Anyone running for Governor of the greatest state is something we all have a stake in. Tom has been speaking at several clubs in the area. Harris County is a big deal in winning Texas. We have over two million registered voters. In the 2012 primary we had nearly 250,000 Republican voters. This race is all about the primary. We will have a Republican Governor elected in 2014. I was proud to see Mr. Pauken did not beat on Rick Perry the whole time.

Of course he talked about the normal “hot button” items such as the IRS scandal and the overreaching of the federal government.  He also addressed some real issues which would make our lives better. Like doing away with the “Robin Hood Tax” also known as “chapter 41 wealth equalization” or “share the wealth”. Good luck on that, this has been law since 1993.

Mr. Pauken headed the Texas workforce department for a number of years and is familiar with what is needed to help our economy grow. One of the things he hopes will be signed into law this year is a bill just passed in Austin HB5, that limits the number of test given in a school year and opens up more technical training possibilities. Many business owners are very concerned about the “graying” of our blue collar workforce. Tom understands like most, not everyone can and will go to a four year college. There are many great jobs waiting right now for drivers, welders, mechanics and construction workers, just to name a few. Mr. Pauken is worried that Rick Perry may veto HB5, which would cut the state mandated tests from fifteen to five, due to pressure from the folks who make money from the school tests. Rick Perry do what’s best for Rick Perry? Surly you jest Mr. Pauken.

My thought is with the decline of the standard family unit in America, it doesn’t matter what you teach these kids because they don’t have any ambition. Many have been babied, or ignored in a single parent household, and don’t have a clue how a real man or a responsible adult is supposed to act. They won’t get to work on time and don’t dare ask them to stay overtime. If they sneeze they want to call in sick. Good luck on getting this upcoming generation of youths to work.

Tom would also like the state to get out of the capital venture business. Including the highly controversial three billion dollar “cancer fund”, the “emerging technology fund” and the two billion “Texas water development fund”. Tom also wants to go to a “pay as you go” plan for our roads. Texas has too much debt on our roads.

All in all Mr. Pauken seemed very sincere in what he said and has some good workable ideas to make the state better. He, like many of us, sees the possibilities of major problems in the American economy with all the money being printed. He reminded us that he said the sub-prime mortgage market would create problems. He was writing about it in 2003 and the collapse happened in 2008.

Then the questions started. What about Judges and this and that. No big deal, same old Pachyderm questions. Until “someone” asked Mr. Pauken if he would “appoint someone gay to be a precinct chair”? The hemming and the hawing went on for a while. Of course, others had to jump in and add to the “conversation”. We ended up spending over three minutes on a guy who Pauken doesn’t know and a situation which has nothing to do with his pursuit of the governorship. It’s a local issue and we have much larger “fish to fry” than rehashing Chris Busby at every opportunity.

Candidates attending included, Melanie Flowers 247 family court, Bill Frazier COH Controller, Chris Carmona COH at large 3, Mike Knox COH District A, and Sean Selbert CD18.

Elected officials were Harris County Treasurer Orlando Sanchez and County Clerk Stan Stanart. Also workers from the Tax Assessor office and Chris Daniels, Harris County District Clerk’s office listened to Mr. Pauken.     

Two of the clubs favorite Judges were present, Judge Debra Mayfield Harris County Civil Court number one and “new Judge”, Michael  Landrun of the 113 District Court.

Bottom line; Tom Pauken seems like a very sincere man and would do his best to improve Texas if he can get elected. Too many questions remain as of now. Will Perry run? What about Greg Abbott? Mr. Pauken is well worth the listen. He knows the issues and has plans to improve our great state. Can Pauken raise the money needed to run a state wide election? My guess is this is Abbotts race to win, if Greg wants it.

Jim Lennon and Mike Knox

Jim Lennon and Mike Knox

Orlando Sanchez, Sophia Mafrige and Bill Frazer

Orlando Sanchez, Sophia Mafrige and Bill Frazer

Orlando Sanchez and Bill Frazer

Orlando Sanchez and Bill Frazer

P1100222

Sophia Mafrige and Debra Mayfield

Sophia Mafrige and Debra Mayfield

Chuck Meyer and Sean Seibert

Chuck Meyer and Sean Seibert

P1100209

Sophia Mafrige, Chris Carmona, Alvin Walker

Sophia Mafrige, Chris Carmona, Alvin Walker

Sophia Mafrige, Tom Zakes and Ann Lee

Sophia Mafrige, Tom Zakes and Ann Lee

 

 

HYR Gay Rights and the GOP

Posted on by
2

P1100181What if you gave a forum and the topic was so hot many people stayed away? That’s exactly what happened to the HYR, Houston Young Republicans, last Tuesday night, May 28-2013. This group of courageous Republicans held an open forum for the discussion of gay rights and the GOP. The question was raised “are Republicans antisocial”? Around sixty people in total showed up. This included nine local Log Cabin Republican members.

The speakers were Gregory T. Angelo, National Chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans and Pastor David Welch, founder and Executive Director of the U.S. Pastor Council.  Long story short, a young man by the name of Chris Busby had recently applied to fill a vacant precinct chair position with the HCRP, Harris County Republican Party and he was turned down and most feel it was because he is Gay. In a few months he can run for the office, be elected and life will be good again.

By not appointing Mr. Busby the party hasn’t embraced the “Gay lifestyle”. However if Mr. Busby wins by the vote of the people, then the party will welcome him with open arms, because the voters choose. At least this is what some party leaders think. We’ve got bigger fish to fry than this event.

Both speakers did a first rate job of presenting their side of the issue. Without going into long and boring detail, a few of the highlights follow. Mr. Gregory T. Angelo feels Texans have a rather harsh outlook towards gays with the state platform. He seems to think using words like “lifestyle and choice” need to be changed. Of course, the big issue is “Gay Marriage”. On most issues Mr. Angelo agrees with most Republicans, strong military, reduced spending and reduced taxes.

Another point younger Republicans most often lean toward is approving same sex marriage. It’s just a matter of time before these young people will lead the party.

The one answer Angelo seemed to avoid was the numbers. How many gays will vote Republican? He claims over 30% of gays now vote Republican. That’s great, but how many is 30%? Of course we had to do the old political spin and say not only gays but folks with gays in their family and friends. Of course Gregory T. Angelo wasn’t the only one not giving a straight up answer. Many think about 3.8% of the population are GLBT.

Mr. Dave Welch was long on getting his point across. A couple of things that caught everyone’s attention were when he said that 30 million Evangelicals stayed home last election because they didn’t “trust” Romney.  HYR President Jonathan David Nessmith asked Mr. Welch if he meant 3 million, and Welch confirmed 30 million.  I’m sure that didn’t have anything to do with Mitt being a Mormon. So if we got 30 million sitting it out on the sidelines, and we can correct that, we should be able to win every election from now on.

The other thing Pastor Welch bought up was that “if marriage is allowed to be between two men or two women, then before long it be ‘who knows what else’”. This line of talk reminds me of when CHL was first being talked about in Texas. The newspapers and other opponents said there would be a shoot out at every four way stop in the state. So far to my knowledge you can’t marry your Mule in Iowa……yet. It’s a great scare tactic and has been used by both sides. Only blue states have allowed Gay Marriage so far. In 2005 Texas spoke and joined other states in banning same sex marriage. The state constitutional amendment banning same sex marriage passed by 3 to 1: although it succeeded statewide, it failed in Travis County, home to Austin.

On a more positive note, the good Pastor also explained how when you have a “morally righteous population” a smaller Government can oversee the needs of the people. When the “people” aren’t trying to harm each other, then you need less police and so on. An excellent point and hard to question. Fiscal and social conservatism mutually benefit each other.

Another point Mr. Welch made was if you want the party platform to change, you have to become involved, and the involvement takes more than attending a few meetings. You have to become a precinct Chair, attend the meetings, and go to the county conventions and the state convention. You have to work with others at that level and together you set the platform for the party. So true, yet so few are willing to do the work.

The big story isn’t who was there, but who wasn’t there. There were a total of three candidates running for Houston City council. Amy Peck, Chris Carmona and Brian Taef were the only ones there in person. What do these three have in common? Let’s just say they are all under fifty and they are all running in a non partisan race. Where was Kubosh? One of his “finest” consultants was there but remained eerily silent.  Other than to wander around during the forum and talk on his phone! Hey, you get what you pay for. Mike Knox’s consultant mentioned his name. Very smart; you get your name out, but no embarrassing picture. Once more, you get what you pay for, especially with political consultants. This event was held in the City of Houston District A, and yet only Amy Peck had the guts to attend. This is what leaders do; they lead, even when it isn’t easy.

Not a single Judge Candidate. Really, no Judge Candidates? No Republican candidates of any kind. No Republican office holders. Not one. Sure, sure they were busy. How about the party leaders? Nope, none there. Terry Lowry had been invited but chose not to attend. Methinks no one wanted their picture taken at this event. Let’s not forget all the bloggers and Tea Party leaders that were most “upset” about young Chris Busby, not a one attended.

How about one of the Houston Chronicle bloggers? They seemed to love to stories about how bad the Republicans are when gays are involved.  Any of the news people? The MSM loves to say how Republicans are anti-gay, yet when HYR holds a forum no one from the press shows up. I guess it doesn’t fit the narrative the left leaning press is trying to pass as news.

How about the Houston gay mafia? It would seem they would come out in force to support a fellow gay at this meeting. I guess they are more loyal to the Democrat party than supporting fellow gays.

Bottom line; this wasn’t meant to answer questions, just to start a dialog. Many came away with more questions than answers. Both sides were respectful of each other and no one from the crowd said anything too crazy. We all agree on seventy to eighty percent of issues. HYR deserves a big Thank You from everyone for having the courage to hold this event. Texas isn’t going to pass Gay Marriage anytime soon. To do so for 3.8% of the voters wouldn’t be smart, especially when you’ve got 30% of the 3.8 already. What we really need to do is get those 30,000,000 who sat out the last election.

P1100162 P1100188 P1100174

 

 

Tea Party Protests IRS Houston Texas

Posted on by
Reply

Yes Virginia, the Tea Party did protest the IRS. They did so on Tuesday 5-21-2013 from noon to one PM in Houston Texas. No, it didn’t make the local news so far that I’ve seen, but that didn’t surprise anyone. On the other hand, a few weeks earlier, when a hand full of protesters stood in front of the NRA convention that was big news.

You're Next

You’re Next

“They came after the Tea Party– You’re next” read one sign. These are profound words and we need to pay attention. There is truth in these words. Wrong-doing knows no boundaries. Other signs called for a “Fair Tax”, “stop the corruption” and still others for the “IRS to be abolished”.   

At 12:20 they had 76 protesters, numerous Houston Police Officers, one blogger and two like new Chevy’s. The vehicles had markings which read Federal Protective Service Police on the door and Homeland Security on the front fender. How nice of Big Sis to send a couple of her guys to make sure the Tea Party were protected. Many said they could feel the love. I’ve been told by others in law enforcement; it’s these guys job to protect Federal buildings. With what happened in Austin in 2010, it’s understandable why they were there. While the Tea Party has no history of violence, these guys were just doing their job.

Or were they? Were they keeping the Tea Party away from the IRS or keeping the IRS workers from talking to the Tea Party?

By 12:35 there were maybe a hundred protesters lining the sidewalk on the feeder road of I-45 South. They had started in the parking lot of the IRS building located at 8876 Gulf Freeway. Before everyone could arrive the IRS sent out a young lady escorted by what appeared to be a security guard. She informed the protesters the parking lot was private property and they couldn’t stay there. As always, the protesters were polite and quickly decided to go stand on the sidewalk in front of the building.  

A few minutes later HPD, Houston Police Department, showed up with a few marked patrol cars and talked to the IRS lady and her guard. They then came and talked to some of the leaders with the Tea Party. The Officers handled everything in a very professional manner.  The main concern of both HPD officers and the Tea Party were potential injury to protestors by vehicles zooming by.  

Drivers often gave the thumbs up or blew their horns in approval of what the protesters were doing. A middle aged couple riding Harleys stopped by and lent a hand. There’s no doubt the public agrees with the Tea Party, the IRS needs to go.

This protest clearly shows the Tea Party is not dead. Having maybe a hundred people, given only a few days notice, at lunch time and in Houston heat, to show up isn’t bad. Folks came from all over the greater Houston area. Most said they had been involved with the Tea Party from 2009 but have gotten involved with other things recently. Many said they now are involved with local groups such as Kingstreet. Others were busy getting people registered to vote, or had been helping candidates run for office. Some are involved in political groups which meet monthly or even weekly. Three who always show up were headed to Washington D.C. for the IRS hearings. They are Darcy Kahrhoff, Kelly Horsley and well know Attorney Paul Simpson.

So even with the IRS and others yet to be named trying their best to shut down the Tea Party it seems they just hit them with the defibrillator. Thanks IRS, disgust for you just might join enough people from both sides of the aisle to get something done. Flat tax anyone?

This truly is a scary moment in time. What makes America so great is our laws. Unlike many other countries in the world we have laws which treat everyone the same. You get your day in court. If you apply for a license you are treated the same as others applying. This is what brings people to our shores. Our government has failed us with what the IRS is doing. Who is next? How about all the Republicans? Maybe they will go after the Democrats who didn’t send money to the party. Wow, those crazy Tea Partiers don’t sound so crazy now, do they? But this is America, it could never happen here.

Bottom line: The Tea Party isn’t dead. They are still learning and evolving. Much work remains to be done when it comes to organizing, messaging, fund raising and a host of other things. This was a better protest than some I’ve seen in the past. The signs for the most part stayed on the subject matter, the IRS. This is a real opportunity to regain Tea Party momentum. The IRS is a common foe of most Americans and could lead to some strong ties with other groups. The lady holding the sign that said “They came after the Tea Party You’re next” has the best advice of all. Heed this advice or suffer the consequences. Don’t worry; you might win a free trip to club Gitmo.

They say the water boarding is just right this time of year.

Let me quote Martin Niemoller. He was a well known German Protestant Pastor.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me–and there was no one left to speak for me.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mojo II Just The Facts

Posted on by
2

I have been called out for reporting just my opinions and not facts by Katy LiberTea. They claim because I didn’t ask them about what they did that I didn’t know.

Here is their comment. “You ask questions here like “Did the Katy LiberTea Party go block walking? How about putting together a series of coffees to let the voters meet Mr. Dolcefino? Lots of meet and greets? Did they contact the local Republican Precinct Chairs and ask for their help? My guess is no, no, no and no” but did you every ask the Katy LiberTea if they did any of these questions? My guess would be no, no, no and NO!

So that your readers get the FACTS instead of just your opinion. Yes they blocked walked and they had forums to meet each candidate and the Precinct Chairs were contacted. Where you there Mr. Walker at any of these events? ..my guess again would be no, no, and no. So instead of blaming the Katy Tea Party…did you Mr. Walker do any of those that you said they Tea Party should have done? Maybe that the ole “do as I say not as I do” theory?

I do agree with you that my work is cut out for me. Taking over a one time political force which has shrank… is at times frusterating. With only a month into this my eyes have been opened that I never realized how negative the “older establishment” is until now.”

Older establishment huh, I guess I resemble that remark. Well guess what boys and girls? I don’t always call Jared Woodfill before I comment on what the party is or is not doing. What I did do was look over the Katy Tea Party Patriots web site, last update was 10-4-2012, Wayne Dolcefino For Katy ISD School Board facebook page, the Katy LiberTea facebook page and the four emails I received from Katy LiberTea.

In the interest of fairness let’s look at block walking. What is block walking anyway? As most candidates understand you go to the houses on the block that is most likely to vote for your candidate. The ones I have done in the past the organizer has a list of voters to talk to. No need to waste your time if they aren’t voters. Most of the time this is planned weeks in advance and the more the merrier. The candidate most times is on site to answer any question. Here is what Wayne posted on his facebook page that he did on Saturday May 4, one week before Election Day. “Okay folks, we are entering the home stretch! I spent the day Saturday out on the trail. I spent the morning in Cross Creek. I had a chance to talk to lots of folks having yard sales, and I saw lots of signs supporting our campaign to end the status quo at KISD. In the afternoon, I handed out cards during the Katy Rotary Club Brewfest, and yes I tried some great beer at the same time.”

 Sounds kind of like what was going on in 2011. Hanging out and having something “cool, refreshing and delicious”.  Is this block walking? I think not, but it’s more fun.

This was posted on 5-6-2013. “We are looking for volunteers to go block walking this week! You can block walk in your own neighborhood or we have suggestions for you to help spread the word about the election. It doesn’t have to take a lot of time. However much time you would like to walk is helping us. Let me know if you are up for it and we will get some pushcards to you to hand out. Thank you again for your support!”

Lots of likes but no comments. The four emails I received from Katy LiberTea have a spot for future events and the only thing ever mentioned was the upcoming forums. Block walking takes time and work to get done right.  Please note this was after early voting ended.

On none of the facebook, web sites or emails were there ever a mention of a “meet and greet”. You know the old fashioned shake hands and kiss the babies get in the voter’s faces.

If there had been a “coffee” held at someone’s house I feel certain Mrs. Dalcefino would have thanked them on facebook.

Contacting Republican Precinct chairs. Maybe they have a list. The ones I talked to said they never heard from the Tea Party or Wayne. Of course I did not call each and every one.

What did I do to get Wayne elected? I went and voted and took someone with me who also voted for Wayne. That’s why he didn’t lose by 68 votes. Guess what I saw at polls? Four Joe Adams signs and not one Wayne sign. Also, no one was handing out pushcards for Wayne.

Not sure why Katy LiberTea thinks I should hold events. If I’m going to be part of the campaign, please let me know in advance and I will gladly hold events.

So why the battle with the Tea Party you may ask?  I was one of those fifteen hundred that went to the first real Katy Tea Party event, held in a hay field on July 4, 2009. If you were there you know how hot and dry it was. We were going to take over politics and bring Government back under control. We had big plans. A big draw of the Tea Party was no “leaders” per se.

Everyone was a leader, there were no membership fees, and there was no “platform”, just ideals of what we stood for. Also there were no elections for our “leaders”, no clue on where the money came from or went, no openness or transparency. Just what we were trying to stop in the Government, we found in the tea Party. Our votes didn’t count and there was no openness or transparency. So yes I’m Tea and I’m sick of seeing some of the Tea Parties run into the ground by a few.

While a few of the Tea Parties did well and continue to this day, groups like Kingwood or Clear Lake, Texas Tea Party PAC and of course King Street, it would seem that others have self imploded. I wish Katy Tea and some other groups on the west side would get it together. Why are some groups still going while others have failed? That’s a story for another day.

Bottom line: hopefully Katy LiberTea learned from this election. If not, I fear the Tea Party people that got elected in 2011 will meet the same fate as Mr. Dolcefino. Which is really sad for the property owners and children of KISD. We want better leadership and more oversight of where the money goes. If you truly want to improve your organization, then you may want to look at this past election with an open mind and figure out what you did wrong, what you did right and what to do better next time.  There are many of us in the “older establishment” who would be glad to share some of our experience with you and help put good folks on the board. Of course it’s a lot more fun to go to “garage sales and drink beer”.

P1020392

 Pictured above is a great example of block walking

 

Has Tea Party Lost Their Mojo?

Posted on by
4

At the risk of offending a few, I feel it’s time to take a hard look at some facts. It seems to most of those with open eyes, the Tea Party has shrunk to a shadow of its former glory.  We are going to explore what happened here at the recent KISD BOTs election. The big question has to be; did the Tea Party help or hurt the Wayne Dolcefino campaign?

Back in May 2011 the Tea Party supported three candidates for KISD school board. With the email list the Tea Party had at that time, the three won without doing much more than showing up for a few debates and having their name on the ballots. A week before the election they were all at a local biker bar chilling out with the Tea folks and a few cool ones. Titled the “you ain’t seen nothing yet rally”. No need to block walk.

Fast forward to May 2013 and the new and improved “tea party” are teaming up with Wayne Dolcefino. Mr. Dolcefino is well known in the area from his many years on TV and would seem to be a shoe in. Usually less than six thousand vote for this position, so it would seem an easily doable thing for Mr. Dolcefino to smoke the competition.  Joe Adams, a twenty plus year board member won. Wayne came close, but was 66 votes short out of a total of 4,515 votes cast. You know how they say a win is a win; well a loss is a loss.

So, how did a very well known local TV personality lose? Has the Tea Party declined to the point they will cost a Candidate an election? As early as 2011 there were whispers and questions about the Tea Party; does it help or hurt candidates?

Even with Katy LiberTea sending out emails to their list of people. Yes, I said Katy LiberTea, their new name.  It’s a play on the word “liberties” and has nothing to do with any of the “Liberty” groups.

One of the problems with the Tea Party from day one is their penchant for tearing down, but failure to build up. Most of what I read and heard from the Tea Party/Dolcefino camp was “boo hoo hoo”. “They stole my sign!” “They put their sign in front of mine!” “They sent out a nasty email, boo hoo hoo”. When a few people tried to suggest “crying” wasn’t going to win the election, including people who had run for office before, we heard it’s so hard to raise money and politics is so nasty, “boo hoo hoo”. They had pictures of Joe’s signs on their page plus emails, comments about Joe and on and on. All of this coming from the man who bought numerous high powered political people to their knees?

 

Did the Katy LiberTea Party go block walking? How about putting together a series of coffees to let the voters meet Mr. Dolcefino? Lots of meet and greets? Did they contact the local Republican Precinct Chairs and ask for their help?  My guess is no, no, no and no.

Here is the sad part. Joe Adams needs to go. He has been on the board for over twenty years. My guess is Wayne Dolcefino would have done a good job. When you look back you have to ask yourself, how he could lose?

Goes to prove what grassroots can do for you– positive grassroots that is. Joe Adams had a lot of grassroots people helping him out. I got three times more emails from Joe supporters than from Katy LiberTea. Mr. Adams had a website. He also had a facebook page. Guess what wasn’t on Mr. Adams facebook page? Pictures of Wayne’s signs or comments about Wayne or his supporters. No boo- hoo- hooing going on. Just facts about why you should vote for Joe Adams. Plus, it appears Joe Adams took the time to post on his own facebook page, something Wayne seemed to leave to his wife. Just plain old fashioned hard work, common sense, and politics 101 keep Joe in office.

Bottom line; I’m disappointed that Dolcefino didn’t win, but not surprised. Twenty plus years is too long for any elected official, Joe needs to go. Time for some new blood on the board. Did the Tea Party help or hurt Wayne Dolcefino?   I’m leaving that up to the readers. For sure it’s time for the Tea Party to “suck it up” and admit they’ve got major problems and take a long hard look at what it’s going to take to fix them. But I don’t see that happening anytime soon.  

P1040275

 2011 Tea Party rally.

 

William R. Frazer Candidate for Houston City Controller

Posted on by
2

Allow me to bring the following to your attention.

William R. Frazer officially announced his candidacy for Houston City Controller today, February 15, 2013. Mr. Frazer believes that given the current economic concerns in the city, it is vital for the future of Houston to have strong and experienced financial leadership for the office of City Controller. He believes that the office of the Controller for too long has been more focused on political expediency rather than on providing long-term solutions for the financial well being of the city and its citizens. He is uniquely qualified to provide the leadership that Houston requires at this critical time.
In announcing his candidacy, Mr. Frazer stated “The Controller is an elected position and should report directly to the voters, not to the Mayor or to City Council. The office should serve as a watchdog for the taxpayer dollars and not as a rubber stamp. It’s vitally important to make sure that Houston taxpayers are fully informed on a timely basis about all spending programs. I will make sure there is more transparency and easier access to the City’s financial information.”
Mr. Frazer was raised in San Antonio and graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 1973 with a BBA in Accounting. He began his accounting career in Houston as a staff accountant with Ernst & Ernst. He has been a licensed CPA since 1975. He and his wife Jean, also a CPA, moved into the Ayrshire area 37 years ago. Their two children, Jennifer and Jeremy, attended public schools and graduated from Bellaire High School.
He has many years of experience in the accounting and financial services industry. From 1991 through 2012 he served as Chief Financial Officer of CB Richard Ellis Capital Markets, one of the world’s leading commercial real estate financial services firms. As a board member of GEMSA Loan Services, a partnership between CBRE and GE Capital Real Estate, he helped form one of the nation’s largest asset management and advisory service companies.
Mr. Frazer is a past President of the Houston CPA Society and has served on the Board of Directors of the Texas Society of CPAs for the past 25 years. The Houston CPA Society serves not only the accounting profession, but has also been instrumental in raising money for local schools and charities and providing scholarships for students who are majoring in accounting at local area universities. He is strongly committed to providing a quality education to all of Houston’s children.
Mr. Frazer is also involved in his church and his community. He is a member of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church and has served on its Vestry and is currently a member of its Senior Council. He serves on the advisory committee of the Episcopal Diocese’s Camp Allen. He is actively involved in helping Volunteer Interfaith Caregivers-Southwest provide much needed transportation services to elderly Houstonians who can no longer drive. He has recently joined the Board of Directors of St. James House, a retirement community sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to serve those who need housing and critical nursing care in their later years. He believes “that we cannot depend solely on government programs to meet all of the needs of our fellow citizens, but must commit to do our part to make Houston a better place for all.”
Mr. Frazer seeks to continue his commitment and dedication to the community of Houston through his candidacy for the position of City Controller.

 

 

Chris Carmona Speaks To Pachyderm About Republican Outreach

Posted on by
2

The Downtown Pachyderms had Chris Carmona speak about Republican Party outreach, Thursday 2-7-2013. Surprise— the ‘Party’ did something smart for a change; Chris Carmona is the head of the outreach committee.

It seems after years of failure to actually reach anyone; the current admin decided an old fat white guy wasn’t the answer. Who would have thought it takes more than a few frozen turkeys and some bikes to do outreach? Not the powers that be, not until we got our butts handed to us in recent election. Blessings are everywhere you just have to be willing to see them. If the party had more money, they would have invested in a bigger truck of Turkeys next year. But since they’re broke, someone said “let’s try some real outreach and hey, if it fails we can blame the Hispanic guy”.

Chris has a big job ahead of him. Not only does he have to reach out to Hispanics and others but the first order of business will be to educate the Republicans. There are questions about how and who we reach out to. For this article I’m going to talk about outreach to Hispanics. While we need to reach out to many, it would appear efforts spent in the Hispanics community have the best chance of an immediate positive return. Many in the ‘Party’ are not sure how to do outreach.

Chris shared some staggering numbers indicating where we are headed unless we change. The Hispanic population is rapidly overtaking whites not only in Harris County but most of Texas. The biggest problem is the shortfall in Republican voters among Hispanic and other minority races. In 2012 we only got 32% of the Hispanic vote and less than 10% of the black vote.

The biggest problem we have is letting the Democrats shape our message, and this has been going on for years. We cannot turn this around overnight. Another major obstacle to overcome is the lack of money. The Democrats can hire people to do outreach; we have to rely on volunteers. The only way you can fix the money issue is replace local leadership or set up a PAC controlled by trusted people outside the party.

Another essential ingredient is knowing where, when and how to reach out. It seems some in the crowd felt like we “should know” where to go and what to do. Others suggested anyone knowing of a good opportunity to do outreach should let us know. Which brings us to a core issue within the Party—poor communication.

Chris also talked about other than Orlando Sanchez and a hand full of Judges, who are Hispanic Republican office holders in Harris County? Good point. So yes, we need to recruit and assist others in seeking office.

How? Let’s walk through the process. Mr. and Mrs. Perez decide they’re sick of these Democrats and want to run as Republicans. Great! They tool down to Richmond Street and walk into party headquarters. There they meet the twenty some year old Executive Director, who is a very nice young lady, and probably set off the Democrat alarm when it’s clear  Perez doesn’t have a second Baptist decoder ring  or know the secret handshake. Once that alarm goes off, one of the party faithful shows up to interrogate the Perez’s about their knowledge of Jesus, abortion and marriage between a man and a woman. None of which is on the ballot.  All the while saying”we have ways of finding out if you are a Democrat”. Did I ever mention we need new leadership? Did I suggest we are poor communicators?

We already have 32%. My suggestion is to find the core group and build from there. Those folks most likely want to join with us and we can help them with bringing others into the party. Once more, we don’t know who our voters are. Outreach is a 100% sales issue. We need trained sales people and marketing people involved. We need a catch phrase. We better do it quick or our goose will be cooked. We need better communication.

Hey, these Downtown Pachyderms are brave; they even touched on the immigration question. Chris made it clear the two cornerstones of any plan are that we secure the border and if you are a violent criminal you must go back. Chris says as long as these two things remain in place the rest is much easier to figure out.  He also says no one is talking about automatic citizenship. Yeah.

The Democrat Party cannot wait to get 11.1 million new voters signed up.  We have done this once already. The border didn’t get closed and here we are with 11 million more people to deal with. Yes, something has to be done. No, we don’t want to destroy families. But this is another discussion for another day.

Bottom line; Chris Carmona has taken on a nearly impossible task. He’s got no money, little help and gets talked down to by both Parties.

Could this be a communication problem?

My hat is off to Chris. If all else fails, we can carpet bomb the east end with turkeys.

Good luck Chris Carmona.

 

 

Gloom, Despair and Agony On Me

Posted on by
2

Regardless of what the MSM (main stream media), or “conservative bloggers” have to say about the death of the Republican Party, many see it differently.  Do we have problems? You bet. We need new leadership, some real fundraising and a more open tent. Some are sitting around singing the old Hee Haw song “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me” and happily beating up on the SD-7 crowd, Mike Anderson and most recently Stan Stanart and Chris Daniels. I will address a few of these items today and the rest on another day.  So many issues, so little time.

Nobody loves to beat on Republicans more than the near defunct Houston Chronicle. They post a blog by a “Conservative Republican” which IMHO plays a race card. Not played by the candidate but by the writer. Hey whatever gets you more readers or sells more papers, huh?

Big Jolly believes Kevin Fulton ‘hit walls’ while trying to run. Jolly also stated that “the party” wants new candidates to wait years doing grunt work before they are allowed to run. I know ‘The Party’ is not perfect, but they don’t like anybody new, regardless of race, religion or creed. ‘The party’ believes everyone new is a Democrat out to sneak into ‘the party’. Did I mention ‘The Party’ needs new leadership?

Let’s take a hard look at what happened with Kevin. Jolly is correct, Kevin Fulton is a well qualified candidate and has a bright future in the Republican Party. The most significant fact omitted in the article was that Kevin ran against a long term incumbent. Kevin never made it past the primary, only receiving 24.76% of the vote. Guess what, if any other person would have run against Judge Adams they wouldn’t have won. Another judgment error for Kevin was to hire Burt Levine, one of the worst the worst consultant in Texas west of the Mississippi.

So why do people tell candidates they should learn the ropes first? They should join some clubs, help other candidates and build contacts in the grassroots? Because then they will know not to make naive mistakes, like hire Burt Levine, the worst consultant west of the Appalachian Mountains. If Candidates would spend time helping other people run they would know this. Any long time Political Activist would have shared that information, for free. They would have also shared not to take on a long term incumbent. Also when you’ve been around a few years you make friends who will help you fund raise and hand out cards etc. Then people will know you are a Republican, you want to help the Republican cause, and they will want to help you.

For some reason the Chronicle despises District Attorney Mike Anderson. They have posted unfavorable article after unfavorable article.  It seems they want you to believe Mike damaged the top of the ticket when he handily defeated HCRP and Houston Chronicle’s darling Pat Lykos, who only received 37.24% of the vote.

They clearly have a different memory than I do of the primary.

My memory is Carl Pittman caused more of a rip than any other candidate.

Wait a minute, that’s right, the Houston Chronicle endorsed both Pat Lykos and Carl Pittman.  Let’s talk about sour grapes.

Carl Pittman had two of the top Party hacks as his personal bloggers, confidants and part time man servants, Richard Dillon and Bill Kneer. They bad mouthed every other candidate to the point of making themselves and their candidate look stupid. It got so bad even Carl’s political consultant left the campaign and endorsed another candidate. Only Mary Sergesketter would take on Carl.

You remember Mary she took money for a mailer helping to get Anise Parker in office.

She has also led Roy Morales to victory, to the end of many, many, many of his campaigns. She got Carl into a runoff and guess who endorsed Carl again?

None other than the Houston Chronicle.

So if anybody hurt the ticket its Carl Pittman and the Pitt Crew. So they want to play the race card?  And yet a black man with more luggage than “Lady Gaga” made it into the runoff.

Me thinks it’s much ado about nothing.

Next they say “many” in the party will not push for a straight R vote in 2014 because of bad Judges. Bad Judges huh? What bad Judges?

Let’s have some names and some facts proving they are bad Judges.

How about different case’s which show lack of knowledge in the practice of law. If we have some bad Judges, let’s get them out. I’ve got a feeling I know where some of this is coming from but I’ll “plead the fifth”.

You know my advice “be a star, vote a straight R”.

As far as Stan Stanart goes, let me go on record, “I’m standing with Stan”. Stan is doing an outstanding job with what he has to work with: old equipment, much of which was destroyed in a fire, and little money due to budget restraints, a primary which would not end, and let’s not forget we now have to print ballots in Chinese.

Chris Daniels is another man who is doing an outstanding job IMHO. Mr. Daniels has done more outreach than anyone who held this office before him. This is a guy who understands what his office requires and does his very best to make it happen. We got a good guy doing a great job. Let’s not act stupid.

 

Bottom line; the Republican Party is not dying. We need to replace the local party leadership, do an audit and restore faith. The candidates are going on without the party. We can and will do much better in 2014, I believe. We do have a major problem with the local and national media. Somehow we must overcome the extreme left leaning on our news media. But that’s another story for another day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judge Brad Hart

Posted on by
2

It was standing room only on a bright crisp Friday at the Harris County Criminal Justice Center. The crowd gathered to witness the ceremony for the administration of the oath of office for the Honorable Brad Hart as Judge of the 230th District Court. Governor Perry recently appointed Brad to the bench.

The crowd included a diverse group of people. Many of Brad’s family were there, some driving great distances. Defense lawyers, political activist, Prosecutors, former Prosecutors, elected officials, friends and a large group of Law enforcement officials all squeezed into the woefully too small ceremonial courtroom.

Overseeing the event was the Honorable Caprice Cosper, former Judge of the 339th District Court. The invocation was given by Reverend Charles Thompson. The pledge to the American flag was lead by Hunter Hart, Brad’s son. Leading us in the pledge to the Texas flag was Brad’s daughter Savannah Hart. Randall O. Sorrels, past President of the Houston bar association gave the welcome. Murray Newman, board member Harris County Criminal lawyers association, well know blogger and former associate of Brad shared some of his fondest memories of Brad. Katherine McDaniel, Chief Assistant District Attorney, Harris County District Attorney’s office also remarked on her years of working with Brad.

The common thread for all of us is our unwavering respect and admiration for Brad Hart. Whether you have known Brad for one year or fifteen, you have the same opinion of the man.  This is a man who loves his Family, his God, his Country and his friends. Brad is someone who will always be there for you. He does listen to every word you say and shows you respect. Above all else you can count on Brad to “do the right thing” every time. Brad Hart is the rare man who doesn’t have to tell you about his integrity and values, he will show you.

Administration of office was given by the Honorable Stacey Bond, Judge of the 176th District court. Judge Bond got a chuckle from the crowd when she stated “for once I agree with Governor Perry’s decision”. Holding the Bible were Brads children Savannah and Hunter. Enrobing was done by Brad’s parents and his sister Brook Baugh.

Judge Hart was truly touched by the overwhelming show of support, even taking the time to mention many in the room by name. Brad echoed Judge Bond’s thoughts that he 100% agreed with Governor Perry’s decision. The new Judge also pledged that anyone coming into his Court would be treated fairly and with respect. No one in that room ever thought he would run his court any other way. Congratulations Judge Brad Hart.

 

 

The Curious Case of Benjamin Hall

Posted on by
5

While most of us are still recovering from our post election hangover, “barkeep, keep ‘em coming I’m not sure I’m ready to believe it”, there has been some strange goings on around City Hall in downtown Houston. Rumors and whispers are rampant concerning former City Attorney Ben Hall and his run for Mayor in 2013. Notice I did not say “challenging Incumbent Mayor Annise Parker”, because like most interesting rumors, this one is full of plot twists and turns.

If rumors are to be believed, Annise Parker will be offered a job in the next Obama Administration. No confirmation of what the job might be, maybe HUD director?  Or perhaps as some suggest, President Obama will appoint the first elected Lesbian Mayor of a major American city to a potentially newly created “Gay Czar/Czarina”.

Take note; DC insiders have been puzzled about this rumor because our Mayor and our President don’t exactly get along. So why would Obama offer this easy way out to Annise?  She’s taken some real hits politically since her election, Red Light Cameras, the Feeding Ordinance both organized by the Kubosh brothers. 

The city also faces some severe financial issues and the next few years will not be fun for any elected official in the City of Houston. But then Ben Hall and Barack Obama are buddies and once again the rumor mills suggest Obama would offer an administration job to Annise, to help his friend Ben, and curry favor with the Gay right lobby.   Annise gets a graceful way out of facing an angry electorate and possible defeat, and Ben Hall gets an easier path to City Hall because he would not have to face a well funded incumbent. So if there were — which is most likely— a special election in May, making it tougher for any other challengers to organize a campaign.

Now, you may be asking yourself why I, a Conservative should bother myself with a bunch of Democrats playing footsie under the table. Well for one, it is our city and whether you’re a resident of Houston or not, what happens in Houston will affect the county. Especially if the City goes bankrupt as many believe could very well happen.

But also because the Republican voters in Houston can affect the outcome of this race as they did when Annise beat Gene Locke. But equally important, because there are several potential Conservative candidates that might be able to attract Independent voters who are concerned about the pending financial cliff the city faces. Michael Kubosh has been rumored to be considering a run for Mayor. Another potential candidate is Jim Noteware, a local business leader who has extensive experience in solving some of the problems at City Hall.

Don’t forget, we have Jack O’Conner who mounted a spirited race last time and also a few of the usual suspects: Roy Morales and Bill King, who, at a minimum offer an alternative to Ben Hall or Annise Parker. Between them, I doubt there is much philosophical difference. More of the same leaves us with more of the same problems and less of our tax dollars.

One other curious aspect to all this, the rumor has gained significant traction in the past two months, and some Conservative leaders in Harris County have been approached by the Hall campaign. Meanwhile our Republican County Chairman, fresh off a miraculous general election effort, has a habit of playing it close to the vest. Why has he not called one of the potential Republican candidates about the possibility of a May Special election?

Instead, he allows this time for Ben Hall to make his pitch to Republican opinion makers?

What’s going on at City Hall, and what’s going on at Richmond HQ?