Jesus Carrillo Runs for State Rep in District 63

Ponder resident Jesus Carrillo has filed to run for state representative.

After originally exploring a candidacy for Texas Railroad Commissioner, Mr. Carrillo has filed to run for Texas State House District 63.

As railroad commissioner, I could only enforce the laws,” he said. “I couldn’t change the laws. I can better represent my community, their interests and let their voices be heard by running for state representative."

Carrillo's sense of civic duty was awakened when he served on the Ponder Planning and Zoning Commission. We at NTL have had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Carrillo in person on several occasions. He expressed his belief that his jobs in aircraft maintenance and the oil and gas industry make him very suited for public office, because he shares the ambitions and concerns of the average family. Mr. Carrillo is deeply committed to reversing the elitism that has clouded the legislature for so many years.

From the DRC article:

.....Carrillo said some representatives have forgotten why they are in office, and they push their own agendas and opinions rather than trying to find solutions to problems. As a representative, he said he would set aside his own interests.

“It is all about the citizens that are affected,” he said.

District 63 represents Denton County, including Flower Mound, Highland Village and Trophy Club, Krugerville, Aubrey, Bartonville, Copper Canyon, Corral City, Double Oak, Justin, Krum, Marshall Creek, Northlake, Pilot Point, Ponder and Sanger as well as parts of Lewisville, Argyle and Roanoke and a small sliver of Denton and Southlake.

District 63 is currently held by Republican Tan Parker. In 2006, Parker defeated Ann Lakusta for the primary, and then ran unopposed in the general election.

why we still love wendy davis

Wendy Davis may have some skeletons in her closet, and we aren't just talking about the readers of Fort Worth Weekly voting her "Most Likely to Sell Grandma to the Highest Bidder" back in 2002.

After resigning her position on the Fort Worth City Council and declaring her intentions to run for SD-10 against unpopular and unethical Republican Kim Brimer, eager politicos have started to examine her past political contributions. Apparently, she even gave money to George W. Bush in 1999.

Caravan of Dreams notes that contributions to Republicans may help her with a suburban audience, since instead of representing downtown Fort Worth, her district would encompass Grapevine and Southlake. She looks like less of a partisan than the other name being tossed around: Art Brender. Brender is the current chairman of the Tarrant County Democratic Party. But will her nonpartisan past hurt her reputation with the Democratic base?

Brender has already taken some shots at Davis. After announcing that she voted in the 2006 Democratic primary, he reportedly said "I believe like Harry Truman if you run a Republican against a Republican, the Republicans will win every time."

There are two types of people that can't understand why a Democrat would vote in the Republican primary: people that live in blue states and Democratic county chairs.

In the reddest of Republican suburbs in North Texas, some Democrats have been tempted to vote in the Republican primary in order to have a say in who will actually represent them. In many areas, there weren't even Democratic candidates on the ballot. One prime example is in Flower Mound, where Tan Parker and Anne Lakusta faced off in a run-off election for Texas House District 63. The race was irresistible to even some hardcore Democrats that couldn't stand to be represented by the Bush-loving Parker. That race was decided in the primary, because no Democrat stepped up to run for the seat. (Unfortunately, Parker went on to win the election, anyway.)

The truth is that it shouldn't matter. Davis is, from most accounts, a tried and true Democrat. As a councilmember, she remained nonpartisan, which is expected. But her donations, while some need an explanation, show that she supports Democrats. She has recently given campaign cash to Hillary Clinton. She even donated money to Art Brender himself!

One commenter on Burnt Orange Report described Davis this way:

Fair taxes, economic development in the inner city, no school vouchers, pro-choice, solid on GLBT issues, inclusive of minorities, against cutting off access to the courts via tort reform, an advocate for clean air and public transportation, sounds like Wendy Davis is a fine Democrat.

Obviously, Davis' record speaks for itself.

Also consider these glowing endorsements from her fellow council members, via FWST:

Council members praised Davis' service on the council, emphasizing her work on economic development issues.

"She has been at the forefront of many economic deals that have benefited Fort Worth," Councilman Sal Espino said. "And she brings to public life that unique perspective of someone who has worked hard to get where she is at."

Mayor Mike Moncrief said Davis fights for what she believes.

"You have done a masterful job," he said. "You are not afraid to shed a tear every now and then, and you are concerned for the least of us in the city as well as the most."

Councilwoman Kathleen Hicks said Davis has worked hard on issues throughout the city.

"Not only the work you've done in your district, but the work you've done in southeast Fort Worth has challenged me," Hicks said.

Wendy Davis is our best shot at taking back SD-10 from a fund-funneling Republican that has got to go. And if calling her a "DINO" is the best that her primary opposition can do, she has a pretty good shot.

tuesday night link dump

Here are some blogs you should definitely check out while you're waiting out this nasty weather. If it's safe for you to be near the computer, here's some reading material.

The Gonzo Muckraker has decided to vote for Republican Ron Paul in the primaries. Check out his reasons for letting his political pendulum swing (he's an independent).

WhosPlayin? blasts State Rep. Tan Parker, R-Flower Mound, for supporting a "de facto poll tax" by co-authoring HB 626, legislation that would require voters to present birth certificates or other forms of identification.

According to Job's Anger, the president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth told his students that if a tragedy like that of Virginia Tech ever occured on their campus, he expected his students to "charge the shooter."

Back from Austin, Capitol Annex has information on Frisco Mayor Kathy Seei's plan to challenge Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Rockwall, in the 2008 Republican primary. Also check out the picture of Vince meeting Rep. Senfronia Thompson!

Blue Oklahoma has some exciting information on a possible challenger to the crazy Oklahoma Sen. James Inhofe: State Sen. Andrew Rice, D-Oklahoma City.

Politics and Religion in the Lone Star State - a Texas Freedom Network Report

Vince at Capitol Annex highlights the first of what promises to be an annual report from the Texas Freedom Network: The State of the Religious Right: 2006. The sixty page report is fascinating, and worth a careful read, but what caught my eye was Chapter Two, "James Leininger: Sugar Daddy of the Religious Right."

The religious right's takeover of the Republican Party of Texas in the 1990s succeeded largely through the efforts of legions of grassroots foot soldiers who began their campaign at the precinct level. Yet it has taken money - a lot of it - to solidify that control and push a hard-right political agenda in the halls of Texas government. No other political donor on the religious right has been more important to that effort than Dr. James Leininger.....

Since the 1990's, for example, tens of thousands of dollars have flowed from Dr. Leininger and political action committees he has funded into the campaigns of social conservatives seeking seats on the State Board of Education (SBOE)....

As a result, pitched battles over controversial social issues now overshadow the board's primary responsibility to ensure that text books confirm to basic curriculum standards. Indeed, social conservatives on the board continue to use debates over textbook adoptions - in courses such as health, literature, history and science - to press campaigns against homosexuality, sex education, the theory of evolution and other demons of the religious right.

A list of PACs founded or backed by Leininger include: Texans for Justice, Texans for Judicial Integrity, the Committee for Governmental Integrity, Entertainment PAC, Texans for Governmental Integrity, and one that played an important part in the Republican primary and run-off elections for State Representative District Seat 63, The Future of Texas Alliance.

During the March 2006 primary election campaign, Dr. Leininger poured more than $2.3 million into just two new political action committees, the Texas Republican Legislation Campaign Committee and the Future of Texas Alliance. His contributions accounted for all but a tiny fraction of each PAC's receipt. Those PAC's then spent that money to support challenges to five anti-voucher Republican incumbent House members as well as pro-voucher incumbents who were trying to fight off challenges from advocates for public schools.

Dr. Leininger succeeded in knocking off just two anti-voucher Republicans in the primary.

Many pro-education groups interpreted the weak showing of Leininger-backed candidates as a sign that the tide is turning in favor of moderates in the education debate. Unfortunately for Denton County, one of Leininger's targets was Anne Lakusta, who lost to Tan Parker in an incredibly close run-off election, losing by just 48 votes. According to the news reports, Lakusta's name recognition and school board experience fell to Parker's superior fund-raising. The majority of Parker's contributions came from donors outside the county, including Leininger, whose Future of Texas Alliance gave a $8,025 in-kind contribution used for research.

For the six degrees of separation of James Leininger, check out the TFN's web of influence chart. Other chapters in the report cover God's Own Party, the Texas Restoration Project and David Barton.