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The Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire (TLCQ)

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After lots of consideration, I have decided to develop a candidate questionnaire, with the possibility of endorsements for some races. It’s important for voters to have as much information as possible when they go to the polls, and this blog is a way to add to that body of information. The questions will be emailed to all candidates, and responses will be published on the blog as they are received.

Along with the questionnaire, Texas Leftist will also issue endorsements once the responses are received, though I may not endorse for all races. For readers, here is what will be sent to the political candidates…

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1. What is your name, as it will appear on the ballot?

2. Are you a current or former elected official? If so what office(s)?

3. As a political candidate, you clearly care about what happens in certain levels of government. In your own words, why is government important?

4. If elected, what is your top priority in office for the upcoming term? Describe how you plan to accomplish it.

5a. (For Houston municipal candidates) With the exception of city government and some other select businesses, Houstonians can still be fired for being lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender because we do not have a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance for general employment. This lags behind other Texas cities such as Dallas, Austin, and Ft. Worth. Do you support a comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance for the city of Houston? If not, please explain why. If so, please explain how you would work to pass such a measure.

5b. (For Houston municipal candidates) There have been an alarming number of complaints filed against officers in the Houston Police Department, accused of unwarranted police brutality towards citizens. A disproportionate amount of this violence occurs in minority communities, and in the vast majority of these cases, officers have gone unpunished. As a result, these incidents cause a cycle of mistrust between Houstonians and the very officers sworn to protect them. What can you do to increase oversight of the Houston Police Department, and help ensure that these incidents do not continue?

5c. (For Houston Community College district candidates) As our nation’s educational and professional landscape continues to evolve in the 21st century, institutions like HCC stand to be a critical part of that important process. In your opinion, is HCC ready for the monumental changes coming to education? What can the system do to best prepare?

6. What makes you the best candidate for this office?

7. When not on the campaign trail, how do you like to spend your free time?

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Responses will be published as they arrive, and will be considered during the endorsement process. In the mean time, I highly recommend similar work already being done by Off the Kuff and Texpatriate, which will factor into the Texas Leftist endorsement decisions as well.

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Mayor Annise Parker Takes SNAP Challenge, Addresses Food Insecurity

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Even with campaign season slowly consuming all areas of city government, some good work is still getting done.

Last Wednesday, Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced that she would take the SNAP challenge starting this week. With the SNAP challenge, the mayor pledges to live within the same budget as allocated for a SNAP participants… the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps). That means she must be able to eat all food on a mere $28 per week, or $4 per day.

Perhaps just as important as taking the challenge itself is how Mayor Parker addressed the continuing debate over the need for food stamps. Many in the Right Wing have argued that SNAP is a wasteful program, and that there is plenty of support for impoverished citizens through their local churches, homeless shelters or food banks. Standing beside Brian Greene, president and CEO of the Houston Food Bank, here’s how they addressed the issue at a recent Press Conference…

“One nice coffee at Starbucks would blow your SNAP budget for the day.” Mayor Parker said. She also reminded everyone that besides the money allotment, she has an additional resource with fresh foods from her vegetable and herb garden.

“Many people in the community look at the Houston Food Bank and think ‘ah yes… this is how low income families can access food. What they don’t realize is we’re actually one of the last threads of the safety net. Compared to SNAP, we’re actually tiny. If you summed up the output of every food bank in the country, together it’s less than the SNAP allotment for Texas alone. We are not a substitute for SNAP.” Brian Greene said.

This is something important to realize on a national basis. The nation’s food insecurity needs are far too great to be met simply by current charitable giving. To keep 50 million people fed, government programs like SNAP must continue, and truthfully should be expanded. In the midst of a bitter campaign for the Mayor’s race, Parker should rightly be applauded for taking on service efforts like the SNAP challenge. This in my opinion, is a better move than any political ad.

Speaking of, perhaps mayoral candidate Ben Hall would like join in? Here’s the direct link on how to take the SNAP challenge in case Hall or anyone else is interested.

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San Antonio Passes Historic Non Discrimination Ordinance

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As parts of the United States continue to evolve on the issues of LGBT equality, progressives in Texas often feel like they’re running behind. and of course they feel that way because they are. The Republican-controlled state government has pledged pledged at every turn to deny reality, and actively promote LGBT discrimination. 

But the Lone Star State may not be that way much longer if San Antonio has anything to say about it. Directly from the San Antonio Express-News…

An issue that starkly divided San Antonio this summer was resolved Thursday when the City Council approved an ordinance that adds protections for sexual orientation, gender identity and veteran status to the city code.

In four separate public forums since mid-August, more than 1,500 people approached the dais at City Hall and addressed the council, speaking passionately in support of and against the ordinance that drew national attention. Final public comments were heard about three hours before the council took its vote.

In separate votes, the council approved adding veteran status 9-2, and approved adding LGBT protections 8-3.

“It’s a common-sense ordinance that’s going to treat everyone equally,” Mayor Julián Castro said after the vote. “Nobody will be a second-class citizen in San Antonio. Here, there will be basic fairness and common decency for everybody.”

This ordinance is definitely historic for the city of San Antonio, but it is not without state precedent. Houston’s non discrimination ordinance protects people based on race, religion, gender and sexual preference. But in 2010, Houston Mayor Annise Parker extended further non discrimination protections to city employees and contractors by executive order. The cities of Austin, Dallas and Fort Worth have the most comprehensive non discrimination ordinances in the state of Texas.

But given the fight that ensued just to extend these basic protections to municipal employees, one has to salute Mayor Castro and Council for having the guts to advance equality in the Alamo City. Congratulations San Antonio! 

Music Musings

Music Musings: Ylvis: The Fox (What the Fox Say?)

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Move over David Guetta… your repetitive song formula has finally met its match.

The summer’s most infectious pop music apparently comes at the very end. Television hosts Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåker, or better known in Norway as Ylvis, have stumbled upon something so silly that it can only be described in measures of greatness. A Guetta style Euro-pop beat with hilarious dance sequences, you’ll probably enjoy it better if you take it at face value from the start. But if you really insist on trying to understand what the song is about, it seems to be a guessing game of why we don’t have standardized sounds for fox noises.

So like I said… just enjoy the silly song and dance. Glad that Gawker posted this!!

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Wendy Davis’ Father Passes Away

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Sad news indeed. From the Texas Tribune…

“Jerry Russell, the father of state Sen. Wendy Davis, D-Fort Worth, died Thursday, according to a message she posted on Facebook.

Russell was an icon in North Texas theater circles. He was the founder of Stage West, a non-profit theater company in Fort Worth. Russell died after complications stemming from emergency abdominal surgery. He was 77, according to a story about his death published in online editions of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Russell’s illness figured into the emerging drama of the 2014 campaign cycle. Davis had been widely expected to announce early this month whether she was running for governor or for re-election to her state Senate seat. But after Russell was hospitalized she pushed back that timetable so she could care for him.”

Condolences have been coming in from Senator Davis’ colleagues as well. Here are thoughts from Senator Leticia Van De Putte, Senator Kirk Watson and US Congressman Marc Veasey, all via Twitter…

Texas Leftist’s thoughts and prayers are with Senator Davis and her family as well.

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Dignity: The Federal Recognition of Marriage Equality

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Last week, the United States took a big step forward in the fight for full marriage equality. But as big of a step as it was, this required no big-ticket signing ceremony by the President, and no blood had to be spilled on the floor of Congress. Last Thursday, both the United States Department of the Treasury and the United States Department of Health and Human Services announced significant policy changes for legally married same sex couples.

Directly from the Department of the Treasury…

“Today’s ruling provides certainty and clear, coherent tax filing guidance for all legally married same-sex couples nationwide. It provides access to benefits, responsibilities and protections under federal tax law that all Americans deserve,” said Secretary Jacob J. Lew. “This ruling also assures legally married same-sex couples that they can move freely throughout the country knowing that their federal filing status will not change.”

Under the ruling, same sex couples will be treated as married for all federal tax purposes, including income and gift and estate taxes. The ruling applies to all federal tax provisions where marriage is a factor, including filing status, claiming personal and dependency exemptions, taking the standard deduction, employee benefits, contributing to an IRA, and claiming the earned income tax credit or child tax credit.

Any same-sex marriage legally entered into in one of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, a U.S. territory, or a foreign country will be covered by the ruling. However, the ruling does not apply to registered domestic partnerships, civil unions, or similar formal relationships recognized under state law.

This is a new day for marriage equality in the USA. The ability for legally married same-sex couples to be recognized by their country is huge. Now I know that most people associate taxes with boring (or sometimes even painful) legal work, but for the purposes equality, they really are much more than that. Tax information is a legal record of one’s marriage, of a life together, and even of spousal history. Think about it… if you want to know something about your family tree, where are some of the first places that you look? The research begins with birth records, but then you incorporate marriage certificates, tax information, and other sorts of government proof that your forebears existed. From this point forward, those same records are going to existed for same sex spouses, and they’ll exist regardless of what state they live in. The “unwritten history” of same sex relationships is finally getting written in a critical way.

The Medicare ruling is just as important. It affirms the rights of same sex spouses to grow old together, and removes the pre-existing barriers to do so. Directly from the HHS press release…

“HHS is working swiftly to implement the Supreme Court’s decision and maximize federal recognition of same-sex spouses in HHS programs,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Today’s announcement is the first of many steps that we will be taking over the coming months to clarify the effects of the Supreme Court’s decision and to ensure that gay and lesbian married couples are treated equally under the law.”

“Today, Medicare is ensuring that all beneficiaries will have equal access to coverage in a nursing home where their spouse lives, regardless of their sexual orientation,” said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Marilyn Tavenner. “Prior to this, a beneficiary in a same-sex marriage enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan did not have equal access to such coverage and, as a result, could have faced time away from his or her spouse or higher costs because of the way that marriage was defined for this purpose.”

One segment of the American Population that is still very much in the shadows are GLBT seniors. Very often in the end of their lives, these people have been forced apart because they had no way to validate their relationships. At a time when most people cherish each and every day with their partners, GLBT seniors have been left to spend their old age alone.

Finally, just today, the Obama administration announced that same sex spouses of Veterans are now fully eligible for all of the benefits that their heterosexual counterparts receive, ending yet another long-standing discriminatory practice under Defense of Marriage Act.

As these dominoes against full marriage equality continue to fall, it puts states like Texas in a very precarious position. They are now forced to recognize same sex couples at the federal level, even as the state government continues its path of discrimination. As stated above, things like a tax document, nursing home bill or a veteran’s check are much more than just paper. For the hundreds of thousands of same sex spouses out there, they are mounting evidence that will stand up in court. If states like Texas are smart, they’ll repeal the bans, and enter the 21st century with the rest of us.

Congratulations to all of you spouses who have fought the fight this long. Now you can celebrate, and look forward to a new measure of DIGNITY.

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Texoblogosphere: week of September 2nd

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The Texas Progressive Alliance stands with workers in their fight for economic equality as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff covers the decision by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett to reject the petitions submitted by pre-kindergarten advocates to get a referendum on the ballot this November.

We don’t just need jobs we need, as Theodore Roosevelt advocated, jobs that pay a living wage. WCNews at Eye on Williamson says, no matter what John Carter says A living wage is not a “dumb decision”.

Horwitz at Texpatriate notes that Fox’s allegations of exuberant pay raises for Annise Parker’s inner circle are a bunch of poppycock, and analysis the Houston Chronicle article that proves it.

The ride-sharing service called Uber is coming to Houston, and PDiddie at Brains and Eggs explored both the pros ((Part I) and the cons ((Part II).

Neil at All People Have Value made some more posts in this new blog. Please look around and offer your comment. All People Have Value is part of Neil Aquino.com. Please consider checking out the full NeilAquino.com site.

CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme knows Republicans don’t care about the uninsured or about Latinos. That’s why Hidalgo and Maverick county have the highest uninsured.

And here are some other posts of interest by Texas bloggers.

Offcite interviews HISD Superintendent Terry Grier about the design philosophy behind the construction of their new schools.

Flavia Isabel compares Amazon and Tesla.

Better Texas Blog goes on the road for Obamacare education.

Concerned Citizens liveblogs Rep. Joaquin Castro’s town hall on immigration.

Equality Texas celebrates the effect that the demise of DOMA had on one bi-national couple.

Greg Wythe published a guide to Texas election code for the Kindle.

Harold Cook is not voting for Harvey Hilderbran.

The TSTA blog chastises George P. Bush for attacking teachers.

Texas Living Waters expresses ambivalence about the water infrastructure referendum.

Juanita documents the lies of True The Vote.

BOR keeps track of the abortion battle as it transitions to the regulatory agencies.

Ba Dee Ya– September!!!

A Voice for the Rest of Texas