Republican Party Presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is calling for authoritarian government and threatening political violence.   

Do Houston City Council Republicans support or oppose Mr. Trump?  They should be asked. We keep hearing about public safety in Houston. How is there public safety without democracy? Mayor John Whitmire said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee supported defunding the police during the recent Mayoral campaign. Somehow though he has not asked Council Republicans if they support the suspension of civil liberties being openly planned by the Republican Party if they return to the White House in 2025. 

So the public should ask. Here is a list of Houston Council Republicans and contact information. Call or e-mail and ask. 

District A: Amy Peck 832-393-3010 [email protected]
District E: Fred Flickinger 832-393-3008 [email protected]
District G: Mary Nan Huffman 832-393-3007 [email protected]
At-Large 1: Julian Ramirez 832-393-3014 [email protected]
At-Large 2: Willie Davis 832-393-3013 [email protected]
At-Large 3: Twila Carter 832-393-3005 [email protected]

There is nothing wrong with bipartisanship. But bipartisanship should be conducted with elected officials committed to democracy. Is it too much ask? Shouldn't we be asking? It seems the very least we could ask. 

The Houston Democracy Project will be e-mailing this question to Council Republicans and will report back responses and also the absence of responses.  

I encourage all Houstonians to ask Houston City Council Republicans if they support Donald Trump or if they will speak up for democracy. 

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].​

After some thought about the matter, the Houston Democracy Project will not endorse any candidates in the 2024 Texas Democratic primary. There are good candidates and I'll discuss those good candidates. But no outright endorsements.  

We need our candidates with resources and incumbents to work as a cohesive slate to generate turnout in Harris County. Elected officials should have written plans for increased turnout, and share those plans with the public. We must insist the people we vote for do all they can for democracy. This involves getting out the vote even if not in a tough race and may well involve much more than that. This very much includes judges and judicial candidates. 

Elected officials need to be involved all the time in telling their constituents about the very real prospect of authoritarian government. They could hold a democracy town hall. Officials must think about what side of the police line they would be on if civil liberties are suspended as the Republican frontrunner for President is openly discussing.

Some of our Democratic candidates and officials are good people fully connected with reality. Others are self-centered and insulated from reality. All these people must be active for freedom in 2024 & we as rank and file residents of Houston/Harris County who care about living in a free society must hold them accountable. This is just what the Houston Democracy Project will do.   

We must focus on our own self-protection and our own power in the tough days ahead.     

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].​

According to a CBS news poll, large numbers of Republicans believe law enforcement officers and especially federal law enforcement officials were instigators and boosters of the treasonous violence at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.    

U.S Attorney for the District of Columbia Micheal Graves recently called the January 6th insurrection attempt "the largest single-day, mass assault of law enforcement officers in our nation's history." Mr. Graves says the estimate of 140 officers injured that day is low.

Right-wing violence is consistently seen as a threat to law enforcement. 

And still law enforcement unions support Donald Trump and anti-democratic Republicans. 

Everyday is a new day for law enforcement unions to turn away from backing candidates attacking democracy and condoning violence against police.  

There is no public safety without democracy. 

The public has every reason to ask how the safety of police is enhanced by looking the other way at insurrection. People have every reason to ask why democracy is not a top priority of many in law enforcement unions. It is not credible at all to always be going on about law & order while ignoring clear calls for political violence from one of the two major political parties.  

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].​     

Here is the C-SPAN link to President Biden's speech in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania about democracy.

A consistent theme of the Houston Democracy Project is getting our elected Democrats and Democratic candidates with resources to take threats to democracy seriously. Sometimes it seems they don't fully care, or that the issue does not poll well enough to merit focus.

Elected Democrats have told us for years that our vote is our voice and we should be loyal to the party establishment. Okay. Here is Joe Biden himself saying democracy is the central issue of the 2024 campaign. Surely this will spur the people we vote for and who claim our loyalty to act.

President Biden said in Valley Forge ".....democracy is on the ballot. Your freedom is on the ballot." 

The Houston Democracy Project at bottom line believes that rank and file residents of Houston/Harris County must lead the fight for freedom. Not just retaining the flawed democracy we have now, but moving forward as well.  

But we sure could use some help. 

Here are things elected officials could do:

*Speak frankly about the threat to civil liberties and democracy from the political right and the Republican Party. Bipartisanship is fine with an opposing party that supports democracy. But what if no such opposing political party is available? How are officials preparing constituents for the authoritarian challenge of Trump-led  2024 elections?         

​*Prepare a detailed written plan of increasing November voter turnout. The plan could discuss the hiring of canvassing teams, how these teams will trained and what they will be paid, what groups and organizations will be worked with, what permanent structures to boost turnout the effort will leave for the next election cycle & whatever else I'm missing here. This high turnout is needed to hold Harris County for Democrats, defeat Ted Cruz and strongly oppose Donald Trump. What could be a higher priority for Harris County elected Democrats?    
 
*Speak to law enforcement unions supporting election-deniers such as Ken Paxton, Donald Trump and any Republican who has not publicly distanced themselves from these anti-democratic figures, about the dangers of strong law enforcement support of politicians at odds with our rights. There is no public safety without democracy. We must expand our commonly-held conceptions of public safety to include our freedom.  

When you see candidates on the campaign trail or wherever you see them--Insist they show up for us.  

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].      

John Whitmire is the new Mayor of Houston.

In his inaugural remarks, Mayor Whitmire talked about his concept of public safety, said Metro buses tear up Houston streets, criticized Democratic judges and said he'd improve garbage pick up.

What he did not discuss was the right-wing extremism and open talk of authoritarianism that are a threat to all Houstonians.

It is this type of extremism forcing women out of Texas to get needed medical care. Mr. Whitmire often mentions his support of abortion rights. But he has been silent on Kate Cox and on the 5th Circuit decision saying women on the brink of death from a pregnancy have no right to medical care. Do Mayor Whitmire's close ties to the right-wing extremists who run Texas silence has voice on an issue he brought up repeatedly in his recent campaign?      

Mayor Whitmire has no plan to protect Houstonians from the far-right. On the contrary, he says working with the Trump-supporting right is smart bipartisanship, and that to do otherwise is a rejection of the concept of bipartisanship. There is nothing wrong with bipartisanship. It is just that bipartisanship must be conducted with a political party that accepts election results. At the moment it seems that no such opposite party exists.

There is a clear autocratic threat right in front of us in 2024. Insurrectionist Ted Cruz is on the Texas ballot for re-election. Houstonians have a right to know how their Mayor will meet the challenge of defending our freedom and defeating those who attack our rights.

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].

​


The Spring Branch Democrats Club will hold a forum for the Democratic District Attorney Primary on January 25th. You see the details above.

At this point, candidate Sean Teare has confirmed his attendance. Incumbent DA Kim Ogg, who has been formally admonished by the Harris County Democratic Party, has not yet committed.

Spring Branch also has an active schedule of block walks planned between now and the March 5th Democratic Primary. The walks are on February 10, February 24 and March 2. Details to come on time and place.  

During her fight to defeat the successful admonishment resolution, DA Ogg repeatedly criticized Democratic Precinct Chairs and longtime volunteers as elitists and insiders. Hopefully she'll find it within herself to take part in a fully grassroots event from an active Democratic club.

It's also important to make note of the three block walks Spring Branch has scheduled. The walks will be to tell voters about the upcoming primary and to encourage them to vote. It's an all volunteer affair.

In addition to volunteers, we need Democratic incumbents in safe seats, including judges, to make increasing turnout in the November General Election a top goal. They must be present and active. All votes are needed to defeat authoritarian Ted Cruz and put up the strongest fight against anti-democracy Republicans.

Elected officials need to show respect for the volunteers that sustain the party. They also need to make a full commitment to supporting the entire ticket in November. The party rank & file and everyone concerned about the fate of democracy must insist that the Democratic Party establishment shows up.

Spring Branch Democrats--and many other active Democratic clubs in Harris County--are setting an example to follow.  

(Update--DA Ogg declined the invitation to attend.)

The Houston Democracy Project works daily to inspire, organize and strengthen pro-democracy coalitions in Houston and Harris County. The Project will continue through 2024 at the least. 

Please share word of the Houston Democracy Project and support the effort with your contribution. If you have a question about the Project or a suggestion, please send an e-mail to [email protected].