Trumpy State Senator Paul Bettencourt has filed a complaint about how Harris County is administering voter registration. Some details are in the FOX 26 story linked to here. There is a reply from Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar Annette Ramirez in the story.

Senator Bettencourt and Mayor Whitmire are allies. Above you see Senator Bettencourt's endorsement of Whitmire in 2023 along with a slate of all Republican Houston City Council Candidates.

Republicans want to take over our elections so they can rig the outcome and take our votes and freedom.

Will Mayor Whitmire and his networks call out this attack on our Harris County election process by Bettencourt? Or do they just save their fire for active rank & file Democrats who display some autonomy from the sycophancy and self-interest that powers the Whitmire/Alvarado crew?

Team Whitmire wrongly says an attack on the Mayor is an attack on Latino leadership in Houston. They don't have solid arguments for their guy. 

Here we have a State Senator from an authoritarian, white supremacist political party directly going after Latina elected official Annette Ramirez. It is just like how they are going to go after Harris County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth who administers elections in Harris County. 

How about a defense of Ms. Ramirez-and our democracy-as vigorous as the Whitmire/Alvarado attack on Democratic Precinct Chairs.

Why do we have wonder if and when our elected officials will stand up for us even with the most important things at stake? They don't appear to care if we live freely or not. 
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I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project Hour. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​​​​​

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Give yourself the gift of democracy this holiday season!

The Houston Democracy Project works relentlessly for freedom with a clear focus on Houston and Harris County.

Doing so takes time and resources. Will you please contribute? My expenses include gas, wear-and-tear on my car, my time and more. We must show up for one another. Elected officials and primary candidates come and go. I never stop and always show up.

Among the many accomplishments and initiatives of the Project:

* Many appearances as the featured speaker at local Democratic Party club & Indivisible meetings. My next speaking engagement is the January Bellaire/Braeswood Democrats meeting. I've spoken across the Houston region from Angleton to Montgomery to Clear Lake.

* Co-Organizer of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest, which is now at almost 9 years on Houston streets. It's essential people see others like themselves willing to stand confidently for democracy no matter the aggression of the right. We set the example.

* The widely-read Houston Democracy Project Blog focuses on issues of local democracy.

* The Houston Democracy Project Hour on the Egberto Willies' Politics Done Right Show every Thursday on KPFT-FM at 6 AM. You can watch it on Egberto's YouTube page at any time.

* A consistent and active social media presence with a wide audience. Find me on Bluesky, where I have over 8,800 followers at @neilaquino.bsky.social

* I spoke at both the April 5th and April 19th 50501 protests at Houston City Hall. April 5th had 6,000 in attendance and April 19th had 2,100. I also spoke at the October 18 No Kings rally which had an audience of 20,000. The picture is me on October 18.

* A special focus on Houston City Council and democracy issues. I sometimes speak at Council. I often post here about Council and Mayor Whitmire. There is not nearly enough coverage of local governance. I help fill the gap.

* I'm a resource for information about Houston City Council. I watch every Public Comment and Agenda Session. Please e-mail me at [email protected] with any questions about what is going on at Council.

* I led an impactful campaign to contact the Harris County District Attorney to drop wrongful charges against HISD activist Sarah Terrell after her arrest at an HISD unelected board meeting. This effort was noticed by the DA's office and charges were dismissed.

​* Numerous, ongoing one-on-one conversations with rank and file democracy advocates and with candidates/elected officials about support and protection of our freedom.

​* I'm the 2024 Barbara Cigainero Volunteer of the Year award winner for the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus.

* Always showing up for others & not yielding an inch to the right. I'm also willing to challenge elected officials. I'm fully autonomous with no entangling connection to any interest group or politician.
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Thank you.

​This past Saturday, 12/20, there were apparently Patriot Front people on two overpasses at I-59 in Montrose. Above you see a picture posted in an online space I'm in. 

Also above you see picture I came across the next day, Sunday, 12/21, where some excellent Houstonians had a banner up in reply at the same spot in Montrose. 

Good work. It's encouraging to know there are folks out there there ready to go. The Republican Party is an authoritarian, white supremacist outfit. Groups like the Patriot Front are the foot soldiers of the Republican Party. 

Voting is not going to be enough. The work ahead is ours to lead.v

​ I often say that voting is not going to be enough for the authoritarian, white supremacist crisis we face. (And most times I say this in individual conversation, or when speaking to groups I get agreement.) I talk often about the necessity of protest & building connection and networks with people you can trust to show up in a crisis. I believe the widespread, grassroots No Kings protests have been a big step in the right direction. 

There is an uncertain quality to what I'm saying. You can't quantify the impact of a protest or boycott in the same way you might be able to assess the outcome of an election. A strong example of where  the value of protest and taking to the streets was clear, was in December, 2024 when martial law was declared by the President of South Korea. If people had not showed up immediately in opposition, South Korea might still today face a civil liberties crisis. (Above is an Associated Press photo from the martial law crisis.) 

​The weekly John Cornyn Houston Office Protest I'm part of is important. We've been on Houston streets now for almost nine years. People count on seeing us, and appreciate that we stand openly and confidently for democracy no matter the aggression of the right. 

​Below is much of an article from the World Ahead In 2026 edition of The Economist. It was written by attorneys Jack Goldsmith and Bob Bauer. Mr. Goldsmith and Mr. Bauer are law school professors who write often about the threat of Trump and the right to free and fair elections. 

If you don't read it all, be certain to read the last paragraph. These two experts and institutional figures express concern the military will be employed, and make clear that the last resort and best hope may well be people on the streets. 

Texas Republicans are already making noise about taking over the Harris County elections process in 2026. The state has already passed the legislation needed to take control of our elections. 

Here is the article:

.......The midterms will unfold amid long-held public distrust of the electoral process—distrust that Donald Trump has been actively stoking. More ominously, under the banner of defending “honest elections”, he appears to be laying the groundwork to challenge and possibly manipulate them. His words and actions strongly suggest he may use the formidable powers of the presidency—and possibly even the armed forces—to resist 2026 electoral results he dislikes.

In 2026, as in past elections, both parties can be expected to mount co-ordinated legal challenges in races they seem to be losing by alleging error, fraud or other irregularities, demanding recounts and contesting results in the courts. Yet such struggles could enter a whole new dimension owing to Mr Trump’s apparent readiness to use the redoubtable powers of the presidency to deny election results. Given the enormous stakes and his record of pushing every advantage at the legal margins and beyond, this prospect must be taken seriously.

At the core of Mr Trump’s plan is the heretical idea that, as he proclaimed on Truth Social, the states “must do what the Federal Government, as represented by the President of the United States, tells them, for the good of our country, to do.” This flies in the face of the constitution, which expressly allocates authority over the “Times, Places and Manner” of congressional elections to the states and to Congress, but makes no mention of a role for the president.

Yet Mr Trump has issued an executive order that claims presidential authority to impose on states his own view of the needed voting rules—including proof of citizenship, revised machine standards and limits on mail-ballot counting.

With this legal infrastructure and team in place, Mr Trump could order many kinds of federal intervention. As he did in 2020, but with a stronger hand, he could push officials to intervene in states, potentially seizing voting machines. He could use federal agencies to demand that states co-operate with his administration’s efforts to detect election fraud. He could intimidate election officials by ordering investigations of claimed irregularities.

But perhaps the gravest worry is that Mr Trump will deploy the armed forces under the Insurrection Act. It authorises the president to use such forces to “take such measures as he considers necessary to suppress” any “unlawful combination” or “conspiracy” that “opposes or obstructs the execution of the laws of the United States”. Mr Trump could claim his opponents are obstructing election laws and call in troops to enforce those laws in accordance with his wishes. Such deployments could occur before, during or after voting begins.

Much of the Trump plan outlined here would be either unlawful or legally controversial. The courts, including the Supreme Court, performed admirably to blunt Mr Trump’s legally deficient challenges to the 2020 presidential election. But political strong-arming and investigative tactics that aim to intimidate are hard to challenge in court.

The integrity of the 2026 election could thus, as in 2020, also depend on the fortitude of state and local officials who administer elections. And it would depend, ultimately, on how the American people react. A broad, highly visible public reaction could influence elected officials within Mr Trump’s party as they weigh the risks of complicity in any effort to subvert election results. In the darkest scenarios, such as the deployment of troops to jurisdictions where Republicans lose, the degree of responsible civic resistance could determine whether the nation’s voting institutions hold firm.

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Alejandra Salinas has won the Houston At-Large #4 seat being vacated by Letitia Plummer who is running in the Democratic Harris County Judge Primary. She will take office early next month. (Above is picture of Ms. Salinas I took at wildly over-policed Labor Day No Kings march.) 

Ms. Salinas won 59% of the 43,379 votes cast.

​All the endorsements of the two candidates by elected officials, advocacy groups, unions, industry groups as well as months of personal campaigning along with many pieces of mail and digital campaigning, could only muster up 43,379 votes in a city of 2.3 million people.

It's important we take part in electoral politics without getting taken down by systems that can't muster strong participation, and can't protect us from the authoritarian, white supremacist threat we all face. 

Voting will not be enough. The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. 

Included in Ms. Salinas' winning coalition were Whitmire political and labor loyalists and insiders, along with many voters who responded to Ms. Salinas saying she would stand up to ICE (Picture below from a campaign mailing), address the subject of HPD working with ICE even if it means disagreeing with Mayor Whitmire, and fight for democracy at the local level against Trump and his crew. (See last item of policy positions.) 

Ms. Salinas' Whitmire-aligned support isn't going anywhere and she will always take their calls. That's fine. One reason she'll take their calls is that they helped her win & she has loyalty to people. I've seen her display the same loyalty to rank and file campaign volunteers. It's a good quality. 

With the decisive rebuke of Mayor Whitmire yesterday, 12/14, at the Harris County Democratic Party Central Executive Committee meeting, we see that we as rank & file Democrats and democracy advocates have the ability to hold our elected employees to account. That win took place without a single dollar contributed to anybody. All grassroots.  

The win was accomplished by calling precinct chairs and asking for support and by laying out the facts of Mayor Whitmire's collaboration with the right. 

I'm not optimistic or pessimistic over what type councilperson Ms. Salinas will be. I'm certain she understands the gravity of the current political situation and that she is a decent person. I know that she works for each of us and we must do the work to hold her accountable. I know that we merit loyalty as much as insiders do.

A really good thing we could do to build on our rank and file John Whitmire win, is to hold Alejandra Salinas and all of Houston City Council accountable. Let's get to that task right away as we fight at every level of government for our freedom. Let's keep building our rank and file, grassroots power.  

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM with the exception once each month when it is at 5:30 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. You must register to speak by 3 PM the day before. 

The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 

Here is contact information for Mayor Whitmire & Council. 

Mayor Whitmire—713-837-0311 [email protected] 

Democrats: 
At-Large-Letitia Plummer 832-393-3012  [email protected] (Will be Salinas next month.)  
At-Large-Sallie Alcorn 832-393-3017  [email protected]
District B-Tarsha Jackson 832-393-3009  [email protected]
District C-Abbie Kamin 832-393-3004  [email protected]
District D-Carolyn Evans-Shabazz 832-393-3001 [email protected]
District F-Tiffany Thomas 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District H-Mario Castillo 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District I-Joaquin Martinez 832-393-3011 [email protected]
District J-Edward Pollard 832-393-3015  [email protected]
District K-Martha Castex-Tatum 832-393-3016  [email protected]

Republicans: 
At-Large-Julian Ramirez 832-393-3014 [email protected]
At-Large-Willie Davis 832-393-3013 [email protected] 
At-Large-Twila Carter 832-393-3005 [email protected]
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] ​​

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project Hour. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​​​​​

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Tomorrow, Saturday, 12/13, is Election Day for Houston City Council At-Large #4. Voting is 7 AM to 7 PM.

If you’ve not already voted for Alejandra Salinas, please do so. If you know people you think you can convince to go vote for Ms. Salinas, give it a try. Any voter in Houston is eligible to vote in this election.

Ms. Salinas has said she will stand up for democracy, stand up to ICE and show independence from Mayor Whitmire when necessary. Her election would give us the opportunity to hold her to these commitments.

​Her opponent is endorsed by right-wing police unions and by many Republicans.

Only 25,903 voted early in this race in a city of 2.3 million people.

All the elected officials, unions, advocacy groups, industry groups and preachers who have endorsed in this race can’t get people out to vote. There have many pieces of mail sent to voters and a number of candidate forums. Both candidates have been on the campaign trail for months.

Our freedom on the line. We must show up for ourselves. Conventional political actors can’t get people to show up for conventional political activities. They likely won’t be of much use when habeas corpus is suspended.

Take some personal autonomous leadership between today and tomorrow and see if you can rustle up some votes for Ms. Salinas.

And as always—The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting will not be enough. The work ahead is ours.

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project Hour. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​​​​​​

 







Houston City Council voted yesterday, 12/10, to continue the new practice of holding one Tuesday evening Public Comment session early in the evening rather than at 2 PM.  The time for this session has been moved from 6 PM to 5 PM, but the later-time monthly meetings will proceed. 

Councilmember Mario Castillo proposed the evening meetings earlier this year. Council approved the idea with a trial that ends with the December 16 meeting next week. 

Councilmember Fred Flickinger made a motion to move the meetings to quarterly rather than monthly. That motion failed 9-8. Voting for quarterly evening meetings were Peck, Evans-Shabazz, Flickinger, Thomas, Huffman, Ramirez, Davis and Carter. Voting for the monthly meetings to proceed were Castillo, Pollard, Castex-Tatum, Alcorn, Martinez, Jackson, Kamin, Plummer and Whitmire. 

Mayor Whitmire made the right vote, but then went on to say a disturbing thing. 

Mayor Whitmire said people who offer public comment at Houston City Council should "....swear what you're saying is the truth." You see the Mayor in his comments in the picture above. The full debate on the meeting issue runs from the one hour 28 minute to the one hour 55 minute points of the HTV feed of today's session. Mayor Whitmire's unfortunate comment is at one hour 54 minutes. 

Who is going to determine what the truth is at Houston City Council? John Whitmire? 

Here is what the Houston Chronicle opinion page recently wrote about Mayor Whitmire and the truth:

"Every mayor makes backroom deals, but at some point they have to level with the public. We’re not seeing that with the mayor. Despite having the squinty deadpan style of a straight shooter, Whitmire prevaricates. He waffles, jumbles and obfuscates. Examples abound...It doesn’t build trust to pretend a budget is “balanced” when the city is dipping into its savings account to keep it in the black.  To sign pay deals with first responders without finding a way to pay for the raises. To claim staff cuts won’t affect city services when they likely will...On immigration, he is maddeningly inconsistent.... he rejected President Trump’s plans for a mass deportation program...Then he softened his stance, noting that local officers are required to contact arresting agencies if they encounter a person with a warrant. Then the big reveal: Whitmire openly acknowledging at a conference several weeks ago that HPD is cooperating with ICE. "

Imagine John Whitmire as a judge of who is telling the truth. 

The Mayor and his police union buddies are giving Houstonians all sorts of unhelpful input and about our First Amendment rights at Houston City Council and on the streets. These are just the wrong people to listen to with our freedom under attack. 

Here are some examples of what I'm referencing:

* Last week at Council. Mayor Whitmire told immigration activist Cesar Espinosa "..let us ask the questions" in response to HPD handing over a 15 year old boy with medical concerns to immigration officials. 

* At Council on November 12, Mayor Whitmire brought right-wing police "union" boss Douglas Griffith to tell Houstonians that use of the word "fight" in how we are opposing ICE could be seen as a threat against law enforcement. 

* This past Labor Day, there was an excessive and expensive police presence at a peaceful 50501 march against Trump and ICE that started near the Galleria-area water wall. 

* In August, 2024, Mayor Whitmire failed in an effort to ban protest at the homes of elected officials. We don't need to lose any rights as we confront an authoritarian threat. 
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* Also in August, 2024, Mayor Whitmire absurdly accused pro-Palestine protesters of being paid by Iran. He was unable to backup the assertion. 

* In February, 2024, while in the process of removing recently-installed public safety improvements on Houston Ave., Mayor Whitmire said opponents of his actions were "anti-car activists" dedicated to making it more difficult to get onto I-45. 

With ICE on our streets and our rights on the line, activism outside of establishment politics and protest led by Houstonians are an essential resource in the challenging days ahead. Mayor Whitmire should be on the streets by our side, rather than telling us to watch our words, deploying an army of cops when we protest peacefully and seeking to restrict our First Amendment rights. 

And as always--The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough. The work ahead is ours. 

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project Hour. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​​​​​

​Today was Week 461 of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest. 

Today two men in a black sports car stopped the car in the street, yelled at one of our people on the sidewalk for maybe 45 seconds and then one of the men spit at her. Two weeks ago someone threw a giant acorn at us from his car. We've had many things thrown at us. Though the reactions are in fact always strongly positive. 

Regretfully we don't have a picture or video of the incident today. We did get the license plate. In the picture you see Marsha making a police report to an officer while another one of our crew looks on. You see that Marsha's sign says "Antifa Forever." 

We always do a police report when one of us are assaulted. Last year we got a misdemeanor conviction of a man who threw eggs at us from his car. 

The Antifa person is plenty peaceful. The Trumpers spit and throw things at people. I'm convinced that if you wanted to assemble the 10,000 most lawful people in Houston who use turn signals, pay taxes and return library books on time, you'd organize an anti-Trump protest. 

You also see above how we feel about ICE and below our full crew today. 

​Please join us each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. It's essential people see others like themselves standing openly and confidently for freedom no matter the aggression of the right. Voting is essential, but it is not going to be enough. 

​There is little reason to trust 2026 elections will be conducted fairly or that there will not be even greater attacks on our civil liberties. ICE is an extermination unit in the making. We are going to have to show up for ourselves in ways that most elected officials will not.

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This past Saturday, I spoke at the quarterly Harris County Democratic Party Clubs & Organizations meeting, and at a fundraiser in Montgomery for Texas Congressional District 8 Democratic primary candidate Laura Jones.

This is all part of my work on the Houston Democracy Project. I'd be glad to speak at your club or org event or meeting. My e-mail is [email protected] 

​Ms. Jones used her fundraiser to give a platform to a number of community advocates including myself. That was both kind and far-sighted of her. We are going need all our allies and all our tools to get through the very difficult days ahead.

Here is an account of the fundraiser from Politics Done Right host Egberto Willies that captures the event well. Above is me speaking in Montgomery, Montgomery County.

Here is the core of what I said in these appearances:

* Voting is not going to be enough to get us out this crisis.
* Conventional politics and protest are both essential. The line between the two is blurring all the time. We saw this in the response to the martial law declaration in South Korea last year. 
* The No Kings Protests are helping build new networks of both rapid response and political organizing.
* Trump’s new national security strategy document is a white supremacist authoritarian plan. Consider reading it so you can speak to it.
* ICE is an extermination unit in the making.
* Democratic voters have a right to demand standards for our elected officials. It was true for Kim Ogg and Shaun Thierry, and it is true for John Whitmire. It’s not a so-called “purity test.” It is our right to have expectations of the people we help elect.
​* Primary candidates come and go. Our need to live freely remains. 
* Opposing authoritarians isn't going to be safe. We are going to have to accept some measure of risk.
* We have a right to a collective identity as active rank and file democracy advocates and Democrats that is independent from candidates and elected officials. We must advocate for ourselves. 
*The next action is when you organize it, the First Amendment is your permit, the only credential needed is your presence.

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project Hour. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​​​​​