by Staff | May 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
(https://team1.sos.state.tx.us/voterws/viw/faces/SearchSelectionPolling.jsp) Visit the Secretary of State, “Polling Place Search” website page to find where you can vote. You can search by: 1. your Texas driver’s license number, if you provided it when you applied for voter registration; 2. your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID), which appears on your voter registration certificate; or 3. your first and last name. Click HERE to go to SOS Polling Place Search...
by Staff | Apr 4, 2014 | Uncategorized
April 3, 2014 (http://governor.state.tx.us/news/appointment/19568/) Gov. Rick Perry has appointed Tom Rugg Sr. of Beaumont as judge of the 58th Judicial District for a term to expire at the next general election. Rugg is an attorney in private practice and former civil division chief prosecutor, with 27 years of service at the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office. He is a fellow and past District Three Nominations Committee chairman of the Texas Bar Foundation, a member and past District Three director of the State Bar of Texas, and a member and past president of the Jefferson County Bar Association. He also is a member of the Bar Association of the Fifth Federal Circuit, Texas District and County Attorneys Association, Jefferson County Bail Bond Board, and Foreign Trade Zone Board of Southeast Texas. He is a past member of the Jefferson County Insurance, Financial, Human Resources and Alternative Dispute Resolution Advisory committees, Jefferson County Juvenile Detention Study Committee, and the American Bar Association. He is also past director of the Mediation Center of Jefferson County, past deacon and board chairman of First Christian Church of Beaumont and past district commissioner of the Boy Scouts of America Three Rivers Council. Rugg received a bachelor’s degree from Lamar University and a law degree from the University of Texas School of...
by Staff | Mar 31, 2014 | Uncategorized
March 22, 2014 (http://www.expressnews.com/news/politics/article/Partisan-battle-over-Lilly-Ledbetter-Act-5340971.php) by Patricia Kilday Hart AUSTIN — After 42 years in the Texas House, Rep. Senfronia Thompson has earned a nickname — “Miz T.” — that evokes equal parts respect, affection and fear. When she filed the Texas version of the Lilly Ledbetter Act last session, Miz T. called some old friends at the Texas Civil Justice League, a business group dedicated to fighting lawsuit abuse, and drafted them as allies. Aided by the group’s credibility with conservatives — and the force of her own personality — she won bipartisan support and narrowly passed the measure, though her efforts eventually fell victim to Gov. Rick Perry’s veto pen. Now, the issue has resurfaced in the Texas governor’s race, with Republican nominee Greg Abbott saying he would veto the bill if it is passed again. His comments drew a rebuke from Democratic nominee Wendy Davis, who sponsored the bill in the Texas Senate. The Republican candidates for lieutenant governor also jumped into the fray this week. Incumbent David Dewhurst tweeted that Davis’ bill would have “unleashed torrents of lawsuits,” while his challenger, Houston Sen. Dan Patrick, said the government should stay out of the issue. Some political observers, however, say conservatives may be having a knee-jerk reaction against the Lilly Ledbetter legislation simply because it was championed by President Barack Obama and Davis, a rising Texas Democratic star. The policy it advances is not that controversial, they argue. “The vote (favoring the bill) can absolutely be defended on conservative grounds,” says TCJL general counsel George Christian, whose group helped win passage of Thompson’s bill. Lisa Maatz, vice...
by Staff | Mar 17, 2014 | Uncategorized
March 12, 2014 (http://www.statesman.com/news/news/vote-recount-possible-in-12-ballot-margin-368th-di/nd979/) By Andra Lim ROUND ROCK — Incumbent Rick Kennon won the 368th District Court Judge race by 12 votes after outstanding Williamson County ballots were tabulated — a margin so slim that his opponent, Donna King, could request a rare ballot recount. Leander Municipal Judge King, who received 49.97 percent of the vote to Kennon’s 50.03 percent, said she wouldn’t decide Tuesday whether to ask for a recount. The results reflect 24,756 ballots cast on election day and during early voting for the March 4 Republican primary, in addition to 12 provisional, overseas and military ballots that were tallied Tuesday. Since no Democratic candidate is running, the primary determines the race. The judge seat for the 368th district court, which handles civil and felony criminal cases in Williamson County, became wide open after Judge Burt Carnes announced he would retire after 24 years last fall. Gov. Rick Perry tapped Kennon in October to fill the position, which pays a salary of $148,000 a year. Kennon and King said the race may have been close because they both ran “positive” campaigns and had more than a decade of experience in the courtroom. Both also fundraised considerably more than most other campaigns in the county. Kennon brought in $39,094.62 and contributed $2,400 out of his own pocket, campaign finance documents show. King raised $20,200 and loaned her campaign $49,750. “It’s pretty humbling to win by such a small, small margin, but obviously I’m thankful and ready to serve for the next four years,” Kennon said. King, who could request a recount of all ballots on the grounds...
by Staff | Mar 14, 2014 | Uncategorized
March 13, 2014 Contact: Michael D. Lozano at MichaelDLozano@me.com Tryon Lewis Press Release
by Staff | Feb 27, 2014 | Uncategorized
“I was honored to serve on the Supreme Court of Texas with Chief Justice Hecht. He is highly qualified, guided by our Constitution and committed to strict interpretation of the law.” -US Senator John Cornyn (http://www.justicenathanhecht.com/endorsements.html) “Phil Johnson believes, as I do, that our courts need judges who are qualified, experienced, and committed to the rule of law, not judges who legislate from the bench.” -US Senator John Cornyn (http://www.justicephiljohnson.com/endorsements/) “Texans deserve jurists on their highest court who are thoughtful, fair, and of the highest caliber, and without question conservative Justice Jeff Brown fits the bill.” -US Senator John Cornyn...
