April 13, 2024 I don’t usually brag but I can’t help crowing about donating to Marilyn Land’s campaign. I played a role in her victory! Who is Marilyn Lands? She’s a counselor (go mental health professionals!) who just won a state house district in a red part of Alabama. She beat her Republican opponent by 25 points, a huge margin! Ms. Lands heavily leaned into the message of women’s reproductive freedom (abortion and IVF). As has been true in races across the country, her campaign was buoyed by lots of women angry at the elimination of their reproductive rights. It’s …
Collin County: Can You Feel the Fascism?
December 5, 2023 This column is going to piss some people off: good people, people who are friends and allies, people I like. I accept they’re going to be angry with me though, because battling fascism is too important to ignore. I’m happy to piss you off too if you’re someone who reads this and then does nothing. I don’t write this column for fun or because I have nothing else to do (it isn’t and I do). I write it so YOU WILL DO SOMETHING! Voting is no longer enough. This isn’t the column I wanted to write. I …
Collin County Politics: A Broader Look at the 2023 Election
November 11, 2023 I’m all about local politics. It’s where we have the most influence and where the decisions that impact us the most are made. However, I’m going to stray from that for this column because it’s important to realize just how great last Tuesday’s election was for Democrats. And liberal Texans need to hear that! When you live in a one-party rule state where most voters are clueless sheep (looking straight at you, Republicans!), it tends to get depressing. Hope is important, especially for us. Before I dig in though, I want to take a minute to discuss …
Collin County Local Politics: Your Sing-Along Guide to Voting
October 21, 2023 Greetings, faithful readers. Your friendly local politics nerd is back! Early voting for our upcoming election that’s (mostly) about government spending starts Monday, so here I am once again wading into the fray. Like most local elections, this one will be low turn-out. However, since few actual races are on the ballot and constitutional amendments are always confusing, this one will be extremely low turn-out. While that’s disappointing for overall democracy, it’s exciting for you personally because it means YOU have the opportunity to make a true difference! So, grab your voter ID (whatever it is), shame …
Sick of Ken Paxton’s Crimes? Blame the Collin County Commissioners
August 5, 2023 Ken Paxton was in the news this week (is he ever out of it?) for a court appearance in Houston related to his indictments for securities fraud. These indictments are so old that you’d be excused for either forgetting or not even knowing about them. I mean, a regular person would’ve faced trial long before now but we’re not talking about a regular person, now are we? No, we’re talking about a Texas Republican politician. There are special rules for them, particularly if they, like Ken Paxton, got their start in Collin County and are protected by …
Collin County Politics: The Reasons We Lost
Photo by Stephen Melkisethian at Flickr.com June 12, 2023 I wanted to quit politics on Sunday. Like so many others, I worked incredibly hard to win an election that should’ve been ours. Both Dr. Stacey Donald and Scott Coleman earned more votes than their opponents in the municipal election in May. In most elections, that would’ve been the end of the race and they would’ve started moving the horrific Collin College Board of Trustees back to sanity. Instead, we got a run-off. Even so, the wind seemed at our backs. Jay Saad (Scott’s opponent) hardly did any campaigning. His website …
Republicans Yawn as a Mass Shooting Event Hits Allen
May 6, 2023 On Cinco de Mayo, Mississippi hosted the daily mass shooting event. While the body count was low (1 dead, 6 injured), it still was terrifying for the people just trying to enjoy a local restaurant. Earlier in the week, Georgia had hosting duties with 1 dead and 4 injured in an Atlanta medical center waiting room. Today’s mass casualty event was (of course) in Texas at an outlet mall in Allen. There are at least 9 people dead, including children. I imagine the United States is the only country that must specify a “mass shooting event” (4 …
Collin County Politics: Passing the Torch
January 10, 2023 ICYMI: When I was a professor (in the early 00s), abortion was a major topic in my psychology of women class (a fun and informative course everyone should take). I’d end the lecture by saying that the fight against abortion was just a shot across the bow, that conservatives would be coming for birth control next. My students scoffed, insisting no one would dare try to take away birth control from American women. Uh-huh. I wish I could tell you I was wrong but, of course, I wasn’t. It truly sucks to be Cassandra. To wit: the …
Collin County Politics: 2nd Annual Awards Edition
December 27, 2022 It’s that time of year again, faithful readers! Add this column to the plethora of year-end lists as I discuss the good and the bad in local politics for 2022. As always, I can only comment on information received from other warriors for democracy, so if you have something you want me to mention, you must report it. Here’s to a positive and productive new year! Best Performance in an Elected Role: Julie Holmer and Gere Feltus (tie) Plano City Council member Julie Holmer was such a bright light on council that even dyed-in-the-wool Republicans had positive …
Collin County Politics: Emphasize Care for Everyone
December 20, 2022 Covid Update: Collin County has 265,229 confirmed Covid cases. That’s 1,113 more cases than I reported last week and 1,598 of our Collin residents have died (no additional deaths). Our transmission remains Low although our test positivity rate is high and the numbers of Covid hospitalizations have risen. This is in addition to the increase in cases of flu and RSV. Everyone say it with me: WEAR YOUR MASKS!! ICYMI: I was hoping we’d get through the holiday season without too much terrible news but leave it to Felonious Punk Ken Paxton to ruin that hope! He’s …