Shami doesn’t recall elected officials Conroe Courier News Houston Community Newspapers Online - News Around Town

Source: www.thecourier-online.com

Updated: 01.29.10
AUSTIN (AP) – A Democrat running for Texas governor couldn’t name the state’s comptroller, attorney general or his own representatives during a newspaper editorial board meeting, the Austin American-Statesman reported Friday.

Farouk Shami, a Houston hair care magnate who resides in The Woodlands and is making his first run for office, was asked a series of questions about Texas government during the Thursday meetings.

Asked whether he could name the state comptroller, Shami said, “Not at this point.” Republican Susan Combs is the comptroller.

Asked who the attorney general is, Shami answered that he knows who is running: “Barbara” and “Ted Cruz.”

Republican Greg Abbott is attorney general and is running for re-election. Barbara Ann Radnofsky is a Democratic candidate for attorney general. Ted Cruz is a Republican who last year announced his intention to run but never filed.

Asked to name his state representative and state senator, Shami answered that his representative is Senfronia Thompson and his senator is Sylvester Turner.

Although Shami, 67, has factories and his corporate headquarters in Houston’s Harris County, he’s registered to vote in bordering Montgomery County. Neither Thompson nor Turner represents Montgomery County. Turner, who like Thompson is a Houston Democrat, is a state representative.

“I’m a good reader,” Shami said. “I follow politics nationally and internationally and locally all the time ... I’ve been watching it — not inside it.”

Republicans Tommy Williams and Rob Eissler are the respective state senator and representative in The Woodlands.

Shami campaign manager Vince Leibowitz called the meeting “a police interrogation.”

“Many Texans don’t know the answers to these questions,” he said. “The Statesman is trying to make Farouk Shami look like a rube when he really is not.”

White opens campaign office in Beaumont


BEAUMONT – Bill White for Texas opened a new campaign headquarters in Beaumont Thursday afternoon.

White is a Democratic candidate for governor and will face a primary March 2.

Ashlea Graves, White’s Southeast Texas Regional Field Director, said the new office for Southeast Texas adds momentum to the campaign with just 32 days left until the primary.

Corporate takeover of elections can be stopped with clean elections.

This from the Montgomery County Democratic Party:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 29, 2010

Rep. Kevin Brady fails to support Fair Elections Now Act

Even after the recent Supreme Court decision, Brady still doesn’t advocate a level playing field for elections.

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS – A recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court has increased the urgent need to enact federal legislation to curb the corporate influence that exists in elections for public office. One such bill, the Fair Elections Now Act (H.R. 1826) was introduced in 2009 and has 128 co-sponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives, including six members of the Texas congressional delegation. Unfortunately, U.S. Representative Kevin Brady (R – The Woodlands) is not one of them.

“The recent court decision is an example of egregious judicial activism.  It opens the door for corporate takeover of our government, undermining the voices of ordinary citizens. Congress should act swiftly to restore our democracy and it is regrettable that Rep. Brady has failed to support the Fair Elections Now Act, which would do just that,” said Adrienne Cadik, chair of the Montgomery County Democratic Party.  

“This bill, which is supported by the non-partisan Texas League of Women Voters, would set up a publicly financed system of elections that would lower the cost of elections, minimize the influence of special interests, allow challengers to compete with career incumbents, and overall create a level playing field,” said Cadik.

Brady, who has been in Congress since 1996, raised over $930,000 from political action committees in the 2006 and 2008 election cycles alone, according to www.opensecrets.org.

Elected officials from all parts of the political spectrum, from President Obama to Senator John McCain, have expressed their disdain for the Court’s ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. In his dissenting opinion, Justice John Paul Stevens wrote, “the Court's opinion is thus a rejection of the common sense of the American people, who have recognized a need to prevent corporations from undermining self government since the founding, and who have fought against the distinctive corrupting potential of corporate electioneering since the days of Theodore Roosevelt.”

We call on Rep. Brady put the interests of the constituents of this congressional district ahead of all else and support H.R. 1826.

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Woodlands Township News

Woodlands Citizens, The Woodlands Township Government began officially January 4, 2010.

This note is to communicate several things though primarily the Town Hall Meeting for The Woodlands Township. Please see below:

1. Road Update:
a. Woodlands Parkway eastbound will be open before mid-February.
b. The cable work is finished on the Woodlands Parkway westbound portion of the road and full construction should start. Work will be completed in 4-6 months.
c. Research Forest Drive widening should be started this year but a final schedule is not available.
d. The contract to expand the Park & Ride in Sterling Ridge from 200 to 1,200 vehicles should be issued soon.
2. Energy Savings Idea:
Local electric utility companies offer a free audit and some energy savings improvements to help you reduce your consumption of electricity. Qualified customers can arrange to have it done by contacting them at www.freelightingcorp.com or 866-484-3519.
3. The Woodlands Township to hold Town Hall Meeting

THE WOODLANDS, TEXAS (January 14, 2010) – The Woodlands Township Board of Directors will hold a Town Hall Meeting from 7 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, January 27, 2010 at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. The meeting is open to the public, and residents and businesses are encouraged to attend.“The Woodlands Township Town Hall Meeting will address 2010 initiatives and allow residents and businesses the opportunity to provide feedback to The Woodlands Township Board of Directors,” said Chairman of the Board Nelda Blair. Free parking for the meeting will be available at the Town Center Garage at The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion. The fourth floor of the garage is connected via skywalk to The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center. The meeting will begin promptly at 7 pm and will conclude by 9 pm. For the latest news and information on The Woodlands Township government, please call 281-210-3800 or visit www.thewoodlandstownship-tx.gov.
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Celebrating an historic moment, one year later.

As the summer of 2008 drew to a close, Montgomery County residents found themselves cleaning up the aftermath of the landfall of a major hurricane.  The gale force winds treated pine trees like toothpicks, downed limbs big and small, and ensured we'd be without electricity for nearly two weeks. But as the electricity came back on and life returned back to normal, it seemed the winds had stirred up something more substantial.

The Montgomery County Democratic Party opened it's headquarters on Frazier Street when the power came back and within days, the place had taken on a life of it's own. It was an energy driven by a deluge of new volunteers, who came from a place we would soon learn to love; "the wood works." People who had never before been involved, were soon knocking on doors, manning phones, and stuffing envelopes. We didn't just phone Montgomery County, we dialed into key battleground states around the country, directed through the Obama campaign's virtual phone bank tool. One volunteer who had lived abroad described the office as "the embassy," a friendly haven surrounded by a foreign ideology. The weeks flew by as the volunteers worked away and Hurricane Ike was replaced by an economic storm that would affect everyone in the world. As election day drew near, all eyes were on the presidential election.

We put away the call lists and door hangers and turned our headquarters into a party room. Two projector screens were brought in; one to broadcast live coverage and the other to display the latest election results on races all around the country. As the polls closed, the place started to fill up. Soon, tents had to be pitched in the parking lot to house the overflow of revelers. Each time Senator Obama took a state, a roar would erupt that could be heard for blocks around. To say that the energy in the room was palpable would be an understatement. The place was on fire! As the Illinois Senator neared the crucial number of electoral votes, a man tapped me on the shoulder and asked that I pour a bottle of champagne on his head at the exact moment the announcement was made.

Although the trend of the polls had been known for weeks and the outcome of the election was generally expected, I cannot describe the feeling that raced through me as those words were spoken by CNN's Wolf Blitzer: "CNN can project that Barack Obama, 47 years old, will be the president-elect of the United States." I poured the champagne and watched as tears poured out of one woman's eyes. Another woman could only mutter, "Oh my God." A Republican official stood near the front door, a look of absolute shock on his face. The rest of the crowd was elated to say the least. County Chair Adrienne Cadik took to standing on an actual chair to address the crowd and thank them for their hard work. "This is one of the most exciting moments of my life," she said.

I reflect back on that moment today because we are nearing the anniversary of President Obama's first year in office. To me, that moment in the headquarters on election night was more than just the culmination of a lot of hard work, though I realize that our efforts locally ultimately didn't contribute to the awarding of any electoral votes to President Obama. That moment was the culmination of an election where Democrats in this county finally felt ok to come out from hiding. After decades of being a silent minority, we made our voices heard. People that were before afraid to advertise their politics in this county with an abnormal density of Republicans, now proudly slapped on a bumper sticker and mounted a yard sign. In a county that voted for George Wallace in 1968, nearly 37,000 voters cast a vote for Barack Obama. Ultimately, we experienced a mere 2% gain the democratic performance, but at least it was moving in the right direction.

Now, after a year of an Obama Presidency, we will again come together to celebrate. We'll be celebrating a great moment in American history which we helped make possible, but we'll also be celebrating a moment in our own local history; a moment when Montgomery County Democrats came together to stand tall.

I hope that you will join me at the MCDP Headquarters Friday, January 22nd at 6:30 pm  as we come together to recall our experiences and have a good time again. We'll be watching a movie, having some snacks, and offering several pieces of Obama memorabilia as door prizes. Come on out and let's see if we can get some energy flowing again!