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Tag: Cindy Siegel

  • It May Be Just a Formality, But Harris County Political Parties Are Backing Houston ISD Trustee Candidates

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    Regardless of who is elected to the Houston ISD board of trustees in November, they won’t have any power — but both major political parties are endorsing candidates in the nonpartisan race, with the Harris County Democratic Party doing so for the first time ever.

    Due to a 2023 state takeover, HISD’s governing authority is a board of managers appointed by the Texas Education Agency Commissioner Mike Morath. The elected panel doesn’t have a vote and can’t sit in on executive sessions.

    Nonetheless, officials with Harris County’s GOP and Democratic Party are making sure voters know which candidates espouse their party’s values when they go to the polls on November 4. The endorsements carry some weight but don’t guarantee victory, according to a Republican Party precinct chair, but the bigger picture is that it appears the religious right and the progressive left are attempting to take over all levels of government, starting at the most local races, where they say it matters most.

    The Harris County Democratic Party’s picks for HISD include Felicity Pereyra (District 1), Maria Benzon (District 5), Michael McDonough (District 6), Dr. Audrey Nath (District 7), and Myrna Guidry (District 9).

    The candidates “share a commitment to strong public schools, equity in education, and the democratic values that empower Houston families,” said Democratic Party Chair Mike Doyle.

    “At this point, unfortunately, the Trumpsters have turned school districts into an ideological playground and parents, teachers, and families are in a position where, unless they have the most qualified folks identified, they’re not necessarily going to know who [to vote for], so we felt an important need to speak out,” he said.

    Doyle acknowledged that HISD’s “puppet” board of managers has the authority, but said the elected trustees have oversight responsibility.

    “At this point, because of folks basically trying to kill public schools in favor of vouchers, with the takeover, they don’t have the authority to do what they need to do to protect,” he said. “They’re basically just oversight, calling out the worst abuses, so they’re important positions for that.”

    “I think local races are important to every family in Harris County and they have become the place where the worst of the worst in many ways have started to get involved in destroying education,” he added. “It’s reached the point where we’ve got to make sure that folks understand who the ones are who are not the crackpots.”

    The Democratic values espoused by the endorsed slate, according to Doyle, include fully funding and supporting public education, properly paying teachers, and “not just trying to destroy the system in favor of billionaires pushing vouchers for profit.”

    “I think endorsements matter in a school district that is predominantly Democrat-voting,” he said. “I think it matters because it gives voters a really strong guidepost for who the most effective, willing-to-fight-the-takeover candidates are.”

    The Harris County Republican Party endorsed two Houston ISD candidates, Bridget Wade for District 7 and Robbie McDonough for District 5. Harris County GOP Party Chair Cindy Siegel said the party began endorsing school board candidates in 2021 and takes credit for flipping three school boards to a Republican majority.

    “I thought having conservative representation on school boards and city councils — local government — was important because that impacts your life more than what goes on in Austin or D.C.,” said Siegel, a former mayor of Bellaire. “Our process has been fine-tuned and sometimes we’ve done a really great job and other times we’ve learned from it. We continue to try to refine the process.”

    Siegel said the process is fair and transparent, and candidates are fully vetted through interviews and a series of public forums. If precinct chairs don’t like the bylaws, they’re welcome to submit a resolution to change them, she said.

    “We have, more often than not, gotten it right,” she said. “Our job, as party officers, is to try to get Republicans elected, to make your case, whether you’re knocking on doors or talking to friends. Instead of making their case and participating, my frustration was that I felt like some of [the precinct chairs] were like, it’s not going the way I want it to, so I’m going to take my toys and go down the road.”

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    April Towery

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  • Cy-Fair ISD Trustee Natalie Blasingame’s GOP Endorsement Remains Intact

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    The Harris County Republican Party declined to vote Monday night on a proposal to revoke the endorsement of Cypress-Fairbanks school board trustee Natalie Blasingame after the resolution’s author, Precinct Chair Judi DeHaan, withdrew her motion.

    The resolution began circulating among precinct chairs on Friday, citing concerns about Blasingame’s recent actions that have “brought shame upon the district.”

    Monday’s meeting of the Republican Party’s executive committee was closed to the public but DeHaan shared her public comments in an email to the Houston Press.

    “I have been both thanked and vilified for bringing this resolution forward,” DeHaan said at the Republican Party meeting. “And I understand that leadership has made the decision to let the endorsement stand. I do not want others to have to endure this type of repercussions; therefore, I am withdrawing the resolution and wish to thank those who wanted to speak for the resolution to protect HCRP’s integrity.”

    It’s unclear what repercussions she was referring to or whether someone in party leadership encouraged her to withdraw the resolution at the last minute. DeHaan and Harris County Republican Party Chair Cindy Siegel could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday morning. 

    The Harris County GOP endorsed Blasingame, a trustee since 2021, along with retired CFISD administrator Radele Walker and former trustee George Edwards Jr., in late August, before the filing period closed and days prior to the publication of a Houston Press story about Blasingame secretly recording members of the community, including the wife of a fellow trustee.

    The secret recordings weren’t illegal but what happened after Blasingame’s April meeting with community members Jeff Ivey and Bethany Scanlon increased scrutiny around the trustee, who is a Christian conservative and the vice president of the school board.

    Blasingame’s close friend, Damon “Bam” Lenahan, told the Press he threatened one of the residents, Scanlon, to take down a Facebook post supporting Blasingame’s opponent or he’d release the tapes. Lenahan also has engaged in combative debate on social media with several members of the Cy-Fair community. Blasingame and Lenahan said they did not conspire and don’t control each other’s actions.

    The Cy-Fair ISD board adopted a policy last week to prohibit trustees from recording conversations with community members, each other, and district administrators without the consent of all parties involved.

    Blasingame has said she records conversations of people who have made false accusations or lied about her. Scanlon, the wife of Cy-Fair ISD trustee Lucas Scanlon, and Ivey, a Cypress businessman, both resigned their positions as GOP precinct chairs amid the controversy.

    Republican Party officials also took notice when, at a September 4 workshop, Blasingame accused the board of violating the Texas Open Meetings Act by discussing in closed session the policy related to secret audio recordings.

    Board attorney Marney Collins Sims pointed out that the board can accept legal advice in closed session on its “duties” and that often such matters are posted for executive session to give trustees an option to speak privately. Blasingame’s accusation put the district in legal jeopardy, Republican Party precinct chairs said at the time.

    The resolution that Harris County GOP officials were scheduled to consider on Monday states, in part:

    WHEREAS, Natalie Blasingame has engaged in actions that have brought shame upon
    her district, the elected office and the Republican Party through her actions unbecoming the office shown in media sources below for [example] and

    WHEREAS, these actions have caused significant reputational damage to both the office and the Harris County Republican Party; and

    WHEREAS, Natalie Blasingame has enjoined district (CFISD) and every citizen in Cy-Fair in her unfounded, libelous and defamatory statements and allegations upon her admission to violating the Congressional Act, Texas Government Code Ch. 551 …

    THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, the Harris County Republican Party immediately rescinds the endorsement of Natalie Blasingame from the list of endorsed candidates,

    ALSO, BE IT RESOLVED, that Harris County Republican Party reaffirm its commitment
    to supporting candidates who reflect honor, integrity, personal accountability, and the
    values of the Republican Party.

    DeHaan wrote the resolution and submitted it for consideration earlier this month amid rampant concerns that Blasingame’s behavior eroded trust and caused reputational damage to the Cy-Fair community and its school board. Many former and current GOP precinct chairs have said the Harris County Republican Party’s endorsement process is flawed and Blasingame shouldn’t have received the nod without input from all precinct chairs. 

    click to enlarge

    The Harris County GOP endorsed Natalie Blasingame on August 25.

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    School board positions are nonpartisan and unpaid. In Cy-Fair ISD, those elected serve four-year terms at-large, meaning they do not represent specific geographic districts. Although Blasingame currently holds the Position 5 seat, she opted this year to challenge incumbent board president Scott Henry for his Position 6 seat.

    Henry received the GOP endorsement when he ran on a slate with Blasingame and Lucas Scanlon in 2021, but did not get the party’s backing this year, allegedly because he’s not conservative enough. Prairie View University professor Cleveland Lane Jr. is also running for Position 6. Trustees Lucas Scanlon, Todd LeCompte, and Justin Ray are backing Henry.

    The election is November 4, with early voting beginning on October 20.

    According to several sources familiar with the Harris County Republican Party, the endorsement process in Cypress-Fairbanks is controlled by a committee of people predominantly representing a group previously known as the CyFair 4 Liberty Political Action Committee and now operating as the MAGA PAC.

    Far-right Republican Bill Ely is the “ringleader,” sources say. Ely has not responded to repeated requests for comment and continues to personally endorse Blasingame after the concerns about her behavior arose last month.

    “Great group of conservatives,” Ely wrote on a Harris County Republican Party Facebook post announcing the endorsements of Blasingame, Walker, and Edwards. “I am excited to support them any way I can and of course proudly cast my vote for them in November.”

    Former Harris County Republican Party precinct chair Charlotte Lampe, now an election judge, said the party should not endorse before the ballot is finalized, noting that several precinct chairs resigned because they were forced to sign a pledge saying they won’t campaign for or support anyone other than the GOP-endorsed candidates.

    “The HCRP endorsement is not worth the paper it’s written on,” Lampe told the Press last week. “What you’re seeing now is real manipulation and real coercion and things that I will never support. If people are going to talk about let’s keep Democrats honest, well, let’s keep Republicans honest too.”

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    April Towery

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