Mayor Parker
Former H-Town Mayor Annise Parker is thinking about running for Harris County Judge in 2026. The news broke yesterday in the Chron. See this from the Chron:
Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker has been talking to friends and supporters in recent months about making another run for elected office.
Parker, a Democrat who led City Hall from 2010 to 2016, is considering a run for Harris County judge in 2026, according to two people who have spoken to her directly about her interest in the job. The Houston Chronicle granted the sources anonymity to discuss private conversations.
The former mayor said she has not finalized any plans about her future. She is leaving her job at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund in December and said she will assess her options after departing the political action committee, which is dedicated to supporting LGBTQ candidates for elected office nationwide.
“I don’t know that I’m ready to retire, but I do know that I hate being on the road,” Parker told the Chronicle. “I have to find something that fits my skill set and allows me to be here in the greater Houston area. I’m going to keep my options open.”
She added that while she had not made a decision about running, the county judge position has an appeal.
“I would certainly be open to (county judge), but you know, that’s two years away. Two years is an eternity in politics.”
Here is the entire Chron read: Annise Parker may run for Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo’s seat (houstonchronicle.com).
I agree that two years is an eternity in politics.
Mayor Parker has been on a City of H-Town ballot over a dozen times including runoffs over the past 30 years. The last time being in 2013, err, eleven years ago – a super eternity in politics. I don’t think she has ever been on a partisan ballot, err, Democratic Party Primary ballot.
I am sure the former mayor will look into polling data. The last polling data I saw on Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo a few months ago show Judge Hidalgo with very high favorable numbers with Democrats.
If the race were held today, Judge Hidalgo would likely score the most endorsements from groups and organizations who endorse in a Democratic Party Primary. I don’t even think that the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus would endorse Annise.
I think Judge Hidalgo would also hold on to the support from most of the elected officials who are Democrats.
The local Fox 26 “What’s Your Point” crew holds zilch influence on a Harris County Democratic Party Primary election. A big zilch. Certainly don’t take political advice from this bunch.
Latino Democratic voters enjoy the fact that a majority of the Harris County Commissioners Court are Latino and Latina. I think they would come out and support Judge Hidalgo and the current majority.
In a Democratic Party Primary in these parts and in these days, the voter landscape tends to favor the more partisan Democratic candidate. I don’t think former Mayor Parker could out-partisan Judge Hidalgo.
You have to figure that one of the factors that contributed to incumbent Harris County DA Kim Ogg getting severely trounced a couple of months in the primary election was because of Ogg’s vendetta against Judge Hidalgo. Yes, I will go on record as labeling it a vendetta after the DA handed the Hidalgo related case off to the crook Texas GOP AG Ken Paxton last week. The vendetta got Ogg 25% of the vote and bolstered Judge Hidalgo’s cred among Democrats.
If DA Ogg and/or crook Paxton decide to indict Judge Hidalgo in the next few months, it will only embolden Judge Hidalgo with Democrats.
Oh, well. 22 months is an eternity in politics. Stay tuned.
_____
I posted the featured photo last night. On my way to The Yard yesterday, I saw this pile of trash on fire at the corner of Main and Preston by the courthouse.
_____
My Beatles wall poster for the month of May has a black and white photo of the four running down a street from their 1964 flick “A Hard Day’s Night.”
_____
Wow. That was some game last night. Alex Bregman finally got his first dinger of the season, a three-run blast. We finally got a dinger from a first baseman, a three-run shot from Jon Singleton. Joey Loperfido in his MLB debut got his first career base hit which drove in two runs. The evening was capped off with a pinch-hit walk-off two-run dinger by Victor Caratini.
Oh, yeah, I also had a couple of dollar dogs last night.
Have a nice May Day.
