Astros Signings
Commentary has been dismissive of MAGA Gov. Greg Abbott’s claim that he is going to pour his campaign dough into Harris County this year and turn our county dark red. It looks like the MAGA clown Abbott is also being dismissive of his own claim. He must have checked out his poll numbers here in Harris County. Now he wants to run the Harris County elections. I guess he figures that if he runs the elections, he can get his desired dark red outcome. See this from KPRC Channel 2 News:
HOUSTON – Harris County officials are pushing back after Governor Greg Abbott suggested the state should take over elections in the county, calling Harris a “repeat violator of election integrity.”
On social media, Abbott said “Harris County is [a] repeat violator of election integrity,” adding, “they should be stripped of operating elections, and state officials should take over.”
Judge Lina Hidalgo called the governor’s claims politically motivated and based on unfounded voter fraud allegations.
“It’s quite clear this is about continuing to politicize our elections,” Hidalgo told KPRC 2 News Rilwan Balogun. “Our former DA tried to prosecute voter fraud and didn’t find anyone who voted under inappropriate circumstances.”
The comments come as Harris County prepares for several major elections this year, including the midterms. County Clerk Teneshia Hudspeth appeared before Commissioners Court this week, requesting that Houston Police officers be at all early voting and Election Day locations.
In a statement, Hudspeth explained the need for officers:
“The Texas Election Code requires law enforcement involvement in various aspects of election operations. Senate Bill 2216 requires all ballots and election equipment used during Early Voting to be securely stored. Officers are needed each day to unlock and lock these secure ballot storage areas at all vote centers.”
Hudspeth also emphasized that the County Clerk’s Office oversees election operations, while voter registration is managed separately by the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector. Since September 2023, the Clerk’s Office has conducted 12 elections in coordination with key stakeholders, including the Texas Secretary of State and both local political parties, Hudspeth said.
Officers assigned during elections are part of the Harris County Election Security Task Force, which includes local and federal partners such as the Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, and Harris County Fire Marshal’s Office. The task force coordinates security measures to help ensure safe and transparent elections.
Hudspeth said the office will meet with the county budget team in the coming days to finalize costs and present them to Commissioners Court later this month.
“The County Clerk’s Office remains committed to conducting elections with transparency, accuracy, and integrity,” Hudspeth said. “We want voters to understand the distinct roles of election operations and voter registration.”
It wasn’t that long ago that this knucklehead governor signed the legislation to eliminate the Harris County Elections Administrator and hand election duties to the Harris County Clerk and Harris County Tax Assessor Collector. The legislation to abolish the elections administrator was carried by MAGA blowhard Sen. Paul Bettencourt and this is what he said in 2023 about his measure:
“SB 1750 will restore voter trust, accountability, and transparency in Harris County elections by returning the management of elections back to elected officials.”
Try as they may, they just can’t legislate election outcomes. MAGA must go full rig mode here in Harris County. I think MAGA is in a bit of a panic and certainly scared about Harris County.
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It looks like the price of Saint Arnold will be going up at Daikin Park this season. The Astros are shelling out the dough to keep players on the team. See this from Tags:
HOUSTON — A pair of 2025 All-Stars — shortstop Jeremy Peña and right-hander Hunter Brown — headlined the list of Astros players who agreed to contracts for the ’26 season on Thursday, avoiding going to arbitration hearings.
Peña, in his second year of arbitration, settled for $9.475 million with the Astros, a source told MLB.com, while Brown will get $5.71 million in his first year of arbitration. In all, the club reached agreements with nine of its 11 arbitration-eligible players.
The Astros didn’t come to an agreement with infielder Isaac Paredes and catcher Yainer Diaz ahead of Thursday’s deadline and will head to an arbitration hearing with both, sources said. Paredes filed at $9.95 million, and the Astros filed at $8.75 million; Diaz filed at $4.5 million and Houston filed at $3 million.
Here’s a full list of the Astros’ settlements, per sources:
Jeremy Peña (second year arbitration-eligible): $9.475 million
Jesús Sánchez (second year): $6.8 million
Bryan Abreu (third year): $5.85 million
Hunter Brown (first year): $5.71 million
Jake Meyers (second year): $3.55 million
Steven Okert (third year): $2.325 million
Nick Allen (first year): $1.4 million
Hayden Wesneski (first year): $975,000
Bennett Sousa (first year): $910,000
The featured photo suggests that Christmas came a couple of weeks late for these Astros. They’ll gladly unwrap their deserved presents and I guess I will pay whatever for Saint Arnold. Oh, well.
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I will pay attention to the NFL Wild Card games this weekend, well, at least the two AFC games. Stay safe this Wild Card Weekend.