Dumb Move

Early voting in person for the primary runoffs start in 3 days and Donald Trump still has not endorsed in the MAGA U.S. Senate race in Texas.

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This was a dumb move. See this from the Chron:

Harris County officials pulled a $90,000 no-bid communications contract for the Tax Assessor’s office from Thursday’s agenda following scrutiny from residents on social media. 

The Tax Office asked commissioners to award the contract to SWR Strategies, which the office said had provided communications and “voter registrar support” since Feb. 1. Tax Assessor-Collector Annette Ramirez’s office said in a statement that she “was acquainted with” the company’s owner, Sahar Robertson, prior to hiring SWR Strategies.

The Tax Office said the contract is no longer under consideration, and that the county would not pay for the work already completed by SWR Strategies. 

“The engagement has been concluded pro bono,” the Tax Office said. “The Assessor’s priority is straightforward: deliver modern, accessible, and efficient services to every Harris County resident, and keep the office focused on the work the people of Harris County hired her to do.”

The Tax Office said the intent was for SWR Strategies to support Ramirez’s focus on improving and expanding the department’s communications. 

Commissioner Adrian Garcia said in a post on X Wednesday that the contract was “not happening.” A Precinct 2 spokesperson declined to elaborate on Garcia’s post. 

The proposed contract was exempt from competitive bidding because it was considered “personal services,” which the Harris County Procurement Policy defines as work “performed by an individual and not a company or corporation.”

But a contract initially posted with Thursday’s agenda and later removed from the county website indicated at least three people would support the work.

An insurance policy included in the contract also indicated there was a 22-day gap between when SWR Strategies began work and when the policy took effect. The Tax Office did not respond to questions about the number of people working for SWR Strategies, or the insurance gap. 

Ramirez wasn’t the only one who had a prior relationship with Robertson. The Tax Office said Chief of Public Affairs Eureka Gilkey also knew her, but that Gilkey did not work for Ramirez when SWR Strategies was brought on in early February. 

The company was formed in 2022 but forfeited its right to conduct business in 2024 because it did not pay business taxes, according to Texas Secretary of State documents. SWR Strategies’ charter was later reinstated in December 2025 — just over a month before it began working for the Tax Office, records show.

While the contract was not competitively bid, the Tax Office said it reached out to two other companies before choosing SWR Strategies because Robertson had experience that “aligned with the Tax Office’s communications and modernization goals.”

Robertson previously worked for California Gov. Gavin Newsom as a policy analyst, according to her LinkedIn, and in several communications positions. Her LinkedIn lists experience as an environmental communications director under President Barack Obama and at a Washington, D.C., communications firm. 

“Investments in communications, including the engagement of SWR Strategies, were undertaken to support that broader work,” the Tax Office said in a statement. “Across the public sector, including Harris County, it is a well-established practice to engage advisory consultants for offices tasked with stewarding and implementing complex public services.”

They are not too smart at the Tax Office. I guess there aren’t any local firms that could have handled the work. It is also probably not a good idea to have Harris County Commissioners Lesley Briones and Adrian Garcia award a contract to a person with ties to Gov. Gavin Newsom seeing that this is an election year. It would have handed ammo to MAGA to use against the commissioners. To paraphrase Fred Sanford to the Tax Office, “you big dummies!”

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Now this looks like a good idea. See this from the Chron:
Sometimes, Laura Conely will think of an issue she wants to raise at Houston City Council in the middle of the night.

But to sign up to speak before council, residents currently must contact the city secretary’s office during business hours — a process Conely said can involve phone transfers, hold times and missed deadlines.

So the Montrose resident is excited about a proposal from Council Member Alejandra Salinas that would let residents register to speak at council meetings online.

“Making the process as easy and accessible as possible is really important,” Conely said.

Salinas’ proposal, which she filed the item using the city’s Proposition A process, would amend the city’s rules to allow residents to sign up online to speak during public sessions. Currently, requests to speak can only be made in person or by mail, email, fax or telephone.

Although the final form will be determined by the city secretary, the online form would likely include a resident’s name, address, contact information, reason for speaking, which council meeting they want to attend, whether they are speaking on a specific agenda item or non-agenda topic and how much time they are requesting to speak, according to Salinas’ office.

“In 2026, Houstonians should not have to navigate outdated systems just to sign up to speak before their local government,” Salinas said in a statement. “We use online forms every day to book appointments, request services and manage our lives. Speaking at City Council should be just as easy. This is a simple but important step toward making City Hall more accessible for working people across our city.”

Heck, I even set an online appointment when I want to get my oil changed for my ride. I am glad someone on city council finally thought about this.

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The NFL released the 2026 schedule yesterday. The Texans play on Christmas Eve against the Eagles in Philly. I really don’t think I will have the time to watch the game that evening. Ho, ho, ho.

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This sums up where we are at after 45 games. See this from the Chron:

Mike Burrows was conducting his postgame interview session Thursday when a fire alarm went off inside Daikin Park. It sounded briefly in the home clubhouse, where business and Burrows’ interview continued uninterrupted.

The alert soon subsided, with no actual emergency. The symbolism, still, was impossible to ignore.

The Houston Astros are hurtling into mid-May on an ominous trajectory. Their 17-28 record is the team’s worst start in a decade, a startling pace for a club planning to contend, met measuredly so far with calls for patience.

“This is not the way we wanted to start, but there’s still a lot of baseball left,” manager Joe Espada said Thursday, after a series loss to the Seattle Mariners. “We’ve just got to create consistency in quality of play every single day and then that’s when you get rolling as a team.”

Espada must remain steadfast, as he did two years ago when the Astros reversed a 12-24 start to win the American League West. Any wavering could be perceived around the clubhouse, a reality Espada noted last week after a series loss to the Dodgers and that general manager Dana Brown echoed regarding his own optimism in a radio appearance Wednesday.

See the featured photo from today’s front page of the Chron sports section. The Rangers are at Daikin Park for a weekend series.