Bill White

At a Meeting of the Mayors, Laura Miller Revisits 14-1 and That Strong Mayor Vote

​Austin's not a "major city"? Hunh. Tried to drive in Austin in the last 15, 20 years? Traffic seems pretty major. And last I looked, there was some big college there -- that's what my diploma says, anyhow. And something about a state capitol? Look, I dunno. I'm always drunk when I'm in Austin. Or ... More >>

Carol Reed Dodges Tom Leppert's DOMA Tweet, Predicts Runoff Between Leppert and David Dewhurst and Defends John Wiley Price

Photos by Sam MertenCarol Reed​Political consultant Carol Reed answered questions about the battle for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Kay Bailey Hutchison, the Dallas mayor's race, the 2012 Republican presidential primary and an assortment of local and state issues last night at a meet ... More >>

Before Mayoral Candidates Make Issue Out of Political Affiliations, a Look at Who's What

During the 2007 mayoral campaign, former city council member Ed Oakley sent out mailers depicting himself and convicted felon Don Hill as Democrats and Tom Leppert and former Mayor Pro Tem Max Wells as Republicans. Oakley also accepted the endorsement of the Dallas County Democratic Party and printe ... More >>

Dallas, In Red and Blue

​As I wrote last night, Dallas County's new elections website is a marked improvement over versions past -- from precinct maps to mail-ins breakdowns, it contains all the details a wonk could want. So, then. After the jump a few of the more relevant color-by-numbers, including looks at the Rick Pe ... More >>

Rick Perry's, Like, Fed Up! With Everything.

​The gov was here yesterday; Bill White's in town at this very moment -- and, why, at noon he'll be just down the street from Unfair Park HQ with Eddie Bernice Johnson in tow. Photos forthcoming. Like I need to tell you.But speaking of Perry, whilst he spent Monday at Maggiano's with the mayor -- ... More >>

Hours Before Polls Close, Catching Up With Eddie Bernice Johnson, Who Says of Opponent Stephen Broden: "I've Fortunately Ignored Him"

Photos by Sam MertenCongresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, clearly enthused about supporting gubernatorial candidate Bill White today at Reverchon Park Recreation Center​Knowing that winning Dallas County is vital in his uphill battle to unseat Governor Rick Perry, Democrat Bill White dropped by ... More >>

Take a Sip of the Early Election Results

​I'm about to head over to the Palomar for the Republicans' cash-bar shindig, while Sam's pulling pay-as-you-go drinking duty at the AAC with the Dallas County Dems, and Ex-Intern Elliot's eating free pizza with Stephen Broden in Uptown. But before the short pour on this long night (at least, for ... More >>

While Most of the Dems Hide Out at the W, Unopposed Helen Giddings Explains the Bill White-Craig Watkins Divide

Photos by Sam MertenHelen Giddings​It's been a relatively quiet night at the Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Club, where Democratic candidates or officeholders have been hard to spot. Heck, even party chair Darlene Ewing has been in hiding all night. The slim pickings thus far have included state Rep. ... More >>

A Bike Trip Through Vermont Makes Buzz Realize There's A Whole Lot Of Democracy Going On-- In Places Other Than Texas

While We're on the Subject of Dallas County District Attorney's Race, Let's Look at Watkins', Clancy's Campaign Finance Reports

Sam MertenCraig Watkins​Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins outraised Republican challenger Danny Clancy by more than $50,000 during the latest three-month fund-raising period, while Clancy outspent his Democratic counterpart by more than $20,000, according to campaign finance report ... More >>

Democrat Governors Association Is Betting Plenty on Bill White to Take Texas

Sam Merten​According to The Washington Post this morning, the Democratic Governors Association has already poured $2 million into Bill White's campaign. Which is just the start: Today the DGA's set to debut an ad in Dallas that attacks Governor Rick Perry on three fronts -- for his 2007 executive ... More >>

Governor Perry Drops By East Dallas Gun Shop to Remind Us How Much He Loves Second Amendment, Hates Coyotes

Sam Merten​Gov. Rick Perry said concealed handgun laws have made Texas safer during a campaign stop at McClelland Gun Shop yesterday afternoon while receiving endorsements from the National Rifle Association and the Texas State Rifle Association. He also continued to milk his story about killi ... More >>

Andrea White Stumps For Wanna-Be Governor Bill In Front of the Preston Hollow Democrats

Andrea GrimesA Bill White Mobile, parked outside campaign headquarters on Forest and Inwood​Preston Hollow Democrats get a kick out of a couple of things -- firstly, being Preston Hollow Democrats, and secondly, Andrea White, wife of Bill, he of the running for governor of Texas. The PHD was forme ... More >>

Bill White Rips Perry For Not Finding Dough to Fund Border Security, Likes Parades

Photos by Sam MertenBill White, Rafael Anchía and Lupe Valdez meet after Valdez and White addressed the media.​Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White criticized Gov. Rick Perry for failing to find the funds to pay for an additional 1,000 local law enforcement officers and 250 state tro ... More >>

Tea Partiers and Dallas County GOP Unite Around President Obama's Visit

Photos by Patrick MichelsThere wasn't much silence at all from the crowd at Franklin Stadium last night. Check out more photos here in our slide show.​As Sam noted yesterday, the local Republican party shelled out three grand for a proper venue to accommodate the mammoth crowd they expected at the ... More >>

Sweatin' It Out With the Justice League!

Photos by Sam MertenState Senator Royce West and county judge candidate Clay Jenkins help pump up the crowd as District Attorney Craig Watkins grabs the mic Saturday afternoon.​This, in case you have not heard, is the "Summer of Justice." Which, as far as summers-of goes, ranks somewhere in betwee ... More >>

A Few Do's and Don'ts Learned During the 2010 Republican Party of Texas Convention

Photos by Patrick Michels​Happy Sunday, Friends! While you were out having a nice, relaxing weekend full of neighbors and sun and beers and loveliness, I was at the 2010 Texas Republican Party Convention having a blast talking about 'Murka and stuff. It was a fun- and camo-filled two days, but I'v ... More >>

Rick Perry, "Second Coming of Ronald Reagan"? Well, If It's In Newsweek.

​Maybe you've seen the latest issue of Newsweek on newsstands -- that cover's hard to miss. It's kind of the all-Texas issue, matter of fact, with Evan Smith contributing this piece about the hubbub over the high-school social-studies curriculum and Daniel Gross's essay about how "the Texas turnar ... More >>

SMU's Jillson Says Local Democratic Elected Officials "Are Not to Be Trusted," Questions Friends Chosen By Jenkins

Danny FulgencioCal Jillson​Much like Richard Allen's interview, our conversation with Southern Methodist University political scientist Cal Jillson didn't make it into the cover story on Dallas County Judge Jim Foster appearing in last week's paper version of Unfair Park. But that's not to say ... More >>

Bill White Wraps Up Gubernatorial Primary Campaign at Gilley's With Craig Watkins and Barbara Mallory Caraway

Claire JordanWhite and Watkins, along with county judge candidate Clay Jenkins.​We're still trying to figure out why Bill White continues to burn through campaign dough since his only significant competition in the Democratic primary is Farouk Shami, but perhaps the former mayor of Houston is ... More >>

Sharing a Smoke and a Cuppa Joe With Kinky Friedman, Who Doesn't Turn on His Friends

Sam Merten​Prior to his gig tonight at the Granada, Kinky Friedman made a campaign stop at Urban Dog Coffee as he continues his bid for the Democratic nomination for agriculture commissioner. Given his close relationship with gubernatorial candidate Farouk Shami, who had five key campaign aide ... More >>

DA Watkins Loves Bill White, Not Jim Foster

Photos by Kurt WatkinsBill White, Craig Watkins and Craig Jenkins (background) walk from Watkins's campaign office to a precinct chair dinner at Saint Martin's Place Friday night.​That's what we gather by looking at the pics sent to us by Kurt Watkins, cousin and PR man to Dallas County Distri ... More >>

Farouk Shami Flushes $10 Million Down the Toilet in Less Than Five Minutes

If today's University of Texas/Texas Tribune poll -- which had former Houston Mayor Bill White with a whopping 50-11 lead over Farouk Shami (30 percent claimed to be undecided) -- wasn't enough to hand the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to White, Shami ensured that the 10 million bucks he vowe ... More >>

Hell of a Way to Raise $400 Mil: Four Democratic Candidates Sue KERA

Alma Aguado, who's apparently running for governor​A very amused Friend of Unfair Park sends word: The four Democratic candidates for Texas governor not named Bill White or Farouk Shami have sued KERA and North Texas Public Broadcasting in federal court down in Austin because they didn't get invit ... More >>

Bill White Officially Enters Gubernatorial Fray

Sam Merten​When we cornered Houston Mayor Bill White in late October after his campaign speech in Plano, he said he can appeal to conservatives and moderates as a Democrat because he knows how to make government run efficiently. He added that he's "honest and straightforward," which had been t ... More >>

Houston Mayor Bill White is Running for Governor. Unless He Isn't. We Think.

See, We Asked Bill White That Question Four Times Because We Knew He Was BS'ing Us

Sam Merten​There's a reason why I went to see Houston Mayor Bill White during his stop in Plano last month. It wasn't because he was one of many folks vying for Kay Bailey Hutchison's job in the Senate, although I suppose that would have warranted the trip. Nope. I've long viewed White as the ... More >>

Rick Perry and Kay Bailey Hutchison Are Locked In A Pitched Battle Over The Soul Of The GOP. They Are Also Running For Governor.

Bringing Home the Bacon: Spokesperson Denies Bill White Will Switch to Governor's Race, and We Didn't Even Have to Ask Once

Sam MertenHouston Mayor Bill White, who won't run for governor, even though he has a hard time saying the words himself.At the conclusion of his poorly attended campaign stop in Plano on Saturday, Houston Mayor Bill White addressed the rumors that he'll take his $6 million in campaign contributions ... More >>

Will Senate Hopeful Bill White Consider Jumping Into the Governor's Race if Kay Bailey Hutchison Keeps Her Seat? We're Still Not Sure, and We Asked Him Four Times.

Photos by Sam MertenHouston Mayor Bill White's speech Saturday afternoon in Plano was, initially, as insipid as the front of the brochures handed out at the door touting his experience as a Sunday school teacher. "I'm here to work for you, and that's about it," White said at the Baker Bros American ... More >>

Burka: Mayor Tom Leppert Had a Sitdown with GOP Media Strategists About Senate Seat

Salvation ArmySen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and her would-be replacement? Maybe?​Tuesday morning, Texas Monthly's Paul Burka took note of Schutze's column from July, in which Jim got a no-nuthin' from the mayor and his peoples concerning his interest in running for Kay Bailey Hutchison's could-come-op ... More >>

Mayor Tom and Texas's Other Big-City Mayors Ask Governor for Help Handling Homeless

Gabriel Metsu's Man Writing a LetterNever had time to make it to the Texas Big Cities Mayors shindig at City Hall today. But no matter: Meranda Cohn at Dallas City Hall this evening forwards along a copy of the mayors' letter to Governor Rick Perry, in which Tom Leppert, Bill White (Houston), Mike M ... More >>

Laura Miller to Return to City Hall

Laura Miller in a scene from Fighting Goliath: Texas Coal WarsWell, look, perhaps that headline's a little misleading -- I have no idea whether she'll actually show up on February 6, when the council chambers hosts the Texas Big City Mayors Meeting. (I did call; got voice mail.) But according to the ... More >>

In Houston, a Heated Battle Over Controversial Red-Light Camera Study

And here we thought Dallas had the lock on red-light camera drama -- damn you, Houston. On December 26, two men filed suit against the City of Houston claiming it was withholding a Rice University professor's study concerning the efficacy of the city's red-light cameras. Two days later, a version of ... More >>

Who'd Be Mayor If Leppert Left Early? And, Why Would Leppert Do It?

Brian Harkin Is Dwaine Caraway positioning himself as Leppert's replacement? While speaking with one of Mayor Tom Leppert's consultants last month, I asked if Leppert was considering running for Kay Bailey Hutchison's senate seat. At that point, I heard he was contemplating the political leap from ... More >>

With Dallas Republicans in Pain, One Local Leader Believes He Has the Cure

How County Chair Jonathan Neerman Plans to Ease the Dallas GOP's Woes

Texas Rangers Will Try to Brighten Day of Kids Still Living at Convention Center

Mayor Tom, Rural Juror

Go West

With Dallas Democrats' return from the dead, state Senator Royce West is poised for bigger things, like maybe paychecks

Schutze Defends Kunkle, and That's No Crime

The Coal Kids

Calatrava Bridge is Falling Down, Falling Down

Mine Kampf

A female ironworker fights back against abuse in the riveting North Country

A bush league of their own

Long before the Texas Rangers, major-league baseball was played in Dallas by a minor-league team called the Dallas Eagles