January 26, 2018

This week's Capitol Roundup :
  • PRIMARY ELECTION DEADLINES AND GUIDELINES
  • Seventy Texas House seats will see primary races in 2018. 
  • Preview of House primary races in Houston, Southeast Texas, West Texas, Panhandle, and Rio Grande Valley
  • Texas Facilities Commission votes out executive director Harvey Hilderbran
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Quote of the Week
"I was in the Legislature for 12 years, and from my standpoint, this is one of the low points of the relationship between the UT System and the Legislature."

-Former Texas Sen. Kevin Eltife
Former Texas Sen. Kevin Eltife made the statement in an  interview with the Texas Tribune  shortly after joining the University of Texas System Board of Regents. Eltife, who served in the Texas Legislature for 12 years before being appointed to the board, has said he plans to reign in university spending and redefine the scope of the system's offices and administrators.
Primary Election Deadlines and FAQ's

Primary Voting Deadlines

Monday, Feb. 5, 2018 - Last Day to Register to Vote

Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018 - First Day of Early Voting

Friday, Feb. 23, 2018 - Mail-in Ballot applications must be received 

Friday, March 2, 2018 - Last Day of Early Voting

Tuesday, March 6, 2018 - ELECTION DAY (mail-in ballots must be received by 7 p.m. if not postmarked. If postmarked by 7 p.m. at election location on election day, then mail-in ballots may be received no later than 5 p.m. on March 7)

How do I know if I'm registered?

You can confirm your registration status on this website by going to Am I Registered? where you will select one of three methods for conducting your search. You can base your search on: 1. your Voter Unique Identifier (VUID), which appears on your voter registration certificate; 2. your Texas driver's license number, if you provided it when you applied for voter registration; or 3. your first and last name. Or, you can call the voter registrar's office in the county where you reside.

How to register?

You can obtain a voter registration application from your voter registrar's office, libraries, most post offices, and high schools. You can also fill out a voter registration application online or request a postage-paid application be mailed to you.

When does my registration become effective?

Your voter registration becomes effective 30 days after it is submitted (and accepted*) by the county voter registrar. The county office will then put your name on the voter registration list, generate your voter certificate, and mail it to you. Once received, be sure to read the information on the back of the certificate, sign by the X on the "front" of the card (the blue area) and keep your voter card in a safe place.
*If your original application is missing required information, you will receive a notice in the mail and have a deadline to respond to the notice.

Click here for more answers to frequently asked questions about voter registration.
Texas House: Houston, Southeast Texas, West Texas, Panhandle and Rio Grande Valley

As is the case every two years, all 150 Texas House seats are up for election in 2018. However, only 70 of those seats will include primary election races, while 49 seats will have general elections only. There are also 31 seats this year with candidates running completely unopposed (10 Republicans and 21 Democrats).

Of the 70 primary elections on the 2018 ballot, 32 primary races contain Republicans only; 28 primary races contain Democrats only; and 10 races have both Republican and Democratic primaries. 

Over the next three weeks, AGC TBB will outline all 70 House primary elections by region. These candidates are running in primary election races in the following regions: Houston / Southeast Texas, West Texas, Panhandle, and Rio Grande Valley. 
PRIMARY ELECTIONS ARE MARCH 6. 

Click here to see a map of all House districts. Click here to find your district. 


HOUSTON & SOUTHEAST TEXAS REGIONS

District 15 - The seat has been vacated by Republican Rep. Mark Keough. Two Republicans - Steve Toth and Mary "Jackie" Waters - will compete for the party nomination. 

District 18 - Republican Rep. Ernest Bailes will square off against Emily Cook in the primary. 

District 23 - Republican Rep. Wayne Faircloth will face Mayes Middleton in the primary. 

District 25 - Republican Rep. Dennis Bonnen will compete against Damon Rambo in the primary. The winner will be unopposed in the general election.

District 27 - Democratic Rep. Ron Reynolds will face Wilvin Carter in the primary.  The winner will be unopposed in the general election.

District 28 - Democrats Durward White and Meghan Scoggins will compete for the primary spot, and the winner will face Republican Rep. John Zerwas in the general election. 

District 29 - Democrats Dylan Wilde Forbis and James Presley will face off in the primary election, and the winner will face Republican Rep. Ed Thompson in the general election.  

District 126 - The seat has been vacated by Republican Rep. Kevin Roberts. Three Republicans - Sam Harless, Gail Stanart, and Kevin Fulton - will vie in the primary election, as well as two Democrats - Undrai Fizer and Natali Hurtado. 

District 127 - Republican Rep. Dan Huberty will face Reginald "RC" Grant Jr. in the primary election. 

District 132 - Two Democrats - Carlos Peña and Gina Calanni - will compete for the Democratic primary spot, and the winner will face Republican Rep. Mike Schofield in the general. 

District 133 - Three Democrats - Martin Schexnayder, Sandra G. Moore, and Sam Tejas  - will face off in the Democratic primary, and the winner will face Republican Rep. Jim Murphy in the general election. 

District 134 - Republican Rep. Sarah Davis is set to face Susanna Dokupil in the party primary, while Allison Sawyer and Lloyd Wayne Oliver will compete for the Democratic primary spot. 

District 138 - Democrats Adam Milasinec and Jenifer Rene Pool will square off in the primary, and the winner will face Republican Rep. Dwayne Bohac in the general election.

District 139 - Democratic Rep. Jarvis Johnson will face Randy Bates for the Democratic primary position. 

District 142 - Democratic Rep. Harold Dutton faces Richard Bonton in the party primary, and the winner will run unopposed in the general election. 

District 144 - Two Republicans - Gilbert Peña and Ruben Villareal - will vie for their party's primary spot, and the winner will face Democratic Rep. Mary Ann Perez in the general election. 

District 146 - Democratic Rep. Shawn Thierry will face Roy Owens and Ricardo Soliz for the Democratic primary position. 

District 147 - Democratic Rep. Garnet Coleman will face Daniel Espinoza in the party primary. 

District 150 - Republican Rep. Valoree Swanson will compete against James Wilson in the primary election. 
 

WEST TEXAS AND PANHANDLE REGIONS

District 75 - Democratic Rep. Mary Gonzalez faces Mary Sue Femath in the primary, and the winner will run unopposed in the general election. 

District 84 - Democrats Samantha T. Fields and Austin Michael Carrizales will square off in the primary, and the winner will face Republican Rep. John Frullo in the general election. 

District 87 - Republican Rep. Four Price will compete against Drew Brassfield in the primary election. 

District 88 - Republican Rep. Ken King faces two primary challengers in Jason B. Huddleston and Richard Beyea. 


RIO GRANDE VALLEY REGION

District 31 - Democratic Rep. Ryan Guillen faces Ana Lisa Garza in the party primary election. The winner will run unopposed in the general. 

District 37 - Democratic Rep. Rene Oliveira faces two primary challengers in Alex Dominguez and Arturo Alonzo.  The winner will run unopposed in the general. 

District 41 - Democratic Rep. Bobby Guerra faces Michael Pinkard, Jr. in the party primary election. 
Hilderbran removed from Texas Facilities Commission
The board overseeing the Texas Facilities Commission voted Thursday to oust its executive director, former state Rep. Harvey Hilderbran. The Texas Facilities Commission is in charge of building and maintaining state office buildings. 

The seven-member board voted 5-2 for Hilderbran's removal after board chairman Robert Thomas made the motion seconded by Commissioner Mike Novak of San Antonio, according to the Texas Tribune. Just two members of the board, Commissioners Patti Jones and Jack Perry, voted against the decision to fire Hilderbran, according to the Tribune. Deputy Executive Director John Raff was appointed interim executive director. 

Harvey Hilderbran
Hilderbran, who had served in the position since 2015, told the Tribune that at least eight other employees were either fired or resigned Thursday. 

"I am proud of the work we did there and am grateful to the team of professionals that I was privileged to lead," Hilderbran said in a written statement. "I always personally received evaluations of 'good' or 'better' during my tenure, so today's decision was surprising, and in my view, unwarranted."

Thomas told the Tribune that personnel changes were a necessary measure.

"It was time to make to make a sea change to ensure that the commissioners and the executive staff are aligned with ensuring that we're executing our mission," Thomas said. "There's nothing personal at all. It's focused in on just making sure we are 100 percent committed to moving forward in a positive, productive, collective way."


April
20 - AGC TBB Board Meeting - Austin AGC Office

June
6-9 - AGC TBB Convention at  Nemacolin Woodlands Resort (Farmington, PA)

September
21 - AGC TBB Board Meeting - Austin AGC Office

November
16 - AGC TBB Board Meeting - Austin AGC Office

T o subscribe to the Capitol Roundup newsletter and receive weekly legislative updates from the AGC Texas Building Branch, please contact Zach Buchheit at legislative.assistant@agctbb.org