Current Revolt scores for Texas voters with the resignation of now former state representative Bryan Slaton. The Dallas based media company was the first to drop details about Slaton publicly.
Bryan Slaton is a former pastor and now former politician. Slaton resigned from office on Monday trying to head off an expulsion vote which happened anyway unanimously removing him from office.
Slaton represented the 2nd District in the Texas House of Representatives from 2021 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Slaton also works for his family business, Slaton Financial Services.
Issues started for Slaton when Tony Ortiz’s Current Revolt began investigating rumors that Slaton had an affair with a nineteen year old intern in his office.
Since that time, Current Revolt has not been credited with being the original reporter of the story on Slaton. They have been accused of spreading rumors – which they clearly substantiated before going to press.
This was clearly a win for a free press to look into the behavior of elected leadership.
The one angle that still exists right now is that Current Revolt may have its eyes set on another state legislator for the same issue.
It would be an awkward position to vote to expel a member if you were guilty of the same or similar behavior.
The committee report on general investigating of the Slaton issue is below.
Same Stuff Different Day is the moniker for Dallas after an abysmal turnout in yesterday’s city and school board elections.
Incumbent mayor Eric Johnson and D12 city council member Cara Mendelsohn won uncontested races – though Johnson had almost 7 percent of his races voters go to write in candidates.
Same Stuff Different Day Not New For Dallas
Incumbents won across the board leaving only open races to be decided.
City council members earn two year seats during elections whereas the mayor will fill a four year term.
District 1
Chad West beat both Mariana Griggs who ran a campaign without fundraising and Albert Mata, a political newcomer and data engineering professional.
Outgoing city council member Casey Thomas publicly endorsed Zarin Gracey to replace him and Gracey will go to a run off with Joe Tave. Gracey is a pastor and served on both the City Plan Commission and the Dallas Public Facility Corporation.
Tave is a retired teacher and talk show host.
The two held off a field of five.
District 4
District 4 voters will continue to have Carolyn King Arnold speaking for them on the record. She handled first time challenger and accountant Jamie Smith for her fourth election victory.
Ms. Arnold also serves as Mayor Pro Tem on Dallas City Council.
District 5
Jaime Resendez, the former school board member and lawyer, easily beat Terry Perkins and Yolanda Faye Williams.
The two have previously faced Resendez – always coming up short in the Pleasant Grove district.
District 6
Like District 5, Omar Narvaez beat a familiar opponent. This is his fourth election to city council and fourth time beating former city council member Monica Alonzo.
Narvaez has also been selected to serve as Mayor Pro Tem.
District 7
Adam Bazaldua narrowly avoided a runoff election against Tracy Dotie Hill, a local real estate broker.
The four person race finished with Bazaldua just over the fifty percent threshold needed to avoid a runoff.
Bazaldua previously challenged Tracy Dotie Hill for Democratic Precinct Chair 1084 – losing that race almost two to one.
District 8
Tennell Atkins continues on city council. He beat Subrina Lynn Brenham and Davante Peters for his second fourth term.
Atkins was elected in 2007 and served through 2015 when he was term limited out of office. He was then elected again in 2017.
Atkins is a perfect example of the same stuff different day Dallas mentality.
District 9
Former Chief of Staff to Mayor Mike Rawlings Paula Blackmon was re-elected to her third term.
Her district includes White Rock Lake and far East Dallas.
District 10
The former Uptown Dallas Inc. executive director Kathy Stewart won this four way open race without a run off.
Other candidates included former city community development commissioner Brian Hasenbauer, online news site publisher Sirrano Keith Baldeo. Baldeo had previously run for the seat.
Outgoing city council member Adam McGough had endorsed Kathy Stewart in the race.
District 11
Perhaps the ugliest race this year was in D11 where three time candidate Candy Evans lost to Jaynie Schultz.
Schultz won her second term and Candy Evans lost her third race for the seat in six years. She previously challenged Lee Kleinman in 2019 and didn’t make the runoff in 2021.
District 13
Like in District 11, Gay Donnell Willis won her second term.
She was opposed by rental property manager Priscilla Shacklett.
District 13 includes large swaths of northwest Dallas and wraps the Park City area.
District 14
Paul Ridley, a retired lawyer, staved off two opponents in District 14.
Amanda Tenpenny Schultz, a real estate broker, and Joseph F. Miller, a retired transit engineer, combined could not keep Ridley from winning without a runoff. Schultz is a former park board member.
All in all it appears city voters were unmoved by crime numbers and exploding property taxes enough to get out and vote.
Per some though her worst sin is her politicism of the seat.
“Incumbent Jaynie Schultz has also abandoned half her voters in her district trying to make this a red-blue partisan race in a nonpartisan district,” said one former Democratic Party precinct chair.
“Jaynie just needed to take care of her constituents the past two years…”
“…instead she lived up to the bad hype: she ran to be something, not do something.”
She went on, “Jaynie has been a disaster on housing. She created quality of life issues for those living in area and hasn’t helped the homeless.”
“Jaynie isn’t even protecting staff trying to clean up these encampments.”
Voters complain Schultz has repeatedly promised weekly clean ups of encampments under I-75, but they don’t happen.
The Dirty D11 Race
Some political onlookers say it appears the low voter turnout has Schultz worried.
There is no top of the ballot reason to get out and vote and Jaynie doesn’t motivate people with her “vanilla service.”
Her staff started emailing out – at taxpayer expense – almost every other day “reports” of district successes and information. The emails could have easily come from a targeted campaign flyer though.
Election day is Saturday, May 6, and right now roughly three percent of eligible city voters have gone to the polls.
Allred to tackle Cruz? A rumor circulating in both Dallas and DC circles this weekend is that Collin Allred will challenge Ted Cruz in 2024.
Colin Allred was a NFL linebacker and then civil rights attorney in the Obama administration.
After Beto O’Rourke’s loss against Greg Abbott and John Cornyn the path forward seems tough. It begs the question: How does Allred tackle Cruz in a statewide race?
Allred beat Pete Sessions in 2018 – the son of former FBI Director William Sessions. The senior sessions was the first FBI Director removed from office.
The 32nd Congressional District is also a safe Democratic seat after redistricting. It is unclear Allred’s long term plans given the uphill nature of the battle in front of him.
Since his election, Allred has reportedly been a prolific fundraiser and has brought dignitaties to Dallas, but his record is otherwise thin on accomplishments.
Diane Benjamin hijacks meeting on community safety co-hosted between D11 and D13 city council members Jaynie Schultz and Gay Donnell Willis.
Benjamin, who is the mother of failed 2021 D11 city council candidate Barry Wernick, took to complaining to Dallas Police Chief Garcia that this was a photo op for the incumbents.
She then went on to drop a favorite line of Candy Evans that Council Member Schultz voted to remove overtime from the Dallas Police budget. (It is unclear if Benjamin came to attack Schultz at Evans’ direction or not.)
The full video is here, but Ms. Benjamin’s involvement starts are 36:35.
There
Diane Benjamin Hijacks Meeting – No Mention Of Squirrel Murder
Ms. Benjamin is a local realtor, landlord, and Republican activist.
At the start of her comments she described being robbed at gun point twice in her alley. She however seems to have forgotten the murder in her backyard.
Almost eighteen months ago Benjamin took to Nextdoor to say someone had beheaded a squirrel.
At the time, Dallas Police were assisting on a triple homicide, but Benjamin felt the need to proclaim her self victimization.
Candy Evans covert campaign seems to be in full cycle as she repeats the mistakes of Barry Wernick from 2021.
Earlier this week a post on Nextdoor was made by Tina Lewis.
Ms. Lewis is not on Candy Evans’ campaign team, but she does appear to have access to Ms. Evans’ Facebook page. She first posted the screenshot below, before posting again the next day cropping out the connection to Ms. Evans’ campaign.
Candy Evans Covert Campaign Repeats Past Mistakes
This is not an egregious campaign violation, but it is a repeat violation of the conservative faction in the Park Cities area.
In 2021, local Republican women also quietly voiced concern that Ms. Evans was not prepared for city council.
Three confirmed local Republicans believed she lacked the policy chops to compete with better equipped candidates like Jaynie Schultz.
“She can barely stay on message,” said one.
Another complained, “Candy Evans is a dilettante who can’t organize a two car motorcade.” She continued, “Evans would destroy conservative credibility at the horseshoe.”
Evans campaign focus has been singularly on the $10M set-aside budget for Dallas Police Department‘s overtime budget. It is not clear Evans is even campaigning on any other issue.
Micah Parsons politics came to light yesterday in a tweet aimed at President Joe Biden. Parsons’ comment came shortly after the release announcement of WNBA phenom Brittney Griner.
It is unclear why he deleted the tweet later, but it appears he was trying to change paths. He later tweeted about leaving behind a United States Marine.
Parsons’s also tweeted that his tweet history was not an attack on Griner.
He said, “I’m super happy she’s back home as she should be. I just have family who have served and it’s crazy to me the President wouldn’t bring him home too. I’m the furthest thing from a trump supporter but I’m not a fan of Biden either.”
My last tweet was no shot at Brittney Griner. I’m super happy she’s back home as she should be. I just have family who have served and it’s crazy to me the President wouldn’t bring him home too. I’m the furthest thing from a trump supporter but I’m not a fan of Biden either.
He later tweeted: “then the best outcome was accomplished. I pray Mr. Whelan comes home but am extremely happy for Brittney and her family. I am not too prideful to admit when I’ve made a mistake.”
Micah Parsons Politics – Paul Whelan History
Mr Whelen was born in Canada. He is a citizen of four countries — the United States, Canada, Great Britain, and Ireland.
He was discharged from the Marines for bad conduct in 2008. This came after a conviction related to larceny per military and court records.
He said in a deposition in 2013 that he holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and an MBA degree. He took courses at Northern Michigan University from fall 1988 to fall 1990 without earning a degree.
According to a deposition Whelan gave in 2013, he was in law enforcement from 1988 to 2000. Reportedly he worked as a police officer in Chelsea, Michigan. He is also reported to be a sheriff’s deputy in Washtenaw County. The Chelsea Police, however, said he worked in lesser roles and as a part-time officer from 1990 to 1996. Washtenaw County sheriff reported no record of his employment.
Parsons’ comments reflect a politically conservative Cowboys team that has previously supported Donald Trump and campaigned with Eric Johnson on everything, but a second team.
Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones was briefly hospitalized earlier this year after an auto accident in downtown Dallas.
Lauren Davis won’t take no for an answer from Dallas voters and is already preparing a run for Mayor of Dallas.
A phone text survey went out Saturday and Sunday per multiple readers asking would recipients prefer Davis or Eric Johnson. Lurking in the not so distant shadows is Michael Hinojosa and possibly Adam Bazaldua.
It appears Davis may be ready to continue the abuse of the Dallas voter for another campaign cycle.
It is unclear who is paying for the polling since there was no TEC required disclosure.
Lauren Davis Won’t Take No Or Yes
Davis received notoriety for pushing campus protests at Dealey Montessori during the 2021-2022 school year. Those protests culminated with dangerous posts by her business The Gents Place about preferred firearms between the AK47 and M16. Dealey Montessori previously was considered a crown jewel of Dallas Independent School District.
Davis recently lost the County Judge election against Clay Jenkins by a nearly two-to-one margin. This was more than one hundred thousand vote separation.
Davis made her entire campaign about her personal victimhood during the Dealey saga she created. She is also said to have pulled down other GOP candidates forced to run with her including JJ Koch and Greg Shalan in reliably red areas.
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Dallas Dems Plan 2022 defeats in unexpected races across Dallas County and fingers are already being pointed.
Low early voting turnout in several precincts has Dallas Democrats infighting ratcheting up before Election Day. In past years the circular firing squad did not start until after Election Day.
In February 2022, a UT-Tyler poll showed Democrats still well behind GOP front runner Greg Abbott. Since that time Democrats have counted on a Roevember wave of voters providing the impetus to propel Democrats to victory across the state. It appears that is not happening.
There have been several issues with Democratic fundraising and Democrats previously reported an audit which showed “almost no financial controls.”
Dallas Dems Plan 2022 Defeats In Bryant Race?
One race in particular is HD114 where former Congressman John Bryant is in a race against Sarah Lamb.
One operator on the ground says Bryant better hope that turnout improves or even his gerrymandered district could flip GOP.
The Dallas Morning News endorsed Lamb despite Bryant being a heavy favorite. They said, “We gravitate towards Lamb’s more optimistic message about what Texas offers and the need to listen to the families in the district.”
Bryant beat former GOP Latina Alexandra Guio in the primary, but it is unclear how much real campaigning he has done.
Paxton Garza race polling may show a tight November race for Texas Attorney General. The Texas Tribune/UT Tyler poll shows Garza within two points.
Polling shows incumbent Ken Paxton (R) ahead of Rochelle Garza (D), 34 – 32%.
The poll shows half of independent voters disapprove of Ken Paxton’s work as Attorney General. That is up from just over forty percent earlier this summer. It also shows more than a third of voters are undecided.
In addition to his political troubles, Paxton remains under indictment for securities fraud. That charge has plagued his time as Attorney General almost since he took office.
The one area of national unanimity is the direction of the country where a fifty point gap exists between right direction and wrong.
These poll numbers are within the Margin of Error, but still show Garza ahead of Beto O’Rourke taking a statewide seat.
Garza Issues
One issue clearly separating the two candidates is immigration. Though a federal issue, Garza has taken an open borders approach.
On her website she says, “Refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants must be welcome in Texas — but that will never be the case as long as the GOP holds onto power.”
This statement contradicts Democratic Party exit polling from 2020 where Latinos in South Texas rejected this stance leading to an increased number of Latinos voting for Donald Trump.
As an issue for Dallas, open borders may have allowed Abel Elias Acostato escape to Mexico after a triple murder in Garland last Christmas. Garland Police currently list Acosta as their number Most Wanted fugitive.
Crime has been up in Dallas so it is unclear how this issue with play for Garza both in Paxton Garza race polling, but the general election also.
