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RandySF's JournalTX-28: Texas Democrats cancel planned vote to condemn Rep. Henry Cuellar
The Texas Democratic Party will not vote on a resolution to condemn Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, for voting against the interests of the party and his federal charges, a member of the state party leadership said on Friday.
If the resolution had passed, Cuellar would have been barred from party resources and from party events – except events that he could not be legally blocked from attending.
The resolution is being pulled due to legal concerns with how to enforce a ban on Cuellar’s access to the party’s voter file, according to a member of Texas Democratic Party leadership.
Jen Ramos, the author of the resolution and a member of the State Democratic Executive Committee, is pulling the resolution.
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/05/09/texas-rep-henry-cuellar-condemn-dropped-democrats/
Former Oregon Secretary of State (D) ordered to pay $3,600 after ethics investigation
Former Oregon Secretary of State Shemia Fagan must pay $3,600 in fines to the state over her decision to accept a lucrative side gig consulting for a marijuana company involved in an audit her office conducted.
The Oregon Government Ethics Commission in a meeting on Friday found Fagan used her position as the state’s second-highest elected official and chief auditor in 2023 to obtain a $10,000-per-month consulting side gig for marijuana entrepreneurs, and that she requested excessive state reimbursements for work trips to use an SUV and larger hotel room to accommodate herself, her kids and dog — who she called the “Secreterrier of State.”
The commission unanimously rejected a $1,600 proposed fine and instead approved a $3,600 fine for Fagan. Fagan will also receive an education letter, or a letter from the commission explaining the law and how to comply with it in the future.
Fagan, alongside her lawyer, attended the meeting. She said she has spent the last two years in “bittersweet reflection” about her time in Oregon politics.
https://oregoncapitalchronicle.com/2025/05/09/former-oregon-secretary-of-state-ordered-to-pay-3600-after-ethics-investigation/
OK-SD08: Special election Tuesday will fill vacant Oklahoma Senate seat
OKLAHOMA CITY – Three men are on the ballot in Tuesday’s special election to fill a vacant Oklahoma Senate seat that represents constituents living in five counties.
The Senate District 8 seat, which represents Okmulgee, Okfuskee and McIntosh counties and portions of Creek and Muskogee counties, has been vacant all session, following the resignation of former Sen. Roger Thompson, R-Okemah.
Republican Bryan Logan of Paden, Democrat Nathan Brewer and independent Steve Sanford, both of Henryetta, are on the ballot...
Brewer, 41, said the murder of his daughter at the hands of a sex offender motivated him to run.
Brewer, who is a small business owner and works full time for Okmulgee County, said not enough is being done to protect children and the community from sex offenders.
https://oklahomavoice.com/briefs/special-election-tuesday-will-fill-vacant-oklahoma-senate-seat/
Justice Department will switch its focus on voting and prioritize Trump's elections order, memo says
The Justice Department unit that ensures compliance with voting rights laws will switch its focus to investigating voter fraud and ensuring elections are not marred by “suspicion,” according to an internal memo obtained by The Associated Press.
The new mission statement for the voting section makes a passing reference to the historic Voting Rights Act, but no mention of typical enforcement of the provision through protecting people’s right to cast ballots or ensuring that lines for legislative maps do not divide voters by race. Instead, it redefines the unit’s mission around conspiracy theories pushed by Republican President Donald Trump to explain away his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s attorney general at the time, William Barr, said there was no evidence of widespread fraud in that election. Repeated recounts and audits in the battleground states where Trump contested his loss, including some led by Republicans, affirmed Biden’s win and found the election was run properly. Trump and his supporters also lost dozens of court cases trying to overturn the election results.
But in Trump’s second term, the attorney general is Pam Bondi, who backed his effort to reverse his 2020 loss. The president picked Harmeet Dhillon, a Republican Party lawyer and long time ally who also has echoed some of Trump’s false claims about voting, to run the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, where the voting section is housed.
https://apnews.com/article/trump-justice-department-voting-rights-elections-fraud-0717d58a10daa11b3957d277a7ca8e0e
Hackensack Council candidates raise $328,000 for May 13 election. See who donated
HACKENSACK — The two slates opposing each other in the City Council election have raised more than $328,000 combined as they vie for the five council seats up for grabs May 13.
The Labrosse Team, headed by three-term Mayor John Labrosse, who is running with Deputy Mayor Kathy Canestrino, Lance Powell, Marlene Somerville and Richard Garcia, have raised $188,800, according to campaign finance reports.
Candidates Caseen Gaines, Agatha Toomey, Roberto Diaz, Philip Carroll and Sonya Clark-Collins, running together as the Hackensack Unites slate, have raised just over $140,500, according to the 11-day pre-election report filed May 2.
The two campaigns have taken issue with their rivals’ contributors as the election approaches.
https://www.northjersey.com/story/news/bergen/hackensack/2025/05/09/hackensack-nj-candidates-council-election-donors/83515898007/
Newark rallied teens to vote in historic school board election. Only 73 did.
Only 73 teen voters – out of 1,851 who had registered – turned out for Newark’s historic school board election despite weeks of targeted efforts to get the city’s 16- and 17-year-olds out to the polls.
The April 15 election was the first since the city lowered the voting age for school board elections to 16 – and Newark leaders had hoped a new wave of teen voters would boost turnout.
But, overall, only 3.47% of Newark voters participated in the election, slightly below the 3.94% turnout rate among the city’s youth voters – and about average for school board elections, in which 3% to 4% of voters typically participate.
At the beginning of February, local organizations and school leaders launched campaigns, hosted voter education events, and promoted registration drives to mobilize young voters who gained their right to vote in Newark school board elections in 2024. The efforts also drew Gov. Phil Murphy, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and other elected officials, who visited a Newark high school to reinforce their support for the teen vote in school board elections statewide.
https://www.chalkbeat.org/newark/2025/05/09/less-than-four-percent-of-teens-vote-in-2025-school-board-election/
Carrboro mayor Foushee confirms re-election bid
Carrboro mayor Barbara Foushee – the first African-American female mayor in the town’s history – confirmed to The Local Reporter Thursday afternoon her plans to run for re-election in this fall’s municipal election. Foushee won her first term as Carrboro’s mayor in November 2023 for a two-year term that expires this December.
Foushee first entered the local political arena back in 2017, when she was elected to a four-year term on the Carrboro Town Council. She was re-elected in 2021, but then decided in the spring of 2023 to run for mayor of Carrboro after former mayor Damon Seils chose not to seek re-election. Foushee ran unopposed on her way to victory that November.
Along with her service on the Carrboro Town Council and serving the past year and a half as the town’s mayor, Foushee has also served on numerous local boards, including the Orange Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) Board of Directors, the Town of Carrboro Human Services Advisory Board, and as a liaison to numerous boards including the Affordable Housing Advisory Commission and the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, of which she currently serves as Chair.
In 2017 – the year she was first elected to the Carrboro Town Council – Foushee was recognized by the Chapel Hill-Carrboro NAACP chapter with its Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Service Award. In 2021, the year of her re-election to the local municipal board, she was honored by Chapel Hill Magazine as a Woman of Achievement. Foushee’s husband, Mr. Braxton D. Foushee, has also been heavily involved in local politics, having served as the first African-American alderman for the Town of Carrboro.
https://thelocalreporter.press/carrboro-mayor-foushee-confirms-re-election-bid/
VA-AG: Fmr. Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring (D) Endorses Shannon Taylor (D) For Attorney General
HENRICO, VA – Today, Shannon Taylor, Democratic Candidate for Attorney General, announced her endorsement by former two-time Virginia Attorney General, Mark Herring. Herring’s endorsement joins that of Virginia’s first woman Attorney General Mary Sue Terry, former Virginia Speaker of the House Eileen Filler-Corn, the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, and dozens of other state and local leaders across the Commonwealth. Shannon’s latest endorsement builds on her already strong momentum. According to the only public polling in the Attorney General’s race, Shannon is leading by 10 points.
“I’m proud to endorse my long-time friend Shannon Taylor in her campaign to be Virginia’s next attorney general,” said former Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. “I know what it takes to stand up for our most vulnerable communities, protect consumers from bad actors, and keep Virginians safe. In these uncertain times, the Commonwealth needs an attorney general who has decades of experience and a proven track record of winning tough fights. Shannon’s lifelong commitment to public service has prepared her to meet this moment head-on, and she will fight tirelessly to ensure all Virginians’ rights are protected.”
“Attorney General Herring’s commitment to Virginia is unwavering – I am honored to have his endorsement in my campaign to protect all Virginians and uphold the rule of law.” said Shannon Taylor. “Now more than ever, we need an Attorney General who will stand up to Donald Trump, protect our abortion rights, and keep our families safe.”
Shannon Taylor is a lifelong Virginian who has always taken on tough fights to help the people of Virginia. Shannon became the only Democrat elected county wide in 2011 when she was elected Commonwealth’s Attorney for Henrico County, and took on the powerful interests that got in the way of progress. Shannon has taken on the gun lobby to reduce illegal guns on our streets, held fraudsters accountable for exploiting seniors and driving up costs, and was one of the first prosecutors in the nation to push back against criminalizing women and doctors for accessing abortions after Roe v. Wade was overturned, sparking a national movement for other prosecutors to do the same.
https://bluevirginia.us/2025/05/fmr-virginia-attorney-general-mark-herring-endorses-shannon-taylor-for-attorney-general
Ohio Democratic Party Chair Liz Walters will step down by end of next month
The Ohio Democratic Party will have a new chair for the mid-term elections.
Liz Walters is stepping down as Ohio Democratic Party Chair no later than June 30 she announced earlier this week on X, former known as Twitter.
“The state of the OH Dems organization is in the strongest possible position for change, and completing a chair transition now ensures the next leader of our party will have a healthy amount of time to get their legs under them for the 2026 cycle,” she said in a statement.
Walters was appointed chair in 2021 and was the first woman elected to the role. David Pepper was the previous chair.
https://ohiocapitaljournal.com/briefs/ohio-democratic-party-chair-liz-walters-will-step-down-by-end-of-next-month/
Berrien County GOP event featuring pardoned Jan. 6 rioters creates division within community
A fundraiser set to be held Friday night by the Berrien County GOP has drawn criticism for hosting Jan. 6 rioters in a local American Legion hall.
The fundraiser, “Battlefield Michigan: Untold Stories from Michigan Freedom Fighters,” will be held at American Legion Post 568 in Stevensville and will feature two men charged, and since pardoned by President Donald Trump, for their roles in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol – including former gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley. It will also host William and Michael Null, who were acquitted of plotting to kidnap and kill Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
A flyer for the event calls the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol a “mostly peaceful protest about a stolen election.” A bipartisan U.S. Senate report found that at least seven people died in connection with the riot, including three law enforcement officers.
After the event was announced, criticism came from within the veterans community itself about hosting such a divisive event.
https://michiganadvance.com/briefs/berrien-county-gop-event-featuring-pardoned-jan-6-rioters-creates-division-within-community/
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