My colleague Murray Newman really wants Mike Anderson to be the next district attorney. Over the past four years he has never wasted an opportunity to castigate current Harris County DA Pat Lykos - all the time conveniently ignoring the multitude of ethical and legal problems that engulfed the office under Chuck Rosenthal.
Yes, Ms. Lykos ruffled a lot of feathers. She wasn't warm and fuzzy. She wasn't part of the good ol' boy network. The latter being her biggest fault.
Yet Ms. Lykos lacked the myopia of Rosenthal's crew. She understood that criminal prosecution wasn't the answer to every little problem. She realized it made no sense to send people to prison because they were found in possession of a trace amount of a controlled substance.
Mike Anderson is a throwback. A throwback to the good ol' boy network. The Harris County Jail is stuffed to the gills but if Anderson has his way he'll be locking up folks for possessing trace amounts again. Do tell us, Murray, where's the money going to come from to relieve the jail overcrowding we will face again? How much money are we going to ship to other counties to hold our pretrial detainees?
Murray and the rest of Anderson's followers are upset because Lloyd Oliver said that there should be fewer domestic assault prosecutions. Well, here's an inconvenient truth for y'all, a good number of domestic assault prosecutions end up in dismissals. Whether it be by the defendant taking a battering prevention class or because a complaining witness decided not to cooperate is a meaningless distinction.
And how is holding a defendant in custody with no bond until he is brought before a judge who issues a protective order solving any problem? All it serves to do is to contribute to the overcrowding of the county jail.
And now, in a sign of desperation, the Anderson campaign is trying to scare voters by claiming half of the DA's office will walk out if Mr. Oliver is elected. I guess that's easier than trying to explain how much it's going to cost to expanding drug prosecutions. It's probably easier than explaining why the Harris County Jail is the county's largest mental health facility.
Showing posts with label Lloyd Oliver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lloyd Oliver. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
Thursday, September 6, 2012
What a twist, Oliver
Oh, Lane Lewis just thought he had the last laugh when he told the folks who voted in the Democratic primary in Harris County to fuck off by taking Lloyd Oliver off the November ballot.
District Judge Bill Burke thought otherwise.
After Mr. Oliver filed suit to prevent the Harris County Democratic Party from removing his name from the ballot for the general election, the local Dems had the case removed to federal court. Not so fast said US District Judge Lee Rosenthal. She sent the case back down to Harris County.
And over at the Civil Courthouse yesterday, Judge Burke heard both sides argue their case and then decided that Mr. Lewis did not have the authority to overrule the voters. Judge Burke was fine with Mr. Lewis' argument that the party gets to control access to the primary ballot, but he was buying the argument that the party's authority extended to removing the candidate who won the primary.
While the result may come as an embarrassment to the party establishment, it is also a message that the voice of the people cannot be ignored. Or at least the voice of the few folks who made their way to the polls.
Along the way Mr. Oliver referred to the local party bosses, Lane Lewis and Gerald Birnberg, as goobers, twits and fools. And he's right. If the bosses had been paying attention to what was happening, they never would have allowed Mr. Oliver to enter the Democratic primary.
They probably figured that there was no way Mr. Oliver could win. But they were wrong. They knew Mr. Oliver had run on both parties' tickets over the years. But still they took his check for the filing fee and let him in the door.
While Lloyd Oliver isn't the person I'd like to cast a vote for in November, he's a damn sight better than the alternative. Four years ago the voters in Harris County said no to the good ol' boy network. Will they send the same message this time around?
District Judge Bill Burke thought otherwise.
After Mr. Oliver filed suit to prevent the Harris County Democratic Party from removing his name from the ballot for the general election, the local Dems had the case removed to federal court. Not so fast said US District Judge Lee Rosenthal. She sent the case back down to Harris County.
And over at the Civil Courthouse yesterday, Judge Burke heard both sides argue their case and then decided that Mr. Lewis did not have the authority to overrule the voters. Judge Burke was fine with Mr. Lewis' argument that the party gets to control access to the primary ballot, but he was buying the argument that the party's authority extended to removing the candidate who won the primary.
While the result may come as an embarrassment to the party establishment, it is also a message that the voice of the people cannot be ignored. Or at least the voice of the few folks who made their way to the polls.
Along the way Mr. Oliver referred to the local party bosses, Lane Lewis and Gerald Birnberg, as goobers, twits and fools. And he's right. If the bosses had been paying attention to what was happening, they never would have allowed Mr. Oliver to enter the Democratic primary.
They probably figured that there was no way Mr. Oliver could win. But they were wrong. They knew Mr. Oliver had run on both parties' tickets over the years. But still they took his check for the filing fee and let him in the door.
While Lloyd Oliver isn't the person I'd like to cast a vote for in November, he's a damn sight better than the alternative. Four years ago the voters in Harris County said no to the good ol' boy network. Will they send the same message this time around?
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
The candidate strikes back
In Texas both the Democratic and Republican parties hold primaries to determine who will be facing off in a general election. There is no party registration in Texas. Anyone can vote in either primary - the only restriction being that you can only vote in one party's primary and you can't vote in any run-off unless you voted in the primary.
Last May the parties held their primary elections. As you know, the incumbent District Attorney, Pat Lykos, was trounced by Mike Anderson and his "bring back the good ol' boys" campaign tour. On the Democratic side, perennial candidate Lloyd Oliver shocked the establishment and beat fellow criminal defense attorney Zach Fertitta in the primary.
Democratic officials went into a panic for Mr. Oliver has no party loyalty. He has run, and lost, in the past as both a Democrat and a Republican. He has admitted that the only reason he runs for office is to keep his name in the media to generate business.
Mr. Oliver has been indicted multiple times for barratry but has escaped relatively unscathed every time. He sent local Democratic party officials into a tizzy when he praised Ms. Lykos for some of the things she did in office. I have done the same thing. Her policy on so-called trace cases is the right thing to do. The very idea of sending someone to prison for possessing less than 1/100 of a gram of a controlled substance is beyond ridiculous. But don't tell that to Mike Anderson.
Mr. Oliver said that if he weren't running for District Attorney that he'd vote for Ms. Lykos.
That was enough for local Democratic party head Lane Lewis who decided he'd heard enough and that it was time to pull the plug on Mr. Oliver's candidacy. So, just like the party bosses from days gone by, Mr. Lewis snapped his fingers and wished the party's primary for DA away. Mr. Lewis decided that his opinion counted for more than the 57,000 or so folks who cast their ballots for Mr. Oliver.
And so, on Monday, the candidate struck back, filing suit in Harris County to put his name back on the ballot for the November general election. Mr. Lewis, fearing that a Harris County court might just give a little credence to the voices of Harris County residents wasted no time in getting the case removed to federal court.
Mr. Lewis' decision is both irresponsible and reprehensible. Removing the party's elected nominee for the top spot on the local ballot just concedes the race to Mike Anderson. And if Mr. Lewis got his panties all in a wad over Mr. Oliver's praise of Ms. Lykos, his removing Mr. Oliver from the ballot is not short of an all-out endorsement for the man who wants to take the DA's Office back to the good ol' days under Johnny Holmes and Chuck Rosenthal. Remember those days?
If Mr. Oliver's sin was to acknowledge that he preferred Ms. Lykos to Mr. Anderson, it doesn't compare to Mr. Lewis' doing what he could to ensure Mr. Anderson's election in November. If the wages of Mr. Oliver's sin is being removed from the ballot, Mr. Lewis should be removed from office.
Election law is not my forte but I know enough to know that it's awfully damn hard to win as a plaintiff in federal court. And it is quite ironic that the head of a local party is asking the feds to get involved in a local election.
If Mr. Lewis is so damn concerned about the upcoming election, perhaps he should be spending the party's time and money on get-out-the-vote campaigns and promoting the party's slate of candidates instead of airing the party's dirty laundry in public and actively campaigning against the choice of the people.
You want to avoid something like this happening again, Mr. Lewis? Then you might want to think about changing the rules on who gets to run in the party's primary before the next election cycle. Your job is to get local Democrats elected - now go do it.
Update: The link to the petition isn't working right now. I will upload the petition to Scribd later this morning so you can read it here.
Update II: The link should now be operational. If you have any issues accessing Mr. Oliver's petition, please let me know.
Last May the parties held their primary elections. As you know, the incumbent District Attorney, Pat Lykos, was trounced by Mike Anderson and his "bring back the good ol' boys" campaign tour. On the Democratic side, perennial candidate Lloyd Oliver shocked the establishment and beat fellow criminal defense attorney Zach Fertitta in the primary.
Democratic officials went into a panic for Mr. Oliver has no party loyalty. He has run, and lost, in the past as both a Democrat and a Republican. He has admitted that the only reason he runs for office is to keep his name in the media to generate business.
Mr. Oliver has been indicted multiple times for barratry but has escaped relatively unscathed every time. He sent local Democratic party officials into a tizzy when he praised Ms. Lykos for some of the things she did in office. I have done the same thing. Her policy on so-called trace cases is the right thing to do. The very idea of sending someone to prison for possessing less than 1/100 of a gram of a controlled substance is beyond ridiculous. But don't tell that to Mike Anderson.
Mr. Oliver said that if he weren't running for District Attorney that he'd vote for Ms. Lykos.
That was enough for local Democratic party head Lane Lewis who decided he'd heard enough and that it was time to pull the plug on Mr. Oliver's candidacy. So, just like the party bosses from days gone by, Mr. Lewis snapped his fingers and wished the party's primary for DA away. Mr. Lewis decided that his opinion counted for more than the 57,000 or so folks who cast their ballots for Mr. Oliver.
And so, on Monday, the candidate struck back, filing suit in Harris County to put his name back on the ballot for the November general election. Mr. Lewis, fearing that a Harris County court might just give a little credence to the voices of Harris County residents wasted no time in getting the case removed to federal court.
Mr. Lewis' decision is both irresponsible and reprehensible. Removing the party's elected nominee for the top spot on the local ballot just concedes the race to Mike Anderson. And if Mr. Lewis got his panties all in a wad over Mr. Oliver's praise of Ms. Lykos, his removing Mr. Oliver from the ballot is not short of an all-out endorsement for the man who wants to take the DA's Office back to the good ol' days under Johnny Holmes and Chuck Rosenthal. Remember those days?
If Mr. Oliver's sin was to acknowledge that he preferred Ms. Lykos to Mr. Anderson, it doesn't compare to Mr. Lewis' doing what he could to ensure Mr. Anderson's election in November. If the wages of Mr. Oliver's sin is being removed from the ballot, Mr. Lewis should be removed from office.
Election law is not my forte but I know enough to know that it's awfully damn hard to win as a plaintiff in federal court. And it is quite ironic that the head of a local party is asking the feds to get involved in a local election.
If Mr. Lewis is so damn concerned about the upcoming election, perhaps he should be spending the party's time and money on get-out-the-vote campaigns and promoting the party's slate of candidates instead of airing the party's dirty laundry in public and actively campaigning against the choice of the people.
You want to avoid something like this happening again, Mr. Lewis? Then you might want to think about changing the rules on who gets to run in the party's primary before the next election cycle. Your job is to get local Democrats elected - now go do it.
Update: The link to the petition isn't working right now. I will upload the petition to Scribd later this morning so you can read it here.
Update II: The link should now be operational. If you have any issues accessing Mr. Oliver's petition, please let me know.
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