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Making an Impact
“The Lone Star Project … hammers Republicans whenever it gets a chance, promoting strong local Democratic candidates and even bringing lawsuits.”
(Roll Call, Stuart Rothenberg,
March 12, 2009)
“Anyone who questions whether [The Lone Star Project] can make life difficult for a Republican legislator should talk to former Sen. Kim Brimer.”
(Austin American Statesman, February 17, 2009)
“[The Lone Star Project] is responsible for the aggressive stance the party has taken toward DeLay and other Lone Star State Republicans since the 2004 election.”
(The Washington Post, March 6, 2006)
"David Dewhurst has said most Texans don't have much sympathy "for someone who that can't fill out a two page [health insurance] application every six months".
The Democrat-supported Lone Star Project in Washington reported this week that Dewhurst failed to file necessary forms at least six times in recent years.
(San Antonio Expres News,, 4/12/2007)
"The Justice staff memo was obtained by the Lone Star Project ...The story broke the same day the U.S. Supreme Court was considering legal challenges to the plan brought by Democrats and minority groups."
(Houston Chronicle, 12/3/2005)
"The Texas chapter of the NAACP, along with the Lone Star Project, have analyzed the amicus brief filed by the Justice Department and have concluded, justifiably, that the Voting Rights section of the Justice Department is now controlled by partisan political appointees."
(Roll Call - Donna Brazile, 2/28/2006)
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Leo Breaks His Word
Vasquez, Woodfill and Bettencourt comments partisan & dishonest
Before the ink was dry on the Harris County voter corruption settlement agreed to by Harris County Republican Tax Assessor Collector Leo Vasquez, he had already broken his word. Last Friday, Vasquez was eager to settle the lawsuit and issued a joint press release with the Texas Democratic Party pledging to work towards good government and "transparency." Vasquez even agreed to pay the Democratic Party attorney's fees, further acknowledging the validity of the complaints and errors by his office.
Leo Vasquez
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Yesterday, Vasquez issued a press release exposing his rank dishonesty and destroying any confidence the public could have in his ability or willingness to conduct fair elections in Harris County. Vasquez was not forced to settle the lawsuit, he chose to do so. Yet less than a week after giving his pledge to honor the settlement, he reneged and issued a press release saying the legal complaint "was the worst example of a nuisance lawsuit and ill-informed lawyers run amok. As I have always held, this lawsuit proved to be completely without merit.” and "no significant changes to the operations of the Tax Office will be required." ( Source: Vasquez Release, 10/18/2009 )
These comments should inform all Harris County voters that their trust has been betrayed. Clearly, Leo Vasquez has no intention to follow the spirit or letter of the agreement that he personally signed. Vasquez's press release followed attacks and misrepresentations from his Republican County Party Chair, Jared Woodfill, and his predecessor, Paul Bettencourt. Both attacked the settlement and denied the very acts Vasquez has previously admitted. During his short tenure as Tax Assessor Collector, Leo Vasquez has failed to distance himself from the harsh ideological partisans in his party like Jared Woodfill, and he has refused to fire Bettencourt staff at the Tax Assessor office, particularly the Republican “ inside man ” Ed Johnson.
Virtually all election laws are only as good as the people who administer them. Election workers speak to and advise individual voters. They personally handle voter registration applications. They handle key voting documents like provisional ballot affidavits. Based on the comments of Vasquez and his handlers, Leo Vasquez has no plans to conduct elections fairly in Harris County.
Houston Chronicle Editorial Rebuts Vasquez/GOP Rhetoric
A Houston Chronicle editorial today called the settlement "a welcome development and the Texas Democratic Party lawsuit “anything but frivolous.” The Chronicle also condemned the improper activities uncovered and reported by the Lone Star Project. Summing up their view, the Chronicle wrote, "It's unfortunate that it took a lawsuit to secure a common-sense ban on voter registration officials moonlighting as consultants to political campaigns."
| The Houston Chronicle's Editorial directly refutes the inaccurate and misleading comments by Vasquez, Woodfill and Bettencourt below
What Leo Vasquez said:
“This was the worst example of a nuisance lawsuit and ill-informed lawyers run amok. As I have always held, this lawsuit proved to be completely without merit.”
The Houston Chronicle Wrote:
"But the specified changes in the tax-office procedures for handling registration applications make it clear that the original complaints were anything but frivolous."
- Houston Chronicle Editorial, October 29, 2009
What Harris GOP Chair Jared Woodfill said:
"The assertions by The Lone Star Project are based on a settlement by the Tax Office of a lawsuit brought by the Texas Democratic Party alleging that residents were prevented from registering to vote and ultimately denied the right to vote. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth; ...The settlement by Leo Vasquez is not an admission of wrongdoing by the Tax Office, but rather an admission by the Democrats that their lawsuit lacked significant merit and an acknowledgement that their frivolous lawsuit would have ultimately been doomed in the legal process. "
- Jared Woodfill, Harris County Republican Press Release 10/27/2009
The Houston Chronicle Wrote:
"It's unfortunate that it took a lawsuit to secure a common-sense ban on voter registration officials moonlighting as consultants to political campaigns."
- Houston Chronicle Editorial, October 29, 2009
What former Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt said:
“My office didn’t deny 78,000 voter registrations in 2008. The actual number of rejected voter registration applications from Jan. 1st 2007 to Dec. 31st 2008 was only 3518. During that period of time the Tax Office also mailed 64,036 Notices of incomplete as required under the federal Help America Vote Act."
-Paul Bettencourt post on DogCanyon.org, 10/28/2009
The Houston Chronicle Wrote:
"The rejection of more than 60,000 voter applications last year for technical reasons by the Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector's office prompted a lawsuit by the Texas Democratic Party. The plaintiffs contended that the scope of the rejections here vastly exceeded any other Texas county and were politically motivated. They claimed nearly a quarter of those applying to register prior to the 2008 elections were disallowed without following state law provisions for timely notification.
- Houston Chronicle Editorial, October 29, 2009
Read the full Houston Chronicle Editorial Here
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