Enlarge Spencer Selvidge

Corpus Christi, June 25, 2010. Democrats at the state convention.

When it comes to political conventions, the needs and desires of the press are usually at odds with the party officials staging the convention.

Where reporters are on the lookout for conflict, party officials are looking for comity.

Reporters were blessed earlier this month at the GOP state convention in Fort Worth when the party’s struggles to come to a consensus position on immigration reform spilled into a heated floor debate that took up much of the gathering’s Saturday afternoon.

Reporters might be hard pressed to find a similar scene at the Democratic convention this weekend in Dallas, where party leaders are aiming for, in the words of consultant James Aldrete, “united faces and high levels of enthusiasm.”

Part of this is due to the presence of state Rep. Garnet Coleman, who will be leading the platform committee for the seventh straight convention. That kind of continuity tends to contribute to a quieter platform process.

Also, the absence of dark horse ag commissioner nominee Jim Hogan removes a potential headache for party leaders.

In fact, the biggest potential for an unscripted moment might be in the contests for party officers. Chairman Gilberto Hinojosa might be challenged for the second straight convention by Rachel Barrios-Van Os.

And The Dallas Morning News’ Gromer Jeffers reported on Thursday afternoon that former state Rep. Terri Hodge will run for party vice chairwoman. Hodge’s presence is sure to draw interest because, as Jeffers notes, she resigned her seat after pleading guilty to a felony — income tax evasion.

Jeffers noted that Hodge sent a letter to delegates saying she was “flawed, but she said she had a vision for the party.”

But her campaign was already off to a rocky start. Per Jeffers:

Hodge describes herself in the letter as a state representative, instead of a former House member. She said it was a mistake by an aide and would be corrected. Also, the phone number on the email was to Johnson’s district office, where Hodge works. Johnson, to this point, has not publicly backed Hodge.

*****

The Greg Abbott campaign is “welcoming” Democrats to Dallas for their state convention with five billboards around town. The message on those billboards is hardly welcoming, though, putting the face and profile of Wendy Davis on a sign done in the style of a “Wanted” poster.

One billboard makes a reference to media coverage of her decision not to release a full list of her law firm’s clients and not to release her current tax returns because she had filed for an extension.

The other billboard references an FBI inquiry of the North Texas Tollway Authority, for which Davis did some work.

Democrats hoisted similarly barbed billboards around Fort Worth for the GOP state convention earlier this month.

Enlarge Ariel Min

The Dallas Museum of Art

Dallas’ hopes of landing the 2016 national Republican Party convention remain alive after the city was named one of two finalists for the event. Cleveland is the other finalist.

Denver and Kansas City were eliminated from contention.

The choice of finalists set up an immediate contrast. Does the party go for a convention in a swing state (Ohio) or one in a solidly red state (Texas)?

But there’s another consideration that could come into play as well — timing.

The Dallas Morning News reported that the choice of Cleveland would allow the party to hold a late June convention, something that Dallas can’t match. The earliest a Dallas convention could happen would be mid-July because of conflicts with potential playoff games at the American Airlines Center, home of Dallas’ professional basketball and hockey teams.

Cleveland has a (supposedly) professional basketball team as well, but, according to The News, city officials have a plan to work around any potential scheduling conflict in June, although the details are not being divulged right now.

A decision on which city plays host to the convention is expected in August.

*****

A new report from the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials Educational Fund is forecasting a big jump in Hispanic voter participation in the upcoming November elections.

The projection is for 1.2 million Texas Latinos to vote, a number that would be about 20 percent more than turnout four years ago, the last time Texans selected their governor and other statewide officials.

Turnout by Hispanic voters has long been reckoned as key to the hopes of Democrats looking to turn the state blue. A big boost in voting by Hispanics, then, is no doubt welcomed by Democrats.

Despite that, there’s still a lot of work to go on getting Hispanics to vote at a rate commensurate with their share of the population. The NALEO report noted that while Texas is 38 percent Latino, their percentage of registered voters in the state is just 22.6 percent.

The report also noted that new voter ID requirements would have an effect on Latino turnout, as would Congress’ lack of action on immigration reform. The latter “will mobilize Latinos who are not yet fully engaged in the political process to cast ballots.”

Enlarge

This week in Newsreel: Unaccompanied minors crossing the Texas-Mexico border have politicians weighing in, and Democrats mark the anniversary of Wendy Davis' filibuster.

You can view the video at: https://trib.it/1iLLIiU

Enlarge

The Republicans started the month and the Democrats end it with a state convention that framed this week’s questions to our government and politics insiders.

Liberal Democrats are the dominant faction in the Texas Democratic Party, according to 57 percent of the insiders, followed by moderate Democrats — the choice of 28 percent. A third of the insiders think the Democrats should leave their platform on immigration alone, while 29 percent said it should be stricter and 14 percent said it should be more lenient.

Democrats are trying to claw their way back into Texas politics, and 73 percent of the insiders say they should be trying to attract moderates and independents, while 15 percent said the Democrats should try to appeal to Democrats.

Finally, we asked for a little forecasting: 36 percent of the insiders think the Democrats will do better than usual in this year’s elections, but 55 percent said the results will be about the same as they have been and 8 percent expect things to get worse.

We collected comments along the way and a full set of those is attached. Here’s a sampling:

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

The Texas Democratic Party is holding its state convention this week. Based on the primaries and the runoffs, how would you describe the dominant forces in Democratic Party politics in Texas right now?

• "You forgot to include as options, Park Slope New York liberals and Hollywood check-writers."

• "Texas trial lawyers"

• "I call them Business Democrats"

• "Way too left. This is why the Democrats will make no progress at electing statewide candidates in a year when they should have made progress. The absence of moderate influences continues to doom this party."

• "The Texas Democrat party has become little more than out of state choreographers that do not have a clue about Texas Politics. They try to present an unreal picture of what Texans are and claim that it is normal. They further try to make everyone believe that their left wing views are they way everyone thinks. And now we hear about how the strongest economy in the nation has it all wrong. Texans need to take back the Democrat Party or they will be nothing but a freak show."

• "I didn't realize there was still a statewide Democratic party."

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

Democrats are expected to debate their immigration platform at the convention. What would be the best outcome?

• "That powder keg blew up on the GOP, so if the Dems are smart, they will leave it alone."

• "Ask any Valley Democrat and they will tell you that the party will have to start addressing border security. RGV voters have first-hand knowledge of the negative impact an uncontrolled border has in their communities."

• "I would not expect them to 'leave it be.' I would expect them to pander, which would not be the best outcome from their standpoint."

• "No win for the D's here because of the crisis at border."

• "Texas has a humanitarian crisis on its border and the GOP is responding w gun boats and helicopters. It is fundamentally UN-TEXAN to ignore the needs of children, regardless of their birthplace."

• "Who even knows (or cares) what their immigration platform is right now? It's moot--no one pays attention to party platforms anymore."

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

What voters should Texas Democrats be trying to attract right now?

• "It depends on the Democrat. For example, based on Wendy Davis' primary performance in the Valley, she has a lot of work to do simply to shore up that part of the base."

• "Somehow they're going to have to attract voters repelled by Sen. Patrick to help their most viable statewide candidate win the Lite Guv spot. God help us all if they are not successful."

• "Any voter they can get will be helpful..."

• "Activate the base while also appealing to moderates and independents on issues that are not alienating. Leticia Van de Putte understands this."

• "Democrats should be trying to attract every Texan under age 30."

• "There is nowhere else for the moderate to go right now."

• "Latinos, Latinos! Mobilize the Latino Vote."

• "EVERYONE. Too many republicans that are VERY scared of their candidates, platform and the direction of their party. I believe you will see that when they go into the privacy of the voting booth and cast their ballot."

• "Anyone breathing. They're like Delta House: 'We need the dues!'"

Enlarge Emily Albracht

.

How do you expect statewide Democratic candidates to perform in the general election?

• "LVP's general likability combined with Patrick's over-the-top rhetoric should at least make the Lite Guv race fun to watch. Otherwise, no surprises."

• "This election cycle will be worse for the Democrats than 2010. Obama, the liberal DC crowd and foreign policy decisions by the executive branch will smother all Democrats nationally."

• "Wendy et al. should expect about 40%, give or take a couple of percentage points."

• "We won't win, but it'll be the best step forward we've taken in over a decade."

• "I know too many Republicans who will NEVER vote for a democrat. Until that changes, Democrats are cooked (cuz we know they won't really turn out). The moderate Republican will only switch over (or turn out in higher numbers) when they see what kind of psychopaths they've allowed to be elected."

• "To think that a group of DC liberals can come in and have a dramatic impact on Texas elections is idealist but not reality."

• "At this stage of the campaign a few years ago, I actually was seeing more Bill White bumper stickers on cars than I am seeing Wendy Davis bumper stickers."

• "Paging Tony Sanchez, paging Tony Sanchez..."

Our thanks to this week's participants: Gene Acuna, Cathie Adams, Brandon Aghamalian, Brandon Alderete, Clyde Alexander, George Allen, Doc Arnold, Jay Arnold, Charles Bailey, Eric Bearse, Dave Beckwith, Andrew Biar, Allen Blakemore, Tom Blanton, Chris Britton, David Cabrales, Lydia Camarillo, Kerry Cammack, Snapper Carr, William Chapman, Elna Christopher, Harold Cook, Kevin Cooper, Beth Cubriel, Randy Cubriel, Curtis Culwell, Denise Davis, Hector De Leon, June Deadrick, Nora Del Bosque, Holly DeShields, Tom Duffy, David Dunn, Richard Dyer, Jack Erskine, Jon Fisher, Wil Galloway, Dominic Giarratani, Bruce Gibson, Stephanie Gibson, Eric Glenn, Kinnan Golemon, Jim Grace, John Greytok, Clint Hackney, Anthony Haley, Wayne Hamilton, Bill Hammond, Ken Hodges, Steve Holzheauser, Deborah Ingersoll, Richie Jackson, Cal Jillson, Mark Jones, Robert Jones, Robert Kepple, Richard Khouri, Tom Kleinworth, Ramey Ko, Sandy Kress, Nick Lampson, Pete Laney, Luke Legate, Leslie Lemon, Ruben Longoria, Vilma Luna, Matt Mackowiak, Luke Marchant, Bryan Mayes, Jason McElvaney, Mike McKinney, Steve Minick, Bee Moorhead, Mike Moses, Keir Murray, Nelson Nease, Keats Norfleet, Pat Nugent, Todd Olsen, Nef Partida, Gardner Pate, Robert Peeler, Tom Phillips, Wayne Pierce, Allen Place, Kraege Polan, Jay Pritchard, Jay Propes, Tim Reeves, Patrick Reinhart, David Reynolds, Carl Richie, Jeff Rotkoff, Tyler Ruud, Jason Sabo, Andy Sansom, Jim Sartwelle, Barbara Schlief, Stan Schlueter, Bruce Scott, Robert Scott, Bradford Shields, Christopher Shields, Nancy Sims, Larry Soward, Dennis Speight, Jason Stanford, Bob Strauser, Colin Strother, Michael Quinn Sullivan, Sherry Sylvester, Trey Trainor, Vicki Truitt, Corbin Van Arsdale, Ware Wendell, Ken Whalen, David White, Darren Whitehurst, Seth Winick, Peck Young, Angelo Zottarelli.

Enlarge Todd Wiseman

Friday, June 27

• Texas Democratic Party state convention; Dallas Convention Center, 650 S Griffin St., Dallas (June 26-28)
• Fundraiser for Democratic nominee for railroad commissioner Steve Brown; 555 S. Lamar St., Dallas (8 a.m.)

Saturday, June 28

• Fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Roger Williams, R-Weatherford; 401 W. 2nd St., Austin (7:45 p.m.)

Sunday, June 29

• Fundraiser for Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor Leticia Van de Putte; 5403 Tortuga Trail, Austin (3:30-5 p.m.)

Texas Democrats began to congregate in Dallas for their state convention, where they will nominate two women — Wendy Davis and Leticia Van de Putte — for governor and lieutenant governor, respectively. Party leaders are hoping to present a unified front and avoid open conflict among delegates of the sort seen at the GOP state convention earlier this month.

Davis and Van de Putte led a raucous gathering in Austin on Wednesday designed to mark the anniversary of Davis' filibuster against an abortion restriction bill. The two women used the occasion to expand their criticism of Republican leadership of the state beyond women's health and abortion.

The influx of unacommpanied migrant children into Texas hit a media coverage tipping point this week with state leaders touring detention facilities. Gov. Rick Perry and GOP gubernatorial hopeful Greg Abbott blamed the federal government for the problem, while Democratic nominee for governor Wendy Davis called for a special session on the crisis. Meanwhile, the state health department has sent 2,000 state-purchased flu vaccines to a federal shelter housing minors in South Texas.

The U.S. Supreme Court largely rejected Attorney General Greg Abbott’s challenge of federal climate rules Monday, deciding that the EPA is allowed to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from most large industrial facilities.

Lawmakers considered a proposal to shutter six of Texas’ 13 state-supported living centers over two days of public hearings, renewing a long-simmering debate over the future of the state’s institutions for the disabled.

The discovery of a mass grave in Brooks County containing haphazardly buried remains of unidentified immigrants spurred calls by a couple of state lawmakers for an investigation into what happened.

President Barack Obama has nominated Amos L. Mazzant III and Robert William Schroeder III to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas and Robert Lee Pitman to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas.

State Rep. Angie Chen Button, R-Garland, will serve as chairwoman of the newly created House Select Committee on Economic Development Incentives, the creation of which was announced late last week by House Speaker Joe Straus. State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin, will serve as vice chairman of the 13-member panel.

Alfonso Royal was named by the Texas Lottery Commission to be the new director of the Charitable Bingo Operations Division, effective July 7. Royal is a former budget and policy advisor to Gov. Rick Perry.

Susan Simpson Hull of Grand Prairie was named by Perry to the State Board for Educator Certification for a term to expire Feb. 1, 2017.

Dan Key of Friendswood and Ronald V. Larson of Horizon City were reappointed by Perry to the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System for terms to expire Sept. 1, 2019.

Judy Raab of Alvarado was appointed by Perry to the Texas Radiation Advisory Board for a term to expire April 16, 2019.

Perry has reappointed the following four presiding officers of regional mobility authories. Their terms all expire Feb. 1, 2016:

•    David Allex of Harlingen of the Cameron County RMA

•    John Clamp of San Antonio of the Alamo RMA

•    Will "Bill" Hubbard Jr. of Tioga of the Grayson County RMA

•    Linda Ryan Thomas of Longview of the North East Texas RMA