Vol 33, Issue 5 Print Issue

State Rep. Ron Reynolds Has Bar Disciplinary Hearing Delayed

Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, during a House Environmental Regulations Committee on April 16, 2013.
Rep. Ron Reynolds, D-Missouri City, during a House Environmental Regulations Committee on April 16, 2013.

State Rep. Ron Reynolds, who is facing a tough primary election this year, won't face a disciplinary hearing with the State Bar of Texas until after the March 1 primary.

Claire Mock, a state bar spokeswoman said Reynolds' hearing has been rescheduled until April 29 because the organization has not be able to serve Reynolds with official notice of the hearing.

Reynolds represents House District 27, which covers most of Missouri City and parts of Houston and Sugar Land. Last year, a Montgomery County jury sentenced Reynolds to one year in jail and a fine for his conviction on five counts he illegally solicited legal clients.

First elected to the Texas Legislature in 2010, Reynolds, D-Missouri City, now faces three other challengers in the primary: Angelique Bartholomew, Christopher Henderson, an assistant Galveston County prosecutor and Steve Brown, former chairman of the Fort Bend County Democrats.

The primary contest is one of our Hotlist races.

 

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Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday set May 7 as the date for a special election to fill the unexpired term of state Rep. Ruth Jones McClendon, D-San Antonio, who resigned her seat representing HD-120 on Sunday.

Candidates wishing to be placed on the special election ballot have until March 7 to submit applications. Early voting in the special election will start April 25.

Also scheduled for May 7 is the election to fill the HD-139 seat in Harris County left open by Sylvester Turner’s resignation to become Houston mayor.

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San Antonio Congressman Joaquin Castro and his wife, Anna, announced the birth of their son, Roman Victor Castro, Tuesday afternoon. Castro said in an announcement shared by his office, “Both mom and baby are healthy, and Andrea is excited to be a big sister!”

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File this under lobby fights to watch next session: the Texas Association of Business and the Texas Public Policy Foundation announced Tuesday that they intend to push deregulation of the title insurance industry next session.

 

The organizations claim the current regulatory structure stifles competition and keeps rates artificially high.

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Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick on Tuesday reunited with an old colleague — by delivering a guest lecture at the law class he teaches.

The Republican spoke to former Commissioner Barry Smitherman’s University of Texas at Austin law class, the commission said Wednesday.

Smitherman, who left the agency at the end of 2014, now practices energy law at Vinson and Elkins, the international law firm. And as an adjunct professor, he teaches a class called “Texas Energy Law.”

Here’s the full description of the course.

And no, he is not reviewed on RateMyProfessors.com — yet.