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RandySF's JournalDemocrats Broach Potential Walkout to Block Texas Redistricting
National Democratic leaders are encouraging state Democrats in the Texas House to consider walking out of a special legislative session this month to block Republicans from redrawing the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.
At the same time, President Trump held his own call on Tuesday with congressional Republicans in the state, urging them to carve out five new G.O.P. seats from those held by Democrats, according to a person briefed on that call, which was first reported by Punchbowl News.
“Just spoke to our Great Congressmen and women of Texas,” Mr. Trump wrote on social media. He added, “I keep hearing about Texas ‘going Blue,’ but it is just another Democrat LIE.”
The redistricting of House seats is supposed to come at the beginning of each decade, after new census data shifts populations and changes the number of seats granted to each state. Reapportionment in the middle of the decade is rare and almost always contentious, since it is driven by political considerations, not demographic shifts. In this case, Mr. Trump is openly trying to use new maps to stave off midterm Democratic gains that would potentially cost his party control of the narrowly divided House.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/us/politics/texas-redistricting-trump.html
KRISTA BOKHARI (R) FILES FOR CHARLOTTE'S DISTRICT 6 CITY COUNCIL SEAT, SETTING STAGE FOR COMPETITIVE ELECTION
The political landscape in Charlotte, North Carolina continues to evolve as Krista Bokhari steps up to file for the District 6 City Council seat, a position previously held by her husband, Tariq Bokhari.
According to QC News, Krista Bokhari made her intention official on Monday at the Mecklenburg County Board of Elections.
Her husband vacated the seat to accept an appointment within the Trump Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Krista Bokhari, who had aimed to fill her husband's seat through appointment earlier this year, ultimately did not secure the seat due to Mayor Vi Lyles casting the deciding vote in favor of Edwin Peacock III.
https://hoodline.com/2025/07/krista-bokhari-files-for-charlotte-s-district-6-city-council-seat-setting-stage-for-competitive-election/
City of Miami heads to court to defend decision to move election
Lawyers for the City of Miami and former manager Emilio Gonzalez are headed to court this week to argue over whether the city had the right to postpone the November 2025 election when voters were scheduled to choose two commissioners and a new mayor.
Gonzalez, one of several candidates competing to be Miami’s next mayor, says no. City Attorney George Wysong argues otherwise. The lawyers are due in court Wednesday for an expedited hearing before Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Valerie Manno Schurr.
The City Commission voted last month to move the election to 2026 and Gonzalez filed suit almost immediately. If the decision stands, all five commissioners and current Mayor Francis Suarez will stay in office an extra year — something critics call a power grab.
Despite rumors to the contrary, however, Miami voters will be headed to the polls in November regardless of how the case is decided.
https://www.wlrn.org/government-politics/2025-07-15/city-of-miami-heads-to-court-to-defend-decision-to-ove-election
Clayton Querry launches re-election bid for Francis City Council
The Kamas Valley has changed dramatically since Clayton Querry attended South Summit High School more than 20 years ago, but, he said, the values of the people born and raised in the area remain largely the same, especially when it comes to the importance of agriculture, open spaces and small-town communities.
It’s a rural culture Querry hopes to retain in the valley. In fact, it’s why he ran for a spot on the Francis City Council four years ago and why he decided to campaign for re-election this year.
“When I ran the first time, it seemed like everything was getting approved a little too quickly, and I wanted to slow that down a bit or at least think about it a little bit longer,” Querry said. “The last four years, we’ve been able to do a lot of that, to just step back, slow things down and make sure the plans and what developers are wanting to put in actually fits what we want Francis to be in the future. The reason I’m still running is because I think we need to continue to do that.”
Querry, who works full-time as a firefighter for the South Summit Fire District, said he knows growth is an inevitability for the Kamas Valley, including Francis and his hometown of Oakley. He said he’s not necessarily against development, but he thinks it’s imperative that the City Council consider how new buildings, neighborhoods and businesses affect the community and families who have been in the area for generations.
https://www.parkrecord.com/2025/07/15/clayton-querry-launches-re-election-bid-for-francis-city-council/
Recall election vote fails in Kingsville, now in hands of district judge
A proposal to call a special recall election failed Monday night after a 3-2 vote by the Kingsville City Commission.
The three commissioners who voted against the measure — Norma Nelda Alvarez, Hector Hinojosa, and Leo Alarcon — are the same officials who were the targets of the recall effort.
The decision didn’t come as a surprise to some residents, including Selena Tijerina, who launched the petition that triggered the recall process.
“I did expect the vote to go this way,” said Tijerina. “I expected for the vote to go 3-2.”
https://www.kristv.com/news/local-news/in-your-neighborhood/kleberg-county/kingsville/recall-election-vote-fails-in-kingsville-now-in-hands-of-district-judge
Councilmember Trayon White faces new allegations as voters head to the polls in Ward 8
WASHINGTON — Ousted DC councilmember Trayon White is in hot water once again. A Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) violation notice sent last week accuses White of failing to file the two financial disclosures for his last year in office.
White was arrested in August 2024 by the FBI for allegedly accepting more than $150,000 in kickbacks in exchange for securing city contracts. He still won his reelection campaign in November, but in February, the council voted to expel him. The new information comes as the special election to fill his empty council seat — which he himself is running for — begins Tuesday.
BEGA said White did not submit his last two legally required public financial disclosure statements. D.C.'s Ethics Act requires public officials to file two financial disclosures a year: one for the first half, due Nov. 15, and one for the second half, due the following May 15. Despite repeated reminders mailed to him, the violation notice said he still did not submit.
Reminders were sent Oct. 15, Oct. 29, Nov. 7, Nov. 13 and Nov. 15 to file for the period of Jan. 1, 2024, through June 30, 2024, but BEGA writes that he never submitted it at all. Then, though he had already been ousted from the council, he was still required to submit a disclosure for the second half of the year, as he was still in office during the period of July 1, 2024, and Dec. 31, 2024. Reminders again were sent April 15, April 28, May 2 and May 15, and yet, again, he did not file, BEGA said.
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/politics/dc-political-corruption/trayon-white-financial-disclosures-board-of-government-ethics-special-election-ward-8/65-68c9868c-03f3-4cad-94c0-f13b17ebdebe
Flint's 3rd Ward City Council election set for Aug. 5
FLINT, Mich. — Flint’s Third Ward voters will go to the polls Tuesday, Aug. 5, to elect a new City Council member and fill a seat that has been vacant since September 2024.
Candidates Beverly Biggs-Leavy and A.C. Dumas will face off in the August general election after finishing in a 165-vote tie during the May special election.
The seat was previously held by Councilman Quincy Murphy, who died in September 2024 while serving a term ending in November 2026. The council did not appoint a replacement, leaving the seat vacant for several months.
The winner of the upcoming election will serve the remainder of Murphy’s term through November 2026.
https://flintbeat.com/flints-3rd-ward-voters-to-decide-city-council-seat-aug-5/
Ward 8 residents cast their ballots for special election in final day of voting
WASHINGTON (DC News Now) — Voters in Ward 8 are heading to the polls Tuesday to choose their next representative on the D.C. Council, following the expulsion of former Ward 8 Councilmember Trayon White.
White was removed from office after a council investigation revealed that he had violated several city laws following a 2023 federal bribery indictment. Now, he is seeking to reclaim his seat.
He’s facing three challengers: Salim Adofo, an ANC chair; Mike Austin, a Ward 8 native and former ANC chair; and Sheila Bunn, a former aide to Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton and former Mayor Vincent Gray.
Polls remain open until 8 p.m., and many residents say this special election is critical for the future of their community.
https://www.dcnewsnow.com/news/politics/election-washington-dc/ward-8-residents-cast-their-ballots-for-special-election-in-final-day-of-voting/
Four candidates vie for a win in St. Paul's special City Council election
Four candidates are running to replace former St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali after she resigned in January from her Ward 4 seat, as St. Paul grapples with high property taxes and rising rents, homelessness and addiction issues evident along University Avenue, and a stubborn emptiness downtown.
Ward 4, on the city’s northwest corner, includes some of St. Paul’s wealthiest enclaves and some of its poorest, encompassing Hamline-Midway, Union Park, St. Anthony Park and parts of Macalester-Groveland.
It’s a ranked choice election, so voters will be asked to decide their first, second, third and fourth choices of the candidates.
The St. Paul DFL did not hold endorsing conventions for the seat.
https://www.startribune.com/st-paul-city-council-ward4-special-election-candidates-2025/601387286
Marshall County approves $323,000 for election software upgrade
MOUNDSVILLE, W.Va. — The Marshall County Commission has approved nearly $323,000 in funding to upgrade the county's election software.
The decision, made Tuesday morning, will provide the county's Board of Elections with the necessary resources to update the Windows software used for counting ballots during primary and general elections.
Officials note the growing need, as Marshall County is the last in West Virginia still using Windows 7. The allocated funds will enable the county to enhance its system to the latest version.
Without this upgrade, the county would be forced to count paper ballots manually, one by one.
https://wtov9.com/news/local/marshall-county-approves-323000-for-election-software-upgrade
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