Surprise And Disappointment In House District 102

Not really. More like politics as usual in the election campaign for Texas House District 102 (representing part of north Dallas and part of Garland). Gromer Jeffers, in The Dallas Morning News, says challenger Stefani Carter makes a "misleading charge that state Rep. Carol Kent improperly took state housing reimbursements."

After the jump, Jeffers explains why the charge is misleading.

What Has Stefani Carter Been Up To

Ringing Opening Bell on NYSE (Stefani Carter on left)

You may remember Stefani Carter. The former Texas state representative for parts of Richardson, swept into office in the 2010 tea party wave. The ambitious politician who attempted to climb to statewide office (Texas Railroad Commission) in 2014 only to discover that the moneyed interests had other candidates in mind. Who then scrambled back to her legislative race in north Texas but lost her seat when even GOP voters abandoned her in the primary for Linda Koop. The last time we checked in on her was in 2020. What has Stefani Carter been up to since?

Texans for Education Funding Equity

Richard Nixon is a no good, lying bastard. He can lie out of both sides of his mouth at the same time, and if he ever caught himself telling the truth, he'd lie just to keep his hand in.

Source: Harry S Truman.

Harry Truman said that long before Americans learned about Watergate. It's not like Americans couldn't have known what they were getting when they elected Richard Nixon as President (twice!).

OK, moving on... Do you remember the days when writing a letter to your legislator was an effective way to have your voice heard in government? Neither do I. Always more myth than reality, the notion that legislators listen to anything but money is today considered laughably naive.

That's why this headline in The Dallas Morning News is not surprising: "Richardson dads form PAC to gather cash, clout for Texas school finance reform." Josh Cedor founded the Texans for Education Funding Equity PAC (TEFE). He told the News's Jeffrey Weiss: "Politics is the game of money, whether anybody likes it or wants to admit it."

After the jump, what he's up against. Spoiler alert: his state legislator is Stefani Carter.

Barack Obama Wannabe Stefani Carter

Barack Obama / Stefani Carter

Young, bright, Harvard-educated, African-American candidate for the state legislature. What once described Barack Obama in Illinois is now being appropriated by none other than a north Texas Republican candidate for the Texas legislature. And if the biography isn't enough to get voters to see a little Barack Obama in you, how about lifting lines and ideas right from Barack Obama's keynote address to the 2004 Democratic Convention, the speech that launched his national career?

After the jump, look who's riding Obama's coattails?

Hey Boss, Can I Use You As A Reference?

Not if you are Stefani Carter and you are running for Texas House District 102. The co-founders of Sayles Werbner law firm, where Stefani Carter is employed, endorsed Carter's opponent in the race, incumbent Carol Kent.

After the jump, some conjecture on what it means.

Weak Tea in District 102

Two years ago, newly elected Texas state representative Stefani Carter pissed off local Tea Party activists with her support for establishment figure Joe Straus for Speaker of the Texas House. The Dallas Morning News had the story in November, 2010. Carter's support for Straus cost her "TeaApproved" status from the North Texas Tea Party. The Texas Tribune had the story in January, 2011.

It wasn't just that Carter supported Straus (although that would have been bad enough for the Tea Party). It was that, in the Tea Party's view, in public Carter was professing to be uncommitted, but in private she was pledging her support to Joe Straus. As the North Texas Tea Party put it, "Stefani Carter has no problem talking out of both sides of her mouth."

Two years later, where do things stand? After the jump, let's catch up.

Stefani Carter, Short of Money and Friends

When I wrote about the Texas House District 102 race last week, the situation was relatively straightforward. Incumbent Stefani Carter wasn't running for re-election, having decided to run for the Texas Railroad Commission instead. Former Dallas City Council member Linda Koop had announced her own campaign to replace Carter. Koop was the favorite to win the GOP nomination and the general election.

Then a strange thing happened on the way to the voting booth. Stefani Carter announced that she was dropping her bid for Railroad Commission and would seek re-election to House District 102 after all.

After the jump, assessing how badly Stefani Carter misplayed her hand.

"Texas Woman Accused in Beating of State’s Former Lieutenant Governor"

Heavy.com

The headline says "Texas Woman Accused in Beating of State’s Former Lieutenant Governor." If that made you think of Stefani Carter, you should be ashamed of yourself. Either that or you know way too many details about the inside baseball of Texas politics. The woman in the headline is Leslie Ann Caron. If that made you think of Leslie Caron the movie star, well you'd be wrong again. But it would prove you don't know way too much about the inside baseball of Texas politics. Our woman of interest, arrested for "injury to an elderly person" (ouch), is Leslie Ann Caron, a political fundraiser. There is a connection to our Stefani Carter. Patience. We'll get to it.

Stefani Carter Struggles in Politics 101

Stefani Carter, the inexperienced, first-time candidate for Texas House District 102, has already stumbled more than once in her campaign to unseat incumbent Carol Kent. Earlier, Carter faced charges of padding her resume and plagiarizing from President Obama for her own campaign stump speech. Now, she's busy trying to explain away some more campaign missteps.

After the jump, still more resume padding and the endorsement that wasn't.

What Has Stefani Carter Been Up To?

You remember Stefani Carter. The former Texas state representative for parts of Richardson. Swept into office in the 2010 tea party wave. The self-proclaimed "first black female GOP state representative" (which highlights how delinquent the Texas GOP was). The ambitious politician who campaigned nationwide for Mitt Romney in 2012. (How'd that work out?) Who attempted to climb to statewide office (Texas Railroad Commission) only to discover that the moneyed interests had other candidates in mind. Who scrambled back to her legislative race but lost her seat anyway when voters abandoned her for Linda Koop. All that was covered by The Wheel back in the day.

So, that Stefani Carter. What has she been up to? Spoiler alert: her activities in the private sector are raising eyebrows just as her activities in public office did.

Saying Goodbye to Stefani Carter

Tuesday, Linda Koop won election to the Texas House District 102 seat currently held by Stefani Carter. Koop defeated Carter in the GOP primary. Before the vote Tuesday, Carter made one last pitch to the voters -- not for Koop but for Greg Abbott, GOP candidate for governor. Carter wrote an opinion piece for the Texas Tribune making a case why minorities should support Abbott. Mostly it was standard GOP boilerplate (e.g., twisting opposition to public education into support: "providing quality public education"). Nothing about Carter in that part of the opinion piece. It was the rest that reminds voters what they don't like about Stefani Carter.

Stefani Carter Supporter "Feels Like a Fool"

The celebrations following the Republican sweep of Texas state offices in the November election didn't last long. The knives are out as the victors, fresh from vanquishing the Democrats, now turn on each other to root out those Republicans whose conservatism is not deemed pure enough. The first litmus test: choice of speaker of the Texas House.

After the jump, a Stefani Carter supporter expresses disappointment and Carter's surprising response.

Tapping the Paycheck Protection Program for $126M

Braemar Rings Opening Bell on NYSE (Stefani Carter on left)

You may remember Stefani Carter. The former Texas state representative for parts of Richardson, swept into office in the 2010 tea party wave. The ambitious politician who attempted to climb to statewide office (Texas Railroad Commission) in 2014 only to discover that the moneyed interests had other candidates in mind. Who scrambled back to her legislative race in north Texas but lost her seat anyway when even GOP voters abandoned her for Linda Koop. All that was covered by The Wheel back in the day. Well, Stefani Carter is back in the news, or at least her business is.

New Candidate, Same Old Spin

Recently, first-time candidate for Texas House District 102 Stefani Carter was caught plagiarizing lines from Barack Obama for her own stump speech. The wording of Carter's speech was thoroughly covered by many, but today I want to look at her side's defense against the charges of plagiarism and resume padding. It exhibits just as much political spin as her stump speech that got her in trouble.

After the jump, a case of political spin deconstructed.

Smackdown: Stefani Carter vs Carol Kent

Stefani Carter and Carol Kent, opposing candidates for Texas House District 102, faced off Wednesday night at the Lake Highlands Freshman Center in a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Richardson.

I went so you didn't have to. After the jump, all you need to know in order to vote.

Stefani Carter's Terrible Accident

First a confession. When I reported on the District 112 candidate forum, I buried the lede. No, that's not it. I missed the story altogether. Yeah, I showed why I am not getting paid for this.

I never mentioned Stefani Carter's opening remarks where she informed the forum audience that she had recently suffered a "terrible accident" that triggered a "moment of truth when you feel like your life could end." Turning to retired Captain Sam Brown, who actually did suffer exactly that, Carter said "I know that our colleague here, Sam Brown, understands that." In 2008, in Afghanistan, an IED blew up near Brown, burning much of his body. To this day Brown bears disfiguring scars on his face and head (and elsewhere, less visibly). Then Carter moved on, sounding extremely conservative and ambitious, pretty much like she has always sounded, pre-life-altering event.

I may have missed the story, but professional journalists Tim Rogers of D Magazine and then Tom Benning of The Dallas Morning News didn't. After the jump, catching you all up on what I should have caught.

Who is Stefani Carter Carrying Water For Now?

What do exotic animal ranches, North Texas' need for water, money, and politics all have in common? Give yourself 100 points if you guessed Richardson's state representative Stefani Carter was at the center of that unlikely Venn diagram.

After the jump, connecting the dots.

Brain Farts

Texas Gov. Rick Perry aired a radio ad in California trying to lure California businesses to Texas. California Gov. Jerry Brown dismissed Perry's radio appeal as "barely a brain fart."

Coincidentally, Texas state Representative Stefani Carter filed a bill in the Texas legislature to make Texas a little more like, you guessed it, California.

After the jump, Carter's own brain fart.

Thank You, Linda Koop

I could post one item a day on the distortions and lies coming from the Stefani Carter campaign. That's because a new mailer hits my mailbox about that often with another load of you know what. Carter has reached high desperation mode in trying to hang on to her seat from Texas House District 102, in a GOP runoff campaign against Linda Koop... Integrity is something we look for in our elected officials, and we see not an ounce of it in Stefani Carter.

Source: The Dallas Morning News.

That's what Rodger Jones of The Dallas Morning News had to say about Stefani Carter, who represents parts of Richardson in the Texas House.

Here's a quote from a different source altogether. See if you can guess who said it and when.

It is these kinds of campaign shenanigans, personal attacks and dirty politics of which people are sick and tired.

Source: The Wheel.

If you guessed Stefani Carter back in 2010, give yourself 100 ironic points. Carter was prescient, but it took voters three elections to realize that the dirty politics were emanating from Carter's own campaigns. When they did, it was she who was voted out of office. Linda Koop defeated Stefani Carter in the GOP primary on Tuesday, winning 60% of the vote.

Talking Taxes in the Texas GOP

Geoff Bailey / Stefani Carter

The Dallas Morning News has made a recommendation in the GOP primary for Texas House District 102. The primary winner will face incumbent Carol Kent in November. Primary early voting begins February 16. Primary election day is March 2.

After the jump, what the DMN is looking for in a state legislator.