CONVENTION: Judge Susan Criss, Galveston County

[Editor's note: I'm having some trouble uploading the podcasts and, this morning, my MP3 players' battery died, so most of today's interviews will be "pen and paper." As soon as I can get the podcasts uploaded, I will.--VL]

In the hopes of bringing some diversity to the interviews I’ve been doing this weekend, I asked State District Judge Susan Criss of Galveston County to take part in a Capitol Annex interview this morning. Judge Criss (www.judgecriss.com) is judge of the 212th District Court in Galveston County.

Galveston County, as you are no doubt aware, still a fairly “blue” county. However, Republicans have done their best to make inroads in the area in recent years, though Judge Criss tells me that Democrats are in an excellent position to regain some seats over the course of the next two cycles.

One thing I talked with Judge Criss about was the concept of “coordinated campaigns,” as Democratic candidates (excluding, of course, federal candidates) run coordinated campaigns in Galveston County.

As I told Judge Criss, running a coordinated campaign is sometimes about like trying to herd a bunch of stray cats, but it can be done and is being done with great success in Galveston County.

Judge Criss noted that the coordinated campaigns save candidates and parties a good deal of money. For example, Democrats in Galveston County share the same consultant, assist each other with scheduling, and use the same vendors for campaign materials meaning their overall costs go down.

In terms of some local stuff aside from the Coordinated Campaign, I asked Judge Criss what things looked like for Democrats in Galveston County “on the ground.” She noted that Republicans are targeting the County Clerk and District Clerks in GC, both of whom are long-term incumbents. Of course, Republicans always want to gain control of county clerks’ offices because in most counties, the County Clerks administer elections. It doesn’t take a genius to see why Republicans want county clerks’ offices.

As for the district clerks positions across the state, those positions are misunderstood and it’s usually pretty easy for Republicans to come in and complain about how much more they can save/do than the incumbent and make waves among the base of an officeholder.

At any rate, I’ve got to go to the floor, so more on this later.

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