Texas LCV Played Key Role In Winning Critical Pro-Conservation Races

TLCV played a key role in winning critical pro-conservation races in the Texas House and holding an important seat in the Senate. While the results of the Governor's race were dissapointing, let's take a moment to savor our successes.

In the House:

Three of our critical-race candidates won, and we're still waiting on Juan Garcia/Gene Seaman results in this important coastal district.  Juan, the TLCV candidate, is currently down by 24 votes. I spoke with the campaign, and they say there is still a significant number of paper ballots left to be counted. The campaign is confident that once those are counted, they will end up with more votes than Seaman. We remain hopeful and should hear more this afternoon ... a win here would be a thick coat of icing on our election cake.

Here are the results of the key races where we played. TLCV endorsed candidate are listed first.

Valinda Bolton/Bill Welch (Austin) - Bolton wins! 50.24% to 45.55%. TLCV was heavily invested in this race with significant financial and other resources provided to the campaign. Way to go Valinda!

Ellen Cohen/Martha Wong (Houston) - Cohen wins! 54.7% to 44.1%. It would appear that clean air has reached a political tipping point in Houston - at least in this district. Cohen's campaign, and TLCV, hammered Martha Wong on her irresponsible votes against cleaning up toxic air emissions in Houston. This was a major issue of the campaign. Here's a link to the mail piece we sent to 25,000 voters in the district.  

Allen Vaught/Bill Keffer (Dallas) - Vaught wins! 50.1% to 46.7%. This was a big win for the environment and a definite sleeper race for this election cycle. Here is our profile on the race. TLCV did a positive mail piece for Vaught to about 1000 environmentally ID'd voters in the district. We're proud to be a part of this stunning upset!

Joe Farias/George Antuna (San Antonio) - Joe Farias wins! 48.25% to 44.5% TLCV-backed candidate Joe Farias, was able to handily win this seat - even with a last-minute, monstrous cash-infusion from Speaker Tom Craddick's cronies to Farias' opponent. We're looking forward to working with Joe!

Juan Garcia/Gene Seaman (Corpus Christi) - As mentioned above, this one is still a nail-biter. Having a pro-conservation Rep., with the talent and leadership abilities of Juan Garcia would be a real plus.  TLCV provided significant financial and other resources to the Garcia campaign in this important district. Read about Juan and why this is an important district in our profile, HERE. 

Two Heartbreakers - Two TLCV-backed candidates - Harriet Miller and Katy Hubener - lost last night. Hubener lost by just over 200 votes. TLCV did a direct mail-piece for Katy, and her race definitely goes into the "one that got away" category. Thanks to Katy for being a true champion for our issues. You made a difference. Harriet ran an excellent campaign and was a true voice for our issues. Thank you, Harriet.

Democrat Paula Hightower-Pierson defeated TLCV-endorsed Republican incumbent, Toby Goodman, in Arlington. Goodman earned our endorsement because he was a consistently good vote for the environment, carried amendments for the environmental lobby, and worked to change minds within the Republican Caucus. We wish Toby well.

On the flip side - we're confident that Paula Hightower-Pierson will make an excellent Representative and good friend to conservation voters. We look forward to working with her. Congratulations, Paula!

The Senate:

TLCV supported environmental champion and incumbent, Eliot Shapleigh, in his race against the heavily polluter-funded, Dee Margo, in El Paso. Shapleigh won handily, with 59% of the vote. We're excited and thankful that Senator Shapleigh will be returning to the Senate. The Senate is where many of the critical environmental fights are won or lost. His victory was a must for conservation voters.  

The Governor:

Not too much to say here - there just weren't enough votes to divide between Bell, Strayhorn, and Kinky. Chris Bell deserves our thanks for elevating conservation issues to the forefront of the campaign. He, along with the other candidates, were right in blasting Gov. Perry for his dangerous and irresponsible decision to fast-track coal-fired power plants in Texas. Tapping into widespread voter discountent with our grossly under-funded state parks system, Bell managed to get Gov. Perry to publicly commit to adequately fund our state parks. Let's make sure he delivers on that promise.

More Victories

In cities and towns across the state, voters approved over half a billion dollars for parks, recreation, and green space funding. A true victory for our community that should not be overlooked. Check out the press release from Environment Texas detailing these victories city by city, HERE.

Thanks to all who have supported TLCV this election cycle. Now we begin the process of turning our election victories into legislative success.  Because of your support, we've increased our chances of making that happen. Thank you.