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Susan Hawk outspending Craig Watkins in DA race

Republican Susan Hawk is dramatically outspending incumbent Democrat Craig Watkins as the race for Dallas County district attorney enters its final weekend.

Hawk, a former state district judge, raised $342,441 from Sept. 9 to Oct. 25. Financial reports released this week show she spent $416,886 during the same period and has $239,427 in her campaign account.

Meanwhile, Watkins, the two-term incumbent, raised $44,850 for the period and spent $33,379. He has $61,000 left in his campaign account, though both candidates are still raising money.

Watkins’ low-budget campaign, aides say, is not of great concern because he’s running with a team of Democrats, including candidate for governor Wendy Davis and Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.

For the latest reporting period, Watkins got a $10,000 contribution from the Baron & Budd law firm, as well as $5,000 from Dallas lawyer Brian Loncar.

Watkins has spent money to run commercials over cable television outlets.

Hawk has a more prolific television media campaign in place and she continues to be powered by donations from the county’s business elite, and others. She received a $25,000 donation from oilman Trevor Reee-Jones. Businessman Stephen Davis gave her $10,000.

Dr. Brantly joins Obama to encourage Ebola volunteers in West Africa, tamp down calls for quarantines and travel bans

Medical professionals in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea "have fought a valiant effort against this menace," Dr. Kent Brantly said, but more are "desperately needed."

Medical professionals in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea "have fought with valiant effort against this menace," Dr. Kent Brantly said, but more are "desperately needed." (Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press)

updated with comments from NJ Gov. Chris Christie

WASHINGTON – Dr. Kent Brantly, the Fort Worth doctor who became the first American to contract Ebola in treating patients in West Africa, starred at a White House event meant to put a spotlight on the need for health care workers to volunteer to fight the outbreak.

The medical professionals of the three nations battling Ebola – Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea – “have fought with valiant effort against this menace,” Brantly said, introducing President Obama. “More medical professional are desperately needed.”

Obama warned that the United States “can’t hermetically seal ourselves off” from the rest of the world. He urged the public and state leaders to set aside fear — a term he invoked four times in 15 minutes, in pointed remarks aimed at displaying displeasure with state-level efforts to quarantine nurses and doctors returning from the Ebola hot zone.

“If we’re discouraging our health care workers who are prepared to make these sacrifices … then we’re not doing our job” in terms of protecting Americans, Obama asserted. “What we need right now is these shock troops who are out there leading globally. We can’t discourage that. We’ve got to encourage it and applaud it.”

Behind the scenes, the White House pressured governors in New Jersey and New York to ease policies regarding returning health care workers.

Several hundred guests filled seats in the ornate East Room of the White House.

Obama warned against reacting to fear, hysteria or misinformation. One reason the world looks to America, he said, is because of its cool- headed response to a crisis.

The president was flanked by doctors and other health workers, many in white lab coats.

Brantly’s wife, Amber, sat in the front row, and Obama joked that her husband had gained some weight since the last time he was at the White House more than a month ago, shortly after recovering from his own bout with Ebola.

“Each of you studied medicine because you wanted to save lives. The world needs you more than ever,” the president said.

The health care workers serving in Africa, Obama said, are a “shining example” to the world. And he vowed that with ongoing efforts, international efforts will “contain and ultimately snuff out this outbreak of Ebola.”

“I know that with all the headlines and all the news, that people are scared. … But the reason I’m so proud of this country is because when there are times for us to step up and do the right thing, we do the right thing,” Obama said,

With indirect language, he needled and mocked critics — including many political conservatives — who speak of “exceptionalism” but then promote policies such as travel bans and quarantines. These, he said, amount, to pretending the problem will go away.

“When I hear people talking about American leadership, and then are promoting policies that would avoid leadership and have us running in the opposite direction and hiding under the covers, it makes me a little frustrated,” he said.

In New Jersey, Gov. Chris Christie, head of the Republican Governors Association and a possible 2016 White House contender, blasted Obama for issuing “lectures.”

He called it “common sense” to isolate health workers returning from working with Ebola patients in West Africa for the full 21-day incubation period.

“This is our policy. It will be our policy as long as this crisis is going on,” he told reporters. “I don’t know when the White House is going to get around to admitting that and not giving us seven-minute lectures from the South Lawn.”

And he took issue with the idea that quarantines will discourage volunteers.

“It’s part of the sacrifice. I’m sure none of these folks want to come home and get anybody else sick… Folks should understand. Part of the sacrifice is going over there and the remainder of the sacrifice is when you come home,” remaining quarantined for three weeks, Christie said.

Brantly is medical missions director for Samaritan’s Purse. He contracted Ebola while working in Liberia, and was the first person treated for Ebola in the United States. He has donated blood plasma to other patients since being cured at Emory University Hospital.

The group behind the president included doctors and others who either have worked against Ebola in West Africa or plan to travel there soon. Doctors and nurses who treated Dallas nurse Nina Pham at NIH were also on stage and in the audience, along with healthcare workers from a variety of nonprofit groups and others.

The president’s new “Ebola czar,” Ron Klain, was on hand, along with a Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health and a number of top White House aides, including homeland security adviser Lisa Monaco, Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell and National Security Adviser Susan Rice.

Industry spending big to keep fracking ban out of Denton

Oil and gas industry money keeps stacking up against a measure to ban hydraulic fracturing—the process of blasting chemicals and water deep into the ground to release oil and gas—in North Texas.

Signs promoting opposing views on Denton's proposed fracking ban are on display outside the Denton County Elections Office in Denton, Texas on Saturday, Oct. 25, 2014. (Jim Tuttle/The Dallas Morning News)

According to the latest round of campaign finance reports, energy companies contributed more than $460,000 between Sept. 26 and Oct. 25. That’s on top of the $225,000 industry previously gave “Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy,” the leading group opposed to the ban.

The Denton Record-Chronicle reports that it’s the most expensive campaign in the city’s history. In all, more than $770,000 has been raised by groups opposing and supporting the ban.

If voters approve the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot, Denton would be the first city in Texas—the state that leads in oil and gas production—to ban fracking. The ban has put the city at the center of a noisy debate over the safety of fracking, the economic benefit of industry and the power cities have to regulate the activity.

In the latest finance reports, major oil and gas companies such as Chevron, Enervest and XTO poured thousands of dollars into the group “Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy.” While the group did have more donations from individuals than it did in the previous filing period, industry contributions still accounted for more than 98 percent of the $466,000 total. A handful of the near 60 individual supporters listed their residence in Denton.

Denton Taxpayers for a Strong Economy has spent more than $340,000 in the last month on the campaign, including $142,000 for television ads.

Pass the Ban, also known as Frack Free Denton, the group supporting the ban, banked about $24,000 in the same period. The biggest donation came from Earthworks, an environmental group in DC, which donated more than $10,000 in in-kind contributions for postage and mailers. Earlier this month, a Earthworks spokesman said that more than 90 percent of the money for the in-kind contributions came from Denton donors.

The Denton Drilling Awareness Group, the previous name for the proponent group, gave $6,000 of its leftover campaign money to Pass the Ban. About two dozen other individuals—most listing their residence in Denton—contributed the remaining money.

The great two-thirds rule debate has begun

Sen. John Whitmire, the dean of the Texas Senate (2008 AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Update at 4:00 p.m.: Checked tape, made minor changes to Whitmire’s and Nelson’s quotes.

Original item at 11:29 a.m.: The Texas Senate has begun its expected debate over whether to abandon a rule that for many decades has protected partisan, geographic and racial-ethnic minorities.

At a briefing on taxes for new Senate budget writers Wednesday, the chamber’s longest-serving member, Houston Democrat John Whitmire, launched a wry if somewhat backhanded defense of the “two-thirds rule.”

It can protect from attack things highly valued by rural senators, such as an exemption of agricultural equipment from the sales tax, Whitmire said at a hearing of the Senate Finance Committee.

The rule requires two-thirds of senators to agree before a bill can be taken up on the Senate floor.

Earlier this year, GOP lieutenant governor candidate Dan Patrick promised to reduce the influence of Democratic senators by weakening the rule and reducing the number of committees they chair. Patrick is a Houston senator.

On Wednesday, Whitmire interrupted a presentation by the comptroller’s office to discuss the sales-tax agricultural exemption.

He called it the “largest, broadest exemption we have.” Whitmire said urban tradesmen could view it as unfair, given they pay tax when they buy vehicles and equipment needed in their work. But the ag exemption has worked well, he said.

Then came the caveat.

“To preserve it, we need to make sure our rural members have a place at the table,” Whitmire said.

Senate Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson (2009 AP Photo/Harry Cabluck)

Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, said the Legislature tightened administration of the ag exemption in recent years. Beneficiaries have to attest they are engaged in food and fiber production, he said.

Whitmire, though, said that in the next revenue crunch, it and all other exemptions could be reviewed. The state may again face “challenges to find sufficient revenue,” putting the ag exemption at risk, he warned.

“The rural members should be mindful that the Senate rules currently allow them to block any consideration of repealing that,” he said.

Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, interjected, “You talking about the two-thirds rule?”

Whitmire replied, “That would probably be the No. 1 thing that would come to my mind.”

A few minutes later, members of the panel began raising questions about the regressive effects of higher sales tax. Democrats mentioned Patrick’s proposal to decrease local school property taxes, perhaps by adding a penny or two to the state’s 6-1/4-cent sales tax.

Finance Committee Chairwoman Jane Nelson, R-Flower Mound, quickly cut them off, though.

She noted that higher sales tax is just one way to pay for property tax relief.

“Many of us would like to reduce property taxes,” Nelson said. “We’re going to look at a lot of different possibilities.”

Video: Ron Natinsky says GOP wants black congresswoman’s constituents to spend food stamps instead of voting

Update at 7:05 p.m.: We captured the relevant part of the video earlier and have re-posted it:

Update at 5:50 p.m.: Shortly after this item was posted, the video from the Coppell Republican Club meeting containing Ron Natinsky’s comments was made “private” on Vimeo. But fret not: We made a copy, and will replace shortly.

Original item posted at 4:24 p.m.: Republican Ron Natinsky hopes residents in a southern Dallas congressional district “spend their food stamp money” on Election Day, instead of voting.

Natinsky, a candidate for Dallas County Judge, made the remark last November during a meeting of the Coppell Republican Club. His comments appear at around the 40:24 mark on the video.

“We don’t want to motivate her voters,” Natinsky said. “What we want them to think is ‘There’s no reason. She doesn’t have an opponent. I don’t need to go to the polls. I’ll go spend my food stamp money at the grocery store, or whatever, you know, on Election Day.’”

Natinsky said he doesn’t remember the speech or the comment about food stamps.

“I haven’t seen the video and don’t remember what I said a year ago,” Natinsky said. “I don’t see the connection between spending food stamps on food and voting.”

Johnson’s district is made up overwhelmingly of minority voters, and she is the first black lawmaker elected from North Texas. Her district supported the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama at a higher rate than any in the country, Johnson has said.

Republicans across the country have complained that many Democratic voters like government assistance, a narrative clearly promoted by Natinsky.

But Democrats contend that Natinsky’s comments feed into a racial stereotype about minority voters, particularly his reference to food stamps.

Natinsky is running for county judge against incumbent Democrat Clay Jenkins. Since Republicans in Dallas County generally fare better in mid-term elections than contests in presidential election years, the race for county judge could be competitive.

So in his appearance at the Coppell Republican Club, Natinsky urged fellow Republicans not a slate a candidate against Johnson because it would hurt the chances of other Republicans on the ballot.

That’s because Johnson, one of the most influential elected officials in North Texas, is in a heavily Democratic district, where it is virtually impossible for a Republican candidate to win. Natinsky theorizes that if Johnson is unopposed in the general election, she would not mount a serious campaign and base Democrats would not vote.

“We don’t need another five of ten thousand of her people going to the polls,” Natinsky said.

Johnson is running for re-election next week against Libertarian Max Koch and Independent Eric Williams.

Natinsky appeared at the meeting with the Coppell group with Tom Nowak, a Dallas lawyer who lost the contest for the GOP nomination for district attorney to Susan Hawk.

The video with Natinsky’s remarks have been posted on the Coppell group’s website all year. Democratic operatives discovered it in recent days.

Jenkins declined to comment on Natinsky’s remarks, while Johnson, without addressing the food stamp reference, urged residents to vote.

“There are forces, local and national , who are expecting you to sit at home, and who believe that you will allow this election to pass you exercising our constitutional right to cast a vote,” Johnson said. “The stakes are too high! Our future depends on your participation . Vote to protect what we have fought for.”

State Sen. Royce West was outraged by the comments.

“Ron Natinsky owes the people of my district an apology. To say that they are all on food stamps is outrageous,” West said. “If Natinsky does not apologize, we need to look at him to determine if he’s a racist.”

Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, represents a mostly minority district in Tarrant and Dallas counties.

“Ron Natinsky made those discriminatory statements to a room full Republican voters to get them stirred up in the same way that AG Greg Abbott has intentionally discriminated against minorities with his Voter ID law to give the electoral edge to Republicans,” Veasey said. “These types of tactics should have been washed away 50 years ago, but what this proves is that we must still fight for change.”

At the same meeting, Natinsky said that local Democrats got a boost when victims of Hurricane Katrina moved to North Texas.

“People left New Orleans,” Natinsky said of the 2005 storm. “Unfortunately they came up here as Democrats. We didn’t check their IDs at the border.”

A few people in the audience chuckled.

Comptroller candidates enter home stretch on unequal footing

Candidates for state comptroller, Sen. Glenn Hegar and Mike Collier, are heading into the final week of the election on uneven footing.

Mike Collier pictured on left, Glenn Hegar opposite

Hegar, the Republican, has $2.1 million cash on hand, while Collier, the Democrat, has $10,000 left in his coffers, according to new campaign finance filings.

Those reports show Hegar, a rice farmer from Katy, banked more than $900,000 in contributions between Sept. 26 and Oct. 25. Collier, a Houston-area accountant, raised more than $120,000 in the same period.

But Collier has pumped more money into the race in the last month. The Democrat has spent nearly $240,000, mostly on advertising. Hegar has spent $92,000 in the last four weeks.

The two are set to debate tomorrow night in Austin. Theirs is the only down ballot debate scheduled for the general election. Details found here.

Van de Putte edges Patrick, barely, in recent fundraising

Lieutenant governor rivals Dan Patrick, left, and Leticia Van de Putte shake hands last month at their only televised debate (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Update at 12:48 p.m.: I have inserted the two campaigns’ reactions.

Original item at 11:27 a.m.: Democrat Leticia Van de Putte raised more money — barely — than her GOP rival for lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick, in the latest reporting period, according to reports posted Tuesday on the Texas Ethics Commission website.

Van de Putte banked $2.086 million in contributions, compared with $2.052 million pocketed by Patrick, the reports showed. So her edge was about $34,000.

“This is what an upset looks like,” Van de Putte campaign finance director Nikki Bizzarri said in a statement. More than 5,200 different donors gave to Van de Putte during the reporting period, which was Sept. 26 through Saturday.

Patrick, though, outspent her by nearly $1 million and enjoyed a better than $1.3 million cash advantage at the period’s close.

“We’re running hard, all the way to the finish line,” Patrick said in a statement. It said nearly 1,000 individuals gave money to him during the period.

Patrick entered the period with nearly $4.3 million, to Van de Putte’s $2.2 million. He spent $3.1 million and had just over $2.8 million in the bank as of Saturday.

She spent $2.2 million during the period and wound up with just less than $1.5 million in cash.

Patrick’s campaign still owes him more than $2 million. Van de Putte hasn’t borrowed for her campaign.

Both candidates are state senators — Van de Putte, from San Antonio; and Patrick, from Houston. They are competing to succeed Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, whom Patrick ousted in a hard-fought Republican primary.

British rocker brings Alamo collection home

IMG_0949.JPGBritish rocker Phil Collins brought his extensive Alamo collection home on Tuesday morning.

Some pieces were last at the famous mission 178 years ago, when the Alamo fell to the Mexican army during the Texas war to become an independent republic.

Collins began his fascination with the Alamo as a young child watching Fess Parker play Davy Crockett on TV. When he was 9, the movie The Alamo starring John Wayne came out and he was hooked.

Collins owns the most most extensive privately held collection of Alamo memorabilia, that includes Davy Crockett’s musket ball pouch and one of the few surviving Jim Bowie knives.

While the collection arrived at the Alamo on Tuesday, it will not be on full display until the state can raise almost $100 million for a new museum and visitor center to properly display the items.

“I’m really happy that it’s going here. It’s where it should be,” Collins said.

Election Tale of the Tape: Greg Abbott with $13 million in the bank, Wendy Davis about $1 million

In a fiercely contested fundraising effort, Republican Greg Abbott goes into the final days of the governor’s race with $13 million in the bank. Democrat Wendy Davis reports about $1 million on hand. Both sides have spent millions on TV commercials and campaign travel — and the figures thus far suggest the collective cost of running for governor could top $90 million.

Wendy Davis looks to the future with $1 million on hand for the campaign's final days (Wayne Slater)

New finance reports show that Davis actually raised more money than Abbott in the last four weeks, but Abbott started with the race with much more in the bank to build on. Abbott raised about $4.2 million in the last four weeks. Davis raised about $5.1 million – a combination of her governor’s account and a coordinated account with the group Battleground Texas.

Basically, the bottom-line figures reflect the pre-purchased TV time for commercials that both sides will run through the November 4 general election. That said, the spending has left Davis and Abbott with very different bottom lines.

Her own governor’s account has about $550,000, according to her campaign. Add to that another $400,000 in the joint-Victory Committee account and that leaves Davis on her own with just over $1 million.

Greg Abbott goes into final days with $13 million in the bank

In contrast, Abbott’s $13 million on hand suggests that if he’s elected governor, he would go into office with a healthy political account to build on for any future race. As Christy Hoppe reported yesterday, Abbott raised $4.2 million in the last four weeks, and has been spent heavily – spending down to $13 million a campaign treasury that was $30 million just four weeks ago.

Abbott’s largest contributors in the last month include $100,000 donations from Houston anti-abortion rights activists Kathaleen Wall, Dallas corporate tax consultant Brint Ryan, Conroe pharmaceutical sales executive Richie Ray and Midland oilman Javaid Anwar. His largest out-of-state contribution was $80,000 from Florida road-construction contractor Joe Anderson.

Davis’ contributions include $210,000 from Houston investor Lillie Robertson, $150,000 from Dallas arts patron Marguerite Hoffman, $125,000 from Houston trial lawyer Steve Mostyn and $100,000 from the Beaumont law firm Provost Umphrey. Her out-of-state contributions include $100,000 from the SEIU labor union in Washington and $80,000 from Wendy Schmidt of Palo Alto, Calif., a philanthropist and wife of the Google executive director. She received more than $900,000 as in-kind contribution work from Battleground Texas, the Texas Organizing Project and Planned Parenthood.

Abbott has consistently led Davis in the polls. Abbott advisers are confident he will win — along with the rest of the GOP slate of candidates running for statewide office. Battleground Texas, a group formed by Obama campaign operatives with the promise of turning red-state Texas blue, has worked for more than a year to identify and motivate Democratic voters in a state that hasn’t elected a Democrat statewide since 1994. It’s not clear how effective the effort has been. Early voting in-person turnout in some counties Democrats need — including Harris, Dallas — is down from four years ago.

Greg Abbott flush with cash in last week of governor campaign

With 8 days left until the election, GOP governor candidate Greg Abbott has reported raising $4.2 million over the last four weeks.

In the latest disclosure report for Sept. 26-Oct. 25, Abbott showed late money is pouring in at a pace of $1 million a week.

He also indicated he’s been on a spending spree with $13 million left in the bank, down from $30 million just four weeks ago.

In all Abbott reports having raised $45 million in his governor’s campaign.

“The incredible support our campaign has received from tens of thousands of Texans is a direct reflection of the enthusiasm Greg Abbott has inspired among Texas voters for his vision to build a better, brighter future for our great state,” said campaign finance director Sarah Whitley.