“GROUND-GAME” EDITION
PUBLISHED BY AUBREY R. TAYLOR COMMUNICATIONS FOR ALL HARRIS COUNTY, TEXAS “SWING-VOTERS.”
Houston Business Connections Newspaper© *Individuals featured in this “GROUND-GAME EDITION” of Houston Business Connections Newspaper© are not connected to one another in any shape, fashion, or form unless otherwise noted.
PUBLISHER’S SPOTLIGHT
Judge Reggie Fox: ...A TRUE SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE!
...More than 25-years of service to citizens in need AUBREY R. TAYLOR: “I would like to take this moment to congratulate Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, State Rep. Yvonne Davis, State Rep. Nicole Collier, and State Rep. Toni Rose for the tireless work they do on behalf of their constituents. I would also like to thank Tracy Scott, founder of “THE BLACK WOMEN’S PAC” for her commitment to Black Women in Politics. CONGRATS to the Host Committee as well: Mikita Robinson, Chair, Audrie Lawton, Esq. - Vice Chair, and I. Nicque Montgomery - Vice Chair.”
MEET JUDGE MARIA T. JACKSON
PRESS INQUIRES:
SEE SPOTLIGHT ON JUDGE MARIA T. JACKSON ON THE BACK COVER.
(832)212-8735
AUBREY R. TAYLOR: “I would like to take this moment to thank Judge Reggie Fox for his more than 25-year commitment to representing indigent citizens who were being evicted, locked-out, having their utilities shut off, and in some cases even having their civil rights violated.”
...LET’S KEEP JUDGE REGGIE FOX
The Precinct Chairs for Precinct 7, Place 1 will pick a Democratic candidate to appear on the November ballot at: Tom Bass Senior Center, Section III (15108 Cullen Boulevard, Houston, Texas 77047) on Saturday, July 14th from 10AM - 1PM. The Harris County Democratic Party will convene this meeting where the precinct chairs will elect a convention chair to head the proceedings. In order to be considered, a candidate must be nominated by a Precinct Chair from the floor of the convention. Then, the precinct chairs will vote on the candidate to be placed on the ballot. LET’S ASK THE PRECINCT CHAIRS TO KEEP JUDGE FOX!
281.788.3033
A
s many of you know, I was appointed as judge of Precinct 7,Place 1 with the intent to only serve this community until November of this year. Before being appointed to the court, I worked for 25 years as an attorney at Lone Star Legal Aid, an organization that provides free legal assistance to indigent clients. When clients were being evicted, they called us. When they were being locked out of their apartment, they called us. When their utilities were being shut off, they called us. They called us for all of the reasons that a community body needs legal assistance when resources are limited. In response, I was able to help many of the thousands of people assigned to me. For the ones that I couldn’t help in the courtroom, I always looked for other alternatives to assist them. Surprisingly, sometimes I would just call the opposing side and ask for an extension of time for payment. Not always, but sometimes, that accommodation was forthcoming. I want you to know, Precinct 7, Place 1 is not my court. It’s the people’s court, and that alone defines the purpose for which I am endeavoring to continue serving you. I believe that everyone who comes to Precinct 7, Place 1 should/must be treated with respect and dignity. All employees must be courteous to everyone that comes before the court and attentive to their needs. We must serve the public. Since being appointed to the Precinct 7, Place 1 bench, I’ve found practices that have crept into our systems that don’t belong here and have disrupted our ability to adequately our community. Our staff meetings have become the training tool for teaching the importance of treating all people with respect . . . not just the lawyers and policemen in court every day but all of the citizens that come to this court for whatever reason. I have begun to teach our staff the simple standard of seeing a “person” when any citizen walks into our courtroom and not judge them by any sort of rank, title, or personal interest. I’m working hard to change the culture among other things at Precinct 7, Place 1. For example, when a person loses at trial, unlike many others before me, I take the time to explain the rights of appeal, along with how to submit their appeal within the time limit allowed for them to do so. For some reason, my staff initially frowned upon this practice. However, I find myself frequently reminding them of our simple standard . . . focusing on the way we treat people and attend to their needs. We are a public service and since I’ve taken the bench, have made a concerted effort to pay close attention to the feedback our courtroom visitors are giving us. They remark about changes in our staff’s demeanor and attention to their requests. However, the job isn’t finished, and I am firmly committed to continuing the job I’ve begun. I promise you that we will continue to work diligently on our customer service skill sets; and you, the public leaders of Precinct 7, Place 1 can help. You must bear witness to our changes and performance firsthand. I also implore you to bring me any incident where we’ve not met your expectations or adequately performed at your desired level, and we will do better. Folks, when I was appointed to this job, I informed Commissioner Rodney Ellis that I had no intention of seeking a permanent position. I
My deepest respect to each of you,
Honorable Judge Reggie Fox, Harris County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 7, Place 1 Pol. Ad. Paid for by Reggie Fox Campaign.
A Message from Judge Reggie Fox to the People of Precinct 7, Place 1
put in 25 years representing clients who could not afford attorneys so my intention was to structurally transform Precinct 7, Place 1 and ride off into the sunset. However, since I have been the judge in this court, many, including other judges, have asked me to make myself available to be considered for the job of leading Precinct 7, Place 1 beyond November. I have you know, that I’ve been in practically every Justice of the Peace Court in Harris County. So, most of the other Justice of the Peace know how zealously I am when it comes to advocating for my clients. They’ve told me that I would make a great judge and that I’m the kind person that is needed in Precinct 7, Place 1. With much prayer and consultation, I have decided to make myself available for the job. I know that some are going to say that I got the appointment and that now I have changed my mind and want the job beyond November. I don’t think of it as if I have changed my mind. This is a personal epiphany . . . a sudden insight. I’ve observed and experienced something happening in our community that doesn’t serve the public as intended, and I’ve discovered because of this experience that I can make a difference. NO LONGER, will prosecutors get judgments on traffic tickets without presenting the proper evidence? NO LONGER, will a losing party not know their rights as it relates to the appeals process. NO LONGER will some people be served in this court and others not, and NO LONGER, will the quality of our service be ignored. If our staff always pursue the simple standards I’ve outlined above, our community will reward us with their support. And, we can feel blessed that we’ve done the right thing.
JUDGE REGGIE FOX: “I want you all to know, Precinct 7, Place 1 is not my court. It’s the people’s court, and that alone defines the purpose for which I am endeavoring to continue serving you. I believe that everyone who comes to Precinct 7, Place 1 must be treated with respect and dignity.”
———————————————-—————— Learn more about these “PEOPLE” and other featured Tues., November 6th, 2018 candidates at our blog:
www.aubreyrtaylor.blogspot.com
...BLACK WOMEN ON THE MOVE!
Yolanda Harper
Yolanda owns and operates Alpha Discovery Group LLC, a M/WBE certified business, while maintaining a fulltime job as a Relationship Consultant with Blue Zones Project. Yolanda is also a Certified Conflict Mediator and Certified Corporate Wellness Specialist. She currently serves on the Fort Worth Task Force on Race and Culture and acknowledged for her contribution to business and community by the Fort Worth Business Press TWICE: 2017 Minority Leaders in Business award and in 2016 she was highlighted in the Top 21 Women to Watch.
Poet Margie Ruffin
Margie Rene’ Ruffin is a Fort Worth Native and an Alumna of the Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Margie attends church at the Zion Missionary Baptist Church. She is currently a Sophomore at Spelman College, where she is majoring in Computer Science and is a new initiate into the “Sweet” Mu Pi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. She is an award winning, published poet and has competed nationally. Even with a new found passion to code, Margie still finds time to write. She wants to change her home community for the better, by giving back, and providing the young girls and boys a positive role model to look up to, and change the African American community by being another stepping stone to a brighter future.
Carla Brailey, Ph.D.
A solid believer in higher education, Dr. Brailey has contributed to educational growth and professional development of hundreds through her roles as a professor, guest lecturer and servant leader for Howard University, South Texas School of Law, Thurgood Marshall School of Law at Texas Southern University, New Leaders Council, Leadership Houston and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Her scholarship on social inequality, social justice and women empowerment is certainly apparent in her community engagement and will be most prevalent in her upcoming co-edited book on Women and Inequality in the 21st Century. Dr. Brailey is most excited to be a newly grant recipient of a faculty initiative, which will afford her the resources to conduct an exploratory study on the life and legacy of the late Honorable Barbara Jordan in context with advancing efforts towards social justice in the 21st Century.
ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 2018 STATEWIDE JUDICIAL RACES
Judge Maria T. Jackson Received 878,581 Statewide Democratic Party Primary Votes, Judge Keller Received 674,889 Statewide Republican Party Primary Votes
Houston Business Connections Newpaper Reports: “Back on Sept. 25, 2007, Judge Sharon Keller, the first woman to ever serve on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals refused to accept the last-minute appeal of a black Texas death row inmate by the name of Michael Richard. According to published reports, Richard’s lawyers arrived to the high-court a few minutes late seeking a stay of their clients’ pending execution — but was ultimately denied the opportunity to do so by Judge Sharon Keller, who bluntly stated that the court closed at 5pm. This event has caused Judge Keller to be ridiculed by people from across the world. But it hasn’t seemed to bother her much, as she has seemingly met every challenge at the ballot box. Most recently, she beat back the challenge from a fellow Republican (Judge David Bridges) on Tuesday, March 6, 2018 in her party’s primary. The final vote tally showed Judge David Bridges with 618,982 votes for 47.84% of the vote, and Judge Sharon Keller with 674,889 votes for 52.16% of the vote. Judge Keller will now face Judge Maria T. Jackson on Tuesday, November 6, 2018”
Judge Maria T. Jackson: 878,581 *Democratic Party Primary votes received statewide back on Tuesday, March 6, 2018.
Judge Sharon Keller: 674,889
Michael Richard
*Republican Party Primary votes received statewide back on Tuesday, March 6, 2018.
www.aubreyrtaylor.blogspot.com
*The above report does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Judge Maria T. Jackson, Judge Sharon Keller, or any other Houston Business Connections Newspaper sponsor, advertiser, or associate.
Aubrey R. Taylor Communications is the publisher of this “GROUND-GAME EDITION”of Houston Business Connections Newspaper® . No information contained herein may be reprinted or published in any other form without our expressed written permission.The mission of Houston Business Connections Newspaper© is to assist our readers with identifying corporations, public servants, small business owners, and other entities who value our support as we endeavor to inform, empower and motivate our readers to actively participate in the process of cooperative economics and positive voter engagement. Call (832)212-8735 or (281)788-3033 if you need assistance with your branding, marketing or advertising needs!
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