In 2024, I noted that many of the judges whom Black candidates were primarying were white. I suppose I wasn’t the only one to have noticed. There are at least two judges who were recently on the bench and lost their reelection bids to their Republican opponents. Those two, Israel Garcia and Chuck Silverman, have decided that the grass is greener on the Republican side.
I suppose that old saying, “that those who can do, those who can’t teach,” may also apply to wannabe judges. It seems that if they were successful lawyers making a ton of money, they would likely stay doing what they are doing.
The Black community in Harris County may lose one congressional seat, depending on whether they can win the newly redrawn 29th District, currently represented by Sylvia Garcia.
Zoom in: The 29thDistrict, a Latino-majority district held by Rep. Sylvia Garcia (D-Houston) has been reshaped, making it less urban and just 43.3% Latino.
Will Blacks let Hispanics keep that district? Will Hispanics align with Whites and keep Blacks out? Only the future will tell us; my crystal ball is cloudy as to that congressional district.
Houston Chronicle on wannabe Republican Judge Chuck Silverman.
The party convert, Chuck Silverman, won a felony bench in 2018 amid the wave of Democratic victors who flushed Republicans from the courts with straight-ticket voting. He went on to lose his 2022 primary. Fresh off his latest Democratic loss, Silverman declared himself a Republican and has taken steps toward appearing on the primary ballot.
After switching parties, Silverman reported no contributions from January to July, but he had at least $13,500 left over from past campaigns and more than $105,000 in loans to himself, records show.
Brenham suspects Silverman must believe he stands a chance to win back a felony bench by abandoning Democrats, whose candidates and groups have taken more than $21,000 of his donations since 2006, according to a tally of state campaign expenditures. Silverman previously ran for civil and appellate courts before attempting to seek a judicial position in the criminal courts – despite having no background in criminal law.
“I’m concerned the Democratic party is focused on holistic approaches to criminal justice,” Silverman said in a phone call. “They’re not focusing on actual consequences to criminal actions.”
A review of Silverman’s Facebook page showed him blaming Democratic losses in November on the prioritization of “race and gender over electibility.”
