Patriot Award Presented to One of Our Own – Alexie Swirsky

Patriot Award Presented to One of Our Own – Alexie Swirsky

May 17, 2024 | Blog

The Patriot Award was presented to Alexie Swirsky at the 2024 Lincoln-Reagan Dinner hosted by the Harris County Republican Party on April 26.  Alexie was acknowledged for the work she does to promote Republican (i.e. patriotic) values and in part, to her faithful attendance to Harris County Commissioner’s court. She attends to support the only Republican Commissioner, Tom Ramsey. So many court votes are four to one.

One can only imagine how lonely it must feel, especially when there is no one to even second Mr. Ramsey’s proposals or support his Precinct 3’s needs for roads and other infrastructure.  Because he is the only Republican, the needs of his precinct are frequently overlooked and the residents of Precinct 3 are not given the resources they need.  Money is found for murals painted on downtown buildings and the pet projects of the other Commissioners (like doling out $20 million for guaranteed universal income, $1 million of which is slated for the company doing a comprehensive evaluation first) while ignoring seven years of failed jail inspections.

But on every Commissioner’s court date, Alexie is in the court from early in the morning to late at night with an entourage of other people, sometimes a lot of people! Alexie encourages others to speak on topics important to them and on many occasions has risen to say a few words on the topics she feels are most important. Alexie supports the work that Tom is doing to keep crime and costs down for the county while trying to make Houston a better place to live for everyone in the city.

Congratulations, Alexie!

Legislative Report / Upcoming Commissioner Court June 25

May 16, 2024 | Legislative Update

The next Harris County Commissioners Court hearing is at 10 am on Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at the Harris County Administration Building at 1001 Preston, First Floor, on the north side of downtown Houston. Please join Alexie Swirsky there to support our only Republican Harris County Commissioner, Tom Ramsey.  Parking is available across the street for $15.

If you would like to speak on an agenda item (see https://agenda.harriscountytx.gov/), sign up online the night before and be at the court by 9:30 am)

Harris County Commissioners Court June 25, 2024 – Items of Concern 

Ítem 18
Request for discussion and possible action regarding Harris County jail population, staffing, conditions, and other issues.

Item 210
Request by the Commissioner of Precinct 2 for approval to accept from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grant funds in the amount of $2,136,382.00, with no required match, for the Texas Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Program (Tx VEMP) – Bus.

Item 211
Request by the Commissioner of Precinct 2 for approval to accept from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality grant funds in the amount of $1,717,115.00, with no required match, for the Texas Volkswagen Environmental Mitigation Program (Tx VEMP) – Freight.

Item 253
Request for approval of a Public Health or Safety Exemption renewal option with CoreCivic, Inc. for outsourcing of Harris County Jail inmates to the Tallahatchie Correctional Facility for the period of December 1, 2024 – November 30, 2025, at a cost of $11,358,750.

Item 256
Request that the County Judge execute a settlement agreement with DEMA
Consulting & Management Texas LLC in the amount of $860,354.90 for Holistic Assistance Response Team services provided from June 6, 2023 to April 9, 2024. This program treats some Law enforcement incidents as mental Health issues.

Item 322
Request for approval to renew the Memorandum of Understanding with the Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) to enable Harris County Commissioner Precinct 1 to certify funds which will be matched by federal match funds in partnership with the Texas Workforce Commission through the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) for the provision of allowable childcare services or activities in the Gulf Coast Workforce Board area.

Legislative Report / Commissioner’s Court May 7

Apr 20, 2024 | Legislative Update

The next Harris County Commissioners Court hearing is at 10 am on Tuesday, May 7, 2024 at the Harris County Administration Building at 1001 Preston, Suite 934, on the north side of downtown Houston. Please join Alexie Swirsky there to support our only Republican Harris County Commissioner, Tom Ramsey.

If you would like to speak on an agenda item (see https://agenda.harriscountytx.gov/), sign up online the night before and be at the court by 9:30 am)

*******

Alexie and Theresa Thomas attended the HCCC hearing  on 3/26/24. Concerning issues are:

     1) Commissioners want to put constables under the sheriff’s dept.,

     2) Commissioners want to hire law firms to revisit the O’Donnell decision,

     3). Commissioners want to install the universal income program.  https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-sues-harris-county-over-illegal-guaranteed-income-welfare-scheme   

*****
Uniform and Special Election Saturday May 4, 2024  For a sample ballot see https://www.harrisvotes.com/Voter/Whats-on-my-Ballot.

      For vote centers see https://www.harrisvotes.com/Vote-Centers. 

     HCAD election for SD 15.  No R candidates for SD 15

There is also an election of board members to ESD 11  (Emergency Services District 11) at the fire station on Champion Forest Dr just south of 1960. They are running their own election. Download polling locations here: https://harriscountyesd11.gov/election/ 

*****

The Primary runoff  is Tuesday May 28. Early voting starts Monday May 20

*****

VDVR training is coming up in May – no date set yet

*****

State Republican Convention is in  San Antonio – May 23-25.  https://convention.texasgop.org/ 

Dutch Lunch March 21

Feb 25, 2024 | Dutch Lunch

Ladies, find out how to get potholes fixed and other helpful tips at our next Dutch Lunch. Brent Clingerman or Landon Reed from County Commissioner Tom Ramsey’s office will be informing us of how we can get things get done in our neighborhoods. Join us for lunch at Spring Creek BBQ on Hyw 249 and Louetta at 11:30.

Please RSVP

11 + 7 =

Legislative Update / Commissioner’s Court March 26

Feb 25, 2024 | Legislative Update

Legislative Report for TTPRW February, 2024

The next Harris County Commissioners Court hearing is at 10 am on Tuesday, March 26 at the Harris County Administration Building at 1001 Preston, Suite 934, on the north side of downtown Houston. Please join Alexie Swirsky there to support our only Republican Harris County Commissioner, Tom Ramsey. If you would like to speak on an agenda item (see https://agenda.harriscountytx.gov/), sign up online the night before and be at the court by 9:30 am)

Alexie Swirsky spoke at the Harris County Commissioners Court hearing on January 30 about the urgent need for reform in the Harris County jail, which has not passed a state inspection for at least 8 years, as follows:

  “Families claim there have been nearly 70 deaths at the Harris County jail in the last three years. The Harris County jail is run like a jail in a Third World country.”

Why was Shirley Williams Houston, a 73 year-old with dementia, released from the jail out into the cold and dark at 4 am on January 11? Is there even a protocol for releasing mentally impaired people from the jail? It seems that releasing inmates who have low functioning mental abilities with no one in the family being informed is a common practice of the Harris County jail.
Often this means they instantly become homeless, without even a basic mental ability to take care of themselves.

Relatives of Shirley Williams Houston say they have no idea how she got from the jail downtown to Deussen Park, which is more than 20 miles away. Her body was found in the park, on January 18, 1 week after being released from the jail at 4 am. This was just a few weeks ago.

How long are there going to be studies of the jail instead of actions taken to drastically improve the safety of both the jailers and the inmates?

Please prioritize reforming the Harris County jail.”

Other issues to be questioned include the new Uplift program, giving $500 a month to qualified low income applicants in 9 zip codes, with no accountability for how the money is spent.

Commissioner Ramsey is also concerned about Harris County running daycares, which is not a legitimate county function.

The Texas legislature is not meeting until January, 2025 unless Governor Abbott calls a special session.