Daily Dispatch 3/31/25: Abbott Slow-Walking Election To Replace Sylvester Turner, and More

Stories we're following this morning at Progress Texas:

The Texas Democratic Party has a new leader, as Kendall Scudder was elected its new Chairman this weekend by the State Democratic Executive Committee: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/politics/2025/03/29/texas-democrats-elect-dallas-kendall-scudder-as-new-state-chair-after-2024-losses/

Governor Greg Abbott is silent - and now missing important deadlines - on calling a special election to replace the late Sylvester Turner in the U.S. House: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/elections/2025/03/28/517153/clock-ticks-down-for-gov-abbott-to-call-special-election-for-late-sylvester-turners-congressional-seat/

...This leaves 800,000 Texans, mostly people of color, without their constitutionally-guaranteed representation in Congress: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/03/26/greg-abbott-sylverster-turner-democrat-special-election/

A Deer Park pastor has drawn scrutiny for condemning a Deer Park ISD superintendent candidate over her sexuality from his pulpit - video and a link to a resulting petition for a public apology in the link: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/education-news/2025/03/25/516870/deer-park-church-pastor-faces-backlash-after-attacking-sexuality-of-dpisd-superintendent-finalist/

...For your convenience, IRS 13909 is needed to file complaints about churches violating their religious non-profit status by going political: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f13909.pdf

The CDC, under the leadership of RFK Jr., has squelched an advisory that measles risk is higher nearby areas of low vaccination, such as the West Texas region where the current outbreak started: https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/31/health/cdc-measles-forecast-propublica/index.html

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