Juanita is peeved this morning about a local thing.

The Democratic Party Chair in Fort Bend often causes Juanita to ponder the wavering line between incompetence and downright meanness.  “How do you know whether somebody did something awful because they’re dumb or because they are just hateful?  You can’t,” she contends, “because mean people are always writing off their meanness as a ‘mistake’.  If the Texas Legislature was worth a flip, they’d pass laws against that excuse.”

Elaine Bishop, the local Democratic Party Chair, has a strong and exceptionally worthy opponent in this upcoming election with a young, smart and energetic fella named Steve Brown.  Steve’s got ideas, smarts, energy, and a good way with people.

Well, Steve turned in his ballot application all according to law, saying he wanted his name printed on the ballot as Stephen “Steve” Brown.  He might as well have been throwing coins in a fountain because the current party chairman, the same Ms. Bishop as mentioned above, gave Steve’s requested ballot name to the County Election Officer as she is required by The Texas Election Code.  It is from this list that a ballot is prepared, so you would think she would take great care insuring that all the names are correct.  You know, what with laws and requirements and such.

She turned in two names for Steve – Steven Brown and Stephan Brown.  Neither is correct, and certainly neither is the name he requested for himself on the ballot.

The one the Election Officer picked for the ballot by using judgment that seems to be based on deep and abiding whim?  Stephan Brown.

“Good Lord!  In a race that will largely be decided by African Americans, they turned a perfectly nice African American young man into a Norwegian,” Juanita grimaces.

“Oddly, Elaine Bishop’s real name is Elena, but her requested name of Elaine got on the ballot just fine,” Juanita notes with eyes rolling above her new pink neon half rims.  “And, some other candidates requested their names include a nickname and that worked out just fine.  The only name she messed-up was her own opponent.  That reeks of not-an-accident.”

And 1,500 absentee ballots have already been sent out with Stephan’s Danish name on them.

A member of the State Democratic Executive Committee not related by marriage to either me or Juanita wrote that electing Steve would get rid us of the “cornpone and patronage party” we currently have.  Juanita thought it was a tad strong at the time.She Give Cornpone a Bad Name

She’s changed her mind.

And if any local Republicans want to waddle in and point out that there’s Democratic in-fighting, I need to remind them that they have a few luscious  fights of their own – the Steeple People vs. The People Who Drag Out Ronald Reagan.  Oh yes, I haven’t forgotten.