This Saturday, the Dallas County Democratic Party is putting on something called BITHOT 2017. That stands for “blue in the heart of Texas.” It’s described as a “forum for sharing experiences, ideas and plans to empower Democrats in the North Texas region.” So far so good. But have a look at the agenda. In particular, look who is manning table No. 3 during the 12:30 small group breakout sessions. None other than Terri Hodge will be holding forth on “Building Better Vote-by-Mail Results.”
Hodge, you’ll recall, was a state rep until she was convicted of federal tax evasion and forced out of office in 2010 (see: Don Hill, Brian Patashnik, et al.). Which, whatever. She took bribes. So what? That shouldn’t disqualify her from sharing her expertise with local Democrats on the subject of increasing mail-in votes. Right? Not so fast.
Take the time to read this Jim Schutze story from 2002, before Hodge was convicted of taking bribes (cheap rent and other considerations) in exchange for supporting a Dallas developer and then convicted of a felony. Schutze doesn’t say that Hodge broke the law to harvest mail-in votes. No, no, no. It’s just that she — well, read the story. “Building Better Vote-by-Mail Results.” Indeed.
