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With so much noise cluttering conversations about government and culture, we all need voices we can trust to help navigate the complex issues impacting our lives. Each show produced by Texas Scorecard is designed to do just that. You'll find a complete lineup of our current offerings below.

This is the Texas Minute for Thursday, Nov. 6, 2025.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Houston Police Union Recruits New York City Cops

• Soon after Zohran Mamdani won the mayoral election on Tuesday night, the Houston Police Officers’ Union began encouraging New York City police officers to move to the Lone Star State. Addie Hovland has the story.
     
• Mamdani, who calls himself a democratic socialist, has at times attacked the NYPD as “racist,” “wicked,” and “corrupt.”
     
• Among other things, Houston police officers highlight in social media posts targeting New York officers that the HPD's chief is a former Texas Ranger, not a politician. They also assert that Texas is more affordable and features a state government that supports law enforcement.

Local Government Fills the Gap

Texas A&M Sends Left-Wing Professors to Advise New Accreditation Agency

• Two of the Texas A&M University System’s professors who were tapped to advise the Commission for Public Higher Education have academic records positioning them on the political left. This is despite the intention for the commission to counterbalance left-wing indoctrination in higher education. Robert Montoya has the details.
     
• The CPHE is a new accrediting agency formed by six university systems, including Texas A&M. Among the records obtained by Texas Scorecard from TAMUS were two lists of faculty or staff assigned as representatives to CPHE to advise the agency on its accreditation standards, including Anne Egelston and Andrew Klein.
      
• Egelston, an environmental science professor at Tarleton State University, has criticized President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords. Outside of her work at Tarleton, Egelston ran a consulting firm that helped clients come into compliance with the accords.
      
• Klein, meanwhile, has spoken against the Texas A&M Board of Regents’ decision to eliminate an LGBTQ minor and other “low-performing” programs. 

Judge Reprimanded for Telling Juveniles She Hopes ‘Big Black Men’ Assault Them

• Travis Morgan reports on the case of a retired Hereford Municipal Court judge in Deaf Smith County who has been publicly reprimanded for berating and demeaning juveniles and their parents in her courtroom.
      
• According to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which is responsible for investigating such matters, Jennifer Eggen made multiple comments encouraging jail-cell rape and domestic violence. For example, witnesses claim Judge Eggen told a 15-year-old that she “hoped that when he got locked up, he would get a big black man as his cell mate that would make him his [expletive].”

Officials Push Hiring and Oversight Tools To Curb City Overtime Costs

• Houston officials have sounded the alarm over ballooning overtime spending in key departments a third of the way through the city's fiscal year. As Michael Wilson reports, the city council has been warned that overtime is already driving costs beyond what was budgeted.
     
• For example, the Houston Fire Department has already spent nearly 45 percent of its overtime budget. This is followed closely by the police department (44 percent) and solid waste (43 percent).
     
• The police and fire chiefs told council members their departments have created overtime-tracking dashboards to more carefully monitor the situation. Meanwhile, Solid Waste Director Larius Hassan said his department is evaluating the need for a trash fee if staffing and resource shortages continue.

Kilgore Educator Gets No Prison Time for Student Sex Crime

• A former Kilgore High School teacher’s aide pleaded guilty to felony sexual misconduct with a student, but won’t serve any time for her crime. Erin Anderson has the report.
     
• Kayla Nicole O’Dell was arrested in February and charged with having an improper relationship between educator and student. She received 10 years of deferred adjudication, meaning the case against her will be dismissed if she complies with the terms of her probation. She will not have to register as a sex offender, but her teaching certificate will be revoked.

More Education News

Election Round-Up

Voters OK Billions in School Property Tax Increases

• Most Texas voters skipped Tuesday’s elections, but those who voted in their local school district contests collectively approved billions in new bond debt and permanent property tax rate increases. 
    
• Dozens of school districts put bond propositions totaling more than $10 billion on the November 4 ballot, though not all of the debt offerings were approved.
     
• Meanwhile, more than 40 school districts held a Voter Approval Tax Ratification Election to permanently increase their local tax rate. Nearly all of those passed. 

Austin Voters Reject City Tax Hike

• Known as "Proposition Q," a city council push to raise local property taxes by 20 percent was handily defeated by voters. As Sydnie Henry reports, city officials argued the increase was needed to offset a budget shortfall and avoid cuts to frontline services. Critics, though, questioned the city’s financial discipline and the affordability impact on regular residents. Notably, the city budget has nearly doubled over the past decade.
      
• More than 63 percent of voters opposed the tax hike.

Quote-Unquote

"The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help.'"

– Ronald Reagan​

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