Good morning!

Once again, Texas Scorecard will provide live coverage of the state’s Republican Convention in Houston this June. We’re also going to have a big booth, at which we will broadcast interviews with newsmakers and hang out with citizen activists. I bring it up now because our planning has raised a question I hope you might answer in the One Click Survey…

But first, here is today's Texas Minute for Tuesday, March 8, 2022.

– Michael Quinn Sullivan 

Upfront: Yesterday’s edition of the Texas Minute missed one runoff from our review. That race is House District 61 in Collin County, where Frederick Frazier (42.3%) will face off against Paul Chabot (36.6%) for the Republican nomination.

EXCLUSIVE: Agency Targets Texas Doctor Who Defied Mask Mandate

• An ear, nose, and throat specialist in East Texas is speaking out against the “predatory” actions of the Texas Medical Board after he defied Gov. Greg Abbott’s mask mandate in 2020.
      
• “I’m an airway doc, so this is my wheelhouse, and I’ve got 45 years of science that absolutely refutes this,” said Dr. Eric Hensen, an otolarynologist in Palestine, in an exclusive interview with Texas Scorecard’s Jacob Asmussen.
     

• At the first hearing on the matter in May 2021, Hensen presented scientific studies and data to the Texas Medical Board for why he chose not to wear a mask, but they quickly decided to punish him. “Within about, I’d say four minutes, I was found guilty of breaking their rules in spite of the science. Their comment was, ‘we had a rule, we don’t care about your science, your patients. We had a rule and you didn’t follow it,’” Hensen said. “So it became one of those kind of things.”
      

• The TMB also went after Hensen for prescribing the FDA approved and Nobel Peace Prize-winning medication ivermectin to treat the coronavirus (which Hansen said is even within FDA guidelines).
     

• Hensen, who previously practiced in Florida and Alabama, came to Texas in 2018 thinking the state would be a better overall environment for medicine, but he “apparently moved to the circus.”
      

• He said he did not want to go public with the situation, but feels he must “let everybody know what their state government and this Texas Medical Board agency is doing to physicians” who speak out against mandates lacking scientific support.
     

• Texas Scorecard reached out to the TMB with several questions—how many Texas doctors they have punished for not obeying Abbott’s mask mandate, their most severe punishment for such a “violation,” and for any comments on Hensen’s case. The agency has not responded.

Patrick Endorses Paxton In A.G. Runoff

• Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has endorsed incumbent Ken Paxton for re-election. Paxton faces outgoing Land Commissioner George P. Bush in the May 24 Republican runoff. Paxton received 42.7 percent of the vote, with Bush garnering 22.8 percent. Former Supreme Court Justice Eva Guzman came in third with 17.5 percent, with the fourth candidate – U.S. Rep. Louie Gohmert – getting 17 percent. 
       

• “He has challenged federal government overreach over and over again and won,” said Patrick on Monday. “He has sued Washington bureaucrats who wish to usurp state sovereignty and rendered solid legal opinions on behalf of the State all along the way.”
     
• Gov. Greg Abbott has so far refused to take a position on the race, despite having been endorsed for his own re-election by Paxton last year.

Speaker Phelan Snubs Conservative Lawmaker

• In a congratulatory statement last week, House Speaker Dade Phelan (R-Beaumont) commended the hard work of Republican candidates and patted himself on the back for supporting incumbents across the state. His announcement listed the successful Republican primaries – except for the win by incumbent State Rep. Bryan Slaton (R–Royse City).
      
• Slaton, who refused to vote for Phelan in the House speaker race last year, tweeted this response: “I’m sure it was a clerical error, but I survived re-election also. I look forward to working with you, [Speaker Phelan] and my colleagues to ban gender modification of minors and all the other RPT priorities.”
     
• Sydnie Henry has the story.

Another School Board Member Admits To Taking Bribes

• Another South Texas school board member has resigned after admitting he used his position to extort bribes from district vendors. Erin Anderson has the story.
     

• La Joya ISD officials announced Oscar “Coach” Salinas resigned March 3, the same day he admitted to federal authorities he took money from one contractor and voted to terminate another contract when he didn’t receive more money as part of the scheme. He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.

Plainview Citizens Force Abortion Debate

• This month, members of the Plainview City Council can either adopt an amendment banning abortion within the city limits, or see the issue go before voters in November. Mark Lee Dickson describes the citizen-driven process that has the city on track to become the 45th in Texas to outlaw abortion.

ONE CLICK SURVEY

When the Republican Party of Texas has its biennial convention in June, Texas Scorecard will be there for gavel-to-gavel coverage, as well as a big booth with some really exciting activities. We’ll be announcing those in the coming weeks.

All of this makes me think… when you’ve gone to conventions or events, what has been your favorite “freebie” to get?

Once you’ve clicked an answer, reply to this email with any thoughts you’d like to share!