The County Clerk's office is in charge of administering a wide array of tasks that affect the day-to-day lives of the residents of Houston.

Most importantly to us, the County Clerk is responsible for conducting elections for the City of Houston and Harris County, and the office has long been under a cloud of suspicion.

This is an open seat in 2010 and in order for Democrats to have a fair chance at winning Harris County (and with it statewide elections) then we need an Elections Clerk that is beyond reproach and is fair and transparent at all times.

Your generous support of $100, $250, or $500 will help Ann win in November.

Ann is prepared to restore integrity and transparency to the elections process and make sure that all Harris County voters have confidence that their voices are being heard.

Harris County Residents Deserve More from the County Clerk's Office

Unfortunately, the outgoing Clerk, Beverly Kaufman has used the office as a partisan platform to endorse candidates on the very ballots she is supposed to count. In addition, she has espoused views that call into question her dedication to protecting minority voting rights. On one occassion she even referred to the pre-clearance requirement of the Voting Rights Act for Texas as "no longer necessary" and "just a self-defeating bureaucratic exercise."

Shockingly out-of-touch comments considering that Texas is one of nine state required to have the Civil Rights division of the DOJ "pre-clear" our maps specifically because of our unfortunate history of diluting minority voting strength. A not so distant history considering the tragedy of the current Tom Delay drawn congressional maps under which we operate today.

And though Kaufman is leaving the office, the Republicans managed to annoint an even bigger partisan hack, Stan Stanart, that is clearly out of touch with the lives of average Houstonians and Harris County residents.

The photos on Stanart's website are like a Who's Who of right-wing extremism.  (Stan Stanart standing proudly with Tom Delay)

He boasts that he has been a delegate to every Republican convention in the last 22 years and promotes links to Texas Right to Life, Texas Eagle Forum and the Heritage Alliance amongst many others. You almost wonder if he meant to file for Clerk of the Republican Party of Texas instead of Harris County - one of the most diverse counties in America and one that Barack Obama won in 2008?

About Ann

Ann is a 5th generation Texan and was born in Timpson. At a young age her father, a longshoreman, moved the family to Corpus Christi where she attended local schools. In 1972 she moved to Houston and attended Texas Southern University at night and on weekends while working at KTRK-TV. She is also the proud mother of Ealy Bennett II.

Today  Ann has over 27 years experience as a paralegal and Court Coordinator in the Harris County District Court system. It is her extensive experience in the District Courts, which are run by the Clerk's office, that first inspired her to run for the office. In addition to running the elections process in an a fair and open way, she has a clear vision of how to improve the administrative responsibilities of the office as well.

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