Paul Bettencourt - Incompetent, Intemperate Partisan

Paul Bettencourt's temperament and incompetence is finally catching up with him. Channel 11 has had two reports of the partisan role he has taken in rejecting new voter registrations.

The Tax Assessor’s office in Harris County is trusted with one of the most important functions served by our government: the registration of voters. One would think that Bettencourt would be bound by honor and civic duty to ensure that he does a good job. Instead, he works as a partisan hack for voter suppression laws while failing to properly process valid applications.

Ask any volunteer voter registrar about their experience with Bettencourt’s office and odds are you’ll hear the same story: the only thing consistent about Paul Bettencourt’s office is its inconsistency with changing deadlines, changing rules, and changing interpretations. He rejects applications and takes too long to inform the voter — making the real loser is the voting public.

Recently Bettencourt’s actions are becoming public because some voters are showing up to the polls and finding out they aren’t registered. KHOU-11 showed up at Bettencourt’s office with a stack of improperly invalidated voter forms, and asked him to explain himself. Amid his stammering, all Bettencourt could manage to say was that the forms represent “a mistake” and claimed a “fantastic” relationship with the local League of Women Voters.

The local League of Women Voters refutes this claim.

By the way, his Democratic opponent is — really — an ethics teacher.

It’s time for a lesson.