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Rarely do you and a group of your friends have the power to swing an entire election as you do this week.
We're not talking about the runoffs for the party primaries; those are later this month. What's going on right now, at this very moment, is a "uniform and special" election. It includes three newly created, non-partisan races for the appraisal district board. Also, some residents in Harris County can choose whether Jarvis Johnson or Molly Cook will fill the Texas Senate seat vacated by now-Mayor John Whitmire through the end of this year. Obscure? Yes. Unimportant? Absolutely not! We conducted background checks, met with candidates, and debated their strengths and goals to write recommendations that are in-depth enough for you to make your own choices. Early voting runs through Tuesday and election day is Saturday May 4. Turnout is expected to be very low, meaning your ballot will be endowed with superpower influence. Don't waste the chance.
In our Sunday editorial, we called for a more measured response to protesters against the war in Gaza on university campuses, including at the University of Texas. Antisemitism should not be tolerated and anyone making real threats should be investigated. At the same time, protests of the Israeli government's policies should not be conflated with antisemitism. That does a disservice to the free speech rights of student protesters, including those who are Jewish and critical of the war.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick surprised us and environmental advocates when he called for a halt on new permits for cement plants after visiting with concerned community members in Sherman, near the Oklahoma border. We've got a few suggestions about how he could follow up by listening to the concerns of folks right here in his home county.
Curious about whether it's a good idea for Texas to use artificial intelligence to grade essays? At a minimum, education scholar Garion Frankel argues that it shouldn't be rushed. As always, we want to know what you think about these issues and other topics in the news. Send us a letter to the editor at viewpoints@houstonchronicle.com.
- The Editorial Board
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