Sam Russek
@samrussek.bsky.social
srussek.substack.com | reporter-researcher @newrepublic.com | associate editor @orbooks.bsky.social | also @samrussek on X | “some skeptics,” per the NYT
I wrote about "DoHo": In OCT '25, city planners learned “There isn’t any reasonable combination of financial tools to deploy” to restore development + Tranquility Park reno—what's going on there? + a map of foreclosures + the city's “potential future litigation” On my Substack (link below)
For Houston folks, in my first Substack post I've shared surveys conducted for Mayor Whitmire reflecting, I’d argue, where his team is directing its attention (well, sometimes) But wait... is that majority *support* for removing car lanes to make room for bikes? This & more linked below
NEW: Texas's biggest cities use an Israeli data firm to monitor residents online—Houston on HPD-ICE collaboration; Austin on residents' feelings about license plate readers like Flock; and Dallas on a range of issues, including reactions to police misconduct. Full docs inside:
These Texas Cities Use an Israeli Data Firm to Monitor Residents Online
Zencity touts its Listen module as an innovative way to “build community trust.” Do the local officials using the tool across Texas have the same aim?
srussek.substack.com
One thing about photo desks is they’re gonna give Talarico the Blur™️
Good reporting and good historical perspective here by the talented @samrussek.bsky.social in TNR. #texaspolitics
Sam Russek@samrussek.bsky.social · 4w agoOk ok I’ll be the one to ask: Can the Texas Democratic Party actually do it this time? For @newrepublic.com I wrote about TDP’s long, long—LONG—road, from political monopoly to near collapse to, perhaps, a future? (My first TNR feature) newrepublic.com/article/2150...
Ok ok I’ll be the one to ask: Can the Texas Democratic Party actually do it this time? For @newrepublic.com I wrote about TDP’s long, long—LONG—road, from political monopoly to near collapse to, perhaps, a future? (My first TNR feature) newrepublic.com/article/2150...
Are Texas Democrats Finally Reaching the Mountaintop?
The Texas Democratic Party once owned the state. It even did some good things. Then it collapsed, and boy, has it stayed collapsed. Ah, but if James Talarico wins ...
newrepublic.com
Top story: If Houston’s problem were only who sat in the mayor’s office, a well-experienced and well-connected pol would be well positioned to reverse the city’s fortunes. So why has the current office holder been so ineffective?
The Last Mayor of Houston
As the strong mayor of Texas' largest city, the former dean of the Texas Senate should be able to get his way in Houston. But he faces a shrinking ability to do so without vindictive state…
texasobserver.org
On @texasstandard.bsky.social this morning I spoke about John Whitmire & Houston more broadly. I think it's a mistake when people blame voters for low turnout, as if they got what they deserved for not being locally engaged. The better Q is: Why isn't the strongest mayor in the US more inspiring?
In Houston, the mayor has near-autocratic power the likes of which other "strong-mayor" cities like NY or LA can only dream of, yet its politics are stultifying, its outcomes unremarkable. Here's why Bayou City's mayor is running out of time:
The Last Mayor of Houston
As the strong mayor of Texas' largest city, the former dean of the Texas Senate should be able to get his way in Houston. But he faces a shrinking ability to do so without vindictive state…
texasobserver.org
Out today from @SamRussek.bsky.social: In response to protests, John Whitmire's Houston has resorted to new tactics for monitoring public data and social media posts, including a $620K contract with an AI-powered firm based in Tel Aviv, cofounded by a veteran of Israeli military intelligence.
The Last Mayor of Houston
As the strong mayor of Texas' largest city, the former dean of the Texas Senate should be able to get his way in Houston. But he faces a shrinking ability to do so without vindictive state…
texasobserver.org
An important and well written read for Houstonians
Sam Russek@samrussek.bsky.social · last mo.FINALLY: I wrote about "the last mayor of Houston," ft. a second office ~5 min from City Hall, an Israeli data firm monitoring public outcry RE: HPD-ICE, and the city's attempts to barter with state Republicans while pressure from below intensifies. www.texasobserver.org/john-whitmir...
Long but a very important read
Sam Russek@samrussek.bsky.social · last mo.FINALLY: I wrote about "the last mayor of Houston," ft. a second office ~5 min from City Hall, an Israeli data firm monitoring public outcry RE: HPD-ICE, and the city's attempts to barter with state Republicans while pressure from below intensifies. www.texasobserver.org/john-whitmir...
"But work toward what? Increasingly, it seems that even Whitmire’s not sure. While he might remove a bike lane or knock down an abandoned building to perform his authority now and then, real leadership has absconded elsewhere." Solid piece on the mayor-shaped void that is John Whitmire.
Texas Observer@texasobserver.org · last mo.New, from our magazine, by @samrussek.bsky.docial: John Whitmire is a “strong” mayor with a meager voter mandate, presiding over a once-mighty fiefdom in decline. How, then, did the strongest mayor in America become so weak? And even if Whitmire could get his way, what would that way look like?
“Griffith’s comedy of manners betrayed a simple truth: Few Texas Democrats today are as enmeshed with the police lobby as Whitmire. He needed them, but they also needed him.” #Houston
Sam Russek@samrussek.bsky.social · last mo.FINALLY: I wrote about "the last mayor of Houston," ft. a second office ~5 min from City Hall, an Israeli data firm monitoring public outcry RE: HPD-ICE, and the city's attempts to barter with state Republicans while pressure from below intensifies. www.texasobserver.org/john-whitmir...
In the cover story for our latest issue, @samrussek.bsky.social delves deep into the tumult of John Whitmire's Houston mayoralty. Worth a read www.texasobserver.org/john-whitmir...
My first cover story, a deep dive on Houston's mayor and the contradiction at the heart of the city's politics. How did the strongest mayor in America (at least, statutorily) become so weak?
Texas Observer@texasobserver.org · 2mo agoIntroducing the September/October 2026 issue of Texas Observer magazine. Art by Raúl Arias. Cover story by @samrussek.bsky.social, and additional stories from @michellepitcher.bsky.social and Dee Azadian. Become a member to get our magazine 6 times per year: texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/join/
FINALLY: I wrote about "the last mayor of Houston," ft. a second office ~5 min from City Hall, an Israeli data firm monitoring public outcry RE: HPD-ICE, and the city's attempts to barter with state Republicans while pressure from below intensifies. www.texasobserver.org/john-whitmir...
The Last Mayor of Houston
As the strong mayor of Texas' largest city, the former dean of the Texas Senate should be able to get his way in Houston. But he faces a shrinking ability to do so without vindictive state Republicans...
texasobserver.org
New, from our magazine, by @samrussek.bsky.docial: John Whitmire is a “strong” mayor with a meager voter mandate, presiding over a once-mighty fiefdom in decline. How, then, did the strongest mayor in America become so weak? And even if Whitmire could get his way, what would that way look like?
The Last Mayor of Houston
As the strong mayor of Texas' largest city, the former dean of the Texas Senate should be able to get his way in Houston. But he faces a shrinking ability to do so without vindictive state…
texasobserver.org
My first cover story, a deep dive on Houston's mayor and the contradiction at the heart of the city's politics. How did the strongest mayor in America (at least, statutorily) become so weak?
Texas Observer@texasobserver.org · 2mo agoIntroducing the September/October 2026 issue of Texas Observer magazine. Art by Raúl Arias. Cover story by @samrussek.bsky.social, and additional stories from @michellepitcher.bsky.social and Dee Azadian. Become a member to get our magazine 6 times per year: texasobserver.fundjournalism.org/join/
Update: 8 Texas protesters were sentenced today, following a July 4 noise demo outside an ICE detention center. The maj. were sentenced to 50 years in prison 2 were sentenced to 70 & 100 years, respectively The last, who wasn't even at the protest, was sentenced to 30 years.
Sam Russek@samrussek.bsky.social · 9mo agoSince July, Trump’s DOJ has used a protest outside an ICE facility to justify the roundup of leftwing activists, labeling them an “antifa cell.” For @newrepublic.com I gained access to nearly 6 TB of discovery—CCTV, bodycam, warrants. The DOJ’s story doesn’t add up
Great day-after take on the Menefee-Green runoff here from @samrussek.bsky.social www.texasobserver.org/christian-me...
Christian Menefee's Win Foreshadows Fights to Come Across the South
Al Green was a fighter past his prime, and Houstonians finally chose a new direction. But a post-Voting Rights Act world means that intraparty fights over Black representation are just beginning.
texasobserver.org
Read @samrussek.bsky.social's thoughtful review-essay, in @jacobinmag.bsky.social, of Manissa Maharawal's recently released ANTI-EVICTION: "Manissa Maharawal… fills a critical gap in our understanding of how recent history prefigures current struggle.” jacobin.com/2026/04/san-...
Lessons From San Francisco’s Fight Against Tech Displacement
A new book recounts how San Francisco tenant organizers took on tech-fueled displacement in the 2010s. Their campaigns were brave, media-savvy, and sometimes successful — but the conditions that made ...
jacobin.com
"The outcome of this trial [creates] a weapon with which the Trump administration can bludgeon political opponents—sidestepping the First Amendment—prosecutors effectively concocted a “criminal enterprise” through innuendo and partial truths. " @samrussek.bsky.social newrepublic.com/article/2078...
The Trump Administration Just Won a Terrifying Victory Over Protesters
An appeal is coming, but the conviction of several protesters on charges of providing “material support” for terrorism is a chilling sign.
newrepublic.com
🏴🏴🏴An appeal is coming, but the conviction of several protesters on charges of providing "material support" for terrorism is a chilling sign. By @samrussek.bsky.social newrepublic.com/article/2072... Authoritarianism is the new Liberalism. Dictatorship is the new Democracy. God help us all. #Resist
In #Houston, politics is looking decidedly old. The median age of its city council is roughly 55—two years older than that of Dallas, eight years older than that of Austin, and a whopping 20 years older than that of Houston’s median resident. Will that affect Rep. Al Green's bid for a 12th term?
Texas Observer@texasobserver.org · 8mo agoNew from @samrussek.bsky.social: The Dem primary for the 18th Congressional District pits two generations of politicians—Christian Menefee and Al Green—against each other. How did Green, known for standing up to Trump, end up in a serious fight for his seat?
New from @samrussek.bsky.social: The Dem primary for the 18th Congressional District pits two generations of politicians—Christian Menefee and Al Green—against each other. How did Green, known for standing up to Trump, end up in a serious fight for his seat?
A New Age for Houston Politics?
The Dem primary for the 18th Congressional District pits two generations of politicians—Christian Menefee and Al Green—against each other.
texasobserver.org
ICYMI: There’s an activist in Texas who’s been held in solitary confinement for 23 years. His body is failing. It took a year—and a court order—for him to finally see a *partial* medical diagnosis. He learned that he’d suffered a stroke *and* a heart attack. None of the prison officials had told him
The New Republic@newrepublic.com · 8mo ago“Xinachtli” Hernandez’s health is failing him. So is the system. trib.al/JumfKSL His worst fall came in the shower with no rails to hold onto—even though 16% of Texas’s prison population is 55+. When it rains his cell floods. He stores his belongings in jars so the rats don't chew through them.
“Xinachtli” Hernandez’s health is failing him. So is the system. trib.al/JumfKSL His worst fall came in the shower with no rails to hold onto—even though 16% of Texas’s prison population is 55+. When it rains his cell floods. He stores his belongings in jars so the rats don't chew through them.
Alvaro Hernandez, AKA Xinachtli, has been held in solitary confinement for 23 years. Now 73, his body's failing him—he can't walk, lost ~100 lbs, & Texas officials have withheld medical diagnoses. His supporters say this is part of a long history of retaliation for his activism
