Aimee Mobley-Turney had said that it was up to the Judge to let me have a portion of the half-hour he had been allotted. My half of that half-hour should have been about 12:30, but on-air hosts Durrell Douglas and Reda Hicks wound up giving me about 9:30. No major deal, but it did make me feel a bit rushed, and I didn't get to cover everything I wanted to. Still, I am grateful for the Judge's generosity, even given that he has nothing to lose.
While Judge Emmett is indeed affable, and a throwback to a time when "Republican" did not necessarily mean "troglodyte," I will not extend my gratitude to withdrawing from this race. The voters of Harris County deserve a Progressive alternative. Even if Ahmad Hassan had stayed in the race, that Progressive alternative would still have been Yours Truly. However, I can offer my respect to the world's oldest living former president of Lovett College at Rice University (he moved into Lovett in its first year of existence).
After a break to swap guests, the Judge took over the candidate's seat on the set at Houston Media Source. The other half-hour was devoted to candidates for Harris County Treasurer, Orlando Sánchez (R) and David Rosen (D); we did not stick around to watch them, but will catch their bits online later.
We also agreed on sensible transit policy for the county and region, which Judge Emmett got to talk about on the program but I did not. He recalled the time Union Pacific decided to abandon the MKT tracks along the Katy Freeway, which they were willing to cede to Metro for commuter rail from the West Side, and Metro said, "No, thanks!" Those tracks are gone now, and there's no putting them back.