January 12 - HAR-Recommended Candidate Tom DeLay's Federal Political Coordinator, Arlene Rolsen, Political Contact Team Member Toni Nelson and Governmental Affairs Coordinator Crystina Lewis met with DeLay's Finance Director, Dana Benoit, to strategize on how to promote the Congressman to local Realtors. They arranged for the Congressman to address the Ft. Bend networking group on January 19 at the Sweetwater Country Club. Congressman DeLay shared the program with Jeff Wiley of the Greater Fort Bend Economic Council and Mike Inselmann with MetroStudy. The Congressman expressed his appreciation for HAR's support. If you would like to become involved as a Federal or State-level Political Coordinator or Contact Team member, please contact Dana Kaufman at 713.629.1900x223 or e-mail her at simonsays@har.com.

January 25 - The Political Affairs Advisory Group, chaired by John Nichols, completed its pre-primary candidate recommendation process. Jim Gustafson met with the PAAG and reviewed the local judicial and county candidates running for election this year. From his recommendations, the PAAG made decisions on the Justices of the Peace, Harris County Judge, Commissioners, Treasurer, Clerk, Justices for the First, Ninth and Fourteenth Courts of Appeals and Civil and Criminal Court Judges. Please review the motions and we will complete our Recommended Candidate List. The March 7 primary is only two weeks away and we need to continue to inform our membership about HAR-recommended candidates.

February 3 - The 2006 Governmental Affairs Advisory Group, chaired by Minnette Boesel, convened for a working breakfast and national legislative update from Ken Wingert, NAR's Political Field Representative. The Federal Political Coordinators and Federal Political Contact Team members were also invited to the informational meeting. Ken Wingert stressed issues that are on NAR's hotlist such as OCC Rulings regarding banks in real estate, Small Business Health Plans and Natural Disaster/Flood Insurance. The list of NAR Goals and Accomplishments has been provided for your convenience, as well as Congressional maps of the Houston area. In addition to the information gained at the meeting, TREPAC Chair Vicki Fullerton received TREPAC Sterling R ($1,000) pledges from Gerald Womack and Judy Monroe!

February 8 - The Great Northwest Area Networking Meeting held a Senate District 7 candidate forum at Raveneaux Country Club. Jim Kollaer with The Staubach Company served as moderator. The four Republican candidates competing to replace retiring Senator Jon Lindsay participated, former Houston City Councilman Mark Ellis, Representatives Peggy Hamric and Joe Nixon, and radio personality Dan Patrick. TREPAC Chair Vicki Fullerton presented Patricia Harless, HAR's recommended candidate for House District 126, with her TREPAC contribution. House District 126 is currently held by Rep. Hamric.

February 10 - Houston City Councilman Adrian Garcia asked for Realtor input in the rewrite of the Graffiti Ordinance. Meeting with Councilman Garcia were Minnette Boesel, Robin Curtis, Carlos Garcia, Kenneth Li, Ethel Bellinger, Karen Derr, Tom Villanueva, Bill and Daniel Gottfried, Ed Wolff, Kelly DeHay, Dana Kaufman, Andy Teas of the Houston Apartment Association, and a representative from the Hotel Association. A copy of the draft graffiti ordinance will be available at the Board meeting.

February 12 - Dana Kaufman and Karen Driscoll attended TAR's Political Communications Subcommittee meeting and Governmental Affairs Forum in Austin. John Sharp, head of the Governor's Tax Reform Commission, and Congressman Chet Edwards were the featured speakers. TAR President Dennis Patillo, who serves on the Tax Reform Commission, said to expect a report from the Commission around March 15. TAR has developed two Resolutions, the Mortgage Interest Reduction Resolution and the American Dream Resolution, for members to take with them to their precinct conventions after the polls close on March 7. The resolutions will be passed at the HAR Board meeting.

February 16 - The Governmental Affairs Department teamed up with the Houston-Intown Chamber of Commerce to produce the Houston City Council Networking Breakfast at the Jr. League Building. Over 150 guests confirmed they would be attending and 11 City Council Members addressed the audience, as well as Houston City Controller Annise Parker. They presented their goals for 2006 and were open to a brief question-and-answer session at the end of the program.

We would also like to introduce Dahlia Denton, the new TAR Political Field Representative. She will be concentrating on TAR initiatives and state Opportunity Races. If you would like to get involved in targeted campaigns, please let her know. She can be reached at ddenton@texasrealtors.com.

Motion
The Political Affairs Advisory Group met on January 25 to recommend judicial and other candidates in the March 7, 2006 Primary Election. The PAAG recommends the following candidates in contested races:

Court of Criminal Appeals, Presiding Judge	Sharon Keller (R) (I)
Court of Criminal Appeals, Place 8	Terry Keel (R)
14th Court of Appeals, Place 6	Richard Edelman (R) (I)
183rd Criminal District Court	Vanessa Velasquez (R) (I)
245th Civil District Court	No recommendation at this time (Annette Galik, incumbent)
315th Civil District Court	Mike Schneider, Jr. (R)
Harris County Court at Law No. 1	Gary Block (R) (I)
Harris County Court at Law No. 3	Lynn Bradshaw Hull (R) (I)
Harris County Criminal Court No. 1	Reagan Helm (R) (I)
Harris County Criminal Court No. 2	Bill Harmon (R) (I)
Harris County Probate Court No. 4	Bill McCulloch (R) (I)
Harris County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 2	Place 2 George Risner (D) (I)
Harris County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 7, Place 2	Zinetta Burney (D) (I)
Harris County Treasurer	Jack Cato (R) (I)

Second Motion:

At the January 25, 2006 Political Affairs Advisory Group meeting, the following action motion was made:

Motion: The Political Affairs Advisory Group makes the motion that the HAR Board of Directors stay out of ALL political party races such as Party Chair, Secretary - Treasurer, etc. Background: HAR's Governmental Affairs Director and Fort Bend County members have been approached by candidates running for Fort Bend County Republican Party Chair. The candidates are asking for HAR and TREPAC support in their elections.

Rationale: Realtor issues are consumer issues and, as such, are neither Republican nor Democratic. HAR support and TREPAC contributions are given to elected officials and candidates in both Republican and Democratic Parties. To get involved in partisan elections for Party Chair would stretch HAR volunteer and staff resources to cover elections across HAR's eight county membership service area. Furthermore, HAR and TREPAC is party neutral, supporting candidates who are for the Realtor Party.

TREPAC

Questions? Contact TREPAC Coordinator, Karen Driscoll at 713/629-1900 ext. 271 or karen@har.com.

Spaghetti Western TREPAC Investor Appreciation Reception A Great Success!
The 2005 Investor Appreciation Event was held at Maggiano's Little Italy on January 24 and was a complete success. The event was in appreciation of our $250 and above 2005 TREPAC Investors who enjoyed wine and fabulous hors d'oeuvres while mingling with fellow investors. 2006 TREPAC Chair Vicki Fullerton gave a Champagne toast in honor of the 2005 investors and encouraged them to get their 2006 Denim TREPAC Jackets by investing or pledging again in 2006. Approximately $12,250 was raised via investments and pledges that evening.

Upcoming TREPAC Events

Fort Bend Denim & Diamonds Gala - Thursday, March 23. A fashion show, silent auction, live auction, dinner and grand prize drawing create a fun evening out for Fort Bend area REALTORS. The event which raised nearly $16,000 in 2005 will be held at Sweetwater Country Club and begin at approximately 5:30 p.m.

Bay Area Golf Tournament - Monday, April 3. - This will be the first annual Bay Area Golf Tournament and it will be held at the beautiful Bay Oaks Country Club. Entry fees are $125 per player and $500 per team.

Montgomery County Golf Tournament - Monday, May 8. - This year's golf tournament will be held at The Woodlands Resort and will be followed by an awards ceremony and dinner. The entry fee is $150 per player.

Please note that all of the entry fees count towards your annual TREPAC investment. More details on these and other upcoming TREPAC events will follow soon.

Motion to Create a new HAR TREPAC Award Category titled HAR Golden R Office.
It is moved and seconded to support the creation of new HAR TREPAC Award Category titled HAR Golden R Office.

Rationale: To increase both member and office participation and awareness of TREPAC. To be a Golden R office, the office will need to have raised $5000 through either Sterling R ($1000) or Capitol Club ($500) investments. The office will be awarded with recognition in the magazine and a plaque which will recognize them as the Golden R office and will include the names of the high dollar investors.