Toth Continues Assaults on First Amendment, Human Rights, Common Sense

3/2/26 – In one of the most hotly contested primaries in recent memory, State Rep. Steve Toth is running against Congressman Dan Crenshaw in the newly redrawn Congressional District 2. I urge you to vote for Crenshaw who has consistently delivered flood-mitigation dollars for the Lake Houston Area. But that’s not the only reason.

Speech Suppression, Refusal to Debate, Lies, Black Money

Toth’s supporters have:

  • Relentlessly destroyed Crenshaw signs
  • Rudely interfered with Crenshaw campaign workers at polling places
  • Loudly disrupted Crenshaw meetings
One of many Crenshaw signs destroyed in the middle of the night the day before the primary.
Toth supporters defacing Crenshaw sign
Another destroyed earlier

Toth himself has:

  • Deployed an army of bots, trolls and “engagement farms” to flood social media with unsubstantiated, negative comments about Crenshaw
  • Boycotted two scheduled debates with Crenshaw in the Woodlands and with the Chronicle
  • Repeatedly and knowingly lied about Crenshaw’s assets while concealing his own
  • Used a half million dollars from a Colony Ridge banker to attack Crenshaw, who demanded an investigation into Colony Ridge and its financing practices.

Negative Voting Record, Negative Campaigning

Mr. Toth tears down his opponent because he has virtually nothing positive to say about himself. Toth has one of the most negative voting records in the Texas Legislature.

Understanding what Toth voted NO on gives you deeper insight into the man and his values.

In 2025, Toth voted against flood mitigation, flood-warning systems, free speech, food banks, cybersecurity, conservation, grid reliability, open meetings, transparency, ethics, border security, fraud protections, and disclosure of campaign finance information. 

Toth also voted against groups, such as law enforcement, first responders, consumers, patients, motorists, veterans, educators, CPAs, dentists, dental hygienists, farmers, restauranteurs, insurers, aviators, heath-care providers, seniors, schoolchildren, whistleblowers, correctional officers, manufacturers, attorneys, college students, utility employees, people who work from home, flood victims, crime victims, and rural Texans.

In the previous two legislatures, Toth voted AGAINST:

  • Handicapped parking at polling places
  • Allowing people to affiliate with the political party of their choice
  • The Texas Ethics Commission
  • Sexual harassment prevention
  • Gulf Coast hurricane protection
  • Online consumer protections
  • Property tax relief
  • Combatting human trafficking
  • Workplace violence prevention policies
  • Whistleblower protection
  • Training programs for child-abuse investigators
  • Prohibiting construction of assisted-living facilities in Harris County 100-year floodplains
  • Reporting cybersecurity breaches

Toth voted against a majority of Republicans on every single one of these measures and hundreds more. On many of them, more than 90% of Republicans voted FOR the bills.

How Extremists Like Toth Can Hijack an Election

Voting NO so often helps Toth boost his conservative rating among some far right-leaning groups. But it also means, he has accomplished virtually nothing. He has nothing positive he can say about himself. He has NO record to run on. So, he tears down his opponent. That’s all he can do. And all he has done.

As of the end of two weeks of early voting, 8.1% of registered voters had voted. If half of those are Democrats, that means 4% of voters will determine the Republican candidate in CD-2 – unless YOU vote Tuesday, March 3rd.

Extremists like Toth represent a huge percentage of that 4%. The nut cases ALL vote.

Don’t let them determine your choices in November.

Please vote for Crenshaw if you want to continue seeing flood-mitigation improvements. He has brought hundreds of millions of flood-mitigation dollars to the Lake Houston Area.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 3/2/26

3107 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

Toth’s Lies and 2025 Voting Record Exposed

2/3/26 – On 2/1/26, I printed a story about Steve Toth’s shocking voting record in 2021 and 2023. He called me dishonest, claiming I misrepresented his votes on five of the first six bills he checked on my list. See his text and my response below.

Toth claims Rehak dishonest
Screen capture from 2/2/26 of text exchange with Steve Toth re: his first 6 votes on 2021-2023 list.

Twenty-four hours after my offer above, Toth has not asked for one legitimate correction. Nor has he sent me a rebuttal. So…onward to Toth’s 2025 voting record.

Overview of Toth’s 2025 Voting Record

In 2025, Toth continued voting against a majority of Republicans on common-sense issues. See the list below. I boiled it down from 53 pages of NO votes on important measures. Toth changes his votes frequently. But as in my previous post, I only included FINAL votes…or the way he clarified he intended to vote.

In my opinion, Toth doesn’t deserve to be called a Republican; he’s an anarchist disguised in Republican clothes who consistently votes against the safety and welfare of his constituents.

For starters, in 2025, Toth voted against flood mitigation, free speech, food banks, cybersecurity, conservation, grid reliability, open meetings, transparency, ethics, border security, fraud protections, and disclosure of campaign finance information.

Groups Toth Voted Against

Despite what he claims, Toth also voted against groups such as law enforcement, first responders, consumers, patients, motorists, veterans, educators, CPAs, dentists, dental hygienists, farmers, restauranteurs, insurers, aviators, heath-care providers, seniors, schoolchildren, whistleblowers, correctional officers, manufacturers, attorneys, college students, utility employees, people who work from home, flood victims, crime victims, and rural Texans.

Toth Even Voted Against Voters

Why? By voting NO on virtually everything, Toth improved his so-called “conservative rating.”

Toth’s trolls make you think he walks on floodwater – while you’re neck-deep in it. They ignore Toth’s own record, while blasting his opponent, Dan Crenshaw with lies and half truths.

If you want to know what Steve Toth stands FOR, look at what he voted AGAINST.

Bob Rehak

For instance, he’s voted multiple times against measures to control fraud, sexual abuse and family violence.

Toth NO Votes on 2025 Bills

For more information about each bill below (including the full text), visit the Texas Legislature Online website. In 2025:

Steve Toth Voted AGAINSTBILL # 
Land, water and wildlife conservationHB 4212
Disclosing social-media impacts on minorsHB 499
Improving public access to occupational therapyHB 932
Simplifying licensing of CPAs SB 522
Improving access to dentistry and dental hygiene HB 1803
Speeding up permits for people working from homeHB 2464
Verifying a purchaser’s age for liquor salesSB 650
Making social-media companies investigate explicit deep-fake images HB 3133
AI protections for consumersHB 149
Banning e-cigarettes disguised as school supplies and toys SB 2024
Requiring hand-counted ballots to be machine readable for tally verification HB 3113
Disclosure of campaign finance informationHB 4406
Timely filing of campaign finance reports HB 1804
Accurate and complete voter registrations HB 2785
Legible ballotsHB 3697
Letting voters use cell phones while standing in long lines outsideHB 3909
Publishing regulations for placement of political signsHB 3918
Fining lobbyists who violate restrictions on political contributions SB 2781
Helping electricity providers recover faster from weather disastersSB 1963
Protecting oil/gas infrastructure from natural disasters, cyberthreats, and terrorism HB 1169
Recognizing importance of natural gas during electricity shortages HB 5224
Inspecting well sites for wildfire susceptibilityHB 3334
Fire safety standards and emergency operations plans HB 3824
Nuclear energy workforce-development programSB 1535
Grid-reliability measures that protect customers from outagesSB 6
Recognizing the strategic importance of the Panama CanalSCR 37
Curbing mass importation of foreign shrimpHCR 76
Moving NASA headquarters to HoustonHCR 141
Making first responders’ emergency-communication equipment interoperable across Texas HB 13
All appropriations for 2026-2027SB 1
Job creation and economic development in TexasHB 1268
Developing an artificial-intelligence group within the State’s information resources groupHB 2818
Selling surplus DPS vehicles to economically disadvantaged school districtsHB 1851
Planning for severe weatherHB 2618
Bullet-resistant windows for police vehiclesHB 2217
Putting teeth into the state’s open-meetings lawHB 3711
A statewide inventory of equipment available to respond to wildfiresSB 767
Using captured floodwater to expand water suppliesSB 1967
Aerospace, aviation, and space exploration initiativesHB 5246
Quantum computing HB 4751
Exempting non-profit food-bank trucks from gasoline taxesHB 4226
Creating a Texas Severance Tax Revenue and Oil and Natural Gas defense fund (Texas STRONG)HJR 47
Sharing information about cybersecurity threats and best practicesHB 876
Modernizing manufacturingSB 2925
Attorney education re: open meetings HB 4991
Hedging state funds against inflationSB 21
Making Texas R&D more competitiveSB 2206
Artificial Intelligence regulation SB 1964
Cybersecurity and AI training for state employeesHB 3512
Establishing a Texas Cyber Command at UTHB 150
Strengthening education-to-workforce pipelinesSB 1786
Free EMS courses for Texas paramedicsHB 1105
Property tax exemptions for charities supporting medical educationHB 4240
Rights of students to protest peacefullySB 2972
Nutrition counseling for Medicaid recipientsHB 26
Reducing insurance losses by making property more wind resistantHB 1576
Reducing Texas windstorm-insurance costsHB 2518
Requiring written, detailed explanations of auto-repair costsHB 722
Requiring health benefit plans to cover telemedicine costsHB 1052
Covering general anesthesia costs for pediatric dental servicesSB 527
Insuring first responders on deployment across TexasHB 4464
Reducing recidivism of juvenile drug addicts HB 1831
Alzheimer’s and dementia training for guardiansHB 3376
Penalizing fraudulent use of gift cardsSB 1809
Training correctional officers in de-escalation and crisis-interventionHB 2756
Prohibiting government retaliation against whistleblowersHB 1232
Prosecuting the fraudulent use of credit cardsHB 272
Studying ways to prevent theft of petroleum products in TexasSB 494
Letting the PUC screen criminal records of employees and contractorsHB 4344
Combatting human trafficking SB 610
Preventing interference with utility employees performing their dutiesHB 1160
Requiring assisted-living facilities to be licensedHB 2510
Increasing the minimum duration for emergency-protection orders SB 2196
Protecting animal-control officers removing carcasses from roadwaysSB 305
Creating liabilities for online impersonators who harm othersHB 783
Alleviating court backlogs with retired judgesHB 1664
Protecting family-violence victims from their alleged abusersHB 4027
Updating laws that reduce electronic card-skimmer fraudSB 2371
Penalizing those who publish personal information of others with the intent to threaten or harm them or their familiesHB 3425
Clarifying conduct that constitutes exploitation and coercion of children, the elderly, and disabledHB 1347
Increasing penalties for assaulting utility employees performing their dutiesSB 482
Requiring convicted child sex traffickers to pay restitution to victimsSB 1804
Making road-rage shootings an aggravated-assault offenseSB 3031
Combatting misuse of AI to generate false harmful, intimate visualsSB 441
Increasing penalties for driving while intoxicated in school zonesSB 826
Letting municipalities suspend or revoke certificates of occupancy for hotels involved in human traffickingHB 5509
Creating a Lake Houston Dredging and Maintenance DistrictHB 1532
Establishing qualifications for county fire marshalsHB 3687
Increasing higher-education tuition exemptions for military service membersHB 290
Studying obstacles that Texas veterans face when accessing veterans’ cemeteriesHB 1875
Studying ways to improve mental health services for vetsHB 1965
Studying ways to deliver veterans’ benefits more efficientlyHB 2193
Studying ways to use government-surplus real estate to house veterans and low-income familiesHB 158
Coordinating activities for the 200th anniversary of Texas’ independenceSB 1350
Training appraisal-district board membersHB 148
Requiring landlords to inform tenants of flood risks in writingSB 2349
Addressing fraudulent property claims and providing a remedy for affected ownersSB 1734
Streamlining college admissions SB 2314
Improving early learning for children with disabilities or developmental delaysHB 2310
Providing instructional materials for career education in health care to ISDsHB 2189
First-aid training on “airway clearance” in public schoolsHB 549
Civics instruction in high schoolsHB 824
Grants for Texas-history educationSB 519
Preventing sexual abuse of students by school employees HB 4623
Telemedicine for rural Texans HB 18
Establishing a Dementia Prevention and Research Institute of Texas and supporting dementia researchSJR 3
Emergency contraceptives for sexual assault victims HB 220
Requiring assisted-living facilities to adopt power-outage emergency plans that include climate-controlled areas HB 3595
Tracking distribution of opioid antagonists to help prevent drug overdosesHB 4783
Minimum training requirements for day-care centersHB 4665
Helping opioid-users on Medicaid who are pregnantHB 5155
Educating college freshmen about fentanyl and other drugsHB 3062
Increasing accountability for nursing homes in the Medicaid programSB 457
Creating regional mobility authoritiesHJR 144
Requiring the Texas Transportation Commission to back projects that improve border securityHB 3849
Prohibiting trains from blocking roads for 30 minutes or moreHB 4207
Requiring seatbelts in older buses to protect schoolchildrenSB 546

I Believe NOTHING Toth Says Anymore

I no longer believe anything the do-nothing Mr. Toth and his hired trolls say. Toth paints himself as a conservative purist…while lying about his opponent who gets results for his constituents. Toth also lies about his own record. That’s yet another reason why I’m voting for Dan Crenshaw and I hope you do, too.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 2/3/26

3080 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

Vote: Doors are Unlocked, They Still Have Paper and Machines are Working

I just voted in record time. I drove to the polling place, parked, voted, and returned home in 22 minutes – door to door.

The doors to the polling place were actually unlocked when I arrived 4PM. They had plenty of paper. And both the voting machine and scanner worked.

Considering the last two elections, that’s a miracle.

I encountered none of the problems I experienced during the last election.

In fact, there seemed to be twice as many machines as they had then. And there were no lines! Gee, I wonder where all those machines came from and why they actually worked. But I guess we will never know. The county is still fighting to keep those records secret.

The lack of major malfunctions seemed to have everyone in courteous and pleasant moods.

I like the new system – which is actually the old system – where elected officials are in charge of elections instead of appointed screwups with no experience.

Let’s hope our luck holds and the next ten days are like today.

For More Information

A wide variety of information about the election can be found at HarrisVotes.com. For instance:

Here is a map of early voting locations in the northern part of the county.

Early voting locations shown on HarrisVotes.com.

Remember, we have county-wide voting now. So if by chance, you encounter a long line, you can vote at another location.

And remember to breathe when you check in. In the last election, a number of dead people voted. So, breathing is one of the screening tools now.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/24/2023

2247 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

So Far, Early Voting Turnout Dismal

Early voting turnout this year rates a D for “dismal.” At the close of polls on Wednesday 11/2/22, only 566,006 of the 2.57 million registered voters in Harris County had voted. That’s 22% with just Thursday and Friday left for early voting. By comparison, during the 2018 mid-terms (the last comparable election), 63% of Harris County voters voted early. With two days left in early voting, we can make up some ground, but not that much.

Kingwood Slightly Better than Rest of Harris County

The nightly totals show that the Kingwood Community Center has had the fourth highest turnout in Harris County so far this year.

Yet Kingwood has had only 14,000 residents vote out of the 44,000 registered in 77339 and 77345. That’s 31.8 percent so far, and much better than this year’s county-wide average of 22%. However, Kingwood’s 31.8% is still only half of the county’s 63% early-voting rate in the 2018 mid-terms.

Total 2018 Turnout Doubled Countywide Turnout to Date

During all 13 days of voting in the 2018 mid-terms (early and Election Day), 1,219,871 voted compared to 566,006 so far this year. So, 2018 turnout more than doubled turnout to date in this election.

To equal 2018 turnout, we need as many people to vote in the three days left as have already voted in the last ten!

And don’t think we’ll make it all up on Election Day. In the last mid-term, almost 63% of those who voted voted early.

So far this year, we’re about 250,000 votes short of 2018 early-voting totals. We only have two days of early voting left and the County is averaging a little more than 50,000 votes per day so far. So, even if we get another 100,000 in the last two days, we’ll still be about 150,000 early votes short of 2018.

To put that in perspective, Ed Emmett lost to Lina Hidalgo in 2018 by 20,000 votes county wide. And 30,000 people have yet to vote in Kingwood alone.

And that doesn’t even include Huffman, Spring, Humble, Atascocita, or Crosby.

A Chance to Regain Fairness on Commissioners Court

If you vote in one race in this election, vote for Republican Alexandra Mealer instead of Lina Hidalgo. Mealer offers a chance to get better balance on Commissioners Court and some measure of fairness in flood-mitigation expenditures. Right now, Democrats have a 3-2 majority and consistently vote as a block in favor of their own constituents.

Since Harvey, Harris County has spent $1.6 billion on flood mitigation projects. As of today, Harris County Flood Control District shows $234 million in capital improvement construction projects underway. NOT ONE is in the Lake Houston Area. Of the 20 active projects, 18 have gone to Democrat Commissioners Garcia and Ellis. The two Republican-leaning precincts have one each.

Screen capture from HCFCD.

Yet we had the highest flooding in the county during Harvey.

worst first
Chart showing feet above flood stage of 33 gages of misc. bayous in Harris County during Harvey.

And we’ve been one of the most heavily flood-damaged areas in Harris County dating back more than 40 years.

From MAAPnext.org. Cumulative flood losses since 1979.

Yet under Hidalgo all the money goes elsewhere in the name of “worst first.”

To All Who Flooded – Three More Days Left

Ten days of voting are behind us. Three are left: the rest of today, Friday and next Tuesday.

Get out the vote, folks! Walk your block. Knock on doors. Forward this link to everyone you know. And remember this dismal turnout the next time you flood. This election is the best chance you have to reduce flood risk to your family and property.

The Mealer/Hidalgo County Judge race is buried halfway down the ballot in the middle of judicial races – between family and civil court judges.

While you’re at it, remember the three county bond issues totaling $1.2 billion also on the ballot. And remember that the Dems already voted to distribute this money unequally, favoring Precincts One and Two by a wide margin. But you won’t see that on the ballot language. So much for transparency!

To find your sample ballot and the nearest voting location, go to HarrisVotes.com.

Yes, you will have to wait in line. But while you’re waiting, remember how long you’ve waited for flood mitigation help that has yet to arrive!

Looking east from the south side of the West Fork of the San Jacinto during Harvey

Posted on Bob Rehak on 11/3/22

1892 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.

All You Need to Know About Flooding Before You Vote

Before you vote this year, review these two graphs and a map. They should tell you everything you need to know about flooding and flood mitigation in the Lake Houston Area. They should also motivate you to vote if you are on the sidelines.

Highest Flooding

The first graph shows “feet above flood stage” during Hurricane Harvey at numerous gages on different watersheds around Harris county. It shows how high floodwater got AFTER it came “out of banks.”

The San Jacinto West Fork at US59 had THE highest flooding in Harris County during Harvey.

Lowest Funding

The second shows the amount of flood-mitigation dollars spent in each Harris County watershed on right-of-way acquisition and construction for flood-mitigation in the first half of this year. Those activities help mitigate flooding as opposed to studies which frequently never get acted upon.

The reversal is stunning.

Data obtained via FOIA Request. San Jacinto, the county’s largest watershed, received only $200,000. Only Cedar Bayou received less at $160,000.

Worst Last

The San Jacinto Watershed moves from the high side of the flooding graph to the low side of the funding graph.

But why the first six months of this year? I’ve talked ad nauseam about spending trends going back decades. This window shows us current priorities. Especially during an election year when you would think the County Judge would try to appeal to as many people as possible.

Regardless of how you feel about the equity prioritization framework, you would think that in a ten-year bond program, areas like Lake Houston would start seeing some real benefit by now. Narrowing down the range of spending helps provide better insight into the priorities of County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She’s the deciding vote on Commissioners Court.

How to Punish The Opposition

People are saying, “OK, I’ve waited patiently. When will I see some benefit from the 2018 flood bond?” That was more than four years ago already.

Unfortunately, the answer is “no time soon.” The map below shows current active Flood-Control capital-improvement construction projects and how the three Democrats on Commissioners Court have used their majority to punish Republican-leaning areas.

Maintenance projects are shown in orange. And capital-improvement projects appear purple.

Flood Control has 20 active construction projects in the capital-improvement category. Of those:

  • Republican Jack Cagle’s Precinct 4 has one.
  • Republican Tom Ramsey’s Precinct 3 has one.
  • Democrats Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia split the other 18 among themselves.
  • Not one is in Lake Houston Area.

And Judge Lina Hidalgo allows it.

From HCFCD.org

The only way for people in Precincts 3 and 4 to right this wrong is to replace Judge Hidalgo who is on the ballot running against Republican Alexandra Mealer.

If Hidalgo and Garcia are re-elected, we have four more years of political punishment to look forward to.

So, please vote on or before November 8.

To review your ballot choices, go to HarrisVotes.com and study who and what will be on the ballot in your area this year. Yesterday’s polls show the two candidates for judge essentially tied within the margin of error. Heavy turnout in the Lake Houston Area could swing this election.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 10/26/22

1884 Days since Hurricane Harvey

The thoughts expressed in this post represent opinions on matters of public concern and safety. They are protected by the First Amendment of the US Constitution and the Anti-SLAPP Statute of the Great State of Texas.