It’s getting a little late in the game to be making endorsements, but a number of them have come out in the past week or so. Here’s a roundup of the ones that I’m aware of.
First, from the Harris County Young Democrats:
The municipal endorsements are as follows:
Mayor – Annise Parker
Controller – Ronald C. Green
At Large 1 – Herman Litt
At Large 2 – Sue Lovell
At Large 3 – Melissa Noriega
At Large 4 – Noel Freeman
At Large 5 – Davetta Daniels
District A – Lane Lewis
District B – Jarvis Johnson
District D – Wanda Adams
District F – Mike Laster
District G – Dexter HandyIn addition to municipal candidates, HCYD also endorsed two candidates for the HISD School Board. Alma Lara, a 35-year educator, received the nod for Position I, and Adrian Collins, a long time community activist, HISD parent and aide to President Obama, was endorsed for Position IX.
HCYD also endorsed two propositions to be on the ballot in November. Proposition 4 allows already existing funds within the State of Texas to be used to fund the creation of more Tier 1 universities. Proposition 9 enshrines the Texas Open Beaches act into the Texas Constitution to ensure that Texas’ coast line remains a publicly held treasure.
That’s the second endorsement I’ve seen of a challenger to Council Member Jolanda Jones. HAR declined to endorse in the race, and after the Houston Professional Firefighters Association rescinded their endorsement of CM Jones, they eventually took the next step and endorsed Daniels as well; I don’t have a direct link, but you can see it on their home page. The only other example I know of offhand is the real, non-hoax Christians for Better Government giving their nod to Andrew Burks over Council Member Sue Lovell in At Large #2. If I’m missing one somewhere, please let me know.
Meanwhile, Proposition 4 has racked up some endorsements as well. The AFL-CIO has teamed up with the Greater Houston Partnership, and both groups are joined by the Houston C Club, to support the constitutional amendment to expand Tier One universities in Texas. There’s a Texans for Tier One website for the cause, and you can read the press releases the group sent out in support of Prop 4. It’s generated enough interest that Nancy Sims thinks it might be a bigger driver of turnout locally than the Mayor’s race.
In the school board races, District I’s Alma Lara picked up endorsements from Constable Victor Trevino and former HISD Superintendent Kaye Stripling, while her opponent Anna Eastman landed the newly-formed Houston Business-Education Coalition (HBEC) PAC; they also endorsed Mike Lunceford in District V. Eastman, Lunceford, and challenger George Davis in District IX have the backing of the HISD Parent Visionaries group. And Adrian Collins, also running in IX, picked up the support of former candidate Daisy Maura, who lost to incumbent Larry Marshall in a runoff in 2005.
Finally, in the Mayor’s race, Annise Parker was endorsed by EMILY’s List. Still to come are endorsements from the Noah’s Arc PAC, whose area of interest is BARC and which was touting policy papers on the agency from Parker and Locke. I have been told that they will be making their recommendations soon. In the meantime, check out the responses they got to BARC-related questions from Controller candidates Pam Holm and MJ Khan and numerous Council candidates.
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