Tag Archives: HD139

Endorsement watch: Remember the runoffs

The Chron makes their endorsements for the primary runoffs, which will happen on May 24, with early voting from the 16th to the 20th. Let me sum up: Republican Member, Railroad Commissioner: Gary Gates Judge, Court of Criminal Appeals, Place … Continue reading

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Early voting ends for HD139 special election

Here are the final early voting totals from the HD139 special election. The disparity between absentee ballots and in-person votes is pretty amazing, isn’t it? I’m going to guess that the Saturday in-person total will be less than the 200 … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Why bother?

The Chronicle barely musters a shrug for the special election in HD139. The winner of this election will cast no ballots in the state Legislature – presuming that Gov. Greg Abbott doesn’t call an unexpected special session. At the very … Continue reading

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Early voting for May 7 elections begins today

Hey, remember that special election to fill out Mayor Turner’s unexpired term in HD139? Early voting for it – and for the other elections on the May 7 ballot – begins today. Who knew, right? Here’s the press release from … Continue reading

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Runoff watch: Legislative races

I’m going to spend a few posts looking at the runoff elections that will be on the ballot this May. Primary runoffs are completely different than regular primaries, mostly because the races involved are low profile and only the hardest … Continue reading

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2016 primaries: State races

Let’s start with the Democratic race for Railroad Commissioner, and a few words from Forrest Wilder: The Gene Kelly Effect: Texas Democrats are almost perennially embarrassed by what you might call the Gene Kelly Effect — the depressing tendency of … Continue reading

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Interview with Jarvis Johnson

When I first did interviews for candidates in the primary for HD139, I did not include former Council member Jarvis Johnson. The main reason for this was that I couldn’t find any online presence for him – the Google searches … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Succeeding Sylvester

The Chron makes its choice for HD139. We encourage Democratic Party voters to look for a candidate who will emulate Turner’s successful model of connecting constituents’ interests with the levers of state power in Austin. We believe that Kimberly Willis … Continue reading

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Interview with Randy Bates

We wrap up our series of interviews with candidates in HD139, the longtime office of now-Mayor Sylvester Turner. Today’s subject is attorney Randy Bates, founder and partner in a firm concentrating in public finance. Bates served for over 20 years … Continue reading

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Interview with Kimberly Willis

As noted before, there are four candidates vying to succeed Mayor Sylvester Turner as State Representative in HD139. Kimberly Willis is a licensed social worker who earned her MSW at the University of Houston and is employed by the Harris … Continue reading

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Interview with Jerry Ford, Jr

There is one Democratic-held open seat in Harris County, and that’s HD139, which has been vacated by now-Mayor Sylvester Turner. Four candidates are running to succeed Turner; I have interviews with three of them. First up is Jerry Ford, Jr, … Continue reading

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Special election set for HD139

Ask, and ye shall receive. A special election for state House District 139 has been set for May 7, according to a gubernatorial proclamation issued Friday, setting in motion the race to serve out the remaining months of Houston Mayor … Continue reading

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When will there be a special election to fill Mayor Turner’s legislative term?

The Leader News brings up a point that I haven’t seen mentioned elsewhere, namely that HD139 is now vacant since the inauguration of Mayor Sylvester Turner. They have their top-of-page-one story devoted to this, but of course you can’t find … Continue reading

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Three legislators announce their departure

The first to say goodbye is Rep. Sylvester Turner. Representative Sylvester Turner fought back tears today as the House gave him a bipartisan farewell as he concluded a 26-year legislative career to run for Houston mayor. “My time is up. … Continue reading

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Turner prepares his exit from the Lege

Looks like we’ll have at least one more legislative special election this year. In 2003, state Rep. Sylvester Turner of Houston made the most definitive decision of his political career. Turner had arrived in the Texas House 14 years earlier, … Continue reading

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Interview with State Rep. Sylvester Turner

State Rep. Sylvester Turner is one of the senior members of the Houston-area delegation, having served HD139 since he was first elected in 1988. He doesn’t have a campaign webpage, so let me refer you to his Texas Tribune biography … Continue reading

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