Tag Archives: Mayor

So what do we think final 2019 turnout will be?

Let’s take the numbers we have so far and try to hone in a bit more exactly on what to expect tomorrow, shall we? I’m going to go back a little farther into the past and establish some patterns. 2019 … Continue reading

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A wrapup for early voting

Here’s the Chron story on the end of early voting. Early voting ended Friday with a late surge in turnout among Harris County voters, surpassing voter participation in some prior mayoral election years but falling short of totals seen during … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Final 2019 EV totals: With a bit of bonus poll-analyzing

Early voting for the 2019 election is officially over. Let’s look at those numbers one last time: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2019 137,460 15,304 152,764 26,824 2015 164,104 29,859 193,963 43,280 2013 87,944 21,426 109,370 30,572 The 2019 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

8 Day finance reports: Mayor and Controller

The Erik Manning spreadsheet is here, the July reports from Mayoral candidates are here, the July reports from Controller candidates (which in this case was just Chris Brown) are here, and the 30 day reports for both Mayorals and Controllers … Continue reading

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Trib overview of the Houston Mayor’s race

Not really anything here you don’t already know, but a good summary of the race so far. With early voting underway, the Houston mayoral race is not lacking for drama, but through it all, a fundamental question has persisted: Whatever … Continue reading

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Hotze and Buzbee

But wait, there’s more. Anti-gay leader Steve Hotze withdrew his support for Tony Buzbee on Thursday, and called the mayoral candidate a “charlatan and liar” for denying he had sought the Republican power broker’s political support. In an emailed statement, … Continue reading

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Buzbee and Hotze

Buddies. One of the leaders of a controversial, anti-LGBTQ group on Tuesday said Tony Buzbee met numerous times with Steven Hotze before the Republican power broker endorsed his mayoral campaign, contradicting comments Buzbee made at a televised debate the night … Continue reading

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The Chron on Boykins and Lovell

Time for more profiles of Mayoral candidates. Here’s the Chron piece on Dwight Boykins. “My goal is to use this position as mayor to let people know that there is hope,” [CM Dwight Boykins] said. “I’m trying to help the … Continue reading

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UH poll: Turner 43, Buzbee 23, King 8

Another encouraging poll for Mayor Turner as early voting starts. Mayor Sylvester Turner retains a wide lead over his opponents, most of whom have failed to gain traction with weeks left until Election Day, according to a University of Houston … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Turner and Brown

The Chron saved its biggest endorsement editorials for the Sunday edition. I did expect them to endorse Mayor Turner for another term, and they delivered, with more of an emphasis on the campaign than I would have thought. Bats aren’t … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

30 Day finance reports: Mayor and Controller

All right, I’ve made some progress in the endless number of city candidate finance reports. We’re in crunch time, and the 30 day reports can tell us not just what kind of momentum candidates have had, but also whether the … Continue reading

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Big Bucks Buzbee

It is, by far, his best asset. Mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee put another $2.5 million into his campaign last month, widening his financial edge over Mayor Sylvester Turner heading into the stretch run of the race for Houston’s top elected … Continue reading

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The Chron’s overview of the Mayor

It’s a fair picture. Mayor Sylvester Turner hugged his way through three dozen staff and supporters, reached the podium, and smiled. It was May 2017, and Turner’s landmark pension reform bill had just passed the Legislature, validating his decision to … Continue reading

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Here now comes my favorite lawsuit of the year

OMG. Meanwhile in the Houston mayor’s race… Three candidates left off tomorrow’s debate stage — Demetria Smith, Johnny T. Taylor and Derek Broze — have filed a (very capitalized) lawsuit against @abc13houston and several others: — Jasper Scherer (@zjaspscherer) 7:30 … Continue reading

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KHOU/HPM poll: Turner 37, Buzbee 20, King 10

We must be getting into the serious part of Houston Election Season, because we have our first public poll of the Mayor’s race. Mayor Sylvester Turner leads trial lawyer and businessman Tony Buzbee by 17 points, according to a KHOU/Houston … Continue reading

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Do you believe in magical thinking?

I did not read this long profile of Tony Buzbee, because life is short and we all have better things to do. I did briefly scan the print version a bit, and in doing so I noticed the following paragraph, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

No, crime is not up in Houston

Facts are stubborn things. Like the rest of the country, crime in Houston has plummeted over the last 30 years, as has residents’ fear of crime being the city’s most pressing problem. FBI data show that most categories of crime … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

It’s not really a campaign until there are attack ads

I have three things to say about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner launched a television ad Monday attacking Tony Buzbee for donating to President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, marking the mayor’s first major attempt to link his political opponent to the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Campaigning for the Metro bond

Our campaign finance laws can be a bit weird. Transit officials spent the past 18 months developing a plan to add $7.5 billion in new bus lines, rebuilt transit centers and rail expansion. They have nine weeks to sell it … Continue reading

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Checking in on the Mayor’s race

Remember the Mayor’s race? Yeah, that. “The candidates have been running for months but were focused on fundraising and defining their message,” said Nancy Sims, a Houston political analyst. “Labor Day is when people tune into the election.” The stretch-run … Continue reading

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The 2019 ballot order

Time once again for this risible ceremony. The order of the November Houston ballot was set Friday morning in a random drawing at City Hall, laying out how the candidates for mayor, controller and city council will appear when voters … Continue reading

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Bonus commentary on 2019 lineup

There was a lot of last minute activity at Monday’s filing deadline, as there usually is. Probably more so this year, as approximately ten percent of Houston adults are running for office this November. The point here is that the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

The 2019 lineups are set

Barring any late disqualifications or other unexpected events, we have the candidates we’re getting on our 2019 ballot. More than 125 candidates turned in paperwork to run for city office by Monday’s filing deadline, setting up a packed November ballot … Continue reading

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On to the next big financial issue for the city

It’s always something. Four years ago, the main source of Houston’s deteriorating financial health — billions of dollars in unfunded pension obligations — loomed over the race for mayor, promising a massive test for the winner. Now, Mayor Sylvester Turner, … Continue reading

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Metro referendum is set

Here we go. Metropolitan Transit Authority board members voted Tuesday to ask voters in November for permission to borrow up to $3.5 billion, without raising taxes. The money would cover the first phase of what local leaders expect to be … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Previous interviews with current candidates

I’ve said a few times that I’m going to be doing just a few interviews this fall. I will start publishing them tomorrow. I may pick up some more for the runoffs, but for now my schedule just does not … Continue reading

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I for one am happy to be anti-drowning

I’m almost irrationally furious about this. Wednesday’s event by the Bayou City Initiative was billed “Flood Resiliency and the State of City Infrastructure.” So, it was no surprise to see featured speaker Carol Haddock, head of Houston Public Works, get … Continue reading

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July 2019 campaign finance reports: Mayoral candidates

All right, now that we are past the 15th, most of the campaign finance reports are in, so let’s start reviewing them. Because there are several thousand candidates running for office in Houston, I’m going to split them into several … Continue reading

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“Pay to play” petition drive falls short

Womp womp. The political action committee that launched a petition drive aimed at limiting the influence of contractors and vendors at Houston City Hall failed to gather enough signatures to put the measure on the November ballot, the group’s director … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Chron covers the #BoycottBoykins story

They don’t mention the hashtag, though. Houston city councilman and mayoral candidate Dwight Boykins is facing backlash for a recent incident in which he allegedly advised a group of students to “keep their legs closed,” among other comments that some … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Sue Lovell announces for Mayor

Sure, why not? Former Houston city councilwoman Sue Lovell announced Monday she is running for mayor, becoming the fourth major candidate aiming to deny Mayor Sylvester Turner a second term in November. Lovell made the announcement in a news release … Continue reading

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#BoycottBoykins

The headline is a hashtag started on Twitter as a result of this. Several Sugar Land families say they’re stunned and upset with how city council member and mayoral candidate Dwight Boykins addressed a room of teenagers Friday, even starting … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , | 23 Comments

Metro and the Mayor’s race

This went pretty much as one would expect. Delivering his fourth State of Mobility speech to Transportation Advocacy Group-Houston Chapter, Mayor Sylvester Turner echoed previous years, noting the region needs more options than solo driving if it is to handle … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Buzbee billboard lawsuit dismissed

I did say it was a dumb lawsuit. A state district judge has dismissed challenger Tony Buzbee’s lawsuit against Mayor Sylvester Turner and advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor over a series of billboards for the city’s AlertHouston campaign. In the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2019, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments