Tag Archives: Peter Brown

Brown on the air, take two

Posted on September 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Peter Brown continues his air campaign with a new TV ad: I thought the first one was good, and I think this one is better. Team Peter has done a nice job with Brown’s overall brand – Brown is the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Mayorals talk about the economy

Posted on September 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Greg and KTRK: Annise Parker: Gene Locke: Peter Brown Roy Morales: I presume that each team was told they had up to two minutes to film themselves talking about the economy in whatever fashion suited them. Locke’s struck me … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Mayorals talk about the economy

We have traffic, yes we do

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, no surprise. Surprise, surprise. The No. 1 road for traffic congestion in the entire state is — drumroll, please — the stretch of Interstate 45 between the North Loop and Beltway 8. In fact, Harris County was home to … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

KHOU polls the Mayor’s race

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We have a data point going into the Labor Day weekend. “The vast majority of voters are still undecided about who to vote for,” said 11 News political expert Bob Stein. “They’re simply unfamiliar with the candidates.” In the poll, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Brown’s energy plan

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Completing our trifecta of Mayoral policy examinations, we come now to Peter Brown’s energy plan. As with other policy matters, Brown goes into more detail than the others – David Ortez recently wrote that Brown is “winning the policy campaign”, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Parker’s education plan

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Next up for review we have Annise Parker’s education plan. I should note that while the press release about this plan came out last week, a lot of the ideas within the plan have been on the table for awhile. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Bonding Metro

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It wouldn’t be Metro if there weren’t drama. Metro has not obtained performance or payment bonds to cover all the planned construction of four new light rail lines, and some officials say that could put taxpayer dollars at risk. Metro … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Locke’s crimefighting plan

Posted on August 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the past week or so I’ve had several Mayoral candidate issue papers hit my inbox. As there was one from each campaign, I thought I’d try to do a little analysis of each of them. We’ll start today with … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Peter Brown on the air

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As noted last week, Mayoral candidate Peter Brown will start airing TV ads this week. A preview of the first ad, which doesn’t appear to be embeddable yet, can be seen here. It’s basically an intro spot, and it hits … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

It’s all about the runoff

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Professor Murray also comments on the Marc Campos post that assessed the state of the Mayoral race, and he hits on a lot of the same points that I did, with some more detail. And just in time, as it … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

An early assessment of the Mayor’s race

Posted on August 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Marc Campos writes: H-Town’s Mayoral candidates still do not want to SHOW ME THE TV so I have to give the advantage at this time to Annise Parker. The later the ad wars get going, the better for Annise. Let’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Peter Brown’s traffic plan

Posted on August 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today I want to take a closer look at Peter Brown’s traffic plan, the highlights of which you can see here, with the longer and more detail-filled form here (PDF). My thoughts: – As with Annise Parker’s crimefighting plan, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

How you gonna pay for those new cops?

Posted on August 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron asks a reasonable question about the promises being made by the Mayoral candidates to hire more police officers. The deep fiscal slowdown facing the city will make it difficult to fund more police academy classes, a factor that … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on How you gonna pay for those new cops?

Parker’s crimefighting plan

Posted on August 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Tis the season for Mayoral candidates to send out position papers on various issues. I’ve gotten a couple in my mailbox in the past few days and want to spend a little time examining them. First up is Annise Parker’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Intown Q&A with Mayoral candidates

Posted on July 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Intown magazine is one of those freebie publications you’ll find at your coffee shop and whatnot. The current issue has a Q&A with the five Mayoral candidates that’s worth a look. For whatever the reason, their website isn’t set … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Intown Q&A with Mayoral candidates

City or county?

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Like Nancy Sims, I was at the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce candidate forum yesterday morning. And like Nancy, I thought this bit was one of the more interesting parts of the debate. Several questions focused on city finances and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The five-thousand dollar club

Posted on July 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

David Ortez does some digging through the campaign finance reports for the three Mayoral contenders and comes up with a list of those who gave the legal maximum of $5000 to each. Gene Locke is the big winner, with more … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The five-thousand dollar club

The immigration question in the Mayor’s race

Posted on July 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Man, we need comprehensive immigration reform we can all live with. The city’s plans to step up cooperation with federal authorities in efforts to deport illegal immigrants is garnering new debate in the 2009 mayoral contest. Latino advocates have pressed … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Twenty-one questions

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I meant to link to this earlier, but didn’t manage to get to it. It’s a 21-question survey of mostly personal and non-political things for the Mayoral candidates done by local blogger David Ortez, who got responses from the three … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Twenty-one questions

City campaign finance reports come rolling in

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As the campaign finance reports for City of Houston races come online, I’ve been collecting all the reports and putting them together into an easier-to-read format. I’ve also received a bunch of press releases, which I’ll be reproducing beneath the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Parker reports $800K raised for Mayoral race

Posted on July 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Tomorrow is the deadline for filing campaign finance reports for City of Houston elections. In the meantime, expect campaigns that did well in that department to announce their results ahead of time. One such announcement comes from the Annise Parker … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Interview with Karen Derr

Posted on July 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today we start my series of interviews for the November 2009 elections. I hope interview as many candidates for City Council, City Controller, and Mayor as possible, as well as candidates for HISD Trustee. First up is Karen Derr, who … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

HFD’s shame

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I really don’t know what there is to say about the recent ugliness within the Houston Fire Department. It’s a shame and an outrage, and I sincerely hope the steps Mayor White is taking go a long way towards making … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Turner not running for Mayor

Posted on June 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Mayoral field for this November should now be set. State Rep. Sylvester Turner announced today he would not attempt a run for mayor of Houston. The 11-term Democrat representative’s announcement comes a little more than three weeks after he … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Another Mayoral wants Hurtt out

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s just Roy, so it’s not like this materially affects Chief Harold Hurtt’s status, but still. “We want police officers to stay,” said Harris County Department of Education Trustee Roy Morales, one of five candidates who talked about crime and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

HOPE press conference on employee efficiency suggestions

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Ever think that the city’s employees probably have some good ideas for how they could conduct their business in a more efficient manner? Well, the Houston Organization for Public Employees (HOPE) thought so, and they conducted a three-week survey of … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on HOPE press conference on employee efficiency suggestions

Graduation rates

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

According to one study, a little more than half of HISD’s high school freshmen ultimately graduate. Despite dozens of commencement ceremonies planned for the next two weeks, only 58.5 percent of Houston-area students who should be graduating will be earning … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Parker on education

Posted on May 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, I noted that Mayoral candidates Peter Brown and Gene Locke expressed very different opinions at a candidate forum about the Mayor’s role in public education, with Brown advocating an urban school district with Mayoral appointees for its board, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Grading the Houston Mayoral campaign websites

Posted on May 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

David Ortez casts a critical eye at the campaign websites of the Mayoral hopefuls, and grades them out on things like design, content, and social networking. It’s an interesting exercise, and one for which an aesthetic imbecile such as myself … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Grading the Houston Mayoral campaign websites

Brown and Locke spar over education

Posted on May 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

At a Mayoral forum on Thursday, Gene Locke and Peter Brown get into it over the school system. Gene Locke, the former city attorney, targeted Councilman Peter Brown’s recent statement to the Chronicle that Houstonians should consider forming an urban … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Bring on the funk

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This may be the most awesome thing of this election season. The Houston Politics blog will go to the ends of the mirth to bring you political news from the edge. This explains why we were in the wings of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: Bring on the funk

The Mayorals and gambling

Posted on April 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

What the Mayoral hopefuls think about expanded gambling in Texas, in particular for the Houston area, is an interesting question, but I’m not sure it’s a relevant one. Three candidates for Houston mayor bobbed and weaved today as they were … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Mayorals and gambling

Council OKs TIRZ deal for Regent Square

Posted on April 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The deal to jumpstart Regent Square, the idle development on Allen Parkway, was approved by City Council yesterday. The program, approved unanimously by City Council, will reimburse the developer of Regent Square — a 4-million-square-foot community that will abut Allen … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Council OKs TIRZ deal for Regent Square

ITL and OTL

Posted on April 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t suppose it really matters what part of town Mayors and Mayor wannabees live in. What does matter is how they want to approach questions of what different parts of town want and need. Candidate and Councilman Peter Brown, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on ITL and OTL