Category Archives: Local politics

LWV update

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following email has been sent to League of Women Voters registration volunteers: To Our Voter Registration Volunteers: It is with great pleasure that I write to tell you that we shall after all be able to provide our usual … Continue reading →

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Voluntary to become involuntary

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

That sure didn’t take long. By unanimous vote of City Council, the voluntary furloughs will become involuntary by the end of the year, with Mayor Parker deciding how many enforced unpaid days off are needed to help close the budget … Continue reading →

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Council shakeup

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Things are getting mighty interesting down at City Hall. Mayor Annise Parker has parted ways with two major conservatives on the Houston City Council, removing Councilman Mike Sullivan from his role overseeing redistricting and accepting the resignation of Councilwoman Anne … Continue reading →

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More on Sumners and the LWV

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got some updates on the change in policy by Tax Assessor-to-be Don Sumners regarding voter registrations at naturalization ceremonies. First, Sumners has acknowledged the need to get pre-clearance from the Justice Department for any changes to voter registration procedures, … Continue reading →

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No voter registration for you

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following email, sent from the League of Women Voters registration address to its membership, was forwarded to me. I present it below in its entirity: From: LWV Voter Registration Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2010 3:19 PM Subject: Voter Registration … Continue reading →

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Voluntary furloughs

Posted on December 6, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. Mayor Annise Parker announced a voluntary furlough program for civilian employees in December, the first in what may be a series of difficult steps the city must take to close a $30 million budget deficit … Continue reading →

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City’s finance director leaves

Posted on December 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Make of it what you will. City Finance Director Michelle Mitchell, a former Goldman Sachs veteran who has helped guide Houston through consecutive years of severe budget problems, is leaving her post. Mitchell said she offered her resignation Wednesday after … Continue reading →

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You really can go broke saving money

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The state of Texas has cost itself billions of dollars over the past decade or so by doing things like cutting CHIP and thus losing out on far more federal funds than any savings achieved in the state budget. Harris … Continue reading →

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HPD braces for cuts

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

More than $15 million is going to be cut from HPD’s budget, in part to lost red light camera revenue and in part to the overall budget picture. The equivalent of more than 100 civilian jobs, including temporary workers, will … Continue reading →

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County buys more eSlates

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the election is over and all those borrowed voting machines need to be sent back to their owners, Harris County needs to buy replacements. Commissioners Court has approved an expenditure of $19 million to buy some 4600 eSlate … Continue reading →

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This is what happens when budget cuts are the only tool in your bag

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

You get the government you’re willing to pay for. [F]rom Oct. 23 to Oct. 30, [Peter] Wang counted a total of 12 [traffic signal] outages at various intersections, from Barker Cypress down to Telge Road. He initially thought it was … Continue reading →

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The county’s financial picture is pretty grim, too

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This, too, is ugly. County budget officials are looking for more than $130 million in spending cuts for the fiscal year that begins on March 1. Budget officials and county government department chiefs have three months to come up with … Continue reading →

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The city’s financial picture looks grim

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It’s ugly. A draft of the fiscal 2012 budget, which begins in July, shows a projected shortfall of at least $118 million. For fiscal 2012 through fiscal 2015, the shortfall is an estimated $542 million. […] Several City Council members … Continue reading →

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So what about that elections administrator?

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about Abe Simpson Don Sumners, our new Tax Assessor, is this little nugget: So, if [County Judge Ed] Emmett insists on putting the election administrator position on a Commissioners Court agenda, Sumners said, “I think we … Continue reading →

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OutSmart story on the Fort Bend LGBT Political Caucus

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nice story in OutSmart about the fledgling Fort Bend LGBT Political Caucus, which was formed a couple of months ago. This is one of those websites that’s basically a fancy scan of the print magazine, so you can’t quote from … Continue reading →

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CM Johnson gets no-billed on evading arrest charge

Posted on October 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some good news for Council Member Jarvis Johnson. A Harris County grand jury has declined this morning to indict Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson on charges stemming from his arrest in June for evading arrest, according to his attorney. Johnson … Continue reading →

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DA investigating CM Johnson

Posted on October 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Oops. Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson’s office pressured city officials to certify a security firm as a minority-owned business to win a lucrative subcontract for the company, which later gave a 40 percent ownership stake to a close Johnson associate, … Continue reading →

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The county’s budget woes

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t look now, but Harris County is running really low on cash. The $154 million reserve fund Harris County started its fiscal year with is expected to be nearly gone by March as it gets spent to cover shortfalls in … Continue reading →

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KHOU polls Mayor Parker’s job performance

Posted on September 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

She did pretty well. A majority of voters in Bayou City approve of Mayor Annise Parker’s job performance, according to an exclusive 11 News/KUHF-Houston Public Radio poll released Tuesday. Rice University’s Center for Civic Engagement conducted the poll, which surveyed … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend LGBT Political Caucus happy hour Monday

Posted on August 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, I’m a fan of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus and the work they do. I’m pleased to note that Fort Bend County now has a counterpart to that, the Fort Bend LGBT Political Caucus, which you can … Continue reading →

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More on the red light camera Council vote

Posted on August 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The fuller version of the Chron story addresses the question about whether the petition drive was lawful or not according to the city’s charter. “It is your absolute sworn duty to place this on the ballot,” [Mayor Annise] Parker told … Continue reading →

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Term limits referendum not adopted by Council

Posted on August 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This is a bit of a surprise. The Houston City Council today surprised Mayor Annise Parker and rejected a proposal to change the terms to which city officials are elected from three, two-year terms to two, four-year terms. The seven … Continue reading →

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Is it worth it to just tinker at the edges?

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I mostly feel the same way as the Chron about term limits and the proposal from the Term Limits Commission to alter them. [T]he logic in limiting city officials to three two-year terms, with the necessity for virtually nonstop campaigning … Continue reading →

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Renew Houston proposition officially on the ballot

Posted on August 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

City Council voted to put the Renew Houston referendum on the ballot Wednesday. Details about how much the drainage fee it calls for will be, and other aspects of it are still to be worked out by the city before … Continue reading →

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The residency referendum

Posted on August 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Houston will get two more City Council districts after the 2010 Census is completed. To allow potential candidates sufficient time to adjust to the new map, Council will put a charter amendment on the ballot that reduces … Continue reading →

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The city of Houston’s social media guidelines

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I received the following email from Justin Concepcion, who manages social media for Mayor Parker’s office, in response to the questions I asked in this post about how the city of Houston handles social media: We are in the process … Continue reading →

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ReNew Houston officially makes the ballot

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From their press release: The ReNew Houston Campaign is pleased to announce it has met state requirements for qualified signatures from registered Houston voters to call for a charter amendment to create a dedicated funding source to improve and renew … Continue reading →

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Full fees ahead

Posted on July 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The cost of doing business for Harris County keeps going up. Rising credit card fees have increased that portion of the county government’s banking bill by $1.7 million in two years. In the year that ended in February, the county … Continue reading →

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Opposition to Renew Houston

Posted on July 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last Tuesday, while I was out of town, Council Member Stephen Costello did a presentation about Renew Houston at HCDP headquarters. (CM Sue Lovell was supposed to be with him but was unable to make it because a committee meeting … Continue reading →

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Term limits commission makes its recommendation

Posted on July 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Term Limits Commission finished its work on Monday and voted on a proposal that will be considered by Council. Houston’s Term Limits Review Commission voted Monday night to recommend changing the existing limits from three 2-year terms to two … Continue reading →

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Renew Houston submits petitions

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Renew Houston has submitted signatures to get its drainage improvement proposition on the ballot this November. Renew Houston, a group of influential local engineers, has collected more than 30,000 signatures in a push to seek voter approval for an $8 … Continue reading →

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Water rate rebate passes Council

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in April, Council approved a water rate hike. There were some complaints from apartment owners at the time about the size of the rate increase that would apply to them, and the city agreed to make some changes to … Continue reading →

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DA responds to CM Johnson

Posted on July 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Jarvis Johnson said his piece last week about his recent arrest for not pulling over on a traffic stop. Yesterday, the Harris County District Attorney had their say about it. Houston City Councilman Jarvis Johnson told police he … Continue reading →

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CM Johnson speaks

Posted on July 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Jarvis Johnson has a few words to say about his arrest for evading police on Wednesday. “I want to be very clear about the night in question,” Johnson said at a brief news conference. “I am not going … Continue reading →

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