Category Archives: Local politics

LSP says Johnson reassigned from voter registration duties

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s their report. The Lone Star Project has learned that Republican Tax Assessor-Collector Leo Vasquez has reassigned Associate Voter Registrar Ed Johnson from voter registration duties to a communications role. Johnson was exposed by the Lone Star Project as “the … Continue reading →

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Where’d that driver’s license data come from?

Posted on July 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Lone Star Project revisits the matter of Ed Johnson and Dwayne Bohac and their cozy relationship as business partners with a real in at the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office. Last month, the Lone Star Project revealed that Harris … Continue reading →

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The secret Superintendent search continues

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

HISD continues its stealthy ways in seeking a replacement for outgoing Superintendent Abe Saavedra. The Houston school board, trying to protect the candidates’ identities, will interview the job seekers behind closed doors at its headhunting firm’s downtown office. The board … Continue reading →

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Jones versus HPFFA

Posted on July 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yeesh. The head of the Houston firefighters union blasted City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones for her handling of allegations of racism and sexism in the Houston Fire Department, saying in a sharply worded letter on Thursday that she had disparaged “thousands … Continue reading →

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Eversole sets a record

Posted on July 16, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You da man, Jerry! Give credit to Jerry Eversole: When he broke the rules, he did it in a big way. The fine levied against the Harris County commissioner this month is the highest in the history of the Texas … Continue reading →

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Looking ahead to City Council redistricting

Posted on July 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Prof. Murray and Greg take a look at the upcoming redistricting of Houston City Council, with the latter offering a possible map of the to-be-11 districts. I have two things to add to their efforts. One is to wonder just … Continue reading →

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Harris County Jury Assembly Room now has WiFi

Posted on July 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Jury service in Harris County just got a little more pleasant. The following is a press release from District Clerk Loren Jackson: Today’s universal tech boom has given way to ‘digital dependence.’ Harris County citizens are no different when it … Continue reading →

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Council Member Adams sued by former consultant

Posted on July 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Miya has the interesting story. Houston City Council Member Wanda Adams is the defendant in a civil lawsuit. Her former campaign consultant, Kathryn McNiel, has filed suit asking for back consulting fees and legal costs totalling around $47,000. This is … Continue reading →

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Eversole gets slapped by Ethics Commission

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

County Commissioner Jerry Eversole gets hit with a $75,000 fine by the Texas Ethics Commission for failure to accurately report expenses on his campaign finance reports. Eversole said he signed what is known as an “order and agreed resolution” so … Continue reading →

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Hard times for the local GOP

Posted on July 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Nestled into this story about a recent lecture given by Paul Burka at Rep. Ellen Cohen’s town hall meeting is this nugget about the state of the Harris County GOP: In the words of Harris County Judge Ed Emmett, who … Continue reading →

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District H Town Hall meeting

Posted on July 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From Inside Central Houston: A Town Hall Meeting on “Proposed Center Street Recycle Center Relocation” will be 6 – 8 p.m. July 6 at the West End Multi-Service Center, 170 Heights Blvd. It will be hosted by District H Houston … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court approves ethics measures

Posted on June 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s something. The Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a slate of ethics reforms, placing new controls on money and influence in government for the first time in years. After months of infighting and setbacks, the court unanimously and … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court tries again on ethics reform

Posted on June 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

They meet today to try to get something done. After months of political maneuvering, County Judge Ed Emmett is asking commissioners to approve a series of ethics reforms. They include the voluntary registration of lobbyists, online posting of officials’ personal … Continue reading →

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Bacarisse, too

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey jumps on the Ed Johnson bandwagon, and he starts off with the information that former District Clerk Charles Bacarisse was doing the same kind of moonlighting as Johnson was. Bacarisse hired out as a $4,500-a-month consultant to a … Continue reading →

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TDP responds to Vasquez

Posted on June 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From Saturday’s op-ed pages, here’s the Texas Democratic Party’s response, written by the TDP’s legal counsel Chad Dunn, to Leo Vasquez in the matter of Ed Johnson. Johnson’s conflict of interest doesn’t pass the smell test, and during the course … Continue reading →

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Ethics reform is hard

Posted on June 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a long and winding road for ethics reform in Harris County, and it isn’t getting any easier. Harris County Commissioner’s Court next week will consider a series of ethics reforms aimed at increasing accountability for and disclosure of … Continue reading →

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Leo’s response

Posted on June 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here, for the record, is Harris County Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez’s response to the Ed Johnson business. Basically, he denies everything, admits to nothing, and makes counter-accusations, certainly a time-honored technique when under attack. I’ll stipulate that the charges against … Continue reading →

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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 →

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The secret Superintendent search

Posted on June 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Bad idea. Houston ISD trustees decided this afternoon that they will release to the public only one name in the superintendent search — the person they intend to hire. The board, at the urging of its search firm, Heidrick & … Continue reading →

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Chron opines on Ed Johnson

Posted on June 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron follows up its story on Ed Johnson, the local GOP’s ace in the hole in the Tax Assessor’s office, with an editorial that recaps the story and gently chides Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez. Given the recent history of … Continue reading →

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What about Dwayne?

Posted on June 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Lone Star Project turns its attention to Ed Johnson‘s partner, State Rep. Dwayne Bohac. [Friday], the Lone Star Project formally submitted open records requests of Dwayne Bohac, Tax Assessor Collector Leo Vasquez, Harris County DA Pat Lykos -a CDS … Continue reading →

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Chron reports on Ed Johnson

Posted on June 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s their story about Ed Johnson and his questionable side venture as a Republican consultant. It doesn’t add much to what we already know, but it does get some local reaction, including from Johnson’s boss, Harris County Tax Assessor Leo … Continue reading →

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More on Ed Johnson

Posted on June 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As expected, the Lone Star Project adds quite a bit to the Ed Johnson story from yesterday. Boy, do they ever. [Johnson] is a paid Republican campaign consultant. His company, Campaign Data Systems (CDS), has numerous Harris County Republican candidate … Continue reading →

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Ed Johnson’s conflict of interest

Posted on June 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, there was a lawsuit filed against Paul Bettencourt and the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office over allegations of illegal mishandling of provisional ballots in the past November election. That suit was later expanded to include allegations of … Continue reading →

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Houston’s budget

Posted on June 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron asks if the city of Houston’s budget is balanced, then answers that question with a “Well, maybe”. Does the city of Houston have a balanced budget? Like so many things in politics, it depends on whom you ask. … Continue reading →

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More on the City Council redistricting lawsuit dismissal

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the dismissal of the lawsuit, brought by Vidal Martinez and Carroll Robinson. The lawsuit argued the city was violating its own charter by refusing to redistrict and add two council districts when its population passed … Continue reading →

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City Council redistricting lawsuit dismissed

Posted on May 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Marc Campos mentions this in passing: This past Friday, a federal judge threw out Lopez v. City of Houston. That is the lawsuit filed by Vidal Martinez to force the City of H-Town to draw two more district council seats … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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City takes aim at more SOBs

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Eight months ago, the city of Houston succeeded in closing down a strip club, its first such victory after finally getting a favorable verdict in the lawsuit to overturn the 1997 ordinance that more strictly regulated sexually-oriented businesses. They’re now … Continue reading →

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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 →

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Outside agitation

Posted on May 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got to agree with Stace here: Why should anyone in Houston care what some outfit that’s based in Spring thinks about anything related to Houston politics or policies? Last I checked, the citizens of Spring don’t vote in Houston … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Mayor White’s final budget

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here you go. Faced with a dour economic climate, Mayor Bill White unveiled a $4 billion budget proposal on Tuesday that keeps the property tax rate the same and holds spending at what it was the current fiscal year. The … Continue reading →

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We need more early voting locations

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Greg made an observation about the District H result that I’d like to explore a bit. Yolanda’s early numbers were a little surprising as it would have meant a runoff between her and Ed if those numbers held. But even … Continue reading →

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We need more early voting locations

Posted on May 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Greg made an observation about the District H result that I’d like to explore a bit. Yolanda’s early numbers were a little surprising as it would have meant a runoff between her and Ed if those numbers held. But even … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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Help choose the next HISD Superintendent

Posted on April 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The HISD Board of Trustees will hold a series of eight public meetings to get feedback about what people want in their next Superintendent. Heidrick & Struggles, the executive search firm hired by the schol board, will lead the community … Continue reading → Continue reading →

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