Category Archives: Local politics

Earlier this month, HISD agreed to broadcast its monthly meetings on its cable access station. While the promise of making their meetings more transparent to the public was appealing, it would seem there’s still a few bugs in the system. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Rick Casey provides an update on the City Council redistricting lawsuit. The burning question of whether the city of Houston must immediately expand its 14-member City Council by adding two new districts in time for November’s election, or whether it … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I received the following statement from the office of Harris County Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez, which was sent to KHOU and Fox 26 in response to the charges made by State Reps. Garnet Coleman and Ana Hernandez about the voter … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The economic downturn plus the housing market crash means there’s never been a better time for local governments to bid out construction projects, with more contractors than usual getting involved and competing on price. The increased competition has cut costs … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The story about the deputies that were assigned driving duties for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett got an extended play in the Chron thanks to a letter to the editor from Garcia and an email he sent … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I feel like I’ve read this story about part-time drivers for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett before. It reminded me of this one about state Senate staffer salaries, and this one about City Council expenditures. In each … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Is there really a debate about whether or not we should conduct a search for a new HISD Superintendent in an open manner? Because I think the choice is clear. The Greater Houston Partnership, which represents the business community, is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

As you know, I’ve been following the issue of Houston City Council redistricting with a lot of interest. After the lawsuit was filed a week ago Thursday, I wanted to speak to the protagonists and ask them some questions about … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like Mayor White has an interesting ally in the city council redistricting debate. Frumencio Reyes, the dean of Houston-area redistricting litigation, said he believes the mayor made the right decision in putting off redistricting. […] Reyes, who has taken … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Orlando Sanchez, speaking last week in a Statesman article about the statewide ambitions of Houston Mayor Bill White, who beat him soundly in the 2003 runoff: He doesn’t discount him but suggests White has gotten a free ride in his … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s today’s version of the story, which adds a little more detail to yesterday’s. Population consultants and planning officials have said that redistricting now would require the city to rely on 2000 census data outlining population figures in voting precincts. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Nice article in Texas Lawyer about what’s been going on in the Harris County District Clerk’s office under Loren Jackson. Lawyers handling civil suits in Harris County district courts will soon have fewer excuses for missing a court hearing. On … Continue reading → Continue reading →