Category Archives: Local politics

As noted before, there will be a referendum on the ballot to alter the changes made to the city charter by 2004’s Proposition 2. Two referenda, actually: Voters will decide whether to alter the revenue cap known as Proposition 2, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mayor White has a plan for helping the homeless in Houston. As one of several new city initiatives to battle homelessness, White is asking Houstonians not to give money to street beggars, but instead to donate to organizations that help … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The anti-immigrant forces may not get a proposition on the ballot this November, but Mayor White intends to have one that would modify the revenue cap proposition that was passed in 2004. He had a couple of potential versions of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s too bad this wasn’t scheduled for when the Ringling Brothers folks were here. We could have had two circuses in town at the same time. At least the protests outside were small and relatively peaceful. And may I just … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like the earlier reports of City Council redistricting were premature. Apparently, there’s not a definitive answer to the question of whether or not Houston’s population now exceeds 2.1 million, which would trigger a requirement to redistrict and add two … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Houston’s continued population growth may trigger a need to redraw City Council boundaries so as to include two new district seats. The decision, Mayor Bill White told the council Wednesday, would depend on whether updated U.S. Census Bureau estimates, expected … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Aw, what a pity. Time is running out on a citizens group’s attempt to change the Houston Police Department’s policy on illegal immigrants, and it’s unlikely it can get a referendum before voters this fall, City Attorney Arturo Michel said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s time to call the “debate” over the Houston Police Department’s policy concerning illegal immigrants for what it is. Unfortunately anyone who believes this so-called debate, fueled by a group that calls itself “Protect Our Citizens,” has anything at all … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Via Marc Campos, a response from Council Member Carol Alvarado to this dumb idea. In response to those that wish to make our Houston Police Department an I.C.E. arm (Homeland Security’s Immigration Customs Enforcement), Houston City Council Member Carol Alvarado … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt is about to get graded by the rank and file, and he’s expecting to see some harsh evaluations. Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt said he looks forward to reading the results of a survey from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Pardon me for saying so, but this is a complete no-brainer. Houston’s candidates and political action committees aren’t required to file campaign-finance disclosures electronically, making the information more difficult to access and analyze, open-government advocates say. […] In Houston, paper … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So according to this story, one of the motivating factors in the petition drive to force a vote on HPD’s policy on checking immigration status is the meaning of the phrase “sanctuary city”. I think the whole thing is a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t really have much to say about this ugly plan to turn the Houston Police into an arm of the INS. Let’s put aside the question of why the movers behind this idea want to turn a federal problem … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Meet the new boss of the Harris County Sports Authority. The sports authority’s board voted unanimously to hire Janis Schmees as its executive director. She was given the mandate of bringing more events to the city – even though the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Harris County Treasurer Jack Cato passed away earlier today. Cato, 70, has been county treasurer since 1999. From 1995 to 1998 he was the spokesman for the Houston Police Department. Cato also spent 25 years with KPRC-TV working as a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Harris County DA Chuck Rosenthal’s office is subpoenaing documents from two companies that hired former Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado as a political consultant. DA investigators have spent the past couple of days in San Antonio and the Austin area … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Checking in again on the story of the four employees of the Mayor Pro Tem’s office who were fired (technically, suspended indefinitely without pay, which according to Houblog is a kind of administrative limbo designed to make the employee resign), … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chronicle runs a story on Carol Alvarado today that’s one part biography/career retrospective and one part political obituary. The big question: Will she ever be able to run for political office successfully again? “Even taking the best case, that … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The search for evidence in the investigation of improper bonuses to Mayor Pro Tem staff continues. The key issue of whether city employees implicated in a payroll-padding scandal had approval from Councilwoman and former Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado led … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Another questionable memo from the Mayor Pro Tem’s office has turned up, this time with the apparently forged initials of former Council member Gordon Quan, who was Mayor Pro Tem from 2002 to 2003. The document with Quan’s initials is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

More documents have been taken by investigators from the District Attorney’s office looking into the improper bonuses paid to staffers in the Mayor Pro Tem’s office. Earlier Tuesday, a source told 11 News five or six investigators took about five … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One more item on my catchup list: Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado has stepped down from that post (for now, anyway, or so she says), and the four staffers who got paid the illegal bonuses have been fired. Mayor Bill … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Carol Alvarado: “`I intend to temporarily – temporarily, make sure y’all wrote that down right – step aside from the Office of Mayor Pro Tem pending the outcome of the grand jury investigation.” Anne Linehan: “We got it. Temporarily. Wanna … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado has written a letter to her constituents and another to the public taking full responsibility for what happened in her office. The public letter is printed as an op-ed in today’s paper. I’ve got a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You can give it whatever fancy name you want. I know damage control when I see it. An investigation into payroll padding at City Hall intensified Monday, as Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado spoke for two hours with Houston police … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Mayor Pro Tem office manager implicated in the unauthorized bonuses business had testified to City Council last year that the requested budget increase was for office supplies. Explaining a proposed budget increase for the Houston office of Mayor Pro … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The more we learn about what happened with those unauthorized bonuses to staffers in the Mayor Pro Tem’s office, the less we seem to know about how it all happened. The city office where four employees received unauthorized bonuses saw … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I don’t have much to say about this story, in which Mayor Pro Tem Carol Alvarado says “that’s not my handwriting!” on forms authorizing those unauthorized bonuses. It’s still too early to say whether anyone other than those currently accused … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Nothing like allegations of unauthorized bonuses paid to City Hall staffers to shake things up downtown. Four employees in Houston City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado’s mayor pro tem office were placed on administrative leave today after city officials said “payroll irregularities” … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mayor White gave his State of the City address yesterday. Tory was there, and he has some of the highlights. The Chron also has an audio link for the speech, so you can hear the whole thing yourself. Continue reading →

A district court judge has issued a summary judgment in favor of last year’s City Proposition 2, which was a revenue cap measure that was passed by the voters but not implemented because a different proposition got more votes. The … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron takes a look at the new makeup of City Council. After Tuesday’s inauguration, the ideological makeup on the council will switch — from a slight edge of Republican members to one favoring those who, like White, are Democrats. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ooh, I hadn’t realized this: A flood of new residents could make it necessary to create new City Council districts and re-draw all the boundaries. Houston’s growing pains are everywhere from housing to driving to voting. “When the population of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Good for you, Ray. Radio personality and political activist Ray Hill will receive a lifetime achievement award from the Houston chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union on Friday for his advocacy on behalf of prisoners and of homosexuals and … Continue reading → Continue reading →