Category Archives: Local politics

You may recall last year’s Propositions 1 and 2, which were revenue cap measures on the City of Houston ballot. Both passed, with establishment-backed Prop 1 getting more votes. The city says that means that by the Houston charter, only … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Does Harris County Tax Assessor Paul Bettencourt ever say anything else? The average Houston-area homeowner’s taxes rose 7.5 percent this year, a rate that could cause tax bills to double in nine years, Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Paul Bettencourt said … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I was unfortunately not able to make it to Friday night’s Johnson-Rayburn Dinner, but Greg and Stace were, and they both provide detailed recaps for your reading pleasure. Perry was also there, and he brings a little good news from … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It’s a little outside my normal patch, but I drove down to Clear Lake last night to attend the Bay Area New Democrats (BAND) party at Tequila Willie’s restaurant. The place was packed – at a guess, I’d say 250 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Yesterday’s Chron had this interesting overview of the two most powerful people in Harris County that you’ve never voted for and may have never heard of, Art Storey and Dick Raycraft. They’ve been a bit more prominent than usual in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Audit warns staffing shortage hampering Houston’s 911 center City Controller, Anisse Parker, has put out the results of her audit on the Houston Emergency Center and the results aren’t good: Parker’s report cites “pervasively” low morale among the center’s employees, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I can’t believe I missed this story last week, but fortunately Jonathan (who can use words like “metaethics” in a blog post without looking silly) caught it. Spurred on by Janet Jackson’s “wardrobe malfunction” at the 2004 Super Bowl, county … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Local activist Ray Hill, the founding father of Houston’s GLBT Political Caucus, is retiring from the activist life. Hill’s extended activist career irreverently will be celebrated today at “The Well Deserved Roast of Ray Hill,” set for 7:30 p.m. at … Continue reading → Continue reading →

County Commissioner Steve Radack says he will not run for reelection in 2008. His decision will set off a political free-for-all typical on the rare occasions when an incumbent vacates one of the powerful commissioners’ seats, Radack said. He plans … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I join with Stace in saying a sad goodbye to HCDP Executive Director Susan Gates, as she and her husband prepare to move to Portland next month. I haven’t known Susan for as long as Stace has, but like him … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Cinty Controller Annise Parker has announced an audit of the SafeClear program in order to get a better grip on how much the free tows are costing the city. Mayor Bill White admits there have been a lot of changes … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I’ll be at the Houston Democratic Forum meeting tonight to hear Dr. Richard Murray, Keir Murray, and Heidi Kirkpatrick talk about the new progressive think-tank called the Texas Research Foundation they’re organizing. This has been in the works for awhile … Continue reading → Continue reading →

My slightly belated congratulations to John Cobarruvias of HoustonDemocrats.com for being recognized by KHOU for his good works as a volunteer with Homeowners Against Deficient Dwellings. “We help everbody who has a defect with a homebuilder,” said Cobarruvias. “We do … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Ted Barlow gets a chance to hear Rep. John Culberson at a local town hall meeting. Despite not having a recording device, he gives a pretty darned detailed account. Check it out. Continue reading →

Noted for future reference: arguments made in the lawsuit over whether the city of Houston is required to adopt last year’s Proposition 2 in addition to Prop 1, even though Prop 1’s language barred that from happening. I assume Mayor … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Greg has a long list of rumors of candidates jumping into and out of this race and that in the Houston area. I don’t have anything to add to it at this time, though I’ll join with the commenter who … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mayor White’s compromise has carried the day in the smoking wars. Houston City Council voted today to ban smoking in restaurant dining areas but not bars, accepting Mayor Bill White’s compromise between anti-smoking forces and economic interests. The Council rejected … Continue reading → Continue reading →

County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill responds to the earlier story in which he criticized City Council members for not being more in opposition to Mayor White and to the criticism he received for that story. There’s nothing here that I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill’s petulant whine about insufficient partisanship on City Council gets roundly panned today in this Chron editorial and in the letters to the editor. blogHOUSTON is also critical, though more of Woodfill’s Jared-come-lately tactic. I … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I keep trying to blog about this story, in which Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill cries about Republicans on City Council voting on issues like SafeClear as they see fit rather than by party fiat, but I keep laughing … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Mayor White made his State of the City address yesterday, which you can find here. The Chron has a bunch of stories relating directly and indirectly to the items mentioned in this address. I’ll start with the two big proposals … Continue reading → Continue reading →

A couple of emails have hit my inbox this week with the news that former Houston City Council member Eleanor Tinsley has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I just want to take this opportunity to offer her my best wishes … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Seems like just last week we were looking back on how successful a year Mayor Bill White had in 2004. (See also his interview in the Texas Observer.) Since then, White has been pummelled for problems with the Safe Clear … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Kristen Mack takes a look at Year One of Bill White’s term as Mayor. White can count several successes after a year in office, even as he faces a continuing tight budget, complaints from some City Council members that they’re … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Interesting article about how Asian-Americans have made political inroads in Houston. Hubert Vo’s strong showing against entrenched state Rep. Talmadge Heflin in Tuesday’s election is the latest evidence of the rise of Asian-Americans in Harris County politics since 1994, the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like a compromise has been reached in the effort to ban smoking in restaurants. Mayor Bill White announced Wednesday that he is drafting an ordinance that would ban smoking in restaurants, but not in bars. “I have been listening … Continue reading → Continue reading →

No new symbolic Harris County property tax cuts, anyway. Harris Commissioners Court voted Tuesday to keep the county tax rate the same this year after rejecting County Judge Robert Eckels’ proposal to lower it a quarter-cent. Eckels and county Tax … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron has finally gotten around to replacing the departed John Williams as the weekly local-politics columnist, and I think they made a good choice in Kristen Mack. Most of today’s piece is about the two cap-related city propositions on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I mostly want to take the weekend off from politics, but Houstonians ought to be sure they read this article on the upcoming fight over differing revenue cap proposals. As I said before, I plan on voting against both of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

There will be three city propositions on the ballot this November, two of which are intended to restrict how much the city can spend in a given year. [Mayor Bill] White’s proposed charter amendment, Proposition 1, would limit annual increases … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Smoke ’em if you got ’em, ’cause you may not be able to in as many places as before. Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, the only physician on the City Council, is studying smoking ordinances in other cities with an eye toward … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron editorializes about the financial woes of the Harris County Sports Authority. The Harris County-Houston Sports Authority is not responsible for economic factors that make the sale of $37.2 million in new bonds necessary. The terrorist attacks of Sept. … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Looks like the proponents of the move to roll back Houston’s term limits law have hit a roadblock. Lobbyists and people who do business with the city, among others, were considering a measure that would allow Houston’s mayor, controller and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

LULAC vs. John Culberson. That could be entertaining if it actually happens. The local chapter of the League of United Latin American Citizens has challenged U.S. Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, to a debate. The topic: his proposal to bar immigrants … Continue reading → Continue reading →