Monthly Archives: December 2009

A gubernatorial threefer

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Debra Medina made her filing for Governor today as well, and she hopes to be allowed in the clubhouse when the big kids get together to play. “Texans deserve a Governor who is more interested in the needs of Texans,” … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day 8

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Before I get into today’s numbers, there was an incident at one of the early voting locations this morning. Police say someone broke into the Hester House Community Center, an early-voting location in the Fifth Ward, overnight, but officials with … Continue reading →

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KBH officially enters the Governor’s race

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

While I never believed that Kay Bailey Hutchison would actually resign her Senate seat in order to run for Governor, I also never believed that she would drop her primary challenge to Rick Perry, even as he played his mind … Continue reading →

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Eight days out finance reports, Green and Khan

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve seen the eight days out finance reports for the Mayor’s race, now here’s the same thing for the Controller’s race. As before, the campaign finance spreadsheet has been updated with all of the raw data. Here’s how it breaks … Continue reading →

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The last debate

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’m not much of a debate-watching person, and we had company yesterday afternoon, so I did not catch the last Mayoral debate. (Judging by David Ortez’s liveblogging, it would seem a lot of people weren’t watching.) I don’t think events … Continue reading →

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At Large #1 runoff overview

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I believe this will be the last of the runoff overview stories. The runoff for an at-large City Council seat has devolved into a battle over the subtle connotations of the phrase “city contractor.” One of the candidates for Position … Continue reading →

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Not-quite-an-endorsement-but-close-enough watch: Roy for Annise

Posted on December 7, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Peter Brown endorsed Annise Parker for Mayor fairly soon after the November election. That left the question about what, if anything, Roy Morales would do. Via Big Jolly, we now know the answer. Apparently, Roy sent out … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day 7

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve had one full week of early voting, with two twelve-hour days to go. As you can see on the spreadsheet, today was the slowest day, with 2,600 voters showing up, giving a total of 43,989 votes. I’ve been remiss … Continue reading →

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Weekend link dump for December 6

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

No planet status for Pluto, no justice. Yeah, I can’t believe there hasn’t been one of these before now, either. Coolio’s kitchen. I got nothin’. James Garfield is in his rightful place, and all is well with the universe. The … Continue reading →

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Parker leads in another poll

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a Zogby poll, so don’t get too excited, but that’s still four out of four since Election Day. While the race for Houston mayor remains too close to call, Parker’s 5.5 percentage point lead stems from advantages among several … Continue reading →

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Eight days out finance reports, Parker and Locke

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Among other things, Friday was the eight days out campaign finance reporting deadline for the city runoffs. The Chron reports on the Mayoral candidates. Both sides aggressively asked for volunteers and donors before the Wednesday deadline. Election rules allowed Parker … Continue reading →

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Salvation Army changes its policy

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. The Salvation Army of Houston will no longer require Social Security numbers from those seeking Christmas gifts, the organization announced today. “It was never our intention to offend anyone with our registration requirement to provide a Social … Continue reading →

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Bye bye, hurricane season

Posted on December 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

More like this next year would be nice. The Atlantic hurricane season ended Monday with barely a whimper: Not a single hurricane came ashore in the United States. Since June, when the season began, just nine named storms developed. Only … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day 6

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today was a beautiful day following yesterday’s snow and ice, there were twelve full hours of early voting, and there were a total of 6,072 in-person ballots cast (no mail ballots today), which is almost indistinguishable from the first four … Continue reading →

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Saturday video break: I triple dog dare ya!

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

A little snow on the ground, and my thoughts turn to this: The secret to getting unstuck, as I understand it, is to pour some warm water over the affected area. I do not know this from personal experience.

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More on the early voting turnout so far

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron writes about the early voting turnout so far. After four days, nearly 10,000 more Houstonians voted early than in the general election, a trend Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman said she predicted. “Voters just weren’t engaged back in … Continue reading →

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Ministers speak out against homophobia

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

More like this, please. A group of Houston clergy members has signed a letter objecting to recent anti-gay sentiment “espoused by those who co-opt religion as a cover for hatred.” The letter reads as follows: We the undersigned religious leaders … Continue reading →

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Carole the chameleon and Kinky the commissioner

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This would be a little too weird. [Bill] White, expected to say Friday that he’s shifting his political sights from the U.S. Senate to the Democratic nod for governor, confirmed Thursday that [former Comptroller Carole Keeton] Strayhorn has tried to … Continue reading →

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The Rick ‘n’ Kay letters

Posted on December 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s always sad to see a relationship go down the tubes, isn’t it? Long before the campaigns of Kay Bailey Hutchison and Rick Perry started calling each other “Kay Bailout” and “Tricky Ricky,” the senator and governor exchanged handwritten birthday … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day 5

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today’s inclement weather may not have closed the polls down, but they did reduce the number of voters by a considerable amount. Only 3287 hardy souls made it out to an EV location, some of which saw fewer than 20 … Continue reading →

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Friday random ten: Tell me what that white stuff falling from the sky is called again?

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

That would be “snow”. Which we don’t get much of here in Houston. But we’re getting it today, and it’s even starting to accumulate. So here are ten songs about snow and/or winter. 1. Snow Day – Trout Fishing in … Continue reading →

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You can still vote today

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

From the County Clerk’s office: Early voting locations for the Joint Runoff Election will remain open as scheduled Houston, TX- Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, the chief elections officer of the County, announced this afternoon that all early voting locations … Continue reading →

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White makes it official

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, between a dead car battery, a preschool that closed early, and a wife that had an unbreakable noon appointment, I am at home instead of at the Bill White for Governor launch. At least I have Elise Hu’s liveblog … Continue reading →

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Today’s the day for Bill White

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re anything like me, you have probably received multiple communications from the Bill White campaign inviting you to come down to the Hilton Americas at noon and hear White say officially what office he’ll be pursuing. The Chron attempts … Continue reading →

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University Line takes a step forward on funding

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Finally! The light rail route known as the “University Line” is close to clearing the first major hurdle for obtaining federal funding. The Federal Transit Authority notified Metro this week that the project has entered a 10-day congressional notification period. … Continue reading →

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HISD Trustee runoff overview

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the two runoffs for HISD Trustee. It echoes a theme from that Examiner story we saw yesterday. The outcome of the races could reshape several board debates — particularly over wages for construction workers, efforts … Continue reading →

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One Voice for Choice

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t usually get involved in the national stuff, but I’m totally on board with this idea and hope you will take action as you can. Ever since Stupak hijacked the health care bill, we’ve been watching.  So far, nothing … Continue reading →

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Taking on Tarrant

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Democrats have made huge strides in Texas’ large urban counties in recent years. The main holdout has been Tarrant County, which has remained solidly blue. Is 2010 the year things change? Maybe not, but it ought to be an interesting … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day 4

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Consistency, thy name is early voting runoff turnout. Here are the in-person totals for each of the days so far: Monday = 5,834 Tuesday = 5,726 Wednesday = 5,787 Thursday = 5,772 Flat as Houston itself. It’ll be interesting to … Continue reading →

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Filing season opens for 2010

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the first day to file for the March 2010 primaries. BOR is following the action from Travis County. No surprises yet – those usually happen later in the period – so far it’s mostly incumbents filing for re-election. … Continue reading →

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District F runoff overview

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the District F runoff. The condensed version of Al Hoang’s vision for Sharps town’s shopping center echoes a Reagan-era foreign policy pronouncement: Tear down this mall. Mike Laster’s recent work on Sharpstown Mall is more … Continue reading →

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Meet the HISD Parent Visionaries

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned the group HISD Parent Visionaries a couple of times in this space. Here’s an article about them from the Examiner. Parent Visionaries was spawned after HISD’s former superintendent, Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, voiced an interest in eliminating or reducing … Continue reading →

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Lampson for Comptroller?

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Former US Rep. Nick Lampson may be getting back in the game. Former Congressman Nick Lampson, a moderate Democrat from southeast Texas, is considering a race for state comptroller, he confirmed this afternoon. “It’s something that I’ve been asked to … Continue reading →

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Fingerprint problems

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lovely. An audit of the Houston Police Department’s fingerprinting comparison unit revealed so many problems that investigators will be reviewing all violent crime cases for the past six years, officials said Tuesday. Major problems in the Latent Prints Comparison Unit … Continue reading →

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