Just dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s here.
CM Letitia Plummer
Houston voters will elect a new City Council member in November who could play a formative role in shaping city policy for the next eight years.
The council on Wednesday voted to set a Nov. 4 special election date to fill Letitia Plummer’s seat after she resigned to run in the Democratic race for Harris County judge.
[…]
Plummer’s campaign launch didn’t remove her from the council immediately. Another stipulation in the [resign-to-run] law allows her to maintain her seat on the Houston City Council until her successor is named in November.
The timing of Plummer’s announcement was intentional. Had she announced sooner, the city would have been forced to hold an election earlier, which could have cost the city between $3 million and $5 million. The special election that put Mayor John Whitmire in December 2023 cost the city $5 million.
Candidates have already begun to put their name in the hat to replace Plummer. Among those candidates include Dwight Boykins, who once served on City Council representing Houston’s Museum District and Third Ward, and Alejandra Salinas, a local lawyer and member of the Greater Houston LGBTQ+ Chamber of Commerce’s board.
Candidates have until 5 p.m. on Sept. 3 to file for the seat. Early voting runs from 0ct. 20 to 31, and the election will take place Nov. 4.
See here for the background. I admit I hadn’t realized that CM Plummer was still serving, but since the same situation applies to Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee, I should have.
I don’t understand that sentence about the “special election that put Mayor John Whitmire in December 2023”. That was a runoff, we have them every cycle. Maybe the Chron was just trying to show what a citywide special election might cost, based on the cost of a different non-November election. Still at best a confusing example.
As noted before, Alejandra Salinas was the only candidate to file a July finance report. I expect there to be more candidates, but we won’t know what their fundraising looks like until the 30-day reports are published in October.
Thus far, there has been one gay Latina candidate and three Black candidates. If the Republicans can get excited about the election, it wouldn’t surprise me if they win that seat, given the expected low turnout. Will they run someone?