Tag Archives: Houston

What about the trans men?

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

ThinkProgress asks a good question. Opponents of HERO, identifying themselves as the “Campaign for Houston,” have blanketed the city with billboards, radio ads, television ads, and other forms of messaging, all of which focus on the singular message: “No men … Continue reading →

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Day 7 EV 2015 totals

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

One week in: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2015 61,008 21,141 82,149 42,938 2013 37,928 14,342 52,270 30,544 The running 2015 totals are here, the full 2013 totals are here, and for completeness the full 2009 totals are here. … Continue reading →

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Day 6 EV 2015 totals: Rain, rain, go away

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here are your rain-soaked Day Six totals: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2015 57,657 21,141 78,798 42,938 2013 35,376 14,342 49,728 30,544 The running 2015 totals are here, the full 2013 totals are here, and for completeness the full … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of HISD Trustee races

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Little late in the game for this sort of thing, but better late than never. With Superintendent Terry Grier leaving in March, the HISD board faces a big decision in choosing his replacement. Voters can help to determine who makes … Continue reading →

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The (mostly) high speed rail extension to Fort Worth

Posted on October 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I hope they can make this happen. A proposed high-speed rail route cutting through Dallas-Fort Worth would go slower than previously planned but would include a station south of DFW Airport, according to a newly unveiled plan. The proposal, which … Continue reading →

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Day 5 EV 2015 totals: Early voting is up (almost) everywhere

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here are your Day Five totals: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2015 48,027 21,141 69,168 42,938 2013 28,303 14,342 42,645 30,544 The running 2015 totals are here, the full 2013 totals are here, and for completeness the full 2009 … Continue reading →

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McNair rescinds anti-HERO contribution

Posted on October 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Well, what do you know? Earlier this month, billionaire Bob McNair, owner of the Houston Texans NFL team, donated $10,000 to the Campaign for Houston, a coalition working to defeat the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO). That campaign has repeatedly … Continue reading →

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Uber returns to San Antonio

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They’re back. The ink had barely dried on the signed operating agreement when ride-hailing firm Uber restarted operations in San Antonio Tuesday, ahead of competitor Lyft, which agreed to a deal in August but has yet to implement services here. … Continue reading →

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Day 4 EV 2015 totals

Posted on October 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Gonna be lazy for one more day. Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2015 36,321 19,789 56,110 42,520 2013 21,193 13,322 34,515 30,096 The running 2015 totals are here, the full 2013 totals are here, and for completeness the full … Continue reading →

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Metro once again considers advertising

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And I once again say go for it. Thursday, Metropolitan Transit Authority board members will consider researching options for putting ads inside buses and trains, as well as text-based ads for those who use the system’s next-bus texting service. Metro … Continue reading →

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Day 3 EV 2015 totals

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

No fanfare today Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2015 27,596 18,196 45,752 41,994 2013 15,595 12,033 27,628 29,538 The running 2015 totals are here, the full 2013 totals are here, and for completeness the full 2009 totals are here. … Continue reading →

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Day 2 EV 2015 totals: Why I’m using 2013 as my basis for comparison and not 2009

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

But first, here’s yesterday’s Chron story about Day One turnout: Turnout as of the first day of early voting in Harris County more than tripled from 2009, when Houston last elected a new mayor, though it is too soon to … Continue reading →

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Dan Patrick buys airtime for anti-HERO ads

Posted on October 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Of course he does. With the start of early voting Monday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick began lending his voice and his pocketbook to radio and TV ads urging Houston voters to reject the city’s embattled equal rights ordinance. At a … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jew Don Boney

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And we come to my final interview of the 2015 cycle. I would have published an interview with Jew Don Boney earlier, but schedule conflicts happen, so here we are now. A longtime community activist, Boney served as an aide … Continue reading →

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Time to get out the vote

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A look at the strategies for turning out the vote for various Mayoral campaigns. In the days before Monday’s start to early voting, Houston’s top mayoral campaigns moved to mobilize their volunteer forces, aiming to ensure their supporters make it … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of HCC Trustee races

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As always, HCC Trustee races don’t get as much attention as they deserve. Since the 2013 election put four new trustees – Zeph Capo, Robert Glaser, Dave Wilson and Adriana Tamez – on the board, one trustee, Carroll Robinson, has … Continue reading →

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Day One EV 2015 totals

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are, fresh from the inbox: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2015 8,889 14,240 23,129 40,626 2013 5,028 8,560 13,588 28,620 The 2015 Day One file is here, and the final 2013 file is here. A few observations: … Continue reading →

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Interview with Adrian Garcia

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of my Mayoral interviews, and almost the end of all my interviews for this cycle. Adrian Garcia was the last major candidate to officially join the race, though he was unofficially in it for months … Continue reading →

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My sense of where things stand right now

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an aggregation of the polls we’ve seen so far: Candidate HAR HRBC KHOU KPRC Avg ======================================== Turner 19 24 19 20 20.50 Garcia 19 14 9 13 13.75 King 10 18 9 14 12.75 Bell 10 11 6 12 … Continue reading →

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The economic impact of the high speed rail line

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It could be a lot, if one study is to be believed. An analysis of a planned high-speed line between Houston and Dallas shows the $10 billion-plus project will have an economic impact roughly three times its expected price tag, … Continue reading →

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Early voting starts tomorrow

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the Harris County Clerk: Early Voting for the upcoming November 3, 2015 Election starts Monday, Oct. 19 and runs through Friday, Oct. 30. There are 41 Harris County Early Voting locations, some of which have changed. The Houston Community … Continue reading →

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A new Uber competitor enters the scene

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s Get Me. Less than two years after Uber disrupted Houston’s taxi market – with most of that time spent largely competition-free – the company now finds itself the established player facing upstart competition. Get Me, a Dallas-based company that … Continue reading →

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KPRC poll: Turner 20, others close together

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another poll with Sylvester Turner in the lead. As of Oct. 15, State Representative Sylvester Turner finishes just ahead of the rest of the pack of 13 candidates with 20 percent of the vote; attorney Bill King gets 14 … Continue reading →

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The phony “bathroom” issue

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I am so tired of this. Although Houston’s 36-page equal rights ordinance makes no mention of public restrooms, access to restrooms has become the focus of a raging public debate with the law set to go before voters on election … Continue reading →

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Chron race overview: District G

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Only two open district Council seats this cycle, and the open District G race has only two candidates. Sandie Mullins Moger and Greg Travis, candidates for Houston City Council District G, have similar objectives in their bids to represent the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Chris Bell

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of this week of Mayoral candidate interviews. I still have one more to go, which will run on Monday, and I will have one more (non-Mayoral) interview to run after that. Today we have Chris … Continue reading →

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Who cares about Bob McNair?

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another bad decision. Houston Texans owner Bob McNair donated $10,000 this week to opponents of the city’s embattled equal rights ordinance, entering the political fray over the law headed to voters in November. McNair, a frequent GOP donor, mailed the … Continue reading →

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Turner’s public agency work

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of the attacks in the Mayoral campaign so far have been aimed at Adrian Garcia, in part to knock him out of second place where he is perceived to be, and in part because there’s some real material … Continue reading →

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Interview with Steve Costello

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with Mayoral candidate interviews. Steve Costello is finishing up his third term as Council Member, At Large position 1, where he has served as chair of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee and chair of the Transportation Policy … Continue reading →

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30 day finance reports, citywide races

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a brief summary of the 30 Day campaign finance reports that I’ve been able to find, some of which are on this page and some of which are findable via the normal campaign finance report website, and all of … Continue reading →

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Chron race overview: District H

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A look at the race in District H, to succeed the term-limited CM Ed Gonzalez. Roland Chavez views city leadership from a labor management perspective with an eye to curbing overtime and ensuring retirement benefits for city workers. He retired … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The state propositions

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There are seven constitutional amendments awaiting your vote on the November ballot. The Chron evaluates them. Proposition 1 The amendment would boost homestead exemption amounts for school district property taxes from $15,000 to $25,000. It also would reduce the amount … Continue reading →

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Interview with Bill King

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with Mayoral candidate interviews. There are many candidates running for Mayor of Houston this year, but only one who has actually been a Mayor before – Bill King, who served two terms as Mayor of Kemah. King is … Continue reading →

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Chron race overview: At Large #1

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview of the race to succeed term limited Council Member (now Mayoral candidate) Steve Costello in At Large #1. M. “Griff” Griffin A perennial candidate in Houston politics, Griffin is running for the council for the 11th … Continue reading →

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