Tag Archives: Election 2015

HERO affirmed by Council

Posted on August 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s official – HERO will be on the ballot this fall. City Council voted to affirm Houston’s equal rights ordinance Wednesday, a move that will send the law to voters in November per a Texas Supreme Court ruling. City Council … Continue reading →

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Interview with Steve Le

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As noted, District F is a diverse and growing area, out along the southwest part of Houston, including a piece of Fort Bend County. A lot of District F residents are immigrants or children of immigrants. One such person is … Continue reading →

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Pastors file a lawsuit over HERO

Posted on August 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Organizers of the anti-Houston Equal Rights Ordinance petition have filed suit against Mayor Annise Parker, saying she and unnamed “conspirators” unconstitutionally rejected valid petition signatures and “smothered the Citizen Referendum Petition in … Continue reading →

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Defending HERO

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a big job, but we can get it done. “We’re going to do everything we can to win HERO at the ballot box,” [Houston GLBT Political Caucus] president Maverick Welsh said. It would be Houstonians’ third time voting on … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Richard Nguyen

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

One more set of District Council interviews before we move on to the At Large races. District F covers a stretch of fast-growing, very diverse southwest Houston. It was the location of the biggest political upset of the 2013 election, … Continue reading →

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Hall for all the haters again

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Enjoy the attention while it lasts, dude. Already a staunch opponent of the nondiscrimination law, Hall has become more vocal in the wake of last week’s Texas Supreme Court ruling that City Council must repeal the ordinance, known as HERO, … Continue reading →

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HISD and HCC finance reports

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s what we know, though it’s incomplete. Fundraising among most HISD board members was slow during the first half of 2015. Board president Rhonda Skillern-Jones, who plans to seek re-election to her District 2 seat this November, raised the most … Continue reading →

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Harris County will have a bond issue on the ballot

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

More things to vote on this November. Commissioners Court voted unanimously Tuesday to put four bond measures totaling $848 million on the November ballot to address tremendous population growth in Harris County during the past two decades. “When you consider … Continue reading →

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Pasadena City Council member Cody Ray Wheeler announces for HD144

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: I am excited to announce that I have decided to seek the Democratic nomination for State Representative District 144. As a Pasadena City Councilmember, I have worked hard to ensure that under-served communities have a voice in … Continue reading →

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If HERO then no other ballot items

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Makes sense. With her signature nondiscrimination law likely to appear on the November ballot, Mayor Annise Parker left in doubt Wednesday whether she will ask City Council to also place before voters long-discussed changes to term limits and the city’s … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jim Bigham

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

District J is a geometrically compact district with a high population density, carved mainly from the former District F and anchored in the Sharpstown area. It is in Sharpstown that we meet Jim Bigham, who is challenging two-term incumbent CM … Continue reading →

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Judge rules Wilson petitions must be counted

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Supreme Court. Thanks a hell of a lot. City of Houston officials must count the signatures on a petition filed by anti-gay activist Dave Wilson, who is seeking a vote to amend the city charter and bar men “who … Continue reading →

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A closer look at Controller finance reports

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Last week I took a closer look at the campaign finance reports for Mayoral candidates. Let’s do the same for the Controller candidates. Candidate Raised In Kind Spent Loans On Hand ========================================================== Robinson 46,170 3,908 33,908 0 5,033 Brown 267,750 … Continue reading →

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TOP/SEIU Mayoral forum report

Posted on July 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From David Ortez: After the dust settled, the forum commenced with the hosts explaining the four pillars of their platform. It boiled down to: 1) Good Jobs; 2) Neighborhoods of Opportunity; 3) Infrastructure; and 4) Immigrant Rights. At the end … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Mike Laster

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the two open District Council seats, there are several District Council members who have drawn opponents for November. I am going to focus on two of these races, with the first one being District J this week. … Continue reading →

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Hall for all the haters

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

He is who we thought he was. Houston mayoral candidate Ben Hall said Thursday he signed a petition seeking to define gender identity and prevent men “who perceive or express themselves as women” from entering women’s restrooms because he wants … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court rules HERO must be repealed or voted on

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Houston City Council must repeal the city’s equal rights ordinance or place it on the November ballot. The ruling comes three months after a state district judge ruled that opponents of Houston’s … Continue reading →

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Mayoral finance reports: Out of town cash and max donors

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

You may have noticed that there’s a lot of money in the Mayoral race this year, even after subtracting what the candidates have given or loaned to themselves. You may be wondering where all that money came from. This post … Continue reading →

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Seeking GLBT support in the Mayor’s race

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In a crowded field where a small number of votes could be the difference between making the runoff and not, endorsements will be of greater importance. One endorsement that several Mayoral candidates would really like to have if the endorsement … Continue reading →

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Interview with Greg Travis

Posted on July 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come now to our second and final interview in District G. There are only two candidates for this open seat, which is a lot fewer than you might normally expect. It’s quality that matters more than quantity, of course, … Continue reading →

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Mayoral finance reports: PACs and consultants

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s take a deeper dive into Mayoral candidate fundraising by examining one of the main categories of raised funds, and one of the main categories of spent funds. I speak of PAC money for the former, and consultant fees/staff salaries … Continue reading →

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Controller philosophies

Posted on July 21, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a Chron story from a candidate forum for Controller candidates at which the main subject was the relationship that Controllers have with Mayors. “It’s the second-highest elected official in city government, and it needs to be independent to provide … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sandie Mullins Moger

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We move on now to the other open district seat, which is District G, currently held by CM Oliver Pennington. G is a Republican district stretching out to the west, just south of I-10, encompassing the Energy Corridor, the Galleria, … Continue reading →

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Will there be TMF-Menendez round 2?

Posted on July 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Who knows? Last February, Jose Menendez beat Trey Martinez Fischer to serve the remainder of Leticia Van De Putte’s term when she decided to run for mayor. Campaign finance reports filed Wednesday may point to a rematch this fall. … Continue reading →

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It’s hard out here on a recycler, part 3

Posted on July 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A story in the WaPo about the ongoing struggles of the recycling business. Once a profitable business for cities and private employers alike, recycling in recent years has become a money-sucking enterprise. The District, Baltimore and many counties in between … Continue reading →

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Mayoral ad spending

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a look at one of the more visible aspects of all the money that Mayoral candidates have raised or loaned themselves so far. Despite taking in a total of more than $7 million, Houston’s mayoral candidates spent … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jason Cisneroz

Posted on July 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the last of the interviews I did in District H, where current Council Member Ed Gonzalez is termed out. Today’s candidate, Jason Cisneroz, is a former staffer for CM Gonzalez, and for CM Adrian Garcia before him. … Continue reading →

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Finance reports come trickling in

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As always, the Mayoral reports lead the story. Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia closed out the first half of the year with more than $1.3 million in the bank, eclipsing City Councilman Stephen Costello by a mere $7,423. According … Continue reading →

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Interview with Karla Cisneros

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with candidates in District H, where incumbent Council Member Ed Gonzalez is term limited. Today’s interview is with another Heights neighbor of mine, Karla Cisneros. Cisneros is a longtime educator and education activist, having served six years on … Continue reading →

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Campaign finance reports may be a bit more interesting this cycle

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And by “interesting”, I mean in the Chinese curse sense. From the city’s campaign finance reports page: In April 2015, the Texas Ethics Commission released a new Electronic Filing Application. The changes made have to do with the separation of … Continue reading →

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Our forthcoming early voting problems

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is the view in front of the West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, also known as the busiest early voting location in Houston. 8,390 people voted early here in the 2013 election. There was a water main break there, which … Continue reading →

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Parker wants a vote on lifting the revenue cap

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So do I. Mayor Annise Parker plans to press City Council this month to reconsider loosening a decade-old revenue cap for public safety spending as talk of a looming budget deficit and possible service cuts grows more ominous around the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Roland Chavez

Posted on July 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And so we begin another campaign candidate interview season. I will be talking to candidates in various contested races on the ballot here this fall and presenting those interviews to you over the next three months. (Yes, it takes that … Continue reading →

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Initial Mayoral fundraising totals

Posted on July 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Lotta money being raised out there, though not quite as much as the topline totals say. Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia was first out of the gate with his figures, announcing Tuesday that he raised $1.5 million since announcing … Continue reading →

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