Tag Archives: Election 2015

Pushing for Vision Zero

Posted on July 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jay Crossley opines in the Chron for a lower speed limit in Houston. Texas law requires a 30 mph speed limit in the city of Houston on local residential streets unless a different speed limit is posted. If you are … Continue reading →

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TOP calls for changes in construction incentives

Posted on July 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Prime Property: Members of the Texas Organizing Project stood with signs across from a 40-story building under construction at Preston and Milam just off the park on downtown’s north side. The group was hoping to draw attention to the … Continue reading →

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Circling back to city finances

Posted on July 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. This time, [City Finance Director Kelly] Dowe insists, the $126 million deficit he projects for the budget year that starts next summer is not going to disappear, as past projected shortfalls have. … Continue reading →

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Sales tax revenues take a dip

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t freak out just yet, but do be a little worried. Houston’s 53-month consecutive span of year-over-year sales tax revenue gains has come to an end, five months into an energy slump analysts said could dent the city’s economic numbers … Continue reading →

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Harris County road bond

Posted on June 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County voters may be asked to vote on a bond issue this fall. Rapid population expansion and development in unincorporated areas of Harris County have strained roads, facilities and infrastructure so much that for the first time in eight … Continue reading →

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Turner and Garcia lead early Mayoral poll

Posted on June 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We have our first polling numbers for the 2015 Mayoral election. Sylvester Turner and Adrian Garcia have emerged as the clear front-runners in the first independent poll before the election that will determine Houston’s next mayor. The KHOU – Houston … Continue reading →

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Bell wants Meyerland flooding investigated

Posted on June 24, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a story about flooding and the Mayor’s race, but not the story about flooding and the Mayor’s race you might have been expecting. Mayoral candidate Chris Bell on Sunday called for an independent investigation into why so many Meyerland … Continue reading →

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Meet your Constitutional amendments

Posted on June 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A pretty uninspiring bunch, if you ask me. Now that the dust has settled on the 84th Texas Legislature, voters are getting the first official look at which constitutional amendments they will be voting on come November. Texas Secretary of … Continue reading →

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ReBuild Houston and the Mayor’s race

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about the conservative voters, because no one cares what anyone else thinks. When the most conservative candidate in the Houston mayor’s race dropped out two months ago, the battle to win over right-leaning voters became a two-man show: … Continue reading →

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ReVote Houston?

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mayoral candidate Bill King calls for a do-over on Renew/ReBuild Houston. Houston mayoral candidate Bill King wants to put ReBuild Houston, the city’s controversial streetand drainage program, back up for a vote. […] King, the most vocal opponent of ReBuild … Continue reading →

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New litigation against ReBuild Houston

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected at this point. A class action lawsuit has been filed against the city, seeking to reimburse residents who pay the drainage fee that helps fund ReBuild Houston, the multibillion-dollar streets and drainage improvement program that voters narrowly … Continue reading →

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There are too many questions that need to be answered before we can talk about expanding HPD

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Chief McClelland is going to have to start answering them if he wants support for increasing HPD’s budget. Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland last year asked City Council for $105 million over five years to hire hundreds of new officers, … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court deals a blow to ReBuild Houston

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Houston’s divisive, multibillion-dollar effort to fund two decades of street and drainage improvements faces an uncertain future after the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the ballot measure voters narrowly approved in 2010 obscured the nature and cost of … Continue reading →

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Taylor wins SA Mayor runoff

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And it’s over. Interim San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor claimed victory Saturday night, defeating Leticia Van de Putte for a full term in the mayor’s job and dealing the former state senator a tough loss in a city central to … Continue reading →

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Runoff day in SA

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I think I speak for a lot of people when I say I’m glad the San Antonio Mayoral runoff is almost over. We hope, anyway. After weeks of bruising attacks — and at least one hand left unshaken — the … Continue reading →

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No more LGBT liaison at the Sheriff’s office

Posted on June 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So according to the Houston Press, it would seem our new Sheriff is not exactly comfortable with gay people. First, he told to his surprise at a Republican club meeting that the HCSO website has a small rainbow flag tucked … Continue reading →

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Flooding as election issue

Posted on June 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose this was inevitable. As thousands of Houstonians recover from the recent storms, the flooding is emerging as a political issue. Mayoral candidates are criticizing the city’s drainage infrastructure, attacking an unfinished project along Brays Bayou – around which … Continue reading →

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The Trib on the big Mayor’s races

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Those being the Houston and San Antonio Mayors races, with a look at how candidates of color are faring. If former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte wins the runoff for San Antonio mayor next weekend, she’ll become the Alamo … Continue reading →

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On regulating city lobbyists

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Still a work in progress, it would seem. Four years after Mayor Annise Parker’s administration tightened Houston’s lobbying rules and pledged to enforce them, not a single person or firm has been cited despite records showing that many lobbyists have … Continue reading →

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The other stuff that got discussed at the third forum

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The third Mayoral candidate forum on Saturday was supposedly about “labor and workers’ rights”, but of course the story is all about the great and powerful pension question, because there’s been so little coverage of it and where the candidates … Continue reading →

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On the environmental challenges to the Houston region

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I turn the mic over to Jim Blackburn, in a reprint of an article he wrote for Offcite in 2014. The future of the City of Houston might be more affected by extreme weather events than by any other factor. … Continue reading →

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More on the proposed I-45 changes

Posted on June 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Offcite reads the documents and provides some bullet points. 1. I-45 Would Rival I-10 in Width The plan would dramatically widen I-45 to more than 30 lanes in certain sections. North of 610, I-45 would rival the Katy Freeway in … Continue reading →

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Reviewing the Mayoral websites

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reviews the candidates’ online presence so far. Five months before voters head to the polls, the candidates’ digital platforms are up and running, but most are heavy on biography, light on ideas. “They’re checking the box. They have … Continue reading →

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Early look at the Controller’s race

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We have our first race overview story of the season, with a focus on the Comptroller and whether the successor to Ronald Green will be more visible and possibly antagonistic towards the new Mayor, or more of the same lower-key … Continue reading →

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Mayoral candidate forum season is underway

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

They talk about the arts. Houston’s mayoral candidates were full of praise for the city’s arts scene Wednesday, when they appeared at a forum together for the first time, though most said they would not support raising taxes or allocating … Continue reading →

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Making Pearland wet

Posted on June 6, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It always amazes me that there are still cities that don’t allow alcohol sales in this day and age. Absher is one of about 1,000 Pearland residents who have signed a petition to remove all restrictions on the city’s alcohol … Continue reading →

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Taking decentralization too far

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Seriously? The governor and attorney general might have to work in Austin, but under a proposed constitutional amendment, they won’t have to live there. Under the proposed amendment, the century-old requirement that state leaders reside in the capital city would … Continue reading →

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What now for Terry Grier?

Posted on June 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The HISD Superintendent is in the last year of his contract, and it’s not clear whether it will get extended or not. Kashmere has made limited strides as one of the schools in Superintendent Terry Grier’s signature reform effort, called … Continue reading →

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Three legislators announce their departure

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The first to say goodbye is Rep. Sylvester Turner. Representative Sylvester Turner fought back tears today as the House gave him a bipartisan farewell as he concluded a 26-year legislative career to run for Houston mayor. “My time is up. … Continue reading →

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Election 2015 page is up

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

If you look at the top of my homepage, you will see a tab up in the top right for my Election 2015 tracker. It’s a listing of all the candidates that were known to me at the time I … Continue reading →

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Moving equality forward in San Antonio

Posted on June 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the Rivard Report: Members of San Antonio’s lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community want the city’s next mayor to follow the lead of Dallas and Houston and expand the 2013 non-discrimination ordinance (NDO) to include private companies. … Continue reading →

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Mayoral candidate forum season gets underway

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Gentlemen, start your oratorical engines for these upcoming Mayoral candidate forums. The events, which will focus on arts and culture, economic development, and labor and community concerns, kick off a months-long cycle in which the candidates will appear before various … Continue reading →

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From the “Who not to vote for” files, part 1

Posted on May 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The embedded image is a scan of a mailer we got about two weeks ago. Abel Davila is a former HCC Trustee; his wife Diana, whom I had originally heard was interested in running for District H, is a former … Continue reading →

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I-45 Coalition gives its feedback to TxDOT

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jim Weston of the I-45 Coalition sent the following feedback to TxDOT regarding their plans for remaking I-45 in and around downtown. Through-out all Segments: 1.1 – All existing sound barrier walls must be replaced. Past agreements to install sound … Continue reading →

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