Tag Archives: Houston City Council

Interview with Chris Oliver

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We wrap up our tour of the At Large #1 field with a visit with Chris Oliver, who currently serves as Trustee in HCC District IX. A businessman and graduate of TSU, Oliver has worked as a Congressional aide and … Continue reading →

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Change to term limits will be on the ballot

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Houston voters will decide whether elected city officials should serve two four-year terms rather than three two-year terms starting in 2016, potentially lengthening the terms of some current council members. The City Council voted 12-5 Wednesday to place the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Tom McCasland

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with the deep field of candidates to succeed term-limited CM Steve Costello in At Large #1. Up next is Tom McCasland, making his first run for public office. He does have campaign experience, however, having worked on Bill … Continue reading →

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City says West Gray will be ready for early voting

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I sure hope they’re right. The city’s Metropolitan Multi-Service Center should be partially open and ready for early voting in October after a water main break in late April that shut down the facility. City Council on Wednesday approved a … Continue reading →

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Interview with Lane Lewis

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We are now done with the district Council interviews, so we move on to the At Large races, where most of the non-Mayoral action is happening this year. There are two open At Large seats, and both of them have … Continue reading →

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Change to term limits may be on the November ballot as well

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Mayor Annise Parker’s proposal would wait until 2020 to lengthen City Council members, the mayor and and controller’s terms; while Councilman Jerry Davis is proposing a staggered roll-out starting in 2016. Supporters say the 2020 plan … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Houston GLBT Political Caucus 2015

Posted on August 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Congrats to all the endorsees. A raucous municipal endorsement meeting brought mayoral candidate Sylvester Turner the coveted backing of the Houston GLBT Political Caucus on Saturday, positioning the 26-year state representative to broaden his coalition to include the city’s progressive … Continue reading →

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And now we have a lawsuit over HERO repeal ballot language

Posted on August 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, for crying out loud. Last month the Texas Supreme Court suspended the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, more commonly known as HERO, and ordered City Council to either repeal the non-discrimination measure or put it up for a public vote. … Continue reading →

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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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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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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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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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Revisiting the historic preservation ordinance

Posted on July 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This sort of thing is always fun. Houstonians who live in historic districts, including the Old Sixth Ward, the Heights and the High First Ward, weighed in this week on proposed updates to the city’s rules that create areas preserved … 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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Fighting illegal dumping

Posted on May 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Illegal dumping of trash is a huge problem in some Houston neighborhoods. Enforcement is especially tricky because unless you catch someone in the act, there’s little to no evidence to go on. One way to help catch dumpers in the … Continue reading →

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Mayor Parker’s last budget

Posted on May 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. Despite sounding the alarm for months that a multimillion dollar deficit could force service cuts, new fees and employee layoffs, Mayor Annise Parker rolled out a $5.1 billion city budget on Tuesday that largely preserves spending levels … Continue reading →

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Who you calling lame duck?

Posted on May 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

“Not me”, says Mayor Parker. City Council has voted down or delayed several items put forward by Mayor Annise Parker in recent weeks, events that some City Hall observers interpret as a sign of the term-limited mayor being afflicted with … Continue reading →

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Three bad bills

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Bad bill #1: State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, has been trying for months to pass legislation that would make it tougher for local entities to bring in more tax revenue by taking advantage of rising property values. On Thursday, he … Continue reading →

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Changing pothole procedures

Posted on May 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker seeks to reduce the number of campaign issues for this fall by half. City officials are hoping to replace more concrete segments of streets in lieu of simply patching over Houston’s many potholes, part of an emergency response … Continue reading →

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