Tag Archives: Houston

HISD Trustee runoff overview

Posted on December 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the two runoffs for HISD Trustee. It echoes a theme from that Examiner story we saw yesterday. The outcome of the races could reshape several board debates — particularly over wages for construction workers, efforts … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day 4

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Consistency, thy name is early voting runoff turnout. Here are the in-person totals for each of the days so far: Monday = 5,834 Tuesday = 5,726 Wednesday = 5,787 Thursday = 5,772 Flat as Houston itself. It’ll be interesting to … Continue reading →

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District F runoff overview

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the District F runoff. The condensed version of Al Hoang’s vision for Sharps town’s shopping center echoes a Reagan-era foreign policy pronouncement: Tear down this mall. Mike Laster’s recent work on Sharpstown Mall is more … Continue reading →

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Meet the HISD Parent Visionaries

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned the group HISD Parent Visionaries a couple of times in this space. Here’s an article about them from the Examiner. Parent Visionaries was spawned after HISD’s former superintendent, Dr. Abelardo Saavedra, voiced an interest in eliminating or reducing … Continue reading →

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Fingerprint problems

Posted on December 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Lovely. An audit of the Houston Police Department’s fingerprinting comparison unit revealed so many problems that investigators will be reviewing all violent crime cases for the past six years, officials said Tuesday. Major problems in the Latent Prints Comparison Unit … Continue reading →

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Locke sorta kinda explains the Hotze endorsement

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is, for what it’s worth, which isn’t much. I guess if you can truly convince yourself that Hotze’s endorsement wasn’t about Annise Parker’s sexuality, you can believe it’s okay to accept it. I don’t know what there is … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day 3

Posted on December 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the spreadsheet. Basically, three near-identical days for in person voting. At this rate, about 75,000 ballots will be cast before Election Day. I think it will be higher than that, but I don’t think by much. For comparison, here’s … Continue reading →

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Liveblogging tonight’s Mayoral debate

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

No, not me. David Ortez, over at Hair Balls. It’s just getting underway now. I’m sure Twitter will be lighting up with commentary as well, so head over there or run for the hills, as the case may be. UPDATE: … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day Two

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The early vote spreadsheet has now been updated to include Day Two. Short story, about the same number of in person votes, fewer mail ballots returned, two day total of 17,480. Again, not too shabby considering the crappy weather. Maybe … Continue reading →

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What the others are saying about Hotze’s endorsement

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So here’s the Chron coverage of the Hotze endorsement. Of the many things I find unfathomable about this, here’s the item at the top of the list. Kris Banks, president of Houston’s GLBT Political Caucus, which has endorsed Parker, questioned … Continue reading →

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Controller’s runoff overview

Posted on December 1, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview of the Controller’s runoff. Two points of interest to note. One is what presence, if any, the two candidates will have on the airwaves. Tactically, both campaigns said they intend to focus on direct-mail, block-walking and … Continue reading →

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Runoff EV report, Day One

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve updated my early vote spreadsheet from the first round to include the early vote totals for the runoff. Note that this is almost entirely City of Houston – there are a few Bellaire voters in there, and maybe a … Continue reading →

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Me in the Trib

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You might have noticed, when you opened your metaphorical copy of the Texas Tribune this morning, that they’re hosting a discussion between myself and David Benzion on the merits of Houston Mayor and (by God we sure hope he’s a) … Continue reading →

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Early voting starts today

Posted on November 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today marks the start of early voting for all of the runoff elections, which include Houston, Bellaire, and HISD. Early voting schedule and locations can be found here; remember that EV locations outside of Houston city limits are mostly closed, … Continue reading →

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Hotze endorses Locke

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

It’s what we’ve all been waiting for, and now it’s on its way to a mailbox near you, as local hatemeister Steven Hotze has endorsed candidates in all six City of Houston runoffs and sent a mail piece out touting … Continue reading →

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Lovell v. Burks

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And here’s the Chron story on the At Large #2 runoff, featuring Council Member Sue Lovell and Andrew Burks. Unlike Jones v. Christie, my opinion that CM Lovell will retain her seat is much more common. Burks does have a … Continue reading →

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Jones v. Christie

Posted on November 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And here’s the Chron overview of the At Large #5 runoff between Council Member Jolanda Jones and former SBOE member Jack Christie. I’ve said before that I like CM Jones, and I plan to vote for her in the runoff. … Continue reading →

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District A runoff overview

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Now that we’re into the runoff season, it looks like the Chron will finally do a bit more in depth coverage of the races that are still unresolved. Yesterday, they ran this overview of District A and the remaining candidates … Continue reading →

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Locke releases his tax returns

Posted on November 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

On Wednesday, Mayoral candidate Gene Locke released his tax returns, about two weeks after Annise Parker released hers. I’m not sure what took him so long, since apparently there’s nothing particularly remarkable about them, but that’s neither here nor there … Continue reading →

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Council turnover

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One underappreciated aspect of this year’s election is that we may wind up with more than two new At Large City Council members. We started with two open seats, and with incumbents Sue Lovell and Jolanda Jones in runoffs, the … Continue reading →

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Get well soon, Pancho Claus!

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

See you at the parade! The Houston actor best known locally as Pancho Claus still plans to make his annual holiday appearance in the Thanksgiving Day parade despite suffering a heart attack last week. Richard Reyes, who has portrayed the … Continue reading →

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Trustee Marshall endorsed by former opponents

Posted on November 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

In the runoff for HISD Trustee in District IX, incumbent Trustee Larry Marshall received the endorsement of the third and fourth-place finishers, George Davis and Michael Williams. I find that a little odd, since one presumes when they ran to … Continue reading →

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Early voting locations set for runoff

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via press release from the County Clerk’s office, some dates to mark on the calendar: IMPORTANT DECEMBER 12, 2009 JOINT RUNOFF ELECTION DATES First Day of Early Voting – Monday, November 30, 2009 Last Day to Apply for Ballot by … Continue reading →

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Red light camera amnesty

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Got a red light camera ticket that you haven’t paid? Want to get it taken care of but fear there may be consequences for having waited so long? Well, now’s your chance to do it, as HPD has announced a … Continue reading →

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Metro and the sales tax

Posted on November 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Metro chair David Wolff would like to see the portion of the sales tax revenue that gets diverted from its coffers to Harris County and the smaller cities go back to Metro. Wolff believes METRO can build significantly more if … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: For Annise

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As noted yesterday, the Chronicle endorsed Annise Parker for Mayor in the runoff election. With city tax revenues eroded by the continuing recession, the next occupant of the office must be a prudent fiscal manager as well as a leader … Continue reading →

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2009 Runoff Candidate Meet and Greet

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Want to meet the candidates who are in the December 12 runoff? Here’s your chance: You are invited to attend … 2009 Runoff Candidate Meet and Greet DECEMBER 3, 2009 – 6:30 PM – The Upper Kirby Building (details below) … Continue reading →

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Houston Women Fire Fighters Calendar

Posted on November 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Via Mike McGuff, the women of the Houston Fire Department have gotten in on the calendar-for-charity act, something their make colleagues have been doing for awhile. Here’s what it’s all about. Our mission is to represent the diversity, strength, and … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Second time’s the charm

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Among the runoff elections, only one does not include a candidate that was endorsed by the Chron in the first round. That race is City Council At Large #1, and today the Chron made their choice for the runoff by … Continue reading →

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Oh, and avoid Blakemore, too

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We already know why you should stay away from Steven Hotze. But Allen Blakemore is the Horace and Jasper to Hotze’s Cruella de Vil, and the same warning applies to him as well. But don’t take my word for it, … Continue reading →

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City goes for electric cars

Posted on November 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is cool. A deal between the city and Reliant has the electric retailer converting 10 of the city’s new Toyota Prius gasoline-electric hybrids into plug-in vehicles with greater fuel efficiency and the ability to recharge through a standard home … Continue reading →

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He coulda been a contender

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Poor Roy. “I thought we were bullied, personally,” Roy Morales told me this morning. The conservative mayoral candidate was describing a lunch-time meeting he attended Wednesday with Gene Locke’s campaign manager, Christian Archer, at the offices of political consultant Allen … Continue reading →

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More on that KHOU/KUHF poll

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the full polling data for that KHOU/KUHF poll. Of greatest interest to me is the bit where they note that they asked people whether they’d voted in the November election; about 75% of them said Yes. Given that turnout … Continue reading →

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Third poll shows Parker leading

Posted on November 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And we have our first poll from a source other than one of the campaigns, but like those two before it, this one shows Annise Parker in the lead. The poll consisted of 500 telephone interviews with registered Houston voters … Continue reading →

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