Tag Archives: Houston City Council

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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Fixing sidewalks

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I like this. Houston’s leaders often decry the condition of city sidewalks, whether missing, overgrown or buckled by tree roots. Then there’s the safety risks when pedestrians are forced to walk on the crumbling concrete or adjacent streets. But the … Continue reading →

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Pothole progress

Posted on April 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Hooray. Two months after Mayor Annise Parker called Houston’s pockmarked streets a “crisis situation” and pledged to clear a mounting pothole repair backlog, the city has reduced open work requests by about 1,000 despite a steep increase in calls for … Continue reading →

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Robinson resigns from HCC Board

Posted on April 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, it’s campaign season. Carroll Robinson, who has served as a Houston Community College trustee since 2012, will leave the college board to focus on his run for city controller, he announced Friday. In a letter announcing his resignation, Robinson … Continue reading →

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Council approves Memorial Park plan

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Done deal. The plan, which could see up to $300 million invested, also would restore the park’s ecosystem, which was greatly harmed in the 2011 drought, through ambitious plans to add fire suppression and irrigation systems and improve drainage to … Continue reading →

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What kind of Memorial Park do you want?

Posted on April 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Council is set to vote on the Memorial Park Conservancy plan, whether you like it or not. Joe Turner does not want more drawings gathering dust on a shelf. Houston’s parks and recreation director inherited more than a few unrealized … Continue reading →

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Two challengers emerge in At Large #5

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

After Jan Clark bowed out in At Large #5, incumbent CM Jack Christie was left with no opponents after he announced his intent to run for re-election. That lasted until yesterday. Early in the morning, this email hit my inbox. … Continue reading →

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Alvarado’s term limits bill

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: State Representative Carol Alvarado has filed HB 2917 that, if passed by the Legislature and approved by voters, would change the city’s term limit structure to two four-year terms for the mayor, city controller and councilmembers. “The … Continue reading →

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Police officers’ pension fund speaks up

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The firefighters’ pension fund is the one that gets all the attention, but it’s not the only one the city is responsible for. The Houston Police Officers Pension System (HPOPS) has sent a letter to the city reminding it that … Continue reading →

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Christie will not run for Mayor

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: Jack Christie announced this morning that he will run for a third term as the At-Large Five Member of Houston City Council. Christie stated, “Numerous people asked me to run for Mayor, which was incredibly flattering, but … Continue reading →

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How many candidates are too many?

Posted on March 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Rivard Report brings up a point I hadn’t considered before. Candidates or their representatives arrived at City Council chambers Monday morning to draw lots to determine the order of name placement on the ballot. As candidates waited in the … Continue reading →

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At Large comings and goings

Posted on March 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Atlas Kerr, who will be running in At Large #3 against CM Michael Kubosh. I am an accounting and finance double major at the University of Houston’s Bauer College of Business. I have in-depth knowledge over capital budgeting, debt/bond … Continue reading →

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Overpass groundbreaking

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Progress. After years of conflict among community members and leaders, construction of Metro’s new Harrisburg overpass is officially underway in Houston’s East End. “It’s not just a bridge; it’s going to be a landmark in the city,” Metropolitan Transit Authority … Continue reading →

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Council’s pension meeting

Posted on March 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It was about what you’d expect. Many City Council members who attended a special meeting Friday to discuss Mayor Annise Parker’s controversial deal with the city’s firefighters pension called the gathering a success, despite two members walking out and breaking … Continue reading →

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Council recommends term limits change

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Meh, I say. A Houston City Council committee Tuesday night recommended changing the term limits of elected officials from three two-year terms to two four-year terms starting in 2019, a charter change that could go to voters in November. The … Continue reading →

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Council meeting called to discuss firefighter pension deal

Posted on March 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Some Council members are determined to discuss the deal Mayor Parker made with the firefighters’ pension fund. Four City Council members have taken advantage of a rarely used provision in city law to call a special meeting Friday to discuss … Continue reading →

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Costello makes his official entry

Posted on March 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That makes him number five of some as yet unknown number to make that announcement. Houston City Councilman Stephen Costello pitched himself Monday as a no-frills, no-nonsense politician who would address the city’s problems like the engineer he is if … Continue reading →

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Revenue cap will stay in place

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Boo, hiss. Houston voters will not be given the option this fall of passing a property tax hike after a City Council committee on Thursday unanimously recommended leaving the city’s much-maligned revenue cap alone. […] The topic has received less … Continue reading →

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Two Council challengers to incumbents

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So far all of the action we’ve seen for city offices has been for the open seats being vacated by term-limited incumbents. Recently I became aware of two folks who plan to run for offices that will have incumbents on … Continue reading →

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Should Lane Lewis resign as HCDP Chair to run for Council?

Posted on February 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That’s the question some people are asking. “What I want is someone who is going to be, at least in the political world, dedicated 100 percent to the mission of advancing the ideals of the Democratic Party,” said John Gorczynski, … Continue reading →

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More candidate updates

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another Council hopeful tosses his hat into the ring, though we don’t know exactly which office he intends to seek just yet. Tom McCasland, who took over the Harris County Housing Authority after it suffered in scandal, will run for … Continue reading →

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On Council and charters

Posted on February 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Council continues considering charter changes. (Go ahead, say that five times fast.) The Charter Review Committee’s proposal would allow for six council members to add an item to the agenda for consideration by the full City Council. Under the current … Continue reading →

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