Tag Archives: Commissioners Court

A brief history of Houston-based political corruption

Posted on December 31, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nice overview of the political crime scene. Houston’s political landscape is littered with careers wrecked or damaged by allegations of wrongdoing, and for watchers of the political scene, the sight of [County Commissioner Jerry] Eversole in cuffs likely rekindled memories … Continue reading →

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What now for Sylvia Garcia

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This story about Sylvia Garcia’s last Commissioners Court meeting leads to the obvious question of what she might do next. A former Houston city controller and an attorney who hasn’t practiced for more than 25 years, she’s still interested in … Continue reading →

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Trying Eversole

Posted on December 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron wonders if the freshly-indicted Jerry Eversole can beat the rap. That will depend on whether federal prosecutors can convince a jury that the gifts Surface gave Eversole and the actions the commissioner took that benefited Surface constitute conspiracy … Continue reading →

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Eversole indicted

Posted on December 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This has been so long in coming I was beginning to wonder if it would ever arrive. Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole pleaded not guilty to federal bribery and income tax charges today. Eversole is charged with accepting … Continue reading →

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The Sports Authority wants you to know it’s working hard for you

Posted on December 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like the Chron should send a bill for its standard advertising rates to the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority for running this op-ed by its chair, J. Kent Friedman. It’s one part victory lap for negotiating the Dynamo Stadium … Continue reading →

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Some Garcia 2002 numbers

Posted on December 13, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

When I did an analysis of County Commissioner Precinct 2 for this year’s election, I said that I couldn’t include a comparison from 2002 because I didn’t have precinct-level data for that year. I got an email the other day … Continue reading →

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It’s getting cheaper to outsource inmates

Posted on December 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now how much would you pay to ship your excess inmates somewhere else? The county now can send an inmate to Louisiana for as low as $23 a day. Changes to the deal with the private Emerald Correctional Management also … Continue reading →

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Council shakeup

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Things are getting mighty interesting down at City Hall. Mayor Annise Parker has parted ways with two major conservatives on the Houston City Council, removing Councilman Mike Sullivan from his role overseeing redistricting and accepting the resignation of Councilwoman Anne … Continue reading →

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Dynamo Stadium lease deal reached

Posted on December 4, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We didn’t get the World Cup, but soccer fans here had something to celebrate this week. The Dynamo have agreed to pay $76 million to build a professional soccer stadium in downtown Houston and then lease it from the city … Continue reading →

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The Grand Parkway takes another inevitable step forward

Posted on November 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No money to fix traffic lights, but there’s always money for the Grand Parkway. Commissioners Court on Tuesday authorized the Harris County Toll Road Authority to negotiate with the Texas Department of Transportation over the development of three Grand Parkway … Continue reading →

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As goes Harris, so goes CC2

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just as HD133 was a microcosm of Harris County in 2008, Sylvia Garcia’s County Commissioner precinct was a miniature version of the county as a whole in 2010. Take a look at how Democratic candidates did in County Commissioner Precinct … Continue reading →

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The county’s financial picture is pretty grim, too

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This, too, is ugly. County budget officials are looking for more than $130 million in spending cuts for the fiscal year that begins on March 1. Budget officials and county government department chiefs have three months to come up with … Continue reading →

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How much would you pay for those inmates?

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County has a new plan for dealing with its overflow jail population. Under the new plan, the county’s purchasing agent would ask for all interested bidders to submit their lowest prices for taking inmates, much like it does for … Continue reading →

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Harris County appoints its public defender

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Meet Alex Bunin, who was unanimously appointed by Commissioners Court to be the chief of Harris County’s first ever public defender office. Bunin, 51, set up federal public defender offices in southern Alabama, Vermont and northern New York. He currently … Continue reading →

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If you’re looking for a focal point

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Democrats will have no shortage of opportunities to play offense in 2012, but if you want to get a head start on that, I have a suggestion. Here’s a bit from this story about Commissioner Sylvia Garcia’s electoral defeat to … Continue reading →

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I’ve had worse days, but not by much

Posted on November 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So as I write this, it looks like the optimistic projections for the Republicans weren’t optimistic enough. Big wins for them in the state, in Harris County, and in the Legislature, where a circa-2003 partisan mix looks like a good … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: One more

Posted on October 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I was wrong when I said the Chron was done with endorsements. I’d forgotten that they hadn’t endorsed in the one contested County Commissioner race. They have now rectified that. In two terms on the five-member Harris County Commissioners Court, … Continue reading →

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“Vote for me, I know nothing”

Posted on October 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

To me, this story about the race in Harris County Precinct 2 between Commissioner Sylvia Garcia and her Republican opponent Jack Morman boils down to this one paragraph: Morman is short on specifics as to how he would cut spending, … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the County Treasurer race

Posted on October 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

With this story, the Chron has overviewed all of the countywide races. The main issue to discuss, of course, is just what exactly is it that the Treasurer does. Four years ago, [incumbent Treausrer Orlando] Sanchez’s Democratic opponent advocated eliminating … Continue reading →

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The county’s budget woes

Posted on September 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t look now, but Harris County is running really low on cash. The $154 million reserve fund Harris County started its fiscal year with is expected to be nearly gone by March as it gets spent to cover shortfalls in … Continue reading →

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Interview with County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia

Posted on September 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Finishing off the county interviews, we have County Commissioner Sylvia Garcia, who has served Precinct 2 since she was first elected in 2002. Prior to that, she served three terms as Houston City Controller, and was Director and Presiding Judge … Continue reading →

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County redoes its public defender proposal

Posted on July 28, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Back in April, Harris County Commissioners Court voted to start a pilot public defenders office, contingent on getting a $4.4 million grant from the Texas Task Force on Indigent Defense to help cover costs. That initial effort was subsequently criticized … Continue reading →

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Radack’s Hill update

Posted on July 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Texas Watchdog has an interesting story on Radack’s Hill, also known as the Hockley Soap Box Derby track. I note that Commissioner Radack is still hard at work pumping up the economic prospects of his pet project. According to Radack … Continue reading →

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Elections administrator proposal will get a study

Posted on June 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Like it or not, Commissioners Court is going to consider the possibility of creating an appointed elections administrator position. The Court orders studies as preludes to formally adopting a public policy change. Dick Raycraft, director of management services, was charged … Continue reading →

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Eversole and Radack get jail overcrowding religion

Posted on June 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Actually, what County Commissioners Jerry Eversole and Steve Radack have is a case of criticize-the-Sheriff-itis. Harris County Commissioner Jerry Eversole implied at meeting earlier today that the county’s sheriff, Adrian Garcia, acted improperly and wasted tax payer money when he … Continue reading →

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Harris County CIP will ignore Hempstead managed lanes

Posted on June 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Earlier this month, I blogged about the status of the US 290 expansion, for which TxDOT’s plan rested on the assumption that the Harris County Toll Road Authority would go forth with the construction of managed lanes along Hempstead Highway. … Continue reading →

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More on the three options for the Dome

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As promised last week, we now have more information on the three options for the Dome. The Sports & Convention Corporation hosted a news conference Monday to present the broad outlines of three possible plans for the 45-year-old Astrodome and … Continue reading →

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The cheapest jail cell is the one you don’t use

Posted on June 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Newton County. Commissioners Steve Radack and Jerry Eversole held up renewal of a contract with Newton County on Tuesday, and suggested that Harris County needs to do more to get the cheapest possible jail beds. “If the dollars are … Continue reading →

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Ellis criticizes county’s public defender proposal

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Sen. Rodney Ellis, who authored the bill that allowed Texas counties to create public defender offices, is not pleased with the plan that Harris County currently has to establish one. Ellis and other critics of the system say it … Continue reading →

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Auto salvage yards

Posted on June 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This recent Chron story about the county cracking down on auto salvage yards raised a couple of interesting points. The county long has been able to come after the yards for spills and drainage problems. This year Commissioners Court gave … Continue reading →

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Is the county’s public defender proposal good enough?

Posted on June 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This op-ed by Charlie Baird, judge of the 299th District Court in Travis County, and William Sessions, former chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas, suggest that the start-up public defender’s office that Commissioners … Continue reading →

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Three options for the Dome

Posted on June 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve been talking for a long time now about what is to become of the Astrodome. Harris County officials have some possible scenarios to discuss next week as part of a master plan for Reliant Park. Like it or not, … Continue reading →

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Emmett speaks about his county elections administrator proposal

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

County Judge Ed Emmett has a brief op-ed in the Chron to respond to some concerns about his proposal to study the possibility of an appointed elections administrator. There have been several false statements made that an elections administrator would … Continue reading →

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Casey and the Chron on an elections administrator

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey sums up the recent proposal by County Judge Ed Emmett to consider adopting a non-partisan elections administrator for Harris County: While Dallas and Tarrant counties have found it a source of electoral confidence and stability, Bexar County went … Continue reading →

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