Tag Archives: City Council

A look ahead to Fort Bend County elections in 2017

Posted on January 4, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

(Note: From time to time I solicit guest posts on various topics, from people who have a particular interest or expertise in a particular topic. I don’t know much about local and municipal elections in Fort Bend County, so today’s … Continue reading →

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Pasadena voting rights case in the judge’s hands now

Posted on December 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

We await a ruling. Armed officers guarded a closed-door committee meeting. Discriminatory comments surfaced at City Hall. Latino-backed council members were hustled from chambers by police. The accounts of perceived intimidation and back-door dealings were detailed during testimony in a … Continue reading →

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Pasadena voting rights trial update

Posted on November 22, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Day One: The disparity in infrastructure is at the heart of a voting rights case that opened in federal court Thursday in which a group of Latino residents is challenging the city’s newly revised system of government, saying it discriminates … Continue reading →

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Pasadena voting rights trial begins

Posted on November 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron’s Mike Snyder provides an update. [This] week in a Houston federal courtroom, [the Voting Rights Act] will again be invoked in a challenge to an allegedly discriminatory council system, this time in a suburban city that’s undergone a … Continue reading →

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Pasadena voting rights case moves forward

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good news. A federal judge has denied Pasadena’s request to throw out a lawsuit challenging its controversial city council redistricting plan, which a group of Hispanic and Latino residents alleges dilutes the voting rights of the suburb’s growing minority population. … Continue reading →

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El Paso revises its rideshare rules

Posted on August 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Uber gets its preferred regimen. The El Paso City Council approved an ordinance designed to ease regulations and fees on taxis and ride-sharing companies like Uber. Amendments to the Transportation for Hire Ordinance, which Council approved unanimously on Tuesday, requires … Continue reading →

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Representation in Richmond

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

One of the smaller elections going on right now has some important questions to answer. Every time Tres Davis drives over the cracks in the streets of North Richmond, he remembers why he’s fighting for change. There are few sidewalks … Continue reading →

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Lubbock to consider rideshare ordinance

Posted on March 30, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

You know what that means. Uber drivers may soon be required to have background checks and operational permits in the city of Lubbock, a move that in the past has prompted the company to pull out of some Texas cities. … Continue reading →

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Austin will vote on rideshare ordinance revision

Posted on February 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The month of May just got a lot more interesting. Let the people choose how to regulate Uber and Lyft, a divided Austin City Council decided late Thursday. The council, on a 2-8-1 vote, declined to adopt an ordinance underlying … Continue reading →

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Pasadena plaintiffs get details on Mayor’s campaign spending

Posted on February 13, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A federal judge said Wednesday that a political action committee aligned with Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell must turn over hundreds of pages of internal documents in an ongoing lawsuit over the voting rights of Hispanic and Latino residents. Attorneys … Continue reading →

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Two more places that Uber won’t operate

Posted on February 4, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Goodbye, Galveston. Just days after the City Council passed an ordinance designed to regulate transportation networks, Uber has shut down its service in Galveston. Monday evening, people in Galveston who tried to use the phone app to order a ride … Continue reading →

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Petitioners may force vote to change Austin rideshare ordinance

Posted on January 20, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Assuming there were no shenanigans, this is an impressive show of force. A group looking to overturn an Austin ordinance requiring fingerprinting of ride-hailing drivers said Monday it has gathered more than 65,000 petition signatures, more than three times what … Continue reading →

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Pasadena activists want details on their Mayor’s campaign spending

Posted on January 8, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Good. A group of Hispanic voters that accuses the city of Pasadena of diluting its voting rights is asking that a political action committee with ties to the mayor turn over records of communications with voters. The PAC — Committee … Continue reading →

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Austin passes new vehicles for hire regulations

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’ll be very interesting to see how this plays out. Defying implied threats that such a vote would chase Uber and Lyft out of town, the Austin City Council late Thursday put into city statutes mandatory fingerprint-based background checks for … Continue reading →

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The Dallas Equal Rights Ordinance

Posted on November 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Buckle up. Chapter 46 of the Dallas City Code, which was passed in May 2002, makes it illegal to discriminate against someone based on sexual orientation. The ordinance, which applies to everything from employment to housing, has defined sexual orientation … Continue reading →

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If you really want to improve turnout in city elections

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is a plan that would do it. Councilman Ron Nirenberg [recently] called for a major change to local elections that he says would boost voter turnout and bolster public participation. The councilman said he’s spent years considering ways to … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail updates

Posted on September 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From last week, San Antonio City Council gets set to make a financial commitment to the Lone Star Rail line. San Antonio is expected to make its first financial commitment to building the Lone Star Rail line next week when … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail District to ask SA Council for funding

Posted on August 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not so much for now, but over time there will be real money spent. Officials with Lone Star Rail District (LSRD) have asked City Council to allocate up to $500,000 in the city’s 2016 fiscal year budget to help fund … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jenifer Pool

Posted on August 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with At Large #1, where term-limited incumbent Steve Costello is now running for Mayor. Today’s candidate is Jenifer Rene Pool, who is making her third attempt to win a citywide race; she finished third in a crowded field … Continue reading →

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Lone Star Rail faces Council vote in San Antonio

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a big step. While there is little opposition to the idea of a commuter rail line (the LSTAR) between San Antonio and Austin, the City takes serious pause when confronted with the yearly costs of operation and maintenance. But … Continue reading →

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Pasadena City Council member Cody Ray Wheeler announces for HD144

Posted on August 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: I am excited to announce that I have decided to seek the Democratic nomination for State Representative District 144. As a Pasadena City Councilmember, I have worked hard to ensure that under-served communities have a voice in … Continue reading →

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Van de Putte and Taylor in SA Mayor runoff

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte is set to face San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor in a runoff for the city’s top job. With 95 percent of all precincts reporting late Saturday, Van de Putte led … Continue reading →

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Getting nasty in Pasadena

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell is not on the ballot this year, but he’s definitely involved in the Council elections. A political action committee (PAC) with ties to Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell contributed more than $20,000 to three candidates in the … Continue reading →

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The At Large trend

Posted on March 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Think Progress: Yakima, WA is one-third Latino, but a Latino candidate has not been elected to the city council for almost 40 years. Santa Barbara, CA is 38 percent Latino, but only one Latino has been elected to its … Continue reading →

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What if they threw an election and nobody ran?

Posted on March 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Congratulations, Katy! The Katy City Council on Monday night canceled May’s municipal elections after no one sought to challenge the mayor and two other incumbents. The deadline to file to run was at the end of February. The only candidates … Continue reading →

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Revised SA vehicles for hire ordinance not good enough for Uber

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

That would be a nope. With an impending council decision, efforts by the city to revise its vehicles-for-hire ordinance to convince the ride-hailing companies Lyft and Uber to remain in San Antonio appear to have only left both sides in … Continue reading →

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More on San Antonio’s vehicles for hire re-try

Posted on February 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There are multiple issues to be resolved. Uber and Lyft representatives are cautiously optimistic about what will come out of the small group of City officials that continue to work on a rideshare ordinance that softens the regulatory blow to … Continue reading →

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San Antonio may try again on vehicles for hire

Posted on February 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Very interesting. Key players at City Hall are crafting an eleventh-hour amended ordinance to stop Uber from leaving San Antonio, 10 days after the rideshare company announced plans to end service here if one of the nation’s most restrictive ordinances … Continue reading →

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Uber to leave San Antonio

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not unexpected. Uber management sent a letter to Mayor Ivy Taylor and City Council Wednesday, warning that the rideshare service will leave San Antonio on March 1 unless the recently-passed existing is modified or repealed. Uber representatives say the new … Continue reading →

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On playing small ball

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Campos reacts to Mayor Parker’s future statewide plans. And here again is my small ball take from a few weeks ago: It is time for small ball instead of the big inning. In baseball, small ball is a strategy where … Continue reading →

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Don’t forget about Pasadena

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s still a lawsuit in the works regarding their 2013 redistricting referendum that switched their Council from an eight-member all-district makeup to six districts and two At large seats, all at the behest of Mayor Johnny Isbell. Pasadena is preparing … Continue reading →

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Interview with Diego Bernal

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

For the second biennium in a row, there are legislative special elections going on during what many of us think of as the Christmas break. That’s not so great for the people involved in those campaigns, since it’s hardly a … Continue reading →

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San Antonio City Council passes vehicles for hire revision

Posted on December 12, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Unlike Dallas, it’s the cab companies that are happy about it. After nearly three hours of debate Thursday, the San Antonio City Council voted 7-2 to approve new rules for ride-share companies Uber and Lyft that provide service in the … Continue reading →

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Plano passes equal rights ordinance

Posted on December 10, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

How about that? In a split vote Monday, the Plano City Council passed the controversial Equal Rights Policy over the objections of many residents in the standing-room-only crowd. The amendment to the city’s 1989 anti-discrimination policy extends protections from housing, … Continue reading →

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