Tag Archives: Houston City Council

Commissioners Court approves its redistricting plan, DOJ approves city’s plan

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Greg and Stace attended today’s Commissioners Court meeting, where to nobody’s surprise the slightly-less-but-still-retrogressive new redistricting plan was unanimously approved. And why shouldn’t it be? It took care of the main, if not the sole, purpose of the task, which … Continue reading →

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A closer look at finance reports: Spending on consultants

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Now that we’ve looked at who gives to candidates in Houston, let’s take a look at what those candidates spend their money on. Broadly speaking, your main forms of expenditures include overhead (rent, food, office supplies, transportation, webhosting, etc), advertising, … Continue reading →

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Who has filed so far

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the first day of the filing season for Houston Mayor, Controller, and City Council. The filing period runs through September 7. You can see the list of official filers here; as of this moment, it’s Ellen Cohen in … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM James Rodriguez

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CM James Rodriguez is running for his third term in District I. He was Chief of Staff for his predecessor, Rep. Carol Alvarado, so he has actually been serving the district a lot longer than that. Rodriguez has been in … Continue reading →

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Some questions about the airport deal

Posted on August 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron stumped for the Terminal B expansion deal on Friday. Under the proposal by United, which merged with Continental this year, the Chicago-based airline would spend $686 million to expand and renovate Terminal B. The city is being asked … Continue reading →

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Food deserts in Houston

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

If you listened to the interview I did with CM Stephen Costello, you would have heard him talk about “food deserts” in Houston, which is a problem to which he has turned his attention. This Chron story goes into some … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Oliver Pennington

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CM Oliver Pennington was elected in 2009 as the Council member for District G. Pennington was a partner at the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski, where he specialized in various aspects of municipal law. He’s also a graduate of … Continue reading →

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Chron story on the Terminal B expansion

Posted on August 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on that Terminal B expansion at IAH that I mentioned on Sunday. It fills in some blanks. United Airlines would pay $686 million to expand and renovate Bush Intercontinental Airport’s Terminal B and gain control over … Continue reading →

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A closer look at finance reports: Elected officials

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to contributions from PACs, there was another class of donor that I thought was worth highlighting: Elected officials and candidates for public office. Basically, the idea is to see who “the establishment” is supporting, to see what we … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Brad Bradford

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CM C.O. “Brad” Bradford is in his first term of service in At Large #4. A former Chief of Police with HPD and the Democratic nominee for District Attorney in 2008, CM Bradford has been one of the more high … Continue reading →

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State Bar to investigate Jones’ complaint against Feldman

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On we go. The Texas State Bar will investigate allegations by Councilwoman Jolanda Jones that City Attorney David Feldman committed professional misconduct through his involvement in a city ethics investigation that targets Jones. Jones filed a grievance with the bar … Continue reading →

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Terminal B expansion on the menu

Posted on July 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In late May, the city announced that Terminal B expansion at IAH would go forward. Houston Mayor Annise Parker, the Houston Airport System (HAS), and United Continental Holdings, Inc. Airlines, reaffirm a commitment to overhaul Terminal B at George Bush … Continue reading →

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A closer look at finance reports: PACs

Posted on July 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Having taken the time to download all of those campaign finance reports for the city of Houston elections, which you can view on my 2011 Election page, I wanted to see what I could learn from all this data. So … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Ed Gonzalez

Posted on July 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CM Ed Gonzalez was elected to complete the unexpired term of now-Sheriff Adrian Garcia in June of 2009, and is now running for his second full term on Council. He’s a former homicide investigator for HPD, and was elected by … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Wanda Adams

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

CM Wanda Adams was first elected in District D in 2007, and is now running for her third term. She was employed by the City of Houston before being elected to Council, so it was interesting to get her perspective … Continue reading →

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The non-filers

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We are now more than a week beyond the deadline to file campaign finance reports for City of Houston elections. The following candidates for city office have not yet filed a campaign finance report for July: Michael Williams, At Large … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Melissa Noriega

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Melissa Noriega was elected to finish the unexpired At Large #3 term of Shelley Sekula Gibbs in June of 2007, and has been re-elected for full terms twice since. She’s the chair of the Public Safety and Homeland … Continue reading →

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Tuesday late filers report

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This is a semi-regular tracker of late campaign finance report filings for City of Houston elections. I’ll keep this up until either everyone has filed, or we all get sick of it and I move onto other trivial obsessions. With … Continue reading →

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More on directing density

Posted on July 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the city’s Planning Department is prepping a draft ordinance that would add some restrictions to highrise construction in parts of the city outside designated areas. Here’s the Chron story about it. The proposed ordinance was written in … Continue reading →

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DA gets Jones case

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What sound does a hot potato make when it gets passed to someone else? The Harris County District Attorney has been asked to review for possible criminal prosecution allegations that Councilwoman Jolanda Jones used city resources to support her private … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Stephen Costello

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We begin the 2011 election interview season with first term Council Member Stephen Costello, elected in 2009 in At Large #1. He had a mission in mind when he ran for office, and that was a plan to fund street … Continue reading →

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More campaign finance reports for July

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Following up on the earlier post, here are some more highlights from the July campaign finance reports for City of Houston elections. All reports can be found on my 2011 Election page. – Since I dinged Al Hoang for not … Continue reading →

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Some early fundraising numbers

Posted on July 15, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the day that campaign finance reports are due for candidates in this November’s city of Houston elections. Some early filer’s reports are already up on the city’s Campaign Finance webpage. I’ve uploaded copies of these reports to my … Continue reading →

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Directing density

Posted on July 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This looks interesting. A new draft ordinance prepared by the city’s planning department aims to make it tougher to build tall buildings next to single-family homes. The proposal is called the High Density Ordinance, but many of its restrictions would … Continue reading →

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The long-term recycling deal

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I noticed this when it was posted last week but didn’t give it much thought at the time. There’s a 20-year no-bid contract on today’s City Council agenda. That’s legal because it’s an amendment to an existing contract, not a … Continue reading →

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The 2011 interview season has begun

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

As of this week, I will begin interviewing candidates for the 2011 elections. At the top of the site, you can see the 2011 Election page, where I will be keeping track of interviews, endorsements, campaign finance reports, and possibly … Continue reading →

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That’s what I call double parking

Posted on July 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Did you know that there were hydraulic parking lifts in use in Houston? I didn’t. District D Councilwoman Wanda Adams, who represents Midtown, attached an amendment to the city budget passed last month that requires the planning department to craft … Continue reading →

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Red light cameras to be turned back on

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

For now, at least. The city of Houston will turn its red-light cameras back on today, Mayor Annise Parker announced after this morning’s City Council meeting. According to a statement from the mayor’s office, tickets will be issued after a … Continue reading →

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Jones files her own complaint

Posted on July 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Okay. Houston City Councilwoman Jolanda Jones, the subject of a city inspector general investigation, has filed a Texas State Bar grievance against City Attorney David Feldman. Jones’s spokeswoman, Kelly Cripe, would not provide a copy of the grievance, but she … Continue reading →

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From the “Work smarter, not harder” files

Posted on June 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So far, deep cuts in local budgets not yet led to equivalent reductions in service levels. The city of Houston just cut spending by $100 million in the budget that begins next month. The average Houstonian may have to look … Continue reading →

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The Midtown arts deal

Posted on June 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. A nonprofit group plans to build a community arts complex in Midtown with the help of up to $6 million in reimbursements from the city. The Houston City Council this week approved … Continue reading →

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City passes its budget

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It wasn’t much different than the Mayor’s original proposal. The overall spending plan totals $4 billion, including $1.8 billion from the tax- and fee-supported general fund. The remaining $2.2 billion involves the city’s enterprise funds, such as the airport and … Continue reading →

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Response from the city on the red light camera ruling

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Previously, I wrote that I had asked the city about the possibility of appealing the ruling in the red light camera lawsuit. I received the following response from the Mayor’s office yesterday: This was what’s known as an interlocutory order … Continue reading →

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HFD ratifies deal with city

Posted on June 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It was a close vote, but the deal they reached in March was ratified. Union members passed the contract by a 1,560 to 1,391 vote. The deal saves 236 firefighters from layoffs in 2012, but concessions include a two-year pay … Continue reading →

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