Tag Archives: Houston

District B runoff still up in the air

Posted on November 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hoo boy. The runoff in the contested District B race for Houston city council almost certainly will be decided with a special election, due to an election contest filed by the third-place finisher, officials said Wednesday. Renee Jefferson-Smith, who missed … Continue reading →

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Interview with Carolyn Evans-Shabazz

Posted on November 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We weren’t supposed to have an open seat election in District D, but then Dwight Boykins got it in his head to run for Mayor, and the next thing you know there are fifteen candidates plus a write-in on the … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the District C runoff

Posted on November 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Runoff season means it’s time once again for candidate and race overviews. The runoff for Houston City Council District C features two first-time candidates vying to replace the term-limited Ellen Cohen. Abbie Kamin, a 32-year-old civil rights lawyer, finished in … Continue reading →

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Interview with Shelley Kennedy

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

District C has been represented by Republicans and Democrats over the years, from the likes of Vince Ryan and Ellen Cohen to Martha Wong and Ann Clutterbuck. This cycle it showed a distinctive Democratic lean, with about 60% of the … Continue reading →

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HFT may join lawsuit to block TEA takeover

Posted on November 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a lot of acronyms, so just read this. Houston ISD’s largest teachers union is considering whether to join a lawsuit filed by the district’s school board that aims to stop the expected ouster of elected trustees by the Texas … Continue reading →

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Interview with Abbie Kamin

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, I limited the interviews I did this cycle because there were just too many candidates in too many races for me to even try to cover them all fairly. As you also know, I said I’d try … Continue reading →

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So how are those TEA public meetings going?

Posted on November 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

About as you’d expect. Residents of Houston ISD peppered state officials with questions Wednesday night about the potential replacement of the district’s elected school board, voicing frustration about the lack of immediate plans for students and staff during the Texas … Continue reading →

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Lining up for the runoff

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Runoffs always provide focus. Mayor Sylvester Turner is rallying the support of state and national Democrats as he seeks to fend off Tony Buzbee in the December runoff to win a second term at the helm of Houston government. One … Continue reading →

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Cynthia Bailey remains on District B runoff ballot

Posted on November 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

For now, at least. A felon may remain on the runoff ballot in the Houston City Council District B race, a Harris County judge ruled on Friday, despite state law that may bar residents with felony convictions from seeking public … Continue reading →

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Astros accused of stealing signs

Posted on November 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The post-season is off to a roaring start. Former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers told The Athletic that the Astros stole signs electronically at Minute Maid Park during their World Series-winning 2017 season, adding another inglorious instance to the franchise’s recent … Continue reading →

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The LBB report on HISD

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There’s less here than you might think. Houston ISD’s inefficient, poorly organized and unwieldy bureaucracy is shortchanging the district’s 209,000 students and city taxpayers, requiring structural changes across virtually all corners of the district, the Texas Legislative Budget Board said … Continue reading →

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Who wants to host the 2030 World’s Expo?

Posted on November 13, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The city of Houston, that’s who. Congress is moving to free up funding for the U.S. to post a pavilion at the 2020 World’s Expo in Dubai — a move lawmakers say will put Houston “in play” to host the … Continue reading →

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So when will the HD148 runoff be?

Posted on November 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The TL;dr of this is “we may have two different runoff dates, one for the city of Houston and one for the special legislative elections”. If you’re confused, I understand. Let’s walk through it together. First, there’s this: Jumped ahead … Continue reading →

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About those Council runoffs

Posted on November 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

All of a sudden there’s many fewer candidates to keep track of. Some candidates said they were happy simply to have made it to a runoff. Several races had more than a dozen people vying for the top two vote … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over District B candidate eligibility

Posted on November 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

All right then. Renee Jefferson-Smith, who trailed Cynthia Bailey by 168 votes in unofficial returns, sued the city of Houston and Harris County Thursday, contending that Bailey’s 2007 conviction for forging a $14,500 check makes her ineligible to appear on … Continue reading →

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Get ready for more Buzbee ads

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Keep that remote handy. Self-funding millionaire lawyer Tony Buzbee on Wednesday said he would spend whatever it takes to unseat Sylvester Turner and predicted a “full-on slugfest” during the five-week runoff to decide Houston’s mayoral race. The runoff will test … Continue reading →

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How the TEA takeover is going to work

Posted on November 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron answers your questions. The complex process has raised several questions among community members. Here are answers some of the most common queries: What is the process for identifying and selecting candidates? TEA officials on Wednesday released their plan … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts on Election 2019

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

All bullet points, all the time… – Here’s my opening statement on the election returns debacle. We have more information about this now, but we still need more before we can go anywhere else with it. – All incumbents want … Continue reading →

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So what happened with the election returns?

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The County Clerk puts the blame on the Secretary of State. Harris County Clerk Diane Trautman said a last-minute directive from the secretary of state caused significant delays in reporting election results on Tuesday evening. Trautman said an Oct. 23 … Continue reading →

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TEA announces its takeover intent

Posted on November 7, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here it comes. In a move that is unprecedented in scope, Texas state officials announced Wednesday they plan on taking over the state’s largest school district, yanking power from Houston Independent School District’s elected school board members to “prevent imminent … Continue reading →

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Final results are in

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are. Refer to my previous post for the initial recap, I’m going to be very minimalist. Let’s do this PowerPoint-style, it’s already been a long day: Mayor – Turner fell short of 50%, landing up a bit below … Continue reading →

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2019 election results: Houston and Metro

Posted on November 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Unfortunately, we have to start with this: Results of Tuesday’s election could take until 2 a.m. Wednesday after the Texas Secretary of State issued a new regulation that upended plans by the Harris County Clerk’s Office to speed vote counting. … Continue reading →

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So what do we think final 2019 turnout will be?

Posted on November 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s take the numbers we have so far and try to hone in a bit more exactly on what to expect tomorrow, shall we? I’m going to go back a little farther into the past and establish some patterns. 2019 … Continue reading →

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A wrapup for early voting

Posted on November 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story on the end of early voting. Early voting ended Friday with a late surge in turnout among Harris County voters, surpassing voter participation in some prior mayoral election years but falling short of totals seen during … Continue reading →

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Final 2019 EV totals: With a bit of bonus poll-analyzing

Posted on November 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Early voting for the 2019 election is officially over. Let’s look at those numbers one last time: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2019 137,460 15,304 152,764 26,824 2015 164,104 29,859 193,963 43,280 2013 87,944 21,426 109,370 30,572 The 2019 … Continue reading →

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City wins final judgment in revenue cap lawsuit

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Wow, is this ever a blast from the past. The city of Houston has prevailed in a lawsuit challenging the amount it can collect in property taxes, ending 14 years of litigation over a set of measures approved by voters … Continue reading →

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Day Eleven 2019 EV totals: One day to go

Posted on November 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hope everyone had a good Halloween. How many of y’all spent it voting? Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2019 103,945 14,280 118,225 26,820 2015 128,611 27,952 156,563 43,280 2013 68,803 20,491 89,294 30,572 The 2019 Day Eleven file is … Continue reading →

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TEA recommends HISD takeover

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not finalized yet, but you can see the way it’s going to go. The Texas Education Agency is recommending that the state take over Houston Independent School District — the state’s largest public school system — due to its elected … Continue reading →

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Day Ten 2019 EV totals: Congrats to the Nats

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sorry, Astros fans. Try to remember that it was a good season regardless of what happened in the last seven games. And as they used to say in Brooklyn, wait till next year. Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2019 … Continue reading →

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8 Day finance reports: Mayor and Controller

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The Erik Manning spreadsheet is here, the July reports from Mayoral candidates are here, the July reports from Controller candidates (which in this case was just Chris Brown) are here, and the 30 day reports for both Mayorals and Controllers … Continue reading →

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Day Nine 2019 EV totals: The “all everyone cares about is the World Series” edition

Posted on October 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill, so let’s do the thing: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2019 76,613 11,356 87,969 26,740 2015 89,599 24,768 114,367 42,938 2013 54,071 17,987 72,058 30,549 The 2019 Day Nine file is here, the final 2015 … Continue reading →

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Trib overview of the Houston Mayor’s race

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Not really anything here you don’t already know, but a good summary of the race so far. With early voting underway, the Houston mayoral race is not lacking for drama, but through it all, a fundamental question has persisted: Whatever … Continue reading →

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Day Eight 2019 EV totals: The uptick has begun

Posted on October 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Week Two early voting turnout is always higher than Week One. In part, that has been because of extended hours beginning on the second Monday. This year the hours are the same, but we got a step up anyway. Year … Continue reading →

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Firing Taubman wasn’t enough

Posted on October 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Just putting down a marker. Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Astros will stretch beyond the World Series as the league looks into “aspects that go beyond” Brandon Taubman’s clubhouse incident. Taubman was fired on Thursday, five days after he … Continue reading →

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