Tag Archives: Houston City Council

There won’t be furloughs after all

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

A slightly confusing bit of good news. Houston will not need to furlough roughly 3,000 city employees nor cancel its police cadet classes in the upcoming budget year, Mayor Pro Tem Dave Martin announced during a city council budget committee … Continue reading →

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Council adopts recycling bin fee

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: Beginning in July, Houston residents will find a new $1.14 fee on their monthly water bills for leasing the city’s garbage and recycling bins. A divided city council voted 8-6, with three members absent, to pass the … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner and others test negative for COVID-19

Posted on May 15, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

They were tested following the news about CM Plummer’s infection. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and two of his top aides have tested negative for COVID-19, the mayor’s office announced Thursday. Turner was tested for the novel coronavirus Tuesday by Kelsey-Seybold, … Continue reading →

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Here come the furloughs

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We said this was gonna be bad, right? Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner, facing an economy hammered by the coronavirus pandemic and collapsing oil prices, on Tuesday proposed to close an upcoming budget gap by furloughing about 3,000 municipal workers, deferring … Continue reading →

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Council goes virtual

Posted on May 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

About time. Houston City Council will go virtual beginning next week, Mayor Turner said Tuesday, a day after one of its 16 members tested positive for COVID-19. Turner said the switch to virtual meetings would continue for at least two … Continue reading →

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CM Plummer tests positive for COVID-19

Posted on May 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Get well soon. Houston City Councilmember Letitia Plummer has tested positive for COVID-19, becoming the first elected official in the city to have a confirmed infection of the disease caused by the new coronavirus. Plummer, a first-term council member and … Continue reading →

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Cities and counties are going to need their own bailout

Posted on April 2, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

This story is about the rough financial future that the city of Houston faces as we go through the coronavirus shutdown, but it’s not just Houston that is in this position. As Mayor Sylvester Turner’s administration continues efforts to slow … Continue reading →

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Emergency orders extended

Posted on March 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

In Houston. City council on Tuesday extended Houston’s emergency health declaration, reflecting a warning by Mayor Sylvester Turner that the public health crisis fueled by the spread of COVID-19 will not go away anytime soon. “This is a crisis. I … Continue reading →

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District B lawsuit drags on

Posted on March 12, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Double ugh. It could be another four to five months before voters in Houston’s District B can select a new city council member, extending a delay that has held up a runoff there since December. The Houston-based First Court of … Continue reading →

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District B ruling appealed

Posted on February 23, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The date of Houston’s stalled city council District B runoff is again in question after the third-place finisher in the race moved forward with an appeal of a court order earlier this month that the runoff go on without … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the HD142 primary

Posted on February 13, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Also known as the How Mad Are People At Harold Dutton? primary. Longtime state Rep. Harold Dutton is facing the most serious re-election test of his 35-year political career in an acrimonious primary against two Democratic opponents. The race, which … Continue reading →

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January 2020 campaign finance reports: City of Houston

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re done with the 2019 Houston election cycle, but there are still things we can learn from the January 2020 campaign finance reports that city of Houston candidates and officeholders have to file. Other finance report posts: My two-part look … Continue reading →

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The Jerry Davis situation

Posted on February 7, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Someday, this is going to be taught in political science classes. And possibly law schools. The ongoing election dispute in District B has put Jerry Davis in a peculiar position, seemingly caught between two provisions of the Texas Constitution as … Continue reading →

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Bailey stays on District B runoff ballot

Posted on February 5, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Hopefully, this is the end of the line. In a long-awaited decision, a visiting judge ruled Tuesday that a Houston city council candidate who has a felony conviction should remain on the ballot for the District B runoff, declining a … Continue reading →

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District B lawsuit has its hearing

Posted on January 27, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Feels like we’ve been waiting forever for this. Lawyers for the third-place finisher in Houston city council District B’s election told a judge Friday that the city erred in failing to declare an opponent ineligible because of her felony conviction … Continue reading →

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DMN profile of Amanda Edwards

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Second in the series, focusing on now-former Houston City Council member Amanda Edwards. On the day of her last Houston City Council meeting, outgoing at-large member Amanda Edwards wasn’t in the mood for goodbyes. “In my mind it’s not really … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner’s second term begins

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He’s on the clock now. Freshly sworn in Thursday morning, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner promised to make significant strides in street repairs and flood control while boosting services for the city’s homeless in his second term. He also called on … Continue reading →

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District B runoff lawsuit hearing set

Posted on December 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s hope for a quick verdict. The stalled runoff in Houston city council District B likely will have to wait until May, if not longer, leaving north Houston neighborhoods without a new representative for months after the council convenes in … Continue reading →

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The female face of City Council

Posted on December 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Houston City Council is majority female for the first time in over a decade. Starting next year, a record nine women will serve on Houston City Council amid a shift toward a younger and more progressive council for Mayor Sylvester … Continue reading →

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District H status

Posted on December 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The closest election we had on Saturday remains unsettled. Just a dozen votes separate Houston City Council District H contenders Karla Cisneros and Isabel Longoria, and it may come down to an undetermined number of provisional, overseas and military ballots … Continue reading →

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Council results

Posted on December 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

With one race still up in the air as I draft this: With early voting tallies and most of Saturday’s Election Day results posted, Houston’s three incumbent at-large council members facing runoffs had won, while District H incumbent Karla Cisneros … Continue reading →

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Runoff Day is today

Posted on December 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Hang in there, it’s almost over. A nearly year-long mayoral election that culminated in a subdued runoff between Tony Buzbee and incumbent Sylvester Turner comes to an end Saturday when voters decide who wins control over City Hall for the … Continue reading →

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District B runoff lawsuit moved to another court

Posted on December 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Still up in the air. A Harris County judge on Monday referred the lawsuit stalling a runoff in Houston city council District B to another court, casting more uncertainty about when the contentious case will be resolved and when voters … Continue reading →

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8 Day runoff 2019 campaign finance reports

Posted on December 10, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We start with a Chron story. Mayor Sylvester Turner raked in more than $1.7 million from late October through early December and spent roughly the same amount, leaving him with almost $600,000 for the final days of the runoff, according … Continue reading →

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Willie D will not be on the Democratic primary ballot

Posted on December 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

He wanted to run for Commissioners Court but his application was rejected because of his previous felony conviction. Former Geto Boys rapper William “Willie D” Dennis wants to run for Harris County Commissioners Court, but local Democratic party officials rejected … Continue reading →

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It could be March before District B gets to vote in their runoff

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

And honestly, by the same calculations, it could go later than that. The Houston City Council District B runoff could be delayed until March if a lawsuit contesting last month’s election result is not resolved by Monday, the Harris County … Continue reading →

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Day Four 2019 Runoff EV report: Steady as she goes

Posted on December 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll probably do these more or less every other day. The Day Four EV Runoff file is here, and the final file from November is here. Date Mail Early Total ============================= Nov19 6,362 35,467 41,829 Dec19 6,387 37,606 43,993 As … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the At Large #3 runoff

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The basic story should be familiar by now. In the race for the third of Houston’s five citywide council seats, voters have a choice between candidates opposite in age, temperament, and, often, policy positions. At-Large 3 incumbent Michael Kubosh is … Continue reading →

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Time for the 2019 outrageous and dishonest mailer

Posted on December 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There’s at least one every cycle. A handful of black Democratic elected officials are expressing outrage over a campaign mailer that appears to have used photos of the politicians without consent to falsely suggest they endorsed a slate of City … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the At Large #5 runoff

Posted on December 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Of the five At Large runoffs, this one is the least predictable to me. Sallie Alcorn is a proud nerd who sweats the small stuff. “I like looking at ordinances and trying to figure out how to make them better,” … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the District J runoff

Posted on December 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This unfortunately misses a relevant piece of information. The candidates vying for the District J city council seat in December’s runoff election have different backgrounds and separate bases of political support but have arrived at similar conclusions about the way … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the At Large #2 runoff

Posted on December 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This one’s a rerun. City Councilman David W. Robinson and the Rev. Willie R. Davis last faced off for the At-Large 2 seat in 2015, with Robinson winning by 10 percentage points and taking on his second term. Four years … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the At Large #1 runoff

Posted on November 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

“Sharp contrasts” is a good description of this race. “Clear choice” also works. A runoff between a conservative incumbent and liberal challenger for one of Houston’s citywide council seats presents arguably the sharpest contrast of any race on Houston’s December … Continue reading →

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Runoff endorsement watch: Revisiting races

Posted on November 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Most of the candidates that the Chron endorsed for November either won their races or made it to the runoff. A few fell short, which leaves a bit of unfinished business for them. They have since addressed that, in the … Continue reading →

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