Tag Archives: Houston City Council

District B runoff still up in the air

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

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

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

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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Interview with Abbie Kamin

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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Cynthia Bailey remains on District B runoff ballot

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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About those Council runoffs

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

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

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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Initial thoughts on Election 2019

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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Final results are in

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

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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Chron profile of Brad “Scarface” Jordan

Though he prefers now to just be Brad Jordan, original member of the Geto Boys, current candidate for Houston City Council, District D. Brad Jordan looks through the windshield of his white Mercedes and sees something he doesn’t like. He … Continue reading

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30 day campaign finance reports: Open City Council seats, part 2

Finishing up with City Council candidates. Part One, for the other open seats, is here. July reports for F, J, and At Large #5 are here, and for At Large #4 are here. All of the finance reports that I … Continue reading

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30 day campaign finance reports: Open City Council seats, part 1

As before, my look at the July 2019 finance reports for these candidates is here, and all of the finance reports that I have downloaded and reviewed are in this Google folder. Except for the reports that were filed non-electronically, … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Miscellania

We cover three endorsements today: HD148 (I presume the Chron is not endorsing in HD28), HISD IV, and City Council District C. Endorsements for the constitutional amendments were in the print edition on Saturday, I’ll run them on Tuesday. That … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: At Large 5 and District B

A much better decision by the Chron was to endorse Sallie Alcorn in At Large #5. Alcorn, who is running for At-Large Position 5, has spent the past 10 years at City Hall — serving as chief of staff for … Continue reading

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30 Day campaign finance reports: Incumbents and challengers for Council

As before, my look at the July 2019 finance reports for these candidates is here, and all of the finance reports that I have downloaded and reviewed are in this Google folder. Except for the reports that were filed non-electronically, … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Mistakes were made

A swing and a miss. As a city council member, Mike Knox has not been afraid to clash with Mayor Sylvester Turner. He voted against a $650,000 contract to boost participation in the 2020 Census, saying he had reservations about the “missions … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Our first two At Large races

Continuing with its “one contested incumbent and one open seat” theme, the Chron begins by endorsing David Robinson for another term. Unlike council members who speak for specific districts, at-large representatives must take a wider view and consider the city … Continue reading

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Interview with Sallie Alcorn

We come to the end of the interviews that I had originally planned. As is often the case, a late request came in and you will see that on Friday. For City Council until the runoffs we are at the … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: A and H

Looks like we’re going to keep getting these endorsements in pairs. Today’s duo includes an incumbent and an open seat candidate. First up, incumbent Karla Cisneros. Poverty and lack of academic achievement are problems that concern all of Houston, but … Continue reading

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Interview with Ashton Woods

After that two-week hiatus into HD148, it’s time to circle back to the City Council races. I have one more to bring to you, featuring two candidates. At Large #5 is an open seat, with incumbent CM Jack Christie being … Continue reading

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A brief discussion on residency requirements

I have three things to say about this. It was one of the more unusual videos made for a Houston city council race. Throughout much of his campaign for the District J seat, Nelvin Adriatico had been dogged by one … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: For the incumbents in G and K

Two more Council endorsements from the Chron. First up, they recommend Martha Castex-Tatum for a full term in District K: District K Councilwoman Martha Castex-Tatum has a hard time leaving her work at the office. “Trash keeps me up at … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: E and F

The Chron endorses incumbent CM Dave Martin in District E. It’s easy to find out the biggest problem in Houston City Council District E. Ask any of its residents and most likely they will tell you a flooding story. Water … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Let’s get this thing started

Endorsement Season has begun at the Chronicle, and while the number of elections to cover isn’t really higher than usual, the sheer number of candidates to bring in for interviews is massive and had to have been a logistical nightmare. … Continue reading

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A brief look at the Council incumbents who face contested races

I think two, and hopefully three, of these races are truly competitive. The others, not so much. Asked how she would operate differently from City Councilwoman Karla Cisneros, the District H incumbent she is trying to unseat in November, Isabel … Continue reading

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Sorry, Willie D

I think you need better lawyers, dude. William Dennis, the former Geto Boys rapper known as “Willie D,” is planning to a host a campaign fundraiser Friday for his City Council bid, but election officials say voters won’t be able … Continue reading

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Curfew changes

A good step, but I agree with the argument that it doesn’t go far enough. City council on Wednesday eliminated Houston’s daytime juvenile curfew, but stopped short of ditching the ordinance altogether despite pleas from advocacy groups who say the … Continue reading

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Interview with Janaeya Carmouche

Houston is a Democratic city, where the Democratic Presidential candidate has drawn 60% or more of the vote in each of the past three races. Yet we stand today with three of the five At Large Council seats being held … Continue reading

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Interview with Raj Salhotra

This week I will have interviews from two of the At Large races that feature challenges to sitting incumbents. First up is At Large #1, where candidate Raj Salhotra is among the four challengers to first-term incumbent Mike Knox. Salhotra … Continue reading

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Interview with Nelvin Adriatico

One more time in District J, where the changing of the guard has me a bit nostalgic for the time when the new 11-district map was first presented for our perusal. Nelvin Adriatico is the president and founder of brokerage … Continue reading

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Interview with Sandra Rodriguez

We move now to District J, one of the two new Council districts drawn in 2011, part of the settlement agreement to add two districts when the city’s population hit 2.1 million. Mike Laster has been the only Council member … Continue reading

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