Tag Archives: Election 2007

Early voting totals, Day One

Here’s the Day One early voting totals for Harris County, which you can compare to the 2009 totals here. My buddy Erik Vidor also put together a spreadsheet with 2005 and 2007 totals that you can see here. There’s a … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

KHOU polls the Mayor’s race

We have our first published poll of the season. Mayor Annise Parker, leading the city during an era of budget cutbacks and high unemployment, has the lowest approval ratings of any Houston mayor in decades. That’s the striking headline popping … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Endorsement watch: Noriega and Bradford

Another twofer, and another easy and obvious choice in At Large #3. For the past four years Houston has been well served in At-Large City Council Position 3 by Melissa Noriega. We recommend Noriega for a third and final term … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Can Ban lawsuit filed

Opponents of the New Braunfels disposable container ban are already seeking to overturn the ordinance via referendum, and now some of them have also filed a lawsuit against it as well. Tourist businesses filed a lawsuit against the city Wednesday, … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

How many votes will it take?

Nancy Sims has a lament about the upcoming city elections. What disturbs me most is the complete lack of interest I’m seeing and hearing from my friends, co-workers, students and people I encounter daily. Everyone wants to complain about the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

New Braunfels bans disposable containers on the river

Despite some talk that they might wait awhile to take action, the New Braunfels City Council has voted to ban disposable food and beverage containers – think cans and bottles – on waterways within its city limits. The law covers … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

May elections

As we know, the Lege passed a bill that would have the effect of moving the date for primary runoffs into May. This is causing heartburn for cities like Austin that hold their municipal elections in May of even numbered … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dan Barrett for Fort Worth

I’m delighted to see this. Democrat Dan Barrett, a lawyer and former state representative, is planning to file as a candidate for Mayor of Fort Worth. “I think its time for a new direction,” Barrett said. “The other candidates in … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Dan Barrett for Fort Worth

New “booking center” proposed

As we know, Sheriff Garcia has been trying to rework the jail bond referendum that failed in 2007 into something that can be passed. On Tuesday, Commissioners Court will have a look at the new proposal, which calls for a … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Runoff EV wrapup

The final tally is in, and after 13,534 in person votes were cast today, a total of 66,909 have been counted so far. This compares to 80,516 early votes for the November election. Except it doesn’t, since that total represents … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early voting starts today

Today marks the start of early voting for all of the runoff elections, which include Houston, Bellaire, and HISD. Early voting schedule and locations can be found here; remember that EV locations outside of Houston city limits are mostly closed, … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Council turnover

One underappreciated aspect of this year’s election is that we may wind up with more than two new At Large City Council members. We started with two open seats, and with incumbents Sue Lovell and Jolanda Jones in runoffs, the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Trustee Marshall endorsed by former opponents

In the runoff for HISD Trustee in District IX, incumbent Trustee Larry Marshall received the endorsement of the third and fourth-place finishers, George Davis and Michael Williams. I find that a little odd, since one presumes when they ran to … Continue reading

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Sheriff to try again for new jail facility

Sheriff Adrian Garcia wants to take another crack at building a new jail facility. As was the case in 2007, when a referendum to float bonds for a new jail was voted down, this too would be voted on by … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

It’s all about Roy

This article is supposedly about how Annise Parker and Gene Locke have started to get their campaigns back on track for the runoff, but the vast majority of it is about Roy Morales, who is apparently the most famous fourth-place … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Comparing Controller’s races

In 2009, we have a Controller’s race that features an At Large Council member, a Council member from a high-turnout, mostly white district, and Council member from a low-turnout, mostly non-white district. In 2003, we had a Controller’s race that … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Comparing Controller’s races

Another way to look at early voting so far

As we know, Early Voting this year is running well ahead of recent years. In the first two days, 8295 in person ballots have been cast, compared to 6685 over the first two days in 2003. I’ve suggested that this … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Early voting, Day One

As I seem to have a love of spreadsheets, here’s a Google spreadsheet that will keep track of the daily Early Voting returns by location. Counting mail ballots and absentee in-person voting, 6162 people voted yesterday. For comparison purposes, here’s … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

School construction update

As I read this story about the progress of school construction authorized by the 2007 bond referendum, it strikes me that we picked a heck of a good time to do this. Piney Point is one of about 160 campuses … Continue reading

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Interview with Council Member Wanda Adams

Next up is Council Member Wanda Adams, who is finishing up her first term in District D. Adams was an employee of the city who was the Go Green coordinator at the time of her election in 2007, and she … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Did I mention that election season is officially underway?

Why, yes, I did. Add to the Controller email shenanigans questions about who does or doesn’t support Peter Brown, which recalls his own curious dual endorsement from 2007; allegations about who is or isn’t a Republican, and allegations about Gene … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Jack Christie

We are getting close to the end of my interview series. This week I will wrap up the interviews with non-incumbent candidates for City Council. Next week I will have HISD Trustee candidates, then incumbent District City Council members, and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Projecting turnout for the Mayor’s race

Prof. Murray surveys the scene and comes up with a turnout projection for November: These considerations lead me to conclude that turnout in 2009 will be significantly below our 300,000 voters in 2003. How much lower? I think in the … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Filing deadline

Today at 5 PM is the filing deadline for city elections. Martha has her usual roundup of who has filed. So far, the only bit of suspense is in the Mayor’s race, where Roy Morales has yet to do his … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Interview with Council Member Sue Lovell

Council Member Sue Lovell is running for re-election to her third term in At Large #2. She chairs the Quality of Life committee, from which the recent ordinances about billboards, signage, and attention-getting devices originated, as well as the Transportation, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Terry and Abe

Here’s another get-to-know-Terry Grier story, focusing on his time in San Diego. The most interesting bit to me is right here: Abelardo Saavedra, the man Grier is in line to replace in Houston, endured more than his share of criticism … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Terry and Abe

Parents get their vote on HISD school construction projects

The battle between a parents group and some HISD trustees had been waging with HISD Board President Larry Marshall over getting a vote for some school construction projects that the parents said had been promised during the 2007 bond referendum … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

No vote from HISD on several school upgrades

Last week, I noted that a parents group and some HISD trustees were complaining about there not being a vote on three school construction projects that were promised as part of the 2007 bond referendum. Even though we now have … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The city jails have problems, too

I suppose I’m not surprised to find out that the Houston city jails have their share of problems, but I’m a little puzzled by this article about them. The inspection was conducted as part of a legal consent decree originating … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Parents call on HISD to keep promises Saavedra made

With the revelation that HISD may have chosen its new superintendent, this Chron story from yesterday about how parent groups who were promised certain specific actions from outgoing Superintendent Abe Saavedra relating to the bond referendum, and the Board of … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics, School days | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An early assessment of the Mayor’s race

Marc Campos writes: H-Town’s Mayoral candidates still do not want to SHOW ME THE TV so I have to give the advantage at this time to Annise Parker. The later the ad wars get going, the better for Annise. Let’s … Continue reading

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Interview with Council Member Melissa Noriega

One of the things planned to do with my interview series this year is include conversations with incumbent Council members. I’ve started on those and hope to get to all of them just as I hope to get to as … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

At Large action

We’ve certainly got a fascinating Mayor’s race going on this year, with three viable candidates that can all plausibly claim a path to victory, but it seems to me that there’s a lot of interesting stuff happening in the At … Continue reading

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Jack Christie to run in At Large #5

The field in At Large #5, which currently includes incumbent Council Member Jolanda Jones and challengers Carlos Obando and Davetta Daniels, has just gotten bigger as Jack Christie has filed to run for the seat as well. Christie is a … Continue reading

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