Tag Archives: Election 2011

Precinct analysis: Mayoral race

Precinct data arrived late on Friday, so you know what that means. I’ll be taking a look at all of the races this week. Let’s start with the main event, the Mayor’s race. Dist Drab Dick Cook Keryl Hall Parker … Continue reading

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Why stealth campaigns can work

Here’s the Chron story about the HCC Trustee election results. See if you can spot what’s missing. A total of 13 candidates, including the four incumbents, vied for the five open seats on the nine-member board. Many ran on a … Continue reading

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Election results: Houston

Mayor Annise Parker easily won re-election, collecting over 57% of the vote in Harris County to beat Ben Hall by nearly thirty points, and far exceeding the expectations of most observers going into Election Day. I personally thought she had … Continue reading

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Early voting wrapup: Did we run out of early voters?

Early voting is officially over, though a few more mail ballots will trickle in by tomorrow. Here are the final numbers, with the chart from Thursday being updated: 2013 2011 2009 2007 Here again is that look at turnout over … Continue reading

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EV Day 10: Two normally big days to go

We have completed ten days of early voting. Traditionally, the last two days are the big ones. Will we see the same this year? First, here are the comps: 2013 2011 2009 2007 Here’s a look at how turnout has … Continue reading

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Dave Wilson is up to his usual tricks

As you know, Dave Wilson is running against incumbent HCC Trustee Bruce Austin in HCC District 2. I wasn’t sure at first if it was that Dave Wilson or not, but it unquestionably is. The fact that he’s running in … Continue reading

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EV Day 7 totals: Is this the 2008 of city elections for early voting?

One full week of early voting is in the books, and the fast pace has not let up. Here are the comps: 2013 2011 2009 2007 The seven-day totals for each: 2013 – 14,342 mail, 37,828 in person, 52,170 total … Continue reading

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EV Day 3 – Where the early votes are

Three days into early voting and the numbers continue to be strong, with a third consecutive day of in-person totals topping 5,000. Here are all the daily totals: 2013 2011 2009 2007 Some people, like Campos, have been trying to … Continue reading

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First day EV totals

It was pretty brisk, with higher turnout than any of the previous three elections. Here are the relevant daily totals: 2013 2011 2009 2007 And here are the numbers for each for day one: Year In person By Mail Total … Continue reading

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Chron overview of District I

The Chron covers the District I race. The contrasts in this eastside, heavily-Latino council district are dramatic: from the gleaming George R. Brown Convention Center in the heart of downtown, to older neighborhoods lacking modern street drainage where vacant lots … Continue reading

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Early voting starts today

Today we arrive at the more action-oriented part of the election cycle, in which voting actually happens. Early voting starts today and runs through next Friday, November 1. Here’s the schedule and map of locations for Harris County. Check with … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Twofer number two

Another pair of endorsements from the Chron, again one obvious and one that required more thought. First, the easy one. Centered along the Westpark Tollway toward the city’s far west edges, District F is Houston’s international district. When people from … Continue reading

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Still no injunction in voter registration lawsuit

Unfortunate. A district judged erred by partially blocking the enforcement of new Texas voter registration laws while a lawsuit alleging that the laws suppress voting goes forward, a federal appeals court has ruled. A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Jerry Davis

The Chron endorses Jerry Davis in District B. In his first term in office, council member Jerry Davis launched a pilot project to deploy surveillance cameras to catch illegal dumpers. He and his staff personally went into neighborhoods to mow … Continue reading

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KHOU polls the Mayor’s race

The first poll of the season is always exciting news. Annise Parker seems headed for a runoff in her campaign to keep her job, but she commands more than twice as many supporters as her leading challenger in a newly … Continue reading

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The Mayor’s race in three numbers

1. Turnout In the 2009 runoff, there were 155,670 votes cast for Mayor. Annise Parker got 82,175 and Gene Locke got 73,495. In the 2011 general election, there were 118,414 votes cast for Mayor. Annise Parker got 60,135 and the … Continue reading

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Interview with Kathy Daniels

Challenging CM Jerry Davis in District B is Kathy Daniels. Daniels, who had also run in B in 2011, is a retired postal worker whose family has deep roots in the neighborhood. Like CM Davis, she has lost a family … Continue reading

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Interview with CM Jerry Davis

We move now to District B, where CM Jerry Davis is in his first term. Davis is the CEO of the non-profit Making It Better, which works to improve literacy, leadership, and life skills for disadvantaged children. He is also … Continue reading

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Interview with Brenda Stardig

My last candidate interview for District A is a fitting bookend for the first one. Brenda Stardig was elected to District A in 2009, leading the pack in November and cruising in the subsequent runoff. It’s fair to say that … Continue reading

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Interview with David Robinson

Running against CM Burks in At Large #2 is David Robinson, which makes this a rematch of sorts from 2011, as both men ran in AL2 that year, though Robinson did not make the runoff. I had suggested a long … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: GLBT Caucus and HSYD

We are entering the part of the election cycle where groups are making their endorsements. One of the first out of the box is the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, which held its endorsement meeting on Saturday night. Here’s their press … Continue reading

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July finance reports for non-candidates

Not everyone who files a finance report with the city is running for something this November. Term-limited incumbents, and former candidates who still have money in their campaign treasuries are required to file reports as well. Here’s a look a … Continue reading

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July finance reports for At Large candidates

Still plowing my way through all the July finance reports. July and January are very busy months, since everybody has finance reports to do. After I’m done with the city candidates, I’ll be looking at HISD and HCC candidates, then … Continue reading

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Eric Dick is just trolling us now

Like a three-year-old having a tantrum – and against our better judgment – he gets the attention he so desperately seeks. Two City Council candidates facing thousands of dollars in fines for violating the city’s sign ordinance during their 2011 … Continue reading

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What does the DOMA decision mean for Texas?

Last week, the day after the disappointing SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, we got a much more heartening ruling on DOMA, declaring it to be unconstitutional. However, not all of DOMA was struck down. In a landmark Supreme … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: The firefighters still don’t like the Mayor

Last week, the Ben Hall campaign teased on its Facebook page that it was about to get a “game-changer” endorsement. This week, that endorsement was announced. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association announced they will be endorsing Ben Hall in … Continue reading

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Opposition gearing up for the water fund amendment

The legislation to create a state water infrastructure fund, and the joint resolution that authorized tapping the Rainy Day Fund for up to $2 billion to seed it, had a rocky road in the legislature and wasn’t completed until the … Continue reading

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Midyear 2013 election update

Back in January, I took an early look at the 2013 elections in Houston. At the request of the folks at the Burnt Orange Report, who also printed my initial overview, here’s an update on the races in the city … Continue reading

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Mayor Parker kicks off her campaign

It’s the time of the season for Mayor Parker, who has a serious challenger this time, but also a stronger hand to play. In her tenure, Parker has given teeth to the city’s historic preservation rules, broken a deadlock with … Continue reading

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Endorsement watch: Planned Parenthood gets an early start

From the inbox on Friday: Today the Board of Directors of the Planned Parenthood Gulf Coast ACTION FUND Inc, (PPGCAF) voted to endorse the following candidates for the November City Election. Each of the endorsed candidates has demonstrated a strong … Continue reading

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Brenda’s back

But will Helena Brown be in trouble? Brenda Stardig will launch her campaign Saturday to retake the District A Houston City Council seat that she lost two years ago to Helena Brown. The announcement came Sunday in the form of … Continue reading

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Hall is in

It’s on. Former Houston City Attorney Benjamin L. Hall III announced his candidacy for mayor Wednesday, choosing a slogan of “Hall for All!” and emphasizing his ability to unite people. Hall said he filed a form designating a campaign treasurer … Continue reading

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A first look at the 2013 elections

It is 2013, right? So while we have the SD06 special election and the new legislative session to worry about, it’s not too early to start talking about the 2013 elections. Let’s start with a peek at the campaign finance … Continue reading

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One year of Helena

The Observer‘s Emily dePrang takes a look at CM Helena Brown, one year after her upset win in District A. When she took office, Brown made waves for her nearly satirical level of budget hawkery. She made simplistic government-bad, free-market-good … Continue reading

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