Tag Archives: Houston City Secretary

RIP, Anna Russell

Posted on February 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Truly, the end of an era. Anna Russell, the petite powerhouse who oiled the engine of government as Houston’s city secretary for nine mayors during a nearly 70-year career defined by her sharp eye and quick wit, died Monday. She … Continue reading →

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

Firefighters have their signatures

Posted on May 4, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

On to the next act in this drama. A petition Houston firefighters submitted last summer seeking pay parity with police contains enough valid signatures to trigger a referendum election, City Secretary Anna Russell reported to Mayor Sylvester Turner and the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 35 Comments

Count of firefighters’ pay parity petitions needs to be done by Friday

Posted on April 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Or else. Not sure what follows the “or else”, but maybe we won’t have to find out. City Secretary Anna Russell has one week to finish verifying a petition Houston firefighters submitted last summer seeking pay parity with police or … Continue reading →

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Judge orders firefighters’ petitions to be counted

Posted on March 21, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

Can’t say I’m surprised. A state district judge on Tuesday ordered Houston’s city secretary to finish reviewing firefighters’ petition asking for pay parity with police, giving her until April 27 to validate the eight-month-old signatures. Firefighters submitted a petition last … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

What are the elections of interest this May?

Posted on March 14, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

That’s a question I’m asking as well as one I’m trying to answer. Normally, there are no elections in May of any kind of year for Houston folks, though there are some for parts of Harris County and surrounding areas. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Firefighters sue to get their pay parity petitions certified

Posted on March 13, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

I’m just going to put this here. Houston firefighters on Monday asked a judge to force the city secretary to validate signatures on an equal pay referendum petition that has been backlogged in City Hall for eight months. The referendum … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2018, Legal matters, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

No charter amendments on the fall ballot

Posted on August 22, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Just bonds, school board and HCC races, and the mostly boring constitutional amendments. Oh, and Heights Alcohol 2.0, if you live there. Houston voters will face $1.5 billion in city bonds and nine community college or school board races this … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Firefighters complain about petition counting process

Posted on August 5, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Oh, good Lord. Houston firefighters are accusing Mayor Sylvester Turner of standing between them and a voter-approved pay raise by failing to ensure a petition they submitted last month is certified in time to appear on the November ballot. Turner … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

On to the revenue cap

Posted on May 28, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

With one major accomplishment (basically) finished, Mayor Turner moves on to the next major challenge facing him. “This is the most consequential campaign of the mayor’s career,” University of Houston political scientist Brandon Rottinghaus said. “These things are more complicated … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

City appeals Wilson petition order

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. The verdict on whether anti-gay activist Dave Wilson collected enough valid signatures to force a vote to amend the city charter and bar men “who perceive or express themselves as women” from entering women’s restrooms will have to … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Judge rules Wilson petitions must be counted

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Thanks, Supreme Court. Thanks a hell of a lot. City of Houston officials must count the signatures on a petition filed by anti-gay activist Dave Wilson, who is seeking a vote to amend the city charter and bar men “who … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Supreme Court rules HERO must be repealed or voted on

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. The Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that Houston City Council must repeal the city’s equal rights ordinance or place it on the November ballot. The ruling comes three months after a state district judge ruled that opponents of Houston’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 45 Comments

Campaign finance reports may be a bit more interesting this cycle

Posted on July 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And by “interesting”, I mean in the Chinese curse sense. From the city’s campaign finance reports page: In April 2015, the Texas Ethics Commission released a new Electronic Filing Application. The changes made have to do with the separation of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Our forthcoming early voting problems

Posted on July 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is the view in front of the West Gray Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, also known as the busiest early voting location in Houston. 8,390 people voted early here in the 2013 election. There was a water main break there, which … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Dave Wilson will never go away

Posted on July 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

What’s that definition of insanity again? Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance have once again submitted petitions calling for a voter referendum to put a gender identity issue on the ballot in November, but the mayor says it’s not going … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mayor Parker testifies at HERO repeal petition trial

Posted on February 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Monday was Mayor Parker’s turn to take the stand at the trial over the validity of the HERO repeal petitions. You’d think this would be a momentous occasion of high drama, but since this whole thing is about technicalities and … Continue reading →

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Lies are worse than missteps

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

But you know what we’re going to hear more about. Conservative outrage over the Parker administration’s admittedly bungled subpoena of five pastors’ sermons last week marked just the latest episode in a messy political saga surrounding the city’s equal rights … Continue reading →

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HERO repealers try their luck with the Supreme Court

Posted on August 28, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Because sure, why not? Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance have asked the Texas Supreme Court to force the city secretary to certify the signatures on a petition they submitted seeking to trigger a repeal referendum on the law. Houston’s … Continue reading →

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HERO repeal hopefuls try another venue

Posted on August 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Conservative opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance have asked an appeals court to force the city secretary to certify the signatures on their petitions to force a repeal referendum on the November ballot. Equal rights ordinance critics filed a … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

HERO repeal lawsuit moved to federal court

Posted on August 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

And the bad guys are very unhappy about it. Conservative activists seeking to repeal Houston’s equal rights ordinance accused the city of stalling the issue Wednesday after city lawyers moved the opponents’ lawsuit over rejected ballot petitions from state to … Continue reading →

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HERO repeal effort falls short

Posted on August 5, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Too bad, so sad (not really). Opponents of Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance did not get enough valid signatures to force a November repeal referendum, Mayor Annise Parker and City Attorney David Feldman announced Monday. “With respect to the referendum petition … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

One point of perspective on the repeal petitions

Posted on July 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the HERO-haters turning in their repeal petitions. Opponents of Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance Thursday turned in well more than the minimum number of signatures needed to trigger a November vote on whether to repeal the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2014 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

NDO vote will be next week

Posted on May 8, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The proposed non-discrimination ordinance was on Council’s agenda yesterday, but it did not come to a vote as it was tagged, which means it’ll be voted on next week. The Chron’s preview story gave some insight into what we should … Continue reading →

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Mayoral multitude

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Campos has an update on who’s running for what. Commentary dropped by the City Secretary Office a couple of days ago to check out the latest campaign treasurer designations. Here is who I will add to my political page later … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Lawsuit against anti-feeding ordinance dropped

Posted on March 25, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From last week: The plaintiffs suing the city of Houston over its charitable feeding ordinance have abruptly dropped a suit they filed over the issue, just hours after the judge in the case recused himself. The ordinance, which requires property … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The ballot propositions we won’t have

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the 78th day before the November 6 election. That makes it the statutory deadline for ordering an election, as noted by the Secretary of State. They cite Sec. 201.054 of the Elections Code for this, which seems wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Red light camera opponents turn in their petitions

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I was beginning to wonder if the anti-red light camera crowd was ever going to turn in their petition signatures, as it’s starting too get a little late in the game. They made their move on Monday, submitting 30,000 petition … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

ReNew Houston officially makes the ballot

Posted on August 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From their press release: The ReNew Houston Campaign is pleased to announce it has met state requirements for qualified signatures from registered Houston voters to call for a charter amendment to create a dedicated funding source to improve and renew … Continue reading →

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Renew Houston submits petitions

Posted on July 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Renew Houston has submitted signatures to get its drainage improvement proposition on the ballot this November. Renew Houston, a group of influential local engineers, has collected more than 30,000 signatures in a push to seek voter approval for an $8 … Continue reading →

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34 > 20, and other campaign finance news

Posted on October 9, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve added two more candidate reports to my campaign finance report spreadsheet, Robert Kane and KA Khan, both in District F. Each of them had filed paper reports instead of electronic reports. You can see a list of such reports … Continue reading →

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

Corrections, clarifications, and conundrums

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a followup to my post from this morning about the 30 days out reports. I’m sure there will be more of this stuff to come, from plenty of folks, but this is what I’ve got as of now. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Filings and endorsements

Posted on August 28, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve added several updates to my recent endorsements list. It’s not comprehensive, as it doesn’t include earlier endorsements, but it’s what I know of the recent activities. Endorsement lists added today were the Spring Branch Democrats and the Greater Houston … Continue reading →

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

Derr misses filing deadline

Posted on March 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday was the filing deadline for the District H special election. Usually, that brings a last-minute surprise in the form of an unexpected candidate. This time, it brought a different kind of surprise. As one of the first people to … Continue reading →

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

A list of who has actually filed treasurer’s reports so far

Posted on February 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Noel Freeman did us all the public service of trooping over to the City Secretary’s office and compiling a list of people who had filed treasurer’s reports as of Monday for election to a municipal office in 2009. As I … Continue reading →

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