Tag Archives: Sue Lovell

Council will vote on SafeClear changes

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Back in March, the city announced that it would be removing most of the subsidies for SafeClear as a cost-saving measure. The details have now been finalized and will be ready for Council action in June. Roadside services, such as … Continue reading →

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TPC splits the difference

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Bike advocates get a partial victory as the Transportation Policy Council voted to keep the last $12.8 million of unallocated federal funds on alternate mode projects instead of redirecting it towards roads. “Whatever we do in this room is supposed … Continue reading →

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No more free tows

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Change is coming to SafeClear – it will now cost $50 for a tow on a highway inside the city, instead of it being provided for free. Passing the cost of towing to motorists is expected to save the city … Continue reading →

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Today’s the day for the TIP

Posted on March 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

That postponed Transportation Policy Council meeting to determine how to allocate unprogrammed federal transportation funds happens today. A proposal before the regional Transportation Policy Council last month could have clawed back $12.8 million in funding set aside for bicycle and … Continue reading →

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TPC delays vote on TIP

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Tomorrow: The Houston-Galveston Area Council’sTransportation Policy Council (TPC) unanimously voted on Friday morning to delay by thirty days its vote on a full $79.8 million allocation of unprogrammed federal transportation funds toward Mobility – roadway and freight rail – … Continue reading →

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A very early look at 2011 fundraising

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of weeks ago I took an early look at the 2011 city elections, but there was a key ingredient missing in that analysis: Money. The fundraising season for city candidates, which has been closed since last January, will … Continue reading →

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Department of rail-related corrections

Posted on January 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Sue Lovell writes a letter disputing certain aspects of the recent story about Galveston commuter rail being off track. Barry Goodman blames lack of a regional transportation policy as a big obstacle. The eight-county transportation planning region represented … Continue reading →

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Council passes revised historic preservation ordinance

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see that City Council finally passed the long-awaited and much-revised historic preservation ordinance, and even more glad to see that the 90-day waiver for demolitions has been excised, so that what we have now is an actual … Continue reading →

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Public Hearing on Final Draft of Historic Preservation Ordinance

Posted on September 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox: Final Draft of Proposed Amendments to Historic Preservation Ordinance Released Houstonians, After a two-month process involving public input from stakeholders, I have released the final draft of proposed amendments to the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance and a … Continue reading →

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The preservationists make their case

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Ramona Davis of the Greater Houston Preservation Alliance has a long and detailed op-ed in the Sunday paper that makes the case for the new preservation ordinance currently working its way through Council. Here’s a sample of the bullet points: … Continue reading →

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Michael Williams followup

Posted on June 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Between some comments I got on my previous post and some emails I received as well, I can say with confidence that the Michael Williams in question is the HCCS Trustee. In addition, it is my understanding that he intends … Continue reading →

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Council may vote today to strengthen preservation ordinance

Posted on June 2, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, we heard that Houston City Council was considering a change to the historic preservation ordinance that would actually prevent structures from being torn down or moved if the Houston Archeological and Historic Commission denied the request to do … Continue reading →

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Council may consider higher water rate hikes

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, a water rate hike of about 12 percent was proposed by Mayor Parker earlier this month. That ran into some resistance from apartment dwellers, since the hike would be higher for multi-family residences than it would be … Continue reading →

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Runoff precinct analysis, At Large Council races

Posted on December 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing on with the precinct analyses from the runoff, here’s a look at the City Council At Large races. First up, At Large #1: Dist Derr Costello Derr% Cost% ==================================== A 7,200 8,160 46.9 53.1 B 5,737 4,859 54.1 45.9 … Continue reading →

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Initial thoughts on the runoffs

Posted on December 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll go through them one race at a time, with the unofficial vote totals minus Montgomery County for each. Once I have precinct results, I’ll go through those and do a more detailed analysis. Mayor Annise Parker – 81,971, 52.78% … Continue reading →

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Chron on the Jones pileup

Posted on December 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the mailers being sent out opposing Jolanda Jones. The effort by five council members to oust Jones, arguably the most controversial and well-known figure on council, was virtually unprecedented in the past several decades, according … Continue reading →

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Jolanda versus the world

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you’re on Carl Whitmarsh’s mailing list, you’ve probably seen this, which is one of several mailers being sent out by the Jack Christie campaign. That one is going to the Heights, Montrose, and District C. The others are this … Continue reading →

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Eight days out finance reports, At Large candidates

Posted on December 8, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing on with our look at the eight days out reports, here’s how things stack up for the At Large Council candidates in the runoffs. Candidate Raised Spent Loans Cash PAC $$ PAC % =============================================================== Derr 26,692 13,034 5,000 5,487 … Continue reading →

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Lovell v. Burks

Posted on November 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And here’s the Chron story on the At Large #2 runoff, featuring Council Member Sue Lovell and Andrew Burks. Unlike Jones v. Christie, my opinion that CM Lovell will retain her seat is much more common. Burks does have a … Continue reading →

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Council turnover

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Sue Schechter announces for County Clerk

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Former State Rep. and Harris County Democratic Party Chair Sue Schechter has announced her intent to run for the to-be-open Harris County Clerk position next year. Schechter was known to be interested in this position, and now she’s made it … Continue reading →

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The HCRP view of the candidates

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here, in PDF format, you will find a copy of the mailer that Harris County GOP Chair Jared Woodfill sent out to his flock before the election. In it you will find three things of interest. One is all the … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: City Council At Large races

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Moving on to the At Large City Council races. I’m going to look at each of them here. First up, At Large #1: Dist Cook Litt Alls Cost Derr Rodr Perk Batt ============================================================ A 1,521 1,629 397 4,806 4,144 2,087 … Continue reading →

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Six questions for the runoffs

Posted on November 5, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Six questions that I can think of, anyway. 1. What will Peter do? Will Peter Brown endorse someone in the runoff? If so, how vigorously does he support that person? He’s in a position to have an effect on the … Continue reading →

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Eight days out: Spending on voter outreach by At Large candidates

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As with the Controller’s race, I took a look at spending on voter outreach for At Large candidates in the 30 day out report. Given that some large number of people have no clue about who is running for these … Continue reading →

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Brown ad #5

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You’ll probably see this without my help, but here’s Peter Brown’s fifth, and presumably final (modulo the runoff) TV ad: I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing the Brown ads all over the place. I haven’t seen a Parker … Continue reading →

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Eastwood art deco facade saved

Posted on September 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The art deco facade on the Sterling Laundry & Cleaning Co. on Harrisburg in Eastwood, which had been marked for demolition as part of the construction of the Harrisburg line, has been saved. From the inbox: Vice Mayor Pro Tem … Continue reading →

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Interview with Council Member Sue Lovell

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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At Large action

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

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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Tuesday Council roundup

Posted on August 4, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Sue Lovell, who is running hard for re-election after her close win in 2007, has added some fundraising muscle to her team. Houston Vice Mayor Pro Tem Sue Lovell announced today that Robert Miller would lead the Finance … Continue reading →

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Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?

Posted on April 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act … Continue reading →

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Shorter to challenge Lovell

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Isiah Carey reports. The Insite had a brief conversation with Houstonian Rozzy ‘Roz’ Shorter. She’s not quite given up on her political career. You may remember Shorter as the local woman chosen by the Barack Obama camp to get the … Continue reading →

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