Tag Archives: term limits

The Chron on the El Franco Lee successor selection process

Posted on January 17, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

First, a lamentation. Not even a month has passed since Sylvester Turner was sworn in as Houston’s new mayor, and already the next election cycle is just around the corner. Early voting for party primaries is about a month away, … Continue reading →

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Selecting a successor for El Franco Lee: Process and questions

Posted on January 14, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox, sent by Carroll Robinson. The Issue During the past few days, there has been a great deal of speculation about the legal process for selecting someone to replace the late Commissioner El Franco Lee on the November … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mayor Annise Parker

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We are in the last few days of the administration of Mayor Annise Parker. Having served three terms each as Council member and Controller, she is finishing up eighteen years as an elected official in the city of Houston. I … Continue reading →

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The incumbents’ advantage

Posted on December 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Is it about to become that much harder to vote incumbent city officials out of office? The already difficult task of ousting incumbent Houston officeholders likely has become even tougher. City elected officials now have an extended runway to accumulate … Continue reading →

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Looking back and looking ahead for Mayor-elect Turner

Posted on December 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a Q&A with our new Mayor that looks back on the campaign that just wrapped up. Q: Economically, electorally, this is a divided city. You campaigned on a platform of bringing people together. How do you overcome that split … Continue reading →

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Turner’s Council

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So what kind of City Council will Mayor-elect Sylvester Turner have to work with? In addition to Turner replacing term-limited Mayor Annise Parker, the council also will gain five new faces, four thanks to term limits and one who defeated … Continue reading →

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Senate committee whines about ballot language

Posted on December 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Give me a break. State Sen. Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, cited the wording of recent Houston referendums to lengthen term limits and on a controversial equal-rights ordinance as two examples, both of which he said could have been more clear. The … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Age ranges

Posted on November 25, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Let us one more time ask the question: Just how old were the voters in our 2015 election? Range All Pct ====================== 18-30 21,998 8.2% 31-40 32,359 12.1% 41-50 39,074 14.6% 51-60 58,610 21.9% 61+ 115,755 43.2% The short answer … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed over term limits referendum

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As if on cue, the following hit my inbox on Wednesday afternoon, from Eric Dick: Phillip Paul Bryant is filing a lawsuit to invalidate Proposition 2 because the ballot language misled Houston voters. Annise Parker and the City of Houston … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: At Large #3

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Only one candidate running for citywide office won outright in November. That candidate was first term CM Michael Kubosh in At Large #3. Here’s how he won: Dist Kubosh LaRue McElligott Peterson ========================================== A 8,782 1,042 835 3,152 B 8,988 … Continue reading →

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Will someone sue over the term limits referendum?

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Pre-election polling showed voters slightly favored the change, but not if they were told that it benefits sitting council members. Rice University political scientist Bob Stein conducted the News 88.7/KHOU 11 News election poll. “When we informed voters that … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: City propositions

Posted on November 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Not really much to see here, but here’s what things look like for Prop 1. Dist Yes No Yes% No% ======================================= A 6,271 13,110 32.36% 67.64% B 6,265 14,435 30.27% 69.73% C 26,781 19,544 57.81% 42.19% D 9,871 16,775 37.04% … Continue reading →

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What the passage of the term limits referendum means

Posted on November 5, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a little unclear from this story. The passage of Proposition 2 also means some current officeholders will be able to serve longer than the six years they originally signed up for. Current freshman council members will now be able … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Changing term limits

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses City Proposition 2, which would change the current system of term limits from three two-year terms to two four-year terms. If our leaders know they’ll be judged by a six-year timeline, there’s little incentive to plan for … Continue reading →

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KHOU poll: Turner 19, King and Garcia 9

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Our third poll result in the past week. Sylvester Turner remains the front-runner, but Adrian Garcia has lost his once firm grip on second place and Bill King rises into the top tier of contenders in the race for Houston … Continue reading →

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Change to term limits will be on the ballot

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Whatever. Houston voters will decide whether elected city officials should serve two four-year terms rather than three two-year terms starting in 2016, potentially lengthening the terms of some current council members. The City Council voted 12-5 Wednesday to place the … Continue reading →

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Change to term limits may be on the November ballot as well

Posted on August 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. Mayor Annise Parker’s proposal would wait until 2020 to lengthen City Council members, the mayor and and controller’s terms; while Councilman Jerry Davis is proposing a staggered roll-out starting in 2016. Supporters say the 2020 plan … Continue reading →

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If HERO then no other ballot items

Posted on July 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Makes sense. With her signature nondiscrimination law likely to appear on the November ballot, Mayor Annise Parker left in doubt Wednesday whether she will ask City Council to also place before voters long-discussed changes to term limits and the city’s … Continue reading →

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Alvarado’s term limits bill

Posted on March 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: State Representative Carol Alvarado has filed HB 2917 that, if passed by the Legislature and approved by voters, would change the city’s term limit structure to two four-year terms for the mayor, city controller and councilmembers. “The … Continue reading →

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Council recommends term limits change

Posted on March 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Meh, I say. A Houston City Council committee Tuesday night recommended changing the term limits of elected officials from three two-year terms to two four-year terms starting in 2019, a charter change that could go to voters in November. The … Continue reading →

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On the seasonal return of term limits modification

Posted on February 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a fuller version of that earlier story about Council moving forward with a modified term limits proposal. You can almost set your watch by it. Mayor Annise Parker is in her third and final term, which means it is … Continue reading →

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Term limits change approved by Council committee

Posted on February 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

One step closer to the ballot. Most council members are in favor of changing term limits from three two-year terms to two four-year terms. They will refer their recommendation to the mayor, who will then put it up for a … Continue reading →

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There will be charter referenda next year

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Details are pending, but one way or another we’ll get to vote on some charter changes next November. City Council members on Thursday agreed that any city charter reforms, including changes to term limits, should go to voters in November … Continue reading →

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Charter review gets set

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Campos: This Thursday, December 4 the City Council’s Ad Hoc Charter Review committee will meet and several members of Council want the following in BOLD discussed. I have added a few devil’s advocate observations. BTW: All members of City … Continue reading →

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Chartering

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more than just the Mayor’s race going on in 2015. Houston is guaranteed a frantic 2015 political season with an open mayor’s race on the ballot, but it could get busier still with growing talk of placing … Continue reading →

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January campaign finance reports for Houston officeholders

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One more set of finance reports to document, from city of Houston officeholders and candidates. I’m not going to link to the individual reports this time, since the city’s system automatically downloads the PDFs and I don’t feel like uploading … Continue reading →

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Why not three?

Posted on January 21, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Greg suggests a couple of tweaks to term limits. » Fix the JoJo exclusion. The statute, as written, is amazingly short and simple: Section 6a. – Limitation of terms. No person, who has already served two full terms, shall be … Continue reading →

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Time to talk term limits again

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

The subject keeps coming up, though it never seems to get anywhere. As the inauguration of Houston’s elected leaders begins Thursday morning, supporters and spectators gathered at the Wortham Center downtown will see six new City Council members walk across … Continue reading →

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Is CM-elect Stardig term limited or not?

Posted on December 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I brought this up yesterday in my wrapup of the city and HCC runoffs, and I’m asking it again here in the hope that someone who can provide a definitive answer will offer one. The question I have is whether … Continue reading →

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Runoff results: Rough day for incumbents

Posted on December 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I have no complaint about the results. With all precincts reporting, controversial first-term council incumbents Helena Brown, in northwest Houston’s District A, and Andrew C. Burks Jr., in At-Large Position 2, fell to their challengers, as did HCC trustees Yolanda … Continue reading →

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What’s on the agenda for Mayor Parker in her third term

Posted on November 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Now that Mayor Parker has been safely re-elected, with a better-than-expected margin, what does she plan to do from here? A triumphant Parker on Tuesday lauded her “decisive” victory but quickly shifted her focus to the coming two years, listing … Continue reading →

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Can we get a charter review?

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member C.O. Bradford and HCC Trustee Carroll Robinson would like one. Houston needs a Charter Review Commission to review, update and propose recommendations to the voters to modernize our charter, the structure and operations of city government, with specific … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of District A

Posted on September 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It must be getting close to the start of Election Season, because the first of the Chronicle’s local race overviews has been published. Since winning a seat on the Houston City Council two years ago, Helena Brown has become known … Continue reading →

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Still no support for term limits

Posted on May 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Fine by me. The full House, for the second time in eight years, drove a stake through the chance of imposing term limits on the governor and other statewide officeholders. The proposed constitutional amendment that would have gone to voters … Continue reading →

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