I have three things to say about this story concerning the candidates for City Council and HISD Board of Trustees who have delinquent property tax bills:

1. While this is certainly a valid issue, I wonder if it's really worthy of a front page above-the-fold headline, given that none of the three Council candidates named is likely to come close to getting even 10% of the vote. None of them had reported any campaign contributions by the October 6 filing date. It just feels a little like overkill to me. Frankly, I'd have led with the HISD candidates, since they're the stronger contenders in their races.

2. Once again, as with the residency story, Paul Bettencourt is prominently quoted. He's the tax assessor as well as the voter registrar, so these things are certainly within his bailiwick. I suppose I'm just amused that he's been popping up so regularly this fall as the unofficial arbiter of Houston's municipal elections. Which leads me to...

3. Do we just have an unusual crop of candidates this time around, or is this the first time the Chron has devoted so many resources to determining which candidates do or do not meet residency requirements, have criminal records, and owe back taxes? Offhand, I don't remember this being such a big deal in 2005 or 2003, though I might just be forgetting. A quick search of my 2005 and 2003 archives yielded nothing interesting, though of course I may just have not blogged any such stories. Did I miss something in those years, or is this year different?