So how good were my predictions yesterday? Let's take a look.
Mayor - The over/under line for Mayor White is 90%. I think he just slides over it.
The mayor still faces challenges in the coming years, including rising worker health care costs, massive pension debt and growing public safety needs.Up first, though, is a potentially contentious City Council debate today about setting the property tax rate.
[...]
Jared Woodfill, Harris County Republican Party chair, said he hoped to persuade enough council conservatives and force the mayor to compromise.
"They are hearing from Houstonians, and I think you'll see some movement," he said. "If not, they're not listening to the people."
White's critics also see the next two years playing out as a potential platform for a gubernatorial race. That has encouraged them to try to frame White's record on their terms."He's positioning himself for a run in 2010," Woodfill said. "We're going to be ready for him."
Enough of that. Back to the prediction review:
Council At Large #5 - It's tough, but I'm going to guess Zaf Tahir and Jolanda Jones make it into the runoff.
Council Districts D, E, and I - I think Wanda Adams will lead the field in D, and I think I is close enough that there will still be a runoff even with third candidate Brad Batteau drawing three percent or so.
Other contested Council races - Incumbents across the board. No surprises.
HISD bond referendum - Passes with a close margin, say 52-48.
Harris County bonds - All pass, none in any danger of not passing.
State constitutional amendments - All pass, though some of the bond proposals are close, say less than 55%.
So overall, not too bad. I was half-right about most things, which would probably make for a good epitaph for me some day. Other good assessments of the day's activities come from Lose an Eye, Los Dos Professors, Houtopia, and Greg. Grits reviews the jail bond referenda, while Vince rounds up the school bond elections. Christof has an explanation for why the Harris County jail bond failed. Miya and Elise attended the Election Night parties so you didn't have to.
UPDATE: One more wrapup, from Stace.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on November 07, 2007 to Election 2007NPR News mentioned that municipal bonds are taking a hit because their insurers invested heavily in the sub-prime market. Apparently bond money will be costing more despite a good rating.
Posted by: Charles Hixon on November 7, 2007 8:44 PM