Early contender for District A

I've had a lot of posts about possible contenders for the open Mayoral and At Large Council seats, plus the special election in District H, but there are other seats that will be open this November, and we'll start hearing about possible candidates for them soon. One such possibility has emerged in District A.

Northwest Houston businessman Bob Schoellkopf has announced his intention of running for the District A City Council seat. The seat is currently held by Toni Lawrence who is in her final term.

A native Houstonian, Schoellkopf attended Reagan High School in the Houston Heights and the University of Houston. He and his wife Pat have owned The Schoellkopf Co. Properties since 1973.

Schoellkopf, 69, has been a community activist for many years, and was responsible for working with the Houston Fire Department to get a blinking safety light in front of Fire Station #4 at 6530 West Little York.

He continues to be involved with traffic safety issues. He is a proponent of installing OptiCom sensors at major intersections for emergency vehicles to cross safely.

As a council member, Schoellkopf says he will lobby for more solutions to Houston's traffic problems, such as traffic signal timing and speed limit adjustment on four and six lane boulevards.

He also pledges he will not give a rubber stamp vote of approval on tax and utility rate hikes that come before city council, and will work to lower taxes.

As a realtor and 34-year resident of Woodland Trails, Schoellkopf says he is familiar with the problems neighborhoods are having with high density development and encroachment, and wants to see more emphasis by the city on planning and neighborhood protection.

I'm sure we'll be hearing plenty more stories like this in the coming months. In addition to District A and District H, which would have been open in November, Districts F and G have term-limited members as well. Like District A, F and G are held by Republicans. Given the results of the 2008 election and the sizable shift towards Democrats at the Harris County level, I would not assume that Republican candidates will be favored to hold all of them. (Yes, I know, these races are officially non-partisan. But anyone who pays any attention can tell who flies which flag.) From what I've seen of the precinct results, both A and F should be competitive, F more than A, for a Democrat. That certainly doesn't mean this is how it will play out, but it should affect the calculus of those who are thinking about mounting a campaign.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on January 18, 2009 to Election 2009