SEIU fallout

Both Kristin Mack and Houtopia write about the City Council At Large #2 race and its future implications. Says Houtopia:


We will likely never know why SEIU chose to invest so heavily in one candidate in one race, so we can only speculate. We suspect it had less to do with the individual personalities in the race than with making a statement about its ability to influence local elections here. SEIU likely didn't expect Aiyer to survive the first round, and was gearing up to take on Poli Acosta or another of the Republicans. That he did may have been too bad as far as SEIU was concerned, but of little consequence.

In the At-Large #2 race, SEIU had an opportunity to back an underfunded candidate for an open seat and make the difference, and that's exactly what it did. Makes for good bragging to donors and sends a message that, local roots or no roots, SEIU is here now and to be taken seriously.


Both note that losing candidate Jay Aiyer filed an ethics complaint against Lovell and SEIU for these expenditures, claiming that it wasn't coordinated. I rather doubt much will come of that, for I don't think the city's enforcement of campaign regulations is all that much more robust that the Texas Ethics Commission's, but we'll know more soon.

I do have a suggestion for SEIU in the event they are cleared in this matter. You may have heard that there's going to be a trial in the coming months over allegations of improper use of corporate campaign contributions from the 2002 state legislative races. One of the arguments being advanced by the defense is that things like expenses for fundraising and polling fall under the allowed "administrative overhead" exception for corporate cash. The same law that governs how corporate cash can be spent also covers union money. Perhaps if the defense prevails in these cases, the SEIU might like to study what the Texas Association of Business did during that election cycle, and see how it can best emulate it. It wouldn't take much more than the $250K it spent this year to have an effect statewide as well. Just a thought.

12/17/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Runoff results

It was Ana Hernandez over Laura Salinas in HD143, Sue Lovell over Jay Aiyer in the only close vote in At Large #2, Anne Clutterbuck over George Hittner in District C, Jarvis Johnson (the only runoff candidate to win after coming in second in November) over Felicia Galloway-Hall in District B, Natasha Kamrani over Anne Flores Santiago in HISD1, and Larry Marshall over Daisy Maura in HISD9. Citywide turnout was less than five percent, with only the District C race approaching 10%.

Congratulations to all the winners. I admit to being mildly surprised by Lovell's win, but she had a plan and she executed it well. At the start of the race, I didn't think Kamrani had much of a chance, but the more I learned about that race the better I thought of her odds.

I don't think we've heard the last of most of the candidates who did not win. I'd go so far as to say that Aiyer ought to be considered a frontrunner for one of the two At Large seats that will come open in 2007. Both of the new At Large members this year failed in their first attempt, so there's no reason for Aiyer to be discouraged. I wouldn't be surprised to see Hittner take a shot at one of those seats, either. Laura Salinas said this isn't her last race, and I think Galloway-Hall will also be back.

Greg has some thoughts on At Large #2 and District C. There's not much time to recover from these races before the 2006 season is upon us, so take a breath and let's get ready. Next year is going to be a hot one.

12/11/05 | permalink | comments [9]

Tomorrow's the day

Regular voting for the runoff elections will be tomorrow from 7 AM to 7 PM. If you plan on doing your civic duty then, here's one last roundup of news stories on the races for City Council, HD143, and HISD. The rest is up to you.

12/09/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Statements by Clutterbuck and Hittner

Also in the Examiner are statements by Anne Clutterbuck and George Hittner for those of you who still haven't made up your minds in that runoff. You can also catch them tonight on Texas Politics - The Real Deal, with David Jones and Gary Polland, 6:30-7:30 p.m. - Warner Cable Channel 17. The call-in number is 713-807-1794 if you want to ask them a question. Don't let it be said that you went into the booth on Saturday uninformed about your choice. (Thanks to Carl Whitmarsh for the TV info.)

Finally, the Houston GLBT Political Caucus has issued a statement criticizing the recent mailers sent out on Hittner's behalf by the Conservative Republicans of Harris County and Steve Hotze. Click the More link to read what they said.

Continue reading »

12/08/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Early voting ends at 7 PM today

Today is the last day for early voting in the city of Houston for the runoff elections. Polls are open until 7 PM. After that, you have to vote in your home precinct on Saturday. As a reminder, here are the early voting locations. Turnout will be low, so that means short-to-nonexistent lines and a proportionally bigger impact with your vote. What more could you want? Go vote, it's good for you.

12/06/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Lonely times at the early voting locations

To the surprise of no one, business has been slow at the early voting locations so far.


Turnout for Saturday's six runoff elections probably will be about 10 percent of registered voters, election officials say.

Reasons include holiday distractions, low voter interest in the races and the fact that all but one of the contests are limited to specific districts within Harris County.

Early voting started Wednesday and runs through Tuesday.

On the first day, only 918 people showed up at the polls. First-day voting was much heavier in the 2001 and 2003 runoffs, which decided races for Houston mayor.

"Turnout is going to be very light," said David Beirne, a spokesman for Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, the county's chief elections official.

"There's not a mayor's race or proposition driving people to vote," he said. "By the runoff, people think the thing is already decided or their candidate is no longer in it, so they decide to stay home."

[...]

It was a "slow, slow" day at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, traditionally one of the most popular early voting locations, when voting began there Wednesday, said site supervisor Lee Parsley.

Only 116 people showed up, and the longest line they had all day was two people deep, Parsley said.

"They don't have much to vote for," Parsley said. "They come in fast, and they leave fast. We're happy to get anyone to come in. It's a low-key, runoff race."


We did our civic duty at the MMSC this afternoon around 4 PM. No waiting in line, and only two campaigns (Aiyer and Hittner) had volunteers present in the parking lot. Tomorrow and Tuesday are your last chances until the general on Saturday. As a reminder, here are the locations and hours.

As long as there's not much news to discuss for the runoff, here's an essay question to ponder: Why don't we extend the early-voting concept of "voting centers" to Election Day itself, as they're thinking about doing in Denver? The fact that we have them for early voting is proof that we don't need a polling place in every precinct, though of course we'd need more voting centers on Election Day itself than we have during early voting, especially when turnout is expected to be heavy. I realize there are reasons practical and sentimental to keep many traditional neighborhood polling places, but I submit that voting centers make it harder to practice certain types of voter intimidation (since you can't say with nearly as much certainty who's showing up at a given center) and also eliminates challenging votes for being cast in the wrong precinct (as we saw in the Heflin/Vo challenge). I believe that these two benefits would outweigh those objections. But, since it's an essay question, what do you think?

12/04/05 | permalink | comments [1]

As we approach the wire in the runoffs

Three more days of early voting. One week till the runoff. We'll all need the break that Christmas will provide.

Couple things happening beneath the radar that you ought to know about. First, a little while back the question of whom Democrats ought to support in the City Council District C runoff was asked. That question has been pretty definitively answered, and the answer is Anne Clutterbuck, who has picked up endorsements from the Houston GLBT Political Caucus and general election opponent Mark Lee. Perhaps realizing this, George Hittner has taken a turn to the right in his campaign. Greg has a copy of Hittner's latest mailer, apparently sent by uberconservative Steven Hotze. Take a look if you're in District C and still undecided.

Meanwhile, over in City Council At Large #2, there's been a lot of heat coming from the Lovell camp over some inflammatory anti-gay rhetoric from Houston talk radio host Edd Hendee, which he said while also endorsing Jay Aiyer. Lovell and the Houston GLBT Political Caucus has demanded that Aiyer disavow Hendee:


We call on Jay Aiyer and his supporters to repudiate publicly the vile remarks made Tuesday by radio host Edd Hendee and Mr. Hendee's endorsement, which Mr. Aiyer sought. Mr. Hendee's statements attacking families and children, and implying that adopted children have an inferior status in the life of a family, are wrong, morally offensive, and have absolutely no place in what should be a civilized and informative campaign for public office. His attack on Sue Lovell's children and family, and the families of her supporters, are particularly mean and vicious and he should be told loudly and by all that this is unacceptable.

Mr. Aiyer and his supporters should reject publicly Mr. Hendee's endorsement and send a message that hate has no place in Houston. As Mayor Bill White said at his inauguration, "We're all in this together and that's the way we ought to approach solving the problems of the City of Houston."


Aiyer responded as follows:

All too often in politics today, the low road is the one most traveled. In May, I signed the Texas Code of Fair Campaign Practices, partially in response to disturbing racially bigoted comments coming from Ms. Lovell's campaign. In the spirit of having a rigorous contest on the substantive issues of importance to Houstonians, I called on the other candidates in the race to join me in signing the pledge. No one else signed.

Hate has no place in Houston. Any such prejudicial comments, be they based on sexual orientation, ethnicity, or any other "lowest common denominator" divisive issue are wrong and have no place in public discourse. I will always oppose discrimination in all its forms, and reject personal attacks against candidates or their family members.

I take Mayor White's call to never let people divide Houston very seriously. That is why I have worked hard to run an inclusive, non-partisan campaign that reaches out to Houstonians from all walks of life. There is far too much work to be done continuing to move our city forward to take the low road.


That wasn't enough for Lovell:

I and my supporters renew our call on Jay Aiyer to repudiate the endorsement and vicious statements of Edd Hendee. Mr. Aiyer to this date has not done so.

I repudiated and rejected the unsought endorsement and ugly statements of James Galvan, immediately and without reservation. I did not want that kind of sentiment associated with my campaign.

Mr. Aiyer sought Mr. Hendee's endorsement, according to Mr. Hendee. Mr. Aiyer should now reject that endorsement and prove to Houstonians that he will stand up to bigotry and hatred.


Greg has the transcript and more than a few choice words for Lovell, whom he accuses of hypocrisy in the whole affair. A site called Sepia Mutiny notes that one of Lovell's senior campaign advisers has been publicly calling Jay a “dot-headed terrorist”. There's more back-and-forth about it there, so go see for yourself. Is it just me, or does anyone else think this is the sort of thing that might, I don't know, attract some media coverage?

Finally, as Stace notes, there have been some ugly things said in the HISD1 runoff as well. From Friday's story, which was about a re-airing of the ethics charges against Anne Flores Santiago from her mother's primary challenge to State Sen. Mario Gallegos last year:


At one point, Santiago's aunt, 71-year-old Dolores Torres, shouted that people should vote for her niece because, "She's Hispanic and grew up in the community. She's not Iranian."

Santiago's opponent was born in Ohio to an Iranian-born father and a mother from Kentucky. She came to Houston in 1990 as a Teach for America corps member assigned to teach Spanish-speaking middle school students. Kamrani is now a lawyer, married to Chris Barbic, founder of YES College Preparatory Charter School.

"Foreigners are coming in not knowing the community," Torres said. "Anne grew up here."


Like I said, ugly things. But the end is in sight. If any of this makes you depressed and less likely to haul yourself to a polling place, please shake it off. The need to participate doesn't change because of regrettable words. If anything, and however much I'm tired of the negativity, I'm more determined to cast my votes now.

12/03/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Time for the attack mailers

Got three pieces of mail yesterday relating to the upcoming runoff elections. Two were positive: one from Jay Aiyer, one from Natasha Kamrani. The third was a straight-on attack piece, saying that Kamrani did not vote in several recent elections, up through 2003. If you looked real hard, you could see the tiny print, which was nearly the same color as the background it was on, that identified it as being paid for by the Anne Flores Santiago campaign. That was the only place Santiago's name appeared.

Nothing unseemly about this - unlike the anti-Adrian Garcia pieces from 2003, this one did say who sent it, and it contained simple enough claims. Not having a good voting record is not the most attractive trait one could want in a candidate for public office, but it's hardly the least attractive one, either. It's not going to change my vote, and more to the point it's not going to change my level of interest in voting. That's all that this piece, which I presume was also sent to most of my Heights neighbors, is supposed to do, since for all any casual reader would know Kamrani is the only candidate running. Runoffs are about turnout, and the goal here is to reduce it in Kamrani's main stronghold. The main thing to take away from this is that now we all know who the frontrunner is.

12/01/05 | permalink | comments [8]

Early voting begins today for Houston runoff elections

Early voting begins today for the City of Houston runoff elections, which will be held on Saturday, December 10. If you live in the City of Houston, you have a vote to cast, for the City Council At Large #2 race between Jay Aiyer and Sue Lovell. You may have one or two other choices to make, depending on if you live in City Council Districts B or C, HISD trustee districts 1 or 9, or HD143.

Locations and times for early voting are as follows:


EARLY-VOTING HOURS

7 a.m.-7 p.m. today-Saturday
1-6 p.m. Sunday
7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Tuesday



LOCATIONS


Inside Loop 610

Downtown: Anderson-Clayton Building, Annex 44, 1310 Prairie, 16th floor
Moody Park area: Moody Park Recreation Center, 3725 Fulton
Kashmere area: Kashmere Multi-Service Center, 4802 Lockwood
Southeast Houston: HCCS Southeast College, 2524 Garland at Rustic.
Palm Center: Justice of the peace-constable entry, 5300 Griggs
Astrodome area: Fiesta Mart, 8130 Kirby
Neartown: Metropolitan Multi-Service Center, 1475 W. Gray

Outside Loop 610

N ortheast Houston: BeBe Tabernacle Methodist Church, 7210 Langley
Galena Park: Galena Park Branch Library, 1500 Keene, Galena Park
Hobby area: I.B.E.W. Hall #66, 4345 Allen Genoa
Sunnyside: Multi-Service Center, 4605 Wilmington
South Houston area: Power Center, 12401 S. Post Oak
Southwest Houston: Bayland Park Community Center, 6400 Bissonnet near Hillcroft
Near West Side: Tracy Gee Community Center, 3599 Westcenter
Spring Branch: Harris County Courthouse Annex No. 35, 1721 Pech, second floor
Acres Homes: Multi-Service Center, 6719 W. Montgomery, second floor

Outside Beltway 8

Kingwood: Fire Station 102, 4102 Lake Houston
Clear Lake: Freeman Branch Library, 16616 Diana, Clear Lake
Alief: Alief Regional Library, 7979 South Kirkwood
West Houston: VN Teamwork, 11210 Bellaire, Suite 118
Far West Houston: Courtyard by Marriott, 12401 Katy Freeway at Dairy Ashford



Fort Bend County

22. Rosenberg Annex, 4520 Reading, Rosenberg
23. Chasewood Clubhouse, 7622 Chasewood, Missouri City


Note that early voting only runs through Tuesday, December 6, so don't dawdle. As with all runoffs, this will be a low-turnout event, so your vote really matters. Don't miss the opportunity to have an effect.

11/30/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Katy ISD kerfuffle: Not resolved

Apparently, the Texas Ethics Commission's clearing of two Katy ISD officials of charges that they used district computers to urge employees to vote for incumbents in a school board election is not the end of the story, for the Fort Bend County DA has taken action by referring new complaints to the TEC.


Fort Bend County District Attorney John Healey filed complaints involving 42 Katy Independent School District employees who may have violated election laws by using district computers to send campaign messages via e-mail.

The complaints, which allege potential violations of civil law, were filed with the Texas Ethics Commission on Wednesday, Healey said.

The action comes a week after the commission dismissed complaints against two high-ranking Katy ISD officials accused of using district computers to urge employees to vote for incumbents in a school board election. All three were re-elected in the May 7 election.

Texas law prohibits using district resources to distribute political advertising.

However, Healey said 77 e-mails from 42 other Katy ISD employees might have violated the election code and are being forwarded to the commission for further investigation. Healey didn't reveal the names.


Question: Why didn't the TEC's investigation include these alleged violations of electoral law? (Answer: Because the TEC is a toothless and impotent body that couldn't investigate allegations of low prices at Wal-Mart if its life depended on it.)

The probe started in May when Healey's office received information that Katy ISD employees sent campaign messages on district computers. The investigation was handled by the Texas Rangers.

Healey said that after he reviewed the results of the investigation he did not think criminal sanctions were warranted.

Instead, Healey recommended district employees and administrators be trained on election law.


Question: As Bob Dunn notes, Healy decided months ago that the allegations did not rise to criminality. So what was he doing with this? Certainly he has an obligation to refer evidence of wrongdoing to the appropriate body, but May was a long time ago. Did it really take six months to sort it all out? Maybe Healy knows that the TEC doesn't look past whatever it's given up front, and he wanted to be as thorough as possible. I'm just a little confused is all.

Meanwhile, in other Fort Bend electoral news, the Department of Justice is coming to town to clarify the county's efforts to provide non-English-speaking citizens with an equal opportunity to vote. Bob has been following this story from the beginning, so to catch up on things go here, here, and here.

11/25/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Not the kind of endorsement one wants

11/22/05 | permalink | comments [7]

Endorsement watch: Runoff recommendations

11/20/05 | permalink | comments [6]

Aiyer files ethics complaint against Lovell

11/18/05 | permalink | comments [3]

Katy ISD kerfuffle resolved for now

11/18/05 | permalink | comments [0]

The runoffs

11/16/05 | permalink | comments [22]

Mike Krusee loses big at home on the propositions

11/11/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Election 2005: National results

11/09/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Election 2005: Statewide results

11/09/05 | permalink | comments [6]

Election 2005: Houston results

11/09/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Totally unnecessary reminder to vote (I hope)

11/08/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Did I mention that tomorrow was Election Day?

11/07/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Election Day approacheth

11/07/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Annise Parker

11/06/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Ask The Mayor

11/05/05 | permalink | comments [3]

CTC survey on transportation issues

11/05/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Where does Bill White go from here?

11/04/05 | permalink | comments [3]

Endorsement watch: But wait, there's still more!

11/03/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Endorsement watch: At long last, District A

11/02/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Endorsement watch: HISD

10/30/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Endorsement watch: My turn

10/29/05 | permalink | comments [5]

HISD1 interview: Natasha Kamrani

10/28/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Complaint filed against Save Texas Marriage

10/27/05 | permalink | comments [11]

Endorsement watch: Council Districts H and I

10/27/05 | permalink | comments [7]

Endorsement watch: Is that all there is?

10/26/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Council race news

10/25/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Endorsement watch: Nothing new

10/25/05 | permalink | comments [2]

On saving marriage in Texas

10/24/05 | permalink | comments [8]

Endorsement watch: Prop 5

10/24/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Endorsement watch: Mayor

10/23/05 | permalink | comments [1]

A matter of degree

10/23/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Endorsement watch: Prop 9

10/23/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Endorsement watch: HD143

10/21/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Endorsement watch: Prop 7

10/20/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Endorsement watch: Prop 1

10/19/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Pretty much every newspaper against Prop 2

10/18/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Endorsement watch: Districts B, C, and F

10/18/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Eight for District B

10/17/05 | permalink | comments [15]

More proposition positions

10/17/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Is this the best the pro-Prop 2 folks can do?

10/16/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Chron At Large endorsements

10/16/05 | permalink | comments [1]

More propositioning

10/14/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Aiyer/Lovell debate roundup

10/14/05 | permalink | comments [0]

HISD coverage

10/12/05 | permalink | comments [3]

Prop 2: It's about letting people protect their assets

10/11/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Proposition One

10/09/05 | permalink | comments [5]

The grassroots movement on Prop 2

10/09/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Nonscientific municipal poll numbers

10/05/05 | permalink | comments [0]

There are other propositions on the ballot, too

09/27/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Against Prop 2

09/26/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Deep thoughts

09/16/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Andrew Raseij

09/13/05 | permalink | comments [3]

The full slate

09/09/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Filing deadline for city elections today

09/08/05 | permalink | comments [5]

No Nonsense blog

08/31/05 | permalink | comments [0]

No Nonsense blockwalking in Houston on Saturday

08/24/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Meet Henry Cisneros at Peter Brown's campaign headquarters tonight

08/23/05 | permalink | comments [5]

No Nonsense update - Going local

08/23/05 | permalink | comments [2]

HISD1 interview: Richard Cantu

08/23/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Transportation questions for City Council candidates

08/15/05 | permalink | comments [0]

No Nonsense in November

08/15/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Building on Hackett's success

08/04/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Final thoughts on OH-02

08/03/05 | permalink | comments [6]

Early results look strong in OH-02

08/02/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Today's the day for Hackett

08/02/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Meeting the municipal candidates

08/01/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Meet the municipal candidates

07/31/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Texans for Hackett update

07/29/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Texans for Hackett

07/28/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Texas Thursday: Paul Hackett

07/28/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Paul Hackett in OH-02

07/26/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Cybersquatting on City Council

07/21/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Local fundraising

07/15/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Aiyer on Public Safety

07/05/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Hardberger wins in a close one

06/08/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Runoff today in San Antonio

06/07/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Election set for HD143

05/27/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Schubert endorses Hardberger

05/26/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Hardberger leads in new poll

05/25/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Another contender in HD143

05/24/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Who's qualified?

05/19/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Katy ISD kerfuffle

05/19/05 | permalink | comments [0]

More HD143 stuff

05/18/05 | permalink | comments [21]

The jockeying for HD143 has begun

05/16/05 | permalink | comments [6]

Perry and Schubert

05/12/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Election results

05/08/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Liveblogging the election

05/07/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Propositions on the ballot in San Antonio

05/05/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Upcoming City Council campaign events

04/25/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Seeing double in San Antonio

04/25/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Polls and debates in San Antonio

04/16/05 | permalink | comments [1]

A raft of San Antonio elections stuff

04/12/05 | permalink | comments [0]

How are things in Bedford now?

04/08/05 | permalink | comments [0]

San Antonio mayoral race update

03/30/05 | permalink | comments [0]

A local view of the SA Mayoral race

03/23/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Chron on Castro

03/21/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Special election coming in Montgomery County?

03/12/05 | permalink | comments [0]

The San Antonio Mayor's race

03/08/05 | permalink | comments [8]

Bedford rollback passes

03/06/05 | permalink | comments [3]

Battling in Bedford

03/05/05 | permalink | comments [3]

SAElections.com

02/28/05 | permalink | comments [2]

In the family

02/08/05 | permalink | comments [4]

Straus wins in HD121

02/06/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Vote today in San Antonio

02/05/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Jay for Houston

02/04/05 | permalink | comments [1]

Volunteer for Rose Spector

02/03/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Early voting ends in San Antonio

02/02/05 | permalink | comments [0]

And then there were three in HD121

01/29/05 | permalink | comments [2]

Checking in on Rose Spector

01/26/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Rose Spector Dot Com

01/25/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Spector is in

01/19/05 | permalink | comments [0]

Who needs 527s when you have reality TV?

01/14/05 | permalink | comments [1]

An early look at 2005

12/17/04 | permalink | comments [4]