Category Archives: Election 2007

Looks like my prediction that Mayor White will break 90% of the vote today has drawn some interesting responses. Matt Stiles thinks it’s too high, noting that Bob Lanier only got 82% going into his third term, and provides a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

You know what to do. If you need to know where to vote, go to Harris Votes and click on Voting Information…Election Day Voting Info. You can search for your polling place by precinct, or by name and address. Polls … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So. Election Day. Not very high-profile today in Houston, but elections are always interesting to me. I try to avoid trafficking in electoral predictions because they’re a great way to look foolish, but what the heck. A little skin in … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s the sweetest thing you’ll read today: Five council incumbents — Adrian Garcia, Ronald Green, Pam Holm, M.J. Khan and Toni Lawrence — are unopposed, and five others: Peter Brown, Anne Clutterbuck, Jarvis Johnson, Sue Lovell and Melissa Noriega, are … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Earlier this week, Matt Stiles noted that Mayor White had not yet taken a public position on the HISD bond referendum. Well, now he has, with an endorsement op-ed that’s in the print edition of today’s Chron but which for … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Given a choice, would you have preferred that Harris County finance some of the projects it wants to float bonds for with general revenue instead? Because that token tax cut will cost more money than several of those items on … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron deals with all 16 state ballot propositions in one fell swoop, by giving a thumbs up to each one. I find that pretty remarkable, given that I’ve come across at least one argument to vote against each one … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Houtopia continues the comparision of Early Vote 2007 to 2005, which he first looked at earlier this week. 2005 in-person early vote through Day 11: 53,152 2007 in-person early vote through Day 11: 32,947 (62% of the 2005 number) 2005 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Well, that answers that. Apparently, the Chron just hadn’t gotten around to those other county bond propositions, because today it endorses the remainders. Harris County Proposition 1 — This proposal would authorize the county to issue $190 million for road … Continue reading → Continue reading →

He’s probably right. At least, I wouldn’t bet against it. Gov. Rick Perry expressed confidence Thursday that a $3 billion bond proposal for cancer research will pass easily next week. Speaking during the Texas Life Science Conference in Houston, Perry … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Have you voted yet? Today is the last day for Early Voting. Polls will be open from 7 AM to 7 PM, and you can find your early voting locations here. If you don’t vote today, your last chance is … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron comes out in favor of one of the Harris County bond proposals. On the Sept. 6 ballot is a bond proposal to issue $70 million to build a new Family Law Center. The facility is urgently needed, and … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Vince has collected a sizable amount of blog and media links with information and recommendations for bonds, propositions, and various local election issues. If you’re still not sure how to vote on some of these things, it should be useful … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Riffing on my previous post about early voting turnout, Houtopia provides a little context. As of yesterday, 15,792 folks had voted in person in Harris County. Compare that total with 2005, when 24,132 in-person votes had been cast. So far, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Matt Stiles notes that Mayor White hasn’t taken a position on the HISD bond referendum yet. He prints the following statement from the Mayor: HISD and other regional school districts do important work. I have seen with my own eyes … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron makes its recommendations for the two contested HCCS Trustee races. District 1, Kevin J. Hoffman — In this position representing northside constituents, the best choice is Hoffman, a longtime civic activist and energy industry analyst who is president … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The HISD bond opponents get a big story in today’s Chron. African-American political and religious leaders have been on the front lines opposing HISD’s proposed bond package, which, if approved, would build 24 new campuses and renovate 134 others. It … Continue reading → Continue reading →

So have you voted yet? Early voting totals so far (PDF) aren’t very impressive, though I haven’t attempted a comparison to previous years so I can’t really say for certain how we’re doing. I can say, as I did yesterday, … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s your slate of transit-friendly candidates, according to RichmondRail.org: The RichmondRail political action committee (RRail GPAC) has endorsed the following candidates for Houston City Council and Controller. These candidates have told the committee that * they will support the Richmond-to-Cummins … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron comes out in favor of the HISD bond referendum. This bond issue has drawn heated criticism over the manner in which district officials presented the package. Instead of soliciting community input regarding needed school improvements, the board of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

It was reported earlier that there was no organized opposition to Proposition 15. Now it appears that some has emerged. A well-known social conservative is urging Texans to oppose a $3 billion bond proposal for cancer research, warning the money … Continue reading → Continue reading →

One more endorsement for the HISD bond referencum. The Houston Area Urban League, an advocacy group for blacks, announced today its endorsement of the Houston school district’s $805 million bond proposal. The league’s support — which comes two weeks before … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The other day, Tiffany said to me “How are you voting on all these amendments and referendums? I don’t know enough about them to know what’s what. I’m depending on you to help me figure it out.” Which means I’d … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The local GOP speaks about the bonds. They haven’t grabbed the publicity of the politicians and preachers opposing the Houston school district’s bond proposal, but critics of the school bonds in nearby Cypress-Fairbanks and Spring Branch promise to keep plugging … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I thought I was done with candidate interviews for this election cycle, but after I posted that I heard from Paula Harris, who is running for HISD Trustee in District 4, and made an arrangement to talk to her. Harris … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Here’s a press release from the Lance Armstrong Foundation: President George H. W. Bush today announced his support for Proposition 15, a measure championed by the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) that will establish the Cancer Research and Prevention Institute of … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I guess I better stop saying things like “this is the last campaign overview story for this cycle”, because I keep being wrong about that, as today’s piece on the HISD District 2 trustee race demonstrates. Northeast Houston is home … Continue reading → Continue reading →

The Chron takes a look at State Proposition 4, to my mind one the genuinely contentious issues on the ballot. Texans who want nicer state parks or who support funding to preserve historic courthouses will have to read between the … Continue reading → Continue reading →

If you don’t like (or can’t read) the PDF map of early voting locations as put out by the County Clerk’s office, try Matt Stiles’ Google map instead. Click on the pins to get street addresses and directions. There’s a … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Remember the kids from Pearland who got an anti-smoking referendum on their city’s ballot after failing to get a measure passed by the city council? Well, now they’re campaiging to get it passed next month. Voters will decide Nov. 6 … Continue reading → Continue reading →

OK, I suppose technically this story about Mayor White’s political future and not the HCC trustee story will be the last campaign overview article in the Chron for this election cycle. It only barely qualifies as a campaign overview story … Continue reading → Continue reading →

HISD Superintendant Abelardo Saavedra speaks to the Chron about the bumpy ride the bond referendum has had. I just want to highlight one piece of this, which to my mind explains why the ride has been bumpy better than anything … Continue reading → Continue reading →

Early voting begins today for the November 6 election. Early voting begins today in the Nov. 6 general election, which includes 16 constitutional amendments proposed by Texas lawmakers, the city of Houston’s mayoral and council elections, $805 million in bonds … Continue reading → Continue reading →

I think this will be the last of the campaign overview stories. Five candidates are vying for two spots on [Houston Community College]’s governing board in the Nov. 6 election, and all but the one incumbent are taking issue with … Continue reading → Continue reading →