Tag Archives: Christopher Oliver

Chris Oliver gets sentenced

Goodbye. A former Houston Community College trustee was sentenced to nearly six years in prison on Monday after a judge said he accepted more than a quarter million dollars in bribes in exchange for his influence over contract work with … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Scandalized! | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

The HCC lineup

When I published the July finance reports for HCC trustees, I noted that the only reports available were for incumbents. There was no way to tell who might be challenging the two trustees up for re-election (Carolyn Evans-Shabazz and Robert … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

July 2017 campaign finance reports – HCC

Welcome to the last and least interesting of these campaign finance report posts. This one is about the HCC Trustees, and there’s not much to see. Take a look at what there is – you can find all available reports … Continue reading

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Public Works Director Sreerama is out

From the inbox, a Friday afternoon special: Statement by Mayor Sylvester Turner on city Public Works and Engineering director “Karun Sreerama has accomplished much in Houston as a businessman and involved citizen. I am sure he will continue to be … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics, Scandalized! | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

HCC Board censures Chris Oliver

It’s the most they can do. The Houston Community College system’s board of trustees decided Thursday to reprimand a 21-year veteran of the elected board who has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge. The board’s eight other members decried … Continue reading

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Houston Public Works director caught up in HCC bribery case

Unclear yet how big a deal this is, but it is a big deal. Houston Public Works Director Karun Sreerama made $77,143 in unlawful payments to a Houston Community College trustee who faces up to 10 years in prison after … Continue reading

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HCC Trustee Chris Oliver pleads guilty to bribery charges

Hoo boy. A Houston Community College trustee faces up to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to bribery, federal prosecutors said Friday. The case of 53-year-old Christopher W. Oliver, 53, of Houston was unsealed by U.S. District Judge Vanessa … Continue reading

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A look ahead to Houston’s 2017 elections

I want to return to something in that story about Mayor Turner’s 2017 agenda, which was near the bottom but which is a very big deal for the coming year: A lawsuit over the ballot language used last year to … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2017 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Precinct analysis: At Large #1

This week I’m going to look at the five At Large Council races, beginning with At Large #1. Before I get into the district breakdown, here’s a number to consider: In Harris County, there were 76,675 undervotes in this race. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Chron overview of HCC Trustee races

As always, HCC Trustee races don’t get as much attention as they deserve. Since the 2013 election put four new trustees – Zeph Capo, Robert Glaser, Dave Wilson and Adriana Tamez – on the board, one trustee, Carroll Robinson, has … Continue reading

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Chron race overview: At Large #1

Here’s the Chron overview of the race to succeed term limited Council Member (now Mayoral candidate) Steve Costello in At Large #1. M. “Griff” Griffin A perennial candidate in Houston politics, Griffin is running for the council for the 11th … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Off to a good start, predictions-wise

First Chron endorsement of the season, and it’s one I called. When government is broken, who do you hire to fix it? For the Harris County Housing Authority, the answer was Tom McCasland. Plenty of candidates can tout their ideas … Continue reading

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Interview with Chris Oliver

We wrap up our tour of the At Large #1 field with a visit with Chris Oliver, who currently serves as Trustee in HCC District IX. A businessman and graduate of TSU, Oliver has worked as a Congressional aide and … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Finance reports come trickling in

As always, the Mayoral reports lead the story. Former Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia closed out the first half of the year with more than $1.3 million in the bank, eclipsing City Councilman Stephen Costello by a mere $7,423. According … Continue reading

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Robinson resigns from HCC Board

Yeah, it’s campaign season. Carroll Robinson, who has served as a Houston Community College trustee since 2012, will leave the college board to focus on his run for city controller, he announced Friday. In a letter announcing his resignation, Robinson … Continue reading

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Should Lane Lewis resign as HCDP Chair to run for Council?

That’s the question some people are asking. “What I want is someone who is going to be, at least in the political world, dedicated 100 percent to the mission of advancing the ideals of the Democratic Party,” said John Gorczynski, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

January campaign finance reports – HCC Trustees

There are nine trustees on the HCC board. With them serving six-year terms, in a normal year three trustees are up for re-election; 2013 was an abnormal year, with two extra races to fill out unexpired terms. We are back … Continue reading

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Chris Oliver joins the At Large #1 crowd

From the inbox: Houston Community College Trustee Chris Oliver has announced his candidacy for the open Houston City Council, At-Large Position 1 seat to be filled this November. Chris brings years of experience as a businessman, legislative advocate, and Houston … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Another HCC lawsuit

Hard to keep track of them all. The former top attorney and acting chancellor of Houston Community College filed a lawsuit Monday alleging she was fired because she told the FBI of her suspicions that board members sought to use … Continue reading

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Interview with Chris Oliver

There are two contested races for HCC Trustee seats this year. Chris Oliver is the incumbent in District IX. He was first elected in 1993 and first served as Board Chair in 1999. Oliver is a businessman who has also … Continue reading

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HCC Trustee sues HCC Board

Back in April, the HCC Board of Trustees censured Board member Yolanda Navarro Flores after an investigation reported that she had engaged in unethical behavior. Here’s the Chron story from the time, which I did not blog about: The Houston … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

The other races

In addition to the city of Houston races, I am trying to follow the HISD and HCC Trustee elections as well. I say “trying” because there’s just no information out there that I can find. For one thing, though there … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments