The sobering center was Step 1. Step 2 is a joint processing center with the county, and that is now closer to happening. With backing from the city of Houston, Harris County is reviving a long-discussed plan to build a facility to process inmates into the county jail, and to offer the mental health services [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Election 2007’
Last day of early voting in SD06 today
Today is the last day for early voting in the SD06 special election. Voting has not been terribly brisk so far. Through Monday there have been 7,178 total votes cast. You can see the daily figures here. Monday was a little slow because of MLK Day and no mail ballots arriving – we’ll see if [...]
A first look at the 2013 elections
It is 2013, right? So while we have the SD06 special election and the new legislative session to worry about, it’s not too early to start talking about the 2013 elections. Let’s start with a peek at the campaign finance reports from last July of the Houston officeholders who will be on the ballot this [...]
Endorsement watch: Another critic on board
State Sen. Mario Gallegos sent out the following email on Monday: “The 2012 Bond Referendum will modernize outdated high school buildings and build new schools to meet students’ needs across the city. This proposal is a good investment that will create much needed new classrooms and improve safety and technology at campuses city-wide. Houston cannot [...]
Favorable poll for HISD and other bonds
It’s a good start. Most Houston-area voters plan to support $2.7 billion worth of city, public school and community college bond packages on the November ballot, according to a new poll. The results defy conventional wisdom that a crowded ballot makes passage of multiple bond measures less likely because of sticker shock. “Voters are in [...]
HISD board approves its bond package
In the end, it wasn’t a close vote. The school board voted 8-1 to seek a $1.9 billion bond issue that would rebuild or renovate most of the district’s aging high schools, remodel several elementary and middle schools, and upgrade campus technology. The plan calls for phasing in a tax rate increase expected to cost [...]
Bond concerns
Early reactions to the HISD bond proposal that was unveiled last week. “I think in the long run any anti-tax opposition will make it a close race,” said state Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, predicting that Hispanics could swing the vote. Gallegos said he was worried about HISD’s timeline. The Houston Chronicle reported this month that [...]
HISD planning bond election
The fall ballot gets a little longer. The Houston Independent School District is preparing to ask voters to fund up to $1.8 billion in bonds to replace and upgrade aging campuses. Superintendent Terry Grier has said the bond referendum – which would go to voters in November if the school board approves – likely would [...]
Bonds, school bonds
Another thing that may be on your ballot this year. Houston ISD Superintendent Terry Grier said Thursday it was time to start discussing a possible bond referendum to update the district’s aging campuses. In his annual state of the schools speech, Grier said the Houston Independent School District had completed many of the projects in [...]
Sullivan says he’ll step down if he wins primary
He’s hoping to defuse a campaign issue. Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan will submit his resignation in July if he wins the Republican nomination for Harris County tax assessor-collector in April’s primary, he said. The resignation would not be effective until January, when he would be sworn in as tax assessor if he wins the [...]
More on Lykos versus the cops
Here’s another Chron story about the recent dust-up between Harris County DA Pat Lykos and six Harris County police groups that don’t like her policy that trace amounts of crack will not be prosecuted as felonies. Two points that are worth highlighting from the story: State District Judge Michael McSpadden has presided over Houston’s criminal [...]
November was like 2007, December is more like 2005
Here’s the daily report for the first six days of Early Voting in the runoff. There have been 17,568 votes cast so far, with today still to go. That means there have been more early votes cast in Harris County than there were in the entire 2007 runoff, when 11,374 ballots were cast before Runoff [...]
Runoff early voting totals, Day One
Early voting for the city of Houston runoffs began yesterday, and you can see the Day One totals here. I don’t have a daily EV record from the 2007 runoffs, but I note that the total early vote from the 2007 runoff was 11,374, and the total absentee and in person votes yesterday was 4,519, [...]
Early voting for city runoffs begins today
You remember that we have runoff elections for four Houston City Council positions, right? Well, early voting starts today and runs through next Tuesday, December 6. Here are the early voting locations that will be open for the runoff. Early voting will run from 7 AM to 7 PM each day except Sunday the 4th, [...]
Precinct analysis: 2011 At Large races, part 1
Here’s a look at the election returns in each Council district for the three “normal” At Large races, in At Large #1, #3, and #4. First up is #1, where first term incumbent CM Stephen Costello won a narrow majority for a second term. Dist Costello Galvan Boates Cook ====================================== A 46.25% 7.44% 28.98% 17.34% [...]
We won’t have Griff to kick around any more
He’s going to “retire” from his hobby of pointless Council campaigns. Michael “Griff” Griffin, Houston’s perennial candidate for City Council, admitted the unspeakable over a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. The Don Quixote of local politics recognized that he probably would lose his 10th campaign. If that really did happen, he said after pressing the [...]
2011 Houston results
Let’s go through the races… – Mayor Parker won with a shade under 51%, with none of her opponents cracking 15% on their own. Obviously, this is not a position a Mayor with no serious opposition wants to be in, and it won’t surprise anyone if one or more potential opponents for 2013 are on [...]
Final early vote total
Early voting ended Friday, with the last day repeating the 2007 pattern of roughly doubling earlier numbers from the week but never taking big jump as was seen in 2005 and 2009. Here’s the final daily EV report from the county, plus the 2009 spreadsheet, the 2007 daily EV report, and the Erik Vidor spreadsheet, [...]
Early voting totals, Days 10 and 11
Eleven days of Early Voting down, one to go. Here’s the Early Voting daily report from Day 11, plus the 2009 spreadsheet, the 2007 daily EV report, and the Erik Vidor spreadsheet, and our old friend the comparison chart: Type 2005 2007 2009 2011 ===================================== In Person 53,161 32,947 54,296 39,110 Absentee 3,618 6,432 7,200 [...]
Early voting totals, Days 8 and 9
Running a little late on these – it’s been that kind of a week – but here are your Early Vote totals through Tuesday, Day 9, plus the 2009 spreadsheet, the 2007 daily EV report, and the Erik Vidor spreadsheet, and the familiar chart: Type 2005 2007 2009 2011 ===================================== In Person 35,358 23,381 36,890 [...]
Early vote totals after one full week
Here’s your early vote tabulation through Sunday, Day Seven, with five days to go. Here also are the 2009 spreadsheet, the 2007 daily EV report, and the Erik Vidor spreadsheet. Here’s the cumulative summary for the first full week: Type 2005 2007 2009 2011 ===================================== In Person 24,141 15,792 26,662 19,751 Absentee 2,158 3,555 3,801 [...]
Early vote totals, Days Four and Five
Here’s your EV totals for Thursday and Friday, plus the 2009 spreadsheet, the 2007 daily EV report, and the Erik Vidor spreadsheet. And here’s the cumulative summary for the first five days: Type 2005 2007 2009 2011 ===================================== In Person 15,996 10,767 19,366 14,349 Absentee 1,891 3,555 3,801 4,340 Total 17,887 14,322 22,967 15,689 09 [...]
Early vote totals, Days Two and Three
Here are your Early Voting totals for Day Two and Day Three. As a reminder, here’s my spreadsheet from 2009; the Erik Vidor spreadsheet that has running totals from 2009, 2007, and 2005; and a new addition to my data sets, courtesy of the County Clerk’s office, the full daily EV report from 2007, which [...]
Early voting totals, Day One
Here’s the Day One early voting totals for Harris County, which you can compare to the 2009 totals here. My buddy Erik Vidor also put together a spreadsheet with 2005 and 2007 totals that you can see here. There’s a lot of numbers tro keep track of, so let’s go through them. – The total [...]
KHOU polls the Mayor’s race
We have our first published poll of the season. Mayor Annise Parker, leading the city during an era of budget cutbacks and high unemployment, has the lowest approval ratings of any Houston mayor in decades. That’s the striking headline popping out of an exclusive poll conducted less than a month before the city’s Election Day. [...]
Endorsement watch: Noriega and Bradford
Another twofer, and another easy and obvious choice in At Large #3. For the past four years Houston has been well served in At-Large City Council Position 3 by Melissa Noriega. We recommend Noriega for a third and final term at City Hall. In her service on council, Noriega has demonstrated a welcome ability to [...]
Can Ban lawsuit filed
Opponents of the New Braunfels disposable container ban are already seeking to overturn the ordinance via referendum, and now some of them have also filed a lawsuit against it as well. Tourist businesses filed a lawsuit against the city Wednesday, asking a state district judge to overturn a controversial ban on disposable containers on the [...]
How many votes will it take?
Nancy Sims has a lament about the upcoming city elections. What disturbs me most is the complete lack of interest I’m seeing and hearing from my friends, co-workers, students and people I encounter daily. Everyone wants to complain about the water main breaks and the streets buckling as well as the lack of recycling in [...]
New Braunfels bans disposable containers on the river
Despite some talk that they might wait awhile to take action, the New Braunfels City Council has voted to ban disposable food and beverage containers – think cans and bottles – on waterways within its city limits. The law covers the Comal River and a small section of the Guadalupe River that passes through the [...]
May elections
As we know, the Lege passed a bill that would have the effect of moving the date for primary runoffs into May. This is causing heartburn for cities like Austin that hold their municipal elections in May of even numbered years. The proposal would give U.S. troops deployed overseas more time to receive and mail [...]
New “booking center” proposed
As we know, Sheriff Garcia has been trying to rework the jail bond referendum that failed in 2007 into something that can be passed. On Tuesday, Commissioners Court will have a look at the new proposal, which calls for a 1200-inmate “booking center” that’s being touted as a gateway into and out of the jail [...]
Runoff EV wrapup
The final tally is in, and after 13,534 in person votes were cast today, a total of 66,909 have been counted so far. This compares to 80,516 early votes for the November election. Except it doesn’t, since that total represents all of Harris County. In reality, 62,641 early in person and mail ballots were cast [...]
Early voting starts today
Today marks the start of early voting for all of the runoff elections, which include Houston, Bellaire, and HISD. Early voting schedule and locations can be found here; remember that EV locations outside of Houston city limits are mostly closed, as there’s no action out there. Early voting runs through December 8, so take advantage [...]