Harris County is once again a part of the Texas High Speed Rail and Transportation Corporation after Commissioners Court voted to start paying its dues again. Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole put high-speed rail on Tuesday’s agenda, saying Harris County needs to actively lobby for a direct link between Dallas and Houston. “How can you [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Jerry Eversole’
Eversole opposes Wilson
In his appeal to stay on the ballot after HCDP Chair removed him for not putting in a valid residential address, Dave Wilson contended that only County Commissioner Jerry Eversole, as his opponent on the ballot, has standing to challenge his filing. Apparently, Eversole was listening. Eversole’s attorney submitted a letter to the 14th Court [...]
Wilson appeals being booted from the ballot
As expected, renowned homophobe and attention whore Dave Wilson has filed suit to fight being booted from the Democratic Party ballot for County Commissioner. [HCDP Chair Gerry] Birnberg declared he would not certify Wilson for the ballot because he reported a business address instead of a residential address as required by election law. The move [...]
Wilson booted from ballot
HCDP Chair Gerry Birnberg has sent a letter to noted hatemeister Dave Wilson telling him that he did not qualify for the Democratic primary ballot because his application did not list his residential address, as required by law. Assuming Wilson does not file a suit to contest this, it means County Commissioner Jerry Eversole gets [...]
There’s a fix for that
As we know, Harris County has a budget shortfall of its own to deal with. So the fact that the Sheriff’s Office is spending more than it was allotted is drawing some scrutiny. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is projected to overspend its annual budget by $51 million, the third straight year it has blown [...]
How Dave Wilson snuck into the race against Eversole
Right wing hatemonger Dave Wilson’s last minute filing in the Democratic Party against County Commissioner Jerry Eversole caused a lot of confusion yesterday as people tried to figure out just who it was that filed. Wilson himself didn’t show his face at HCDP headquarters, as people there would have recognized him. Instead, he sent his [...]
Commissioners Court wants a lapdog, not a watchdog
Back in June, we learned that County Attorney Vince Ryan was going after polluters that had been ignoring court orders to clean up their acts. You would think this would be a good thing to do – you know, enforcing the law while helping to make Harris County cleaner – but apparently not if you’re [...]
Lawrence backs out of running for Eversole’s seat
And we’re back where we started. Houston Councilwoman Toni Lawrence has decided she won’t run against Jerry Eversole for the Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner’s seat. “I did talk to Jerry on Tuesday and told him I was not going to run against him,” Lawrence said today. “I’m staying out of the race.” [...] Lawrence [...]
Eversole running for re-election
Surprise! Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Jerry Eversole announced on Friday that he will run for re-election, potentially pitting him against a term-limited Houston city councilwoman and, perhaps, his own tarnished reputation. Eversole, 66, who was hit with a $75,000 fine in the summer by the Texas Ethics Commission over campaign spending violations, said he [...]
County puts off vote on helping the city deny vehicle registration to red light camera scofflaws
No surprise. For the second time in a month, Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday postponed a vote on an agreement with the city to block vehicle registrations for red-light camera violators who do not pay their fines. Court members said they would not consider the $36,000-a-year contract until it is approved by City Council, [...]
Lawrence forms exploratory committee for Commissioners Court
Houston City Council Member Toni Lawrence, the one term-limited member of city government who hadn’t announced a run for somethinge else yet, has now announced that she is forming an exploratory committee for the presumed-to-be-open Commissioners Court seat in Precinct 4. From her press release: Today, former Cy-Fair high school teacher and current Houston City [...]
Here comes Addie
Timing is everything in this life. [Former Houston City Council Member Addie] Wiseman tells me she is going to run a full and vigorous campaign to replace State Rep. Joe Crabb. Details are still being worked out, she didn’t have a campaign manager or a treasurer when we talked. However, she said she’s well prepared [...]
Eversole sets a record
You da man, Jerry! Give credit to Jerry Eversole: When he broke the rules, he did it in a big way. The fine levied against the Harris County commissioner this month is the highest in the history of the Texas Ethics Commission. Eversole’s $75,000 sanction dwarfs the next-highest sanction, a $29,000 penalty slapped on Texas [...]
Eversole gets slapped by Ethics Commission
County Commissioner Jerry Eversole gets hit with a $75,000 fine by the Texas Ethics Commission for failure to accurately report expenses on his campaign finance reports. Eversole said he signed what is known as an “order and agreed resolution” so as to dispose of the state’s review of his finances, which began with a series [...]
Lawrence looking at Commissioners Court
Something I’d realized recently is that almost everyone in city government who is or would have been term-limited out is running or has run for another office. Mayor White is running for Senate. City Controller Annise Parker is running for Mayor. Council members Ronald Green, Pam Holm, and MJ Khan are running for City Controller. [...]
Commissioners Court tries again on ethics reform
They meet today to try to get something done. After months of political maneuvering, County Judge Ed Emmett is asking commissioners to approve a series of ethics reforms. They include the voluntary registration of lobbyists, online posting of officials’ personal and financial disclosure forms and the adoption of a county statement of ethics. The proposals [...]
Ethics reform is hard
It’s been a long and winding road for ethics reform in Harris County, and it isn’t getting any easier. Harris County Commissioner’s Court next week will consider a series of ethics reforms aimed at increasing accountability for and disclosure of the flow of money through government. The proposals, which County Judge Ed Emmett placed on [...]
Hey, remember when we were gonna reform county ethics?
How’s that been going? Efforts to clean up Harris County government appear to be on indefinite hold as any serious debate about ethics reform has been derailed for months by infighting and political gamesmanship. Commissioners Court has yet to act on a slate of suggestions prepared by an ethics reform task force that County Judge [...]
From the “Silver Linings” department
The economic downturn plus the housing market crash means there’s never been a better time for local governments to bid out construction projects, with more contractors than usual getting involved and competing on price. The increased competition has cut costs on large and small projects by 25 to 30 percent around the region, officials said, [...]
Driver!
I feel like I’ve read this story about part-time drivers for Sheriff Adrian Garcia and County Judge Ed Emmett before. It reminded me of this one about state Senate staffer salaries, and this one about City Council expenditures. In each case, it involved a sizable fuss over a relatively small amount of money that was [...]