Tag Archives: Lee Brown

Mayor Turner’s second term begins

He’s on the clock now. Freshly sworn in Thursday morning, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner promised to make significant strides in street repairs and flood control while boosting services for the city’s homeless in his second term. He also called on … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 12 Comments

City reaches settlement in pension projection lawsuit

Old story, new development. Houston has agreed to settle a lawsuit it filed four years ago against an actuarial firm whose predictions it blamed for contributing to the city’s multi-billion-dollar pension crisis for $40 million. The city’s outside counsel, Susman … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on City reaches settlement in pension projection lawsuit

Shades of 1997

The Chron looks to the past to analyze Sylvester Turner’s runoff victory. As the Chronicle reported, voting in the Houston mayor’s runoff fell overwhelmingly along racial lines, with Sylvester Turner edging out a slight victory in part by securing 93 … Continue reading

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

Precinct analysis: Mayoral runoff

Believe it or not, the County Clerk’s office put out draft canvass reports last night. As a result, I can do the thing that I do. Here’s a look at the Mayor’s runoff race: Dist King Turner ===================== A 9,491 … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

KHOU/KUHF poll: Tuner 38, King 38

We have a tie, according to the latest poll. Sylvester Turner and Bill King are now locked in a dead heat in the race for Houston mayor, according to the newly released KHOU-News 88.7 Poll of likely voters. The survey … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Our partisan Mayoral runoff

I’m shocked, shocked to find that there are partisan interests in the Mayoral runoff. Even though Houston elections officially are nonpartisan, the contest between Bill King and Sylvester Turner has evolved into a test of party might as voters prepare … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Our partisan Mayoral runoff

Race and runoffs and Turner

Everyone agrees that Sylvester Turner will be one of the candidates to make it to the runoff for Mayor this year. But what happens then? Yet, to succeed term-limited Mayor Annise Parker, Turner, an African-American, will need to broaden his … Continue reading

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

The Trib on the big Mayor’s races

Those being the Houston and San Antonio Mayors races, with a look at how candidates of color are faring. If former state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte wins the runoff for San Antonio mayor next weekend, she’ll become the Alamo … Continue reading

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

Where are the women?

I have several things to say about this. The slate running to replace Mayor Annise Parker features a globetrotting sailor, a triathlete grandfather, a millionaire minister and no women. Despite the most-crowded pack of mayoral contenders in decades, no female … Continue reading

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

On the seasonal return of term limits modification

Here’s a fuller version of that earlier story about Council moving forward with a modified term limits proposal. You can almost set your watch by it. Mayor Annise Parker is in her third and final term, which means it is … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on On the seasonal return of term limits modification

Council votes to sue over bad pension projections

Game on. Houston City Council on Wednesday paved the way for city attorneys to sue an actuarial firm the city claims gave inaccurate pension estimates that spurred costly changes to firefighters’ retirement benefits in 2001. […] Houston’s contribution rate to … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Council votes to sue over bad pension projections

Another pension-related lawsuit coming?

Here’s a little blast from the past. The city of Houston may sue a company whose advice it relied upon in making changes to firefighters’ retirement benefits in 2001, saying the firm’s inaccurate predictions left the city on the hook … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Another pension-related lawsuit coming?

Funding after school programs

This should be a no-brainer. To combat youth crime, a former Houston police chief says the city must first solve another problem: unstable and inadequate funding for after-school programs. City Councilman C.O. Bradford said it is more urgent than ever … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

On African-American turnout in city elections

Bill King makes an observation about Ben Hall’s chances in the upcoming Mayoral election. When Lee Brown was elected mayor in 1997, many pundits predicted that with Houston’s growing minority community, Houston had seen its last white mayor. That, of … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on On African-American turnout in city elections

Precinct analysis: The 2011 Mayor’s race

I finally have a draft canvass of the 2011 Harris County vote. You know what that means. Here’s the breakdown in the Council districts for the Mayor’s race: Dist Simms Ullman Wilson Herrera Parker O’Connor ===================================================== A 4.41% 1.28% 16.31% … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Chron overview of the Mayor’s race

For the Sunday that is the last day before the start of early voting, the Chron brings us their overview of the Mayor’s race. And a theme we’ve seen expressed once or twice before. Political analysts predict Mayor Annise Parker … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Chron overview of the Mayor’s race

San Antonio City Council extends domestic partnership benefits to city employees

Good for them. On Thursday, words like “abomination,” “sin” and “Satan” were commonplace in City Council chambers as the audience weighed in on a tiny portion of San Antonio’s $2.2 billion budget. The council listened to three hours of public … Continue reading

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

The 70 Percent Solution

Where have I heard this before? November’s election really is about 2013, said lawyer, lobbyist and blogger Robert Miller. He speculates that the mayor needs to win big against low-profile opponents in November to discourage stronger candidates from running against … Continue reading

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

Where the line is

Me, July 17: I disagree that anyone who might think about challenging the Mayor will wait two years before taking action. They’ll simply wait to see how Parker does in November. Like all three of her predecessors in the term-limits … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Finance reports and the Mayor’s race

Finance report updates: David Robinson has filed his corrected report, which includes the $53,095.57 cash on hand total that was omitted in the original. There were no other changes made. Mayoral candidate Kevin Simms has now filed his report. He … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

The Mayor and the firefighters

Despite the tone of this, I wouldn’t make too much of it. While looking for tens of millions of dollars through a combination of cuts, deferrals, savings and fee hikes, Mayor Annise Parker repeatedly has identified the Houston Fire Department … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Mayor and the firefighters

Mayor Parker officially kicks off her re-election campaign

We were out of town over the weekend, so I missed this. An Easter weekend campaign event replete with rousing speeches, dogs of both the hot and four-legged variety and a kids’ Easter egg “scramble” kicked off Mayor Annise Parker’s … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2011 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Interview with CO Bradford

Next up in the interview series is C.O. “Brad” Bradford, who is running for At Large #4, currently held by the term-limited Ronald Green. Bradford was the Democratic candidate for Harris County District Attorney last year, and though he lost … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 33 Comments