Tag Archives: Rodney Ellis

Mayor Whitmire appoints a new Metro Chair

Congratulations and welcome aboard. Mayor John Whitmire on Tuesday announced CenterPoint Energy executive Elizabeth Brock would lead the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s board of directors. If approved, Brock would be the first Hispanic woman to lead the transit agency. “She brings … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

January 2024 campaign finance reports – Harris County offices

PREVIOUSLY: State offices Lina Hidalgo Rodney Ellis Adrian Garcia Tom Ramsey Leslie Briones Kim Ogg Sean Teare Dan Simons Ed Gonzalez Vergil Ratliff Joe Inocencio Mike Knox Joe Danna Paul Day Glenn Cowan Christian Menefee Umeka Lewis Jacqueline Lucci Smith … Continue reading

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I have basically no idea who’s running for office right now

Candidate data, where are you? Next year’s primary campaigns are starting to take shape after numerous candidates filed for office on Saturday, the first day to sign up for a spot on the March 2024 ballot. Voters will weigh in … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Filing season for 2024 begins today

Happy First Day of Candidate Filing to all who celebrate. The Democratic and Republican slates will begin to take shape this weekend once candidates start filing their paperwork to run. Several Harris County officials plan to file for re-election, such … Continue reading

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From the “Idiots file dumb lawsuit” department

I hesitate to give this any attention, but I feel it needs to be noted. Five people filed a lawsuit with Harris County District Court on Friday to remove Judge Lina Hidalgo from office, days before she is scheduled to … Continue reading

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Harris County libraries are now “book sanctuaries”

It’s great that they’re doing this, and terrible that they have to. As book bans and challenges occur across the state and nation, Harris County libraries have joined a movement dedicated to preserving people’s right to decide for themselves what … Continue reading

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Judge Hidalgo takes leave of absence for depression

I wish her well. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo has taken a temporary leave of absence to receive in-patient medical treatment for clinical depression, according to a statement from her office Monday. The statement notes she has been at an … Continue reading

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July 2023 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Previously: Congress SD15 City of Houston, part 1 January 2023 reports are here. Not all of these people are on the 2024 ballot. I am not including JPs and County Court candidates. Some potential opponents have already filed finance reports, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Endorsement watch: Hidalgo for SJL

I don’t usually pay much attention to “elected official endorses candidate” news, mostly because most of the time it makes little difference, but in this Mayor’s race I’m more interested than usual, so I will note this for the record. … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 20 Comments

Spending even more on court-appointed attorneys

But maybe there’s an end in sight. Harris County is on track to pay $95 million by the end of October to private attorneys for representing low-income people accused of crimes — about $35 million more than the county budgeted … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Rep. Jackson Lee makes her Mayoral candidacy official

Here she comes. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee kicked off her campaign for mayor Friday night with a rally on the rooftop of Post Houston, promising to “unlock City Hall” for all residents and embrace their diversity while outlining a municipal agenda to tackle … Continue reading

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Checking in on the Astrodome

With the Final Four in town, we have visitors at Reliant Stadium looking over at its unused predecessor and wondering what’s going on with it. The short answer is, not much. The state of the dome and prospects for its … Continue reading

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Commissioners Court supplements Public Defender budget and supports adding more courts

Good moves. Harris County Commissioners Court this week approved a package of public safety measures to support state legislation to create additional district courts, expand the county’s holistic assistance response team program and look at enlarging the public defender’s office. The measures are … Continue reading

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Harris County creates reproductive health access fund

Good. In a bid to protect residents’ already restricted access to reproductive health care, Harris County officials voted to approve a proposed fund to go toward Harris County Public Health and smaller community organizations at Tuesday’s Commissioners Court meeting. The … Continue reading

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More on spending less on court-appointed lawyers

Seems like a good start. A Houston Chronicle investigation into how some private attorneys earn enormous sums to represent thousands of indigent people accused of crimes in Harris County – at a cost of $60 million to taxpayers last year – is prompting … Continue reading

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Harris County restores some public safety funding

A bit of post-quorum-busting cleanup. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved nearly $10 million in additional funding for the sheriff and district attorney, three months after the Democratic majority said the unplanned adoption of a lower tax rate would … Continue reading

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January 2023 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Previously: City of Houston January 2022 reports are here, July 2022 reports are here. I did not get around to doing the 30-day and 8-day reports from 2022, so what you see here in these reports is not contiguous for … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2024 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Agreement reached on I-45 expansion plans

I remain skeptical, but we’ll see. The bottleneck of design differences that has divided officials about remaking Interstate 45 north of downtown Houston is easing, officials said Monday, clearing the way for construction on the $10 billion project, perhaps in … Continue reading

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

What to expect when you’re expecting a (larger) Democratic majority

I have three things to say about this. Despite narrowly winning reelection against bruising campaigns by well-funded challengers, the Democratic majority on Commissioners Court has made clear it intends to continue its progressive remake of Harris County. Though neither County … Continue reading

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Judge Hidalgo celebrates her win

Winning is sweet. Victory laps are even sweeter. Fresh off a narrow reelection that was anything but assured, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo on Wednesday held a news conference to praise colleagues, thank supporters and call out some members of … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Here’s the result of the Republican Commissioners’ budget busting

The Republican minority on Commissioners Court made this happen. Harris County will eliminate more than 500 vacant jobs, delay some flood control projects, postpone a sheriff deputy cadet class, and cancel raises and cost of living adjustments for county law … Continue reading

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Ramsey and Cagle finish sabotaging the budget

They got what they wanted. Harris County’s prolonged political battle over the budget came to an end today. For over a month, the two GOP members of Commissioners Court have broken quorum, skipping meetings to prevent Democrats from passing their … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Republican Commissioners skip the meeting they called

On brand. So very on brand. The two Republican members of Harris County Commissioners Court have announced they will skip a special meeting Monday to discuss a compromise tax rate proposal by Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia, reversing the position they took … Continue reading

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There may be a county budget deal available

I don’t trust anything Commissioners Cagle and Ramsey say, but we’ll see. The two Republican members of Harris County Commissioners Court said Friday they would attend a special meeting Monday to discuss a compromise tax rate proposal by Precinct 2 … Continue reading

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Commissioners Court approves its bond package

But not without some bitching and griping. Harris County Commissioners Court voted Thursday to put a $1.2 billion package on the November ballot this year, with the vast majority aimed at road construction. Tensions flared when Harris County Judge Lina … Continue reading

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EPA to investigate TCEQ over concrete plant permits

Well, this ought to be interesting. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is the subject of an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency following complaints that the state agency violated civil rights laws in its permitting of concrete batch plants. … Continue reading

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Commissioners Court plans to put a bond issue on the ballot

First one in seven years. Harris County voters will have more on their November ballot, after a divided commissioners court Tuesday took the first step toward a $1.2 billion bond package for police, parks, drainage and roads. Common with many … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Who audits the auditors?

A novel idea. Not sure it will get anywhere, but it does send a message. Harris County Commissioners Court, by a 3-2 partisan vote, agreed to explore legal options, including a possible lawsuit, to challenge the results of a random … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2020, Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

July 2022 campaign finance reports: Harris County

Happy Mid-Year Campaign Finance Reporting Day to all who celebrate. Today we’ll be looking at the races of interest in Harris County, which thankfully for me has a lot fewer candidates to review than the last time we did this … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Radack drops his redistricting lawsuit

From the inbox: Former Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit he filed against Harris County Commissioners Court alleging Commissioners Court violated the Open Meetings Act during county redistricting. Below is a statement from Harris County Attorney Christian … Continue reading

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On naming a replacement for Judge Briones

I have three things to say about this. Three years ago, Bill McLeod lost his spot on the civil county court-at-law bench in Harris County due to a paperwork snafu. McLeod, a Democrat, had been presiding over Harris County Court … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Does Houston get its fair share from Harris County?

It’s complicated. Do property taxpayers inside the City of Houston subsidize Harris County services? It’s a question that comes up a lot, given the fact that city residents—like their counterparts in the county—pay separate property taxes to the county, but … Continue reading

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

January 2022 campaign finance reports: Harris County

You know what January means around these parts. There’s lots of action in Harris County, so that’s where we’ll begin. Here’s my summary of the July 2021 reports as a reminder. Let’s dive in. Lina Hidalgo, County Judge Ahmed Hassan, … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2022 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bypass the GLO

Heck yeah. All five members of Harris County Commissioners Court signed onto a letter Friday asking the local congressional delegation to ensure that future disaster relief bypasses the state government and goes directly to large counties. The letter is the … Continue reading

Posted in Hurricane Katrina, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments