Category Archives: Election 2009

Roy on the air

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Behold the power of Roy: Just as a reminder, Barack Obama got 61% of the vote in Houston last year. I don’t know how effective a boogeyman he’ll make, though I suppose that depends on where the ad airs. Roy’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bad web info! Bad! Bad!

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle would like to remind you that you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the Internet. Or in your Inbox, for that matter. The Internet is the wonder of our age — a peerless tool for assembling information quickly. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Bad web info! Bad! Bad!

Endorsement watch: BOR on the constitutional amendments

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve mentioned the conservative Blue Dot Blues‘ analyses of the eleven constitutional amendments that are on the ballot. Now we have a good progressive analysis of them as well, along with recommendations, courtesy of the Burnt Orange Report. I’m largely … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: BOR on the constitutional amendments

Early voting: Rainy days and Mondays

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Today was the first day of the last week of early voting. On this day in 2003, with EV hours of only 8 AM to 4:30 PM, there were over 5500 in person votes cast. Today, in twelve hours of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Parker polls and claims a lead

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Annise Parker campaign has released an internal poll (PDF) that shows her in the lead of the Mayoral race. A recent Lake Research Partners’ survey of likely voters in Houston’s upcoming mayoral contest shows that City Controller Annise Parker … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

More in support of Prop 4

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Many groups and individuals are supporting Proposition 4, which is the constitutional amendment to help create more Tier One universities in Texas. One local group in favor of Prop 4 is the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. I had a … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

League of Women Voters guide to this election

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

If you haven’t voted yet and are looking for a nice one-stop guide to the election that you can print out and carry with you, let me point you to the League of Women Voters guide (PDF) to the Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on League of Women Voters guide to this election

The Chron on Prop 9

Posted on October 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Proposition 9 on the ballot would make Texas’ Open Beaches Act of 1959 and add it to the state constitution. This Chron story is an overview of it. “People who use the beach think of it as a public park,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on The Chron on Prop 9

Weekend early voting update

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We head into the last week of Early Voting with a total of 30,463 ballots being cast so far; of those, 26,662 were done in person. That compares to 27,590 in person from 2003, and 31,440 total counting mail ballots. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: Republicans (very quietly) for Roy

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Saturday edition of the Chron the past couple of weeks has had a feature in the City & State section called Campaign Watch, which is a blog-like collection of short items relating to the 2009 elections. For some odd … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Early voting, five days in

Posted on October 24, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve completed the first business week of early voting, and the spreadsheet has been updated to show the totals so far. Thursday was the slowest day so far, with 2889 in-person ballots, which I attribute to the torrential rain in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Early voting, five days in

Locke v. Brown

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

So here’s the new Gene Locke ad: Everybody noticed the pause, right? Hey, if the electorate isn’t paying close attention to the details, you may as well make the most of it where you can. And here’s the Chron story … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

HISD Trustee IX overview

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One more Chron overview of an HISD Trustee race, this one in District IX where three candidates are challenging incumbent and Board President Larry Marshall. During the last several months, Marshall has had a tumultuous stint as board president. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on HISD Trustee IX overview

Green’s tax liens

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I know some people think that the Mayor’s race is boring, so perhaps they should take a look at the City Controller’s race instead. The Internal Revenue Service has filed two tax liens on City Councilman Ronald Green for more … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Be like Bill

Posted on October 23, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

On the matter of where the Mayoral candidates stand on environmental issues, I don’t mind that they’re basically indistinguishable. As long as they follow the good example that has been set for them, it’s fine by me. To improve air … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Be like Bill

Endorsement eatch: For HCC annexations

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Missed this from Wednesday. In this fall’s elections, voters in the Spring Branch and North Forest Independent School Districts are being asked to approve annexation of their respective districts into the Houston Community College System. We believe the larger region … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Another way to look at early voting so far

Posted on October 22, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, Early Voting this year is running well ahead of recent years. In the first two days, 8295 in person ballots have been cast, compared to 6685 over the first two days in 2003. I’ve suggested that this … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brown ad #5

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

You’ll probably see this without my help, but here’s Peter Brown’s fifth, and presumably final (modulo the runoff) TV ad: I don’t know about you, but I’m seeing the Brown ads all over the place. I haven’t seen a Parker … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Brown ad #5

Those up-for-grabs conservative voters

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron gets one more story from the crosstabs of their poll. A Houston Chronicle poll conducted last week shows that [Peter] Brown, who has saturated the city with TV, radio and mail advertising, has a commanding lead among self-identified … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Interview with Sarah Winkler

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

For what truly will be my last interview of the 2009 cycle, I bring you a conversation with Alief ISD Trustee Sarah Winkler, who serves District 6 and is also the President of the AISD board. She has been in … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Chron reports Controller numbers from its poll

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As we know, the Chron poll from the weekend also included a question about the Controller’s race. Here now is the Chron story on that part of the poll. Most of the details you know, most of the rest of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Chron reports Controller numbers from its poll

HISD Trustee District V profile

Posted on October 21, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has another HISD Trustee race profile, this one for the open District V seat. A retired school administrator and an energy company executive are vying to fill the school board seat held by Dianne Johnson, who is stepping … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on HISD Trustee District V profile

Early voting, Day One

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As I seem to have a love of spreadsheets, here’s a Google spreadsheet that will keep track of the daily Early Voting returns by location. Counting mail ballots and absentee in-person voting, 6162 people voted yesterday. For comparison purposes, here’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Interview with Otis Jordan

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Next up, we have an interview with Otis Jordan, who is running in District D. Jordan just retired as a captain in HFD after 30 years of service. Jordan is a graduate of Ross Sterling High School and TCU, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

We’re for more land use regulations, whatever that means

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As long as Zogby was polling the Mayor’s race, they may as well ask about some other stuff, too. Like whether or not you like the Ashby highrise. Out of 601 people surveyed between Oct. 12 and 15, 71 percent … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Bikes in the Mayor’s race

Posted on October 20, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Local bicycle activist Peter Wang contacted the four Mayoral campaigns to ask what their position is on getting METRO to install bike hangers in the light rail vehicles and allow bicycles in the vehicles during rush hours. Here’s how they … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

More details on the Chron poll

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here we have crosstabs and more details about that Chron poll from the weekend. The first thing that leaps out at me is that they also polled the Controller’s race: “If the election for city controller was held today and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Endorsement watch: HISD Trustee

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron finishes up their work for this election by making its endorsements in the HISD Trustee races. For HISD Trustee in District I, an open seat, we recommend Anna Eastman. As the president of the Travis Elementary PTA, Eastman … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Endorsement watch: HISD Trustee

Interview with Adrian Collins

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I know, I said I was finished with interviews. Turns out that wasn’t quite the case, and so today we have a conversation with Adrian Collins, who is running for HISD Trustee in District IX against incumbent Larry Marshall. Collins … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Early voting starts today

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I feel confident saying that if you’re reading this blog, you’re probably aware that there’s an election coming up, and that Early Voting starts today. Here’s the early voting schedule and locations. It’s the usual places you’re familiar with, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Early voting starts today

Casey on the Chron poll

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey has some good observations about that Chron poll that was released Saturday. The main point I want to focus on is here: [Peter Brown] leads with 24 percent of the vote, but given that he had the airwaves … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Parker profile

Posted on October 19, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

And here’s the Chron profile of Annise Parker, which I didn’t get to link to last week and which rounds out their four-part series. I’ve linked all of them on the 2009 Elections page in case you want to go … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Parker profile

Endorsement watch: It’s a twofer

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this is unusual. Houstonians are fortunate to face a difficult choice for mayor this year between two exceptional candidates, public law attorney Gene Locke and City Controller Annise Parker. It’s likely one or both will be in a runoff … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

We’ve got mail

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Campos observed the other day that he’d hardly received any campaign mailers so far this year. That’s largely been true for me as well – before this week, I’d gotten the Peter Brown pieces, an Anna Eastman mailer, and maybe … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2009 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment