Category Archives: Election 2019

Gina Ortiz Jones is doing big fundraising numbers again

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. Gina Ortiz Jones, the leading Democratic candidate to replace U.S. Rep. Will Hurd, R-Helotes, raised over $1 million in the third quarter, her campaign announced Tuesday morning. The figure represents a massive haul that her campaign described as the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Let’s get this thing started

Posted on October 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Endorsement Season has begun at the Chronicle, and while the number of elections to cover isn’t really higher than usual, the sheer number of candidates to bring in for interviews is massive and had to have been a logistical nightmare. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Terah Isaacson

Posted on October 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of our first week of HD148 special election candidate interviews. There’s still another week to go, because there’s just that many candidates and I’ve done that many interviews. To wrap up Week 1 I bring … Continue reading →

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Interview with Chris Watt

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with the HD148 special election, where the field is big and deep. As you have already seen and will keep seeing, there’s a lot of quality in the lineup. Chris Watt is an attorney and resident of the … Continue reading →

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Here now comes my favorite lawsuit of the year

Posted on October 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

OMG. Meanwhile in the Houston mayor’s race… Three candidates left off tomorrow’s debate stage — Demetria Smith, Johnny T. Taylor and Derek Broze — have filed a (very capitalized) lawsuit against @abc13houston and several others: — Jasper Scherer (@zjaspscherer) 7:30 … Continue reading →

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Interview with Penny Shaw

Posted on October 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Most of the candidates who are running in the HD148 special election are first time candidates. One who is not is Penny Shaw, who ran a strong race in 2018 for County Commissioner in Precinct 3, the most Republican precinct … Continue reading →

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Interview with Alva Treviño

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing today and running through next week I’ll be presenting interviews with candidates from the HD148 special election. Today we’re talking with Alva Treviño, one of several contenders whom I had met before this election. Treviño is on the Executive … Continue reading →

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A brief look at the Council incumbents who face contested races

Posted on October 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I think two, and hopefully three, of these races are truly competitive. The others, not so much. Asked how she would operate differently from City Councilwoman Karla Cisneros, the District H incumbent she is trying to unseat in November, Isabel … Continue reading →

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Interview with Anna Eastman

Posted on September 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

So you’ve probably heard that there’s a special election in HD148 this November, to succeed the retiring Rep. Jessica Farrar. You’ve also probably heard that there are many candidates – fifteen of them, to be exact – who are running … Continue reading →

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Sorry, Willie D

Posted on September 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I think you need better lawyers, dude. William Dennis, the former Geto Boys rapper known as “Willie D,” is planning to a host a campaign fundraiser Friday for his City Council bid, but election officials say voters won’t be able … Continue reading →

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Let’s temper our expectations just a bit in HD28

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an important race, and winning it would be a big boost, but let’s no go overboard. When Beto O’Rourke traveled to his home state of Texas for the recent Democratic presidential debate, he made a surprising stop: at a … Continue reading →

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Someone is opposing the Metro referendum

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it was too optimistic to hope that the Metro referendum would not get any organized opposition. Opponents of Metro’s $3.5 billion bond referendum have formed a political action committee to lead a grass-roots campaign to curtail what they … Continue reading →

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Two HISD candidates fail to qualify for the ballot

Posted on September 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We revisit a periodic issue. Two applicants seeking to replace Houston ISD Trustee Rhonda Skillern-Jones have failed to qualify for the November ballot, leaving five candidates running for the open seat, according to HISD officials. Michael Maloney, an athletics coach, … Continue reading →

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KHOU/HPM poll: Turner 37, Buzbee 20, King 10

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We must be getting into the serious part of Houston Election Season, because we have our first public poll of the Mayor’s race. Mayor Sylvester Turner leads trial lawyer and businessman Tony Buzbee by 17 points, according to a KHOU/Houston … Continue reading →

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Interview with Matt Barnes

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Like I’ve said, the HISD Trustee elections still matter this year. One could argue, they’ve never mattered more. With two of the four Trustees that are up for election this year deciding to step down, we will get some change … Continue reading →

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Interview with Judith Cruz

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As we’ve discussed, there are still HISD Trustee elections this year, despite the uncertainty surrounding the TEA takeover. While the Board may not have much authority during the time that the TEA-appointed board of managers is in charge, it still … Continue reading →

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Do you believe in magical thinking?

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I did not read this long profile of Tony Buzbee, because life is short and we all have better things to do. I did briefly scan the print version a bit, and in doing so I noticed the following paragraph, … Continue reading →

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Interview with Monica Flores Richart

Posted on September 23, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’d say there are three things I want to see happen this November. I want to see Mayor Turner get re-elected, I want to see the Metro referendum pass, and I want to see Monica Flores Richart kick Dave Wilson’s … Continue reading →

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Interview with Janaeya Carmouche

Posted on September 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Houston is a Democratic city, where the Democratic Presidential candidate has drawn 60% or more of the vote in each of the past three races. Yet we stand today with three of the five At Large Council seats being held … Continue reading →

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Where to find the HD148 candidates

Posted on September 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One of the things I observed as I was frantically updating lists of who had filed to run in the HD148 special election was that some of the candidates were easier to find online than others, and that some had … Continue reading →

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Interview with Raj Salhotra

Posted on September 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This week I will have interviews from two of the At Large races that feature challenges to sitting incumbents. First up is At Large #1, where candidate Raj Salhotra is among the four challengers to first-term incumbent Mike Knox. Salhotra … Continue reading →

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Why would you run for HISD Board of Trustees this year?

Posted on September 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It’s a good question. As she campaigns door-to-door to become the newest member of Houston ISD’s school board, Reagan Flowers is encountering many confused voters. They ask whether school board elections matter this year, given the growing likelihood that state officials will … Continue reading →

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It’s not really a campaign until there are attack ads

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. Mayor Sylvester Turner launched a television ad Monday attacking Tony Buzbee for donating to President Donald Trump’s inauguration committee, marking the mayor’s first major attempt to link his political opponent to the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Carrin Patman

Posted on September 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve talked a lot about the METRO Next referendum on the 2019 ballot. The referendum, the first time METRO has gone to the voters to ask for bonding authority since 2003, is intended to fund a significant expansion of transit … Continue reading →

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Campaigning for the Metro bond

Posted on September 8, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Our campaign finance laws can be a bit weird. Transit officials spent the past 18 months developing a plan to add $7.5 billion in new bus lines, rebuilt transit centers and rail expansion. They have nine weeks to sell it … Continue reading →

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The special election lineups are set

Posted on September 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From the Trib: Democrats in HD-28 have coalesced around Elizabeth “Eliz” Markowitz, who was the only Democrat to file. Markowitz, a Katy teacher, unsuccessfully ran last year for State Board of Education District 7, which overlaps with HD-28. Six Republicans, … Continue reading →

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Checking in on the Mayor’s race

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the Mayor’s race? Yeah, that. “The candidates have been running for months but were focused on fundraising and defining their message,” said Nancy Sims, a Houston political analyst. “Labor Day is when people tune into the election.” The stretch-run … Continue reading →

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Interview with Eliz Markowitz

Posted on September 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the city, HISD, and HCC races, the November ballot includes two special legislative elections in the greater Houston area. The first one that came about is in HD28, where outgoing Rep. John Zerwas stepped down to pursue … Continue reading →

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The HD148 field keeps growing

Posted on September 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the current list of people who have filed CTAs for HD148, not including Rep. Jessica Farrar and her 2018 opponent Ryan McConnico: 83999 COH Isaacson, Terah C. 08/20/2019 State Representative Dist 148 65547 COH Yarbrough Camarena, Kendra J. 08/21/2019 … Continue reading →

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Interview with Nelvin Adriatico

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One more time in District J, where the changing of the guard has me a bit nostalgic for the time when the new 11-district map was first presented for our perusal. Nelvin Adriatico is the president and founder of brokerage … Continue reading →

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HD148 update

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

From TX Elects: HD148 special: Houston physician Terah Isaacson established a campaign committee for a potential run for the seat being vacated by Rep. Jessica Farrar (D-Houston) as a Democrat. Houston resident Lui LaRotta established a campaign committee for the … Continue reading →

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Dave Wilson’s residency shuffle

Posted on August 28, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There he goes again. Dave Wilson, a controversial Houston Community College board member, has resigned from his position as a trustee for HCC’s District 2 and has announced that he will run for a District 1 position on HCC’s board. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sandra Rodriguez

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We move now to District J, one of the two new Council districts drawn in 2011, part of the settlement agreement to add two districts when the city’s population hit 2.1 million. Mike Laster has been the only Council member … Continue reading →

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The 2019 ballot order

Posted on August 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Time once again for this risible ceremony. The order of the November Houston ballot was set Friday morning in a random drawing at City Hall, laying out how the candidates for mayor, controller and city council will appear when voters … Continue reading →

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