Category Archives: Election 2019

Interview with Anthony Nelson

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One more interview in District F, which as noted will have its fourth member of Council after this election since 2013. Today’s interview is with Anthony Nelson, one of the many younger candidates running for office this year, as reported … Continue reading →

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Bonus commentary on 2019 lineup

Posted on August 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There was a lot of last minute activity at Monday’s filing deadline, as there usually is. Probably more so this year, as approximately ten percent of Houston adults are running for office this November. The point here is that the … Continue reading →

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The 2019 lineups are set

Posted on August 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Barring any late disqualifications or other unexpected events, we have the candidates we’re getting on our 2019 ballot. More than 125 candidates turned in paperwork to run for city office by Monday’s filing deadline, setting up a packed November ballot … Continue reading →

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Special election set for HD148

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Straight from the source. Governor Greg Abbott today issued a proclamation announcing Tuesday, November 5, 2019 as the special election date to fill the Texas House of Representatives District 148 seat recently vacated by former Representative Jessica Farrar. Candidates who … Continue reading →

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Interview with Tiffany Thomas

Posted on August 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We move now to District F, a district that will have its fourth Council member since 2013 with the departure of controversial first-term member Steve Le. Six people are lined up to compete for this open seat, many of whom … Continue reading →

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State Rep. Jessica Farrar departs

Posted on August 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. State Rep. Jessica Farrar, a Houston Democrat who has served in the Texas House for over two decades, is retiring from the lower chamber at the end of September. “I want to thank my constituents and the … Continue reading →

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Special election set in HD28

Posted on August 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like I was a bit confused about this. Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday set a Nov. 5 special election to fill the Texas House seat being vacated by state Rep. John Zerwas, who last month announced he would retire … Continue reading →

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July 2019 campaign finance reports: HISD and HCC

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

One last look at July finance reports. I’m lumping together reports for HISD and HCC, in part because there’s some crossover, and in part because there’s not all that much to these. As always, refer to the Erik Manning candidate … Continue reading →

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Metro referendum is set

Posted on August 15, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. Metropolitan Transit Authority board members voted Tuesday to ask voters in November for permission to borrow up to $3.5 billion, without raising taxes. The money would cover the first phase of what local leaders expect to be … Continue reading →

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Interview with Cynthia Reyes-Revilla

Posted on August 14, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We continue today with another interview in District H, where first-term incumbent Karla Cisneros has drawn two challengers so far (the filing deadline is Sunday, so we’ll see if there are others). Cynthia Reyes-Revilla was the first candidate to enter … Continue reading →

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Interview with Isabel Longoria

Posted on August 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As I’ve said before, I’m going to be doing a limited set of interviews this fall, with some more likely to follow for the runoffs. (Which will then blend right into the 2020 primaries, but that’s a whole ‘nother thing.) … Continue reading →

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Previous interviews with current candidates

Posted on August 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve said a few times that I’m going to be doing just a few interviews this fall. I will start publishing them tomorrow. I may pick up some more for the runoffs, but for now my schedule just does not … Continue reading →

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I for one am happy to be anti-drowning

Posted on August 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’m almost irrationally furious about this. Wednesday’s event by the Bayou City Initiative was billed “Flood Resiliency and the State of City Infrastructure.” So, it was no surprise to see featured speaker Carol Haddock, head of Houston Public Works, get … Continue reading →

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July 2019 campaign finance reports: Open City Council seats, part 2

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We come down to the last three open Council seats to examine, all the result of term-limited incumbents. The first post, with Districts A, B, and C, is here, and the rest of the non-Mayoral races is here. As before, … Continue reading →

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July 2019 campaign finance reports: Open City Council seats, part 1

Posted on July 29, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There are seven more Council races to examine, all open seats thanks to a couple of incumbents either stepping down (Steve Le in F) or running for something else (Dwight Boykins in D, at least for now). I’m going to … Continue reading →

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July 2019 campaign finance reports: Incumbents and challengers for Council and Controller

Posted on July 21, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Let me start by saying that I began this post before Amanda Edwards became a candidate for Senate. I’m going to keep the AL4 race in here, in part to include Edwards’ June report totals, and in part because I’m … Continue reading →

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An update on the races in HISD and HCC

Posted on July 20, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, there’s been a lot of action not just in the Houston City Council races but also in the 2020 election races. That doesn’t mean things have been dull in HISD and HCC, which of course have elections … Continue reading →

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Amanda Edwards joins the Senate race

Posted on July 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

And then there were three, with a fourth likely to follow and a fifth out there as a possibility. Houston City Councilwoman Amanda Edwards announced Thursday morning she is running for U.S. Senate, joining an increasingly crowded primary to challenge … Continue reading →

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July 2019 campaign finance reports: Mayoral candidates

Posted on July 17, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

All right, now that we are past the 15th, most of the campaign finance reports are in, so let’s start reviewing them. Because there are several thousand candidates running for office in Houston, I’m going to split them into several … Continue reading →

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Here come the youths

Posted on July 16, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There are a lot of younger candidates running for Houston City Council this year. Inspired by the recent electoral success of millennial and Generation Z-aged candidates, more young people are running for Houston city council than ever before, a trend … Continue reading →

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“Pay to play” petition drive falls short

Posted on July 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Womp womp. The political action committee that launched a petition drive aimed at limiting the influence of contractors and vendors at Houston City Hall failed to gather enough signatures to put the measure on the November ballot, the group’s director … Continue reading →

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A look at the Constitutional amendments we will see this November

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

There are ten of them, including a couple I will vote against as hard as I can. House Joint Resolution 4 would let the Texas Water Development dole out dollars from a flood infrastructure fund — created by Senate Bill … Continue reading →

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Two Geto Boys are better than one

Posted on July 6, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Again I say, sure, why not. William James Dennis, a rapper who goes by the stage name Willie D, has filed a campaign treasurer’s report to run for city council, becoming the second member of the Houston-based hip-hop group Geto … Continue reading →

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CM Steve Le not running for re-election

Posted on July 5, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We have another open seat, in District F. Houston City Councilman Steve Le announced Wednesday he will not seek a second term in November, leaving an open race for his District F seat and ensuring the southwestern district will get … Continue reading →

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The Chron covers the #BoycottBoykins story

Posted on July 3, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

They don’t mention the hashtag, though. Houston city councilman and mayoral candidate Dwight Boykins is facing backlash for a recent incident in which he allegedly advised a group of students to “keep their legs closed,” among other comments that some … Continue reading →

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Sue Lovell announces for Mayor

Posted on July 2, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Sure, why not? Former Houston city councilwoman Sue Lovell announced Monday she is running for mayor, becoming the fourth major candidate aiming to deny Mayor Sylvester Turner a second term in November. Lovell made the announcement in a news release … Continue reading →

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#BoycottBoykins

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

The headline is a hashtag started on Twitter as a result of this. Several Sugar Land families say they’re stunned and upset with how city council member and mayoral candidate Dwight Boykins addressed a room of teenagers Friday, even starting … Continue reading →

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Metro and the Mayor’s race

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

This went pretty much as one would expect. Delivering his fourth State of Mobility speech to Transportation Advocacy Group-Houston Chapter, Mayor Sylvester Turner echoed previous years, noting the region needs more options than solo driving if it is to handle … Continue reading →

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Buzbee billboard lawsuit dismissed

Posted on June 19, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I did say it was a dumb lawsuit. A state district judge has dismissed challenger Tony Buzbee’s lawsuit against Mayor Sylvester Turner and advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor over a series of billboards for the city’s AlertHouston campaign. In the … Continue reading →

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How good a stepping stone is Mayor of Dallas?

Posted on June 18, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Stephen Young notes that being Mayor of Dallas has not been particularly helpful to others’ ambitions. If he’s anything, Dallas mayor-elect Eric Johnson is an ambitious guy. He’s got degrees from Harvard, Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania, and took … Continue reading →

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Here comes another referendum no one will understand

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Be careful what petitions you sign, that’s my advice. A political action committee is launching a petition drive Sunday aimed at limiting how much city contractors and vendors can contribute to municipal candidates, marking the start of a month-long effort … Continue reading →

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Let the HD100 candidates come on out

Posted on June 12, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

With State Rep. Eric Johnson now also known as Dallas Mayor-Elect Eric Johnson, that means a special election for his legislative district is in the offing. Dallas community advocate Lorraine Birabil has launched a campaign to replace outgoing state Rep. … Continue reading →

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Scarface

Posted on June 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

If CM Dwight Boykins is running for Mayor, then someone has to run for District D. Your mind isn’t playing tricks. A former member of the pioneering hip-hop group Geto Boys could wind up representing a large part of the … Continue reading →

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May runoff results

Posted on June 9, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

With 303 of 474 precincts reporting, State Rep. Eric Johnson was leading in the runoff for Dallas Mayor over Scott Griggs, 57% to 43%. At the time I started writing this I didn’t see any news coverage declaring the race … Continue reading →

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