And here’s the Chron story on the At Large #2 runoff, featuring Council Member Sue Lovell and Andrew Burks. Unlike Jones v. Christie, my opinion that CM Lovell will retain her seat is much more common. Burks does have a base of support in the African-American community, where he’s picked up several endorsements, but I don’t believe he has enough support beyond that to put together a majority. He’s tried to appeal to Republican voters, but that didn’t work too well for him in Round One. The bottom line for me is that I believe CM Lovell has been a very good Council member, and she deserves to be re-elected. My interview with her is here; I did not conduct an interview with Burks.
One point to comment on:
Burks, a minister and owner of a telecommunications company who has run and lost in four previous City Council races
By my count, and by combing through the city election archives, this is Burks’ sixth run for a Council office, not his fifth. He ran for District E in 1995, finishing second by eleven votes over Gregg Stephens and 20 votes over Danny Perkins; he then lost in the runoff to Rob Todd. He ran for At Large #3 in three straight cycles, from 1997 through 2001, twice losing to incumbent Orlando Sanchez, then losing in a runoff for the open seat to Shelley Sekula Gibbs. Finally, he ran for the open At Large #1 in 2003, finishing second as Mark Ellis won without the need for a runoff. He also ran for Congress in District 29 in 1992, finishing last in a field of five, and ran for Harris County Department of Education Trustee in 2006 against Roy Morales. According to Carl Whitmarsh, Burks also ran for State Rep in 1990 and chair of the HCDP at some point, but the state election archives only go back as far as 1992, and I can’t find a record of the latter race. Suffice it to say that Burks is a familiar presence on the ballot.
Sue Lovell will win but only because there is not an acceptable alternative. And that pretty much sums up the state of things politically in this city. Bill White was reelected twice because there was no alternative.
The only candidate who probably deserves the votes is Jolanda Jones. And most expect she will lose. So much for having integrity. Definitely not something we want at City Hall.
Andrew Burk ran for HCDP Chair in 1994. I don’t remember what place he finished, but it was a huge field 0f at least 5 (it was the last year you didn’t need signitures from HCDPEC members to run), but I know he didn’t make the run-off, which was David Minceburg vs. Lesley Perez.
Charles,
Sue Lovell will win because she is the best candidate for At-Large Position 2, period. She has proven in the last four years that she is one of the most effective Council Members in recent history and certainly deserves to be given another term.
I worked very closely with her in my time as Peter Brown’s Chief of Staff on Council and I just can’t tell you how impressed I was with her ability to “get things done” for the people of Houston. Sue Lovell is the person that everybody goes to when they want something to happen on Council. She is a consensus-builder and a passionate supporter of historic preservation, expansion and improvement of parks, anti-graffiti measures, and neighborhoods. There is a reason why Mayor White and her fellow Council Members voted her in as Vice Mayor Pro-Tem – Sue Lovell has a great work ethic and is a wonderful advocate for the people of Houston. She has the respect of her colleagues and has earned the trust of the people of Houston through her hard work.
I strongly encourage you and everybody else to vote to send this hard-working “get things done” Council Member back for another term. There is simply too much at stake in our future to have a City Council without Sue Lovell.
Best regards,
Maverick Welsh
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