CM Jolanda Jones gets her first announced opponent for At Large #5, but it comes with an asterisk.
Physician Joe Edmonds announced today his candidacy for City Council At-Large Position 5, currently occupied by Councilwoman Jolanda Jones.
“I feel there is a lot someone with my background can offer the city of Houston,” said Edmonds in a press release. “Whether it is bringing a practical approach to solving the city’s budget issues or helping to protect and improve our city’s world-class medical district, I am ready to take up the challenge.”
Edmonds is an otolaryngologist (that’s a fancy name for an ear, nose and throat doctor).
You can see his full press release here. The asterisk is this:
There is a Joseph L. Edmonds, Jr. registered in Precinct 0087 at the same address as the treasurer, Staci K. Edmonds. Unless the person who filed is Joseph Edmonds, Sr. or III, he has a Houston address, but Harris County considers him a resident of West University Place for voter registration purposes. Precinct 0087 also does not appear on the list of precincts that are included in the City.
In other words, it’s not 100% clear that Dr. Edmonds meets the residency requirement. I sent a reply to the sender of the press release, and was told the following:
I’m not working for Joe, just doing a favor for a friend. But, he sold his West U house a while back and had been living in a rental until recently, when he bought a home in Southhampton. Hopefully, that helps clarify.
That would depend on when he made the move into the rental unit, I suppose. If Dr. Edmonds would like to add further clarification to this, I’d love to hear it.
By the way, that last link was to Noel Freeman‘s new blog, which you should bookmark for future reference. According to an earlier post of Noel’s, CM Jones also has a rumored opponent, Laurie Robinson, who has filed a treasurer’s report but has not designated an office. As with 2009, don’t be surprised if she has multiple opponents.