I had thought that the Chron was going to endorse challenger Laurie Robinson in the At Large #5 race. I was wrong.
Of the current 15 members of Houston City Council, including Mayor Annise Parker, none arouses the intense passions that Jolanda Jones has stirred in her two terms.
The defense attorney and former track star campaigned for office on the promise to serve as “the voice of the voiceless” at City Hall. Over the past four years she has more than fulfilled that commitment, winning a devoted following in the low-income communities of Houston while irritating and sometimes enraging critics and colleagues. She has rough edges, and certainly does not represent business as usual.
The Chronicle believes that on balance, Jones has served a valuable function on a City Council that has historically played a subservient role in Houston’s strong-mayor form of government. She speaks out frequently, questioning administration proposals and demanding more information. That lengthens council meeting times and often delays action, but it also provides additional scrutiny and the impetus to improve legislation.
[…]
In the current campaign, many of Jones’ critics are backing Laurie Robinson, an accomplished financial consultant specializing in health care and the public sector who has done audits for the city. She is a promising prospective council member; we hope she runs again for public office, whether for this position or another.
After carefully examining the facts, the Chronicle endorses Jones for re-election and urges voters to return her to City Hall for a final term.
Well, they didn’t endorse Robinson but they had nice things to say about her, so I wasn’t too far off the mark. I completely agree with their assessment of the role CM Jones plays on Council, and I admire her for it. The question is whether there are more people now than before who think that her baggage outweighs that. I’ll be very interested to compare 2011 results with those from 2009. In any event, my interview with CM Jones is here, my interview with Robinson is here, and my interview with Jack Christie is here.
For me, her baggage outweighs it. Maybe not so much the various charges against her (some are more valid than others), but she seems to thrive on creating a scene, and in my opinion a lot of that is to draw attention to herself. It’s just counterproductive, and it wastes valuable time and resources. I won’t be voting for her.
Kuff,
I thought the same as you – a nod of Robinson. But when you think about it, if they felt that strongly about ousting Jolanda, they would have made it known a little earlier. I think by making this endorsement after the mayor, they have in turn intentionally denuded the weight of their endorsement.
I personally respect Jolanda’s fiscal conservatism, heavy scrutiny of the budget and her strong positions on issues such as the rain tax and red light cameras. This is partially the reason why I thought they would go against her.
Way to go Jo.
“After carefully examining the facts”?i dont know what the folks at the chronicle are smoking-or heaven forbid,what their drinking downtown,but you people at the chronicle are just completly outside of the scope for this reversal endorsment.You cant use your newspaper to slant the vote-you cant put your own spin on the truth and get away with it,you and i both know she is no longer suited for this position,period,just go ask the people at the houston police officers union or the firefighters assoc for that matter,chron.com,for the love of god dont you have some respect for your readers?since youve decided to play hardball,which is my game,i will entertain.
the real reason the houston chronicle makes this endorsement because they profit millions of dollars in advertisment and there ratings hit the ceiling everytime cm jolanda jones makes headlines-imagine that,chron.com making truck loads of money because cm jones makes news,its fact,to be honest with you the chronicle has been using jolanda jones for profit for years.its sad but true,if you read the article carefully you can easily see where the chron is trying to bait the reader into believeing that canidate jack christie whom was recently endorsed by mayor bill white is not really a viable canidate in the race and hes actually way ahead of the other canidates.shame on you chronicle for trying to manipulate the peoples vote-just try reporting the facts-we dont need your opinions,at all,just facts.
I really dont know what the people at the chronicle are smoking
respectfully submitted joshua ben bullard
The Chronicle gets this one right.
@jules-did you just bump your head on something??????????
Joshua – thanks for your concern but I’m ok. I like Jones, she makes my Chronicle more interesting.
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The police union and the fire union do not always do what is best for their members. In fact when they go one way it means to me I should seriously think about going the other way. Just my opinion.