I know, I’m as excited as you are.
Ben Hall
Former City Attorney Ben Hall, long rumored to be considering a run for mayor, said Tuesday that “It’s more likely than not” that he will run for mayor next year.
Hall has been most prominent recently as the attorney for Chad Holley. The black teenager was fleeing the scene of a burglary before falling over the hood of a police car, rolling onto his stomach and placing his hands behind his head in an incident captured on surveillance video. Then the video appears to show several Houston police officers stomping, kicking and punching the prostrate teenager. He is also the attorney for ousted county Housing Authority chief Guy Rankin.
Hall bought a home in the Memorial area in February. Hall insisted that his previous home had a Houston address that qualified him to run for mayor, but that address had apparently been a source of some controversy. Hall said part of his thinking for the home purchase was he “did not want anybody complaining about that (residency) issue even though we formerly complied with the law.”
Whatever. I’m so not ready to start thinking about 2013. Why Hall thought Election Day was a good time to float this bit of news is a mystery to me. At least the SD06 hopefuls know their election is coming up quickly. I really know nothing about Hall and have no idea how compelling a candidate he might be. I do think that 2011 may have been the better time for someone to challenge Mayor Parker, since this time around at least she has a balanced budget and no red light camera/Renew Houston distractions, but we’ll see how it goes. What do you think?
At the very least, it’s ironic that if the election were held today, his wife and son, who reside and are registered to vote in Piney Point Village (info available courtesy of HCAD and Tax A/C websites), apparently would not be able to vote in his election. The Chron article suggests that his residency issues have been resolved, but I suspect the Parker campaign would look long and hard at it to see if there’s anything they can contest or use to their advantage.
There may be some westside or social conservative Republicans claiming they can deliver an anti-Parker vote to Hall, but I doubt it. I don’t think Hall is any more acceptable to my neighbors than Gene Locke. On the other hand, if Kubosh or Bettencourt runs we could have a reprise of the Lanier-Whitmire-Turner vote from decades ago in which the white liberal female incumbent gets squeezed between westside conservatives and black voters, and fails to make the runoff. But will Hall even get united supported from black voters? I would expect Parker to do OK in the black community given her alliances over the years, even against a black opponent.
ben hall will not file to run,he can say he is thinking on it, but he wont file, hes blowing smoke.
joshua ben bullard
For Hall to get the support needed by local democratic party leaders, he will have to “wait his turn” as it is said. This phrase pops up a lot in backroom dealing for both parties, the democratic party will not openly support anyone running against a qualified incumbant. When Parker is term limited out of office, it could be a free for all but there are forces gathering to appoint said candidate already, Hall not on the short list at this writing. Parker is better situated for next year’s run than she was last time too, no credible candidate likely to come forth with her war chest as full as it is.
As far as Kubosh is concerned, he lives north of the city, and Bettancourt would not stand a chance against even a half hearted liberal given the numbers of voters for each party inside the city. The way he handled his last election, stepping down after “protecting” his office from the other party right after the election left a markedly bad taste in the mouths of many and leaves him politically vulnerable. He has also aligned himself with some of the worst the local GOP has to offer, nothing short of a miracle would restore him in the eyes of moderates or undecided voters.