With all of the Mayoral profiles done (*), the Chron turns its attention to the other open seat races. Here’s their profile of At Large #4.
CM C.O. “Brad” Bradford
Laurie Robinson kicked off her campaign in December 2014, almost a year before Election Day. Robinson, a managing principal and majority shareholder in her company, unsuccessfully ran for City Council in 2011 but says this time she’s more “solution-based.”
The city’s budget deficit is her main issue, and she cites her background uncovering waste in city contracts and her time as project manager during Hurricanes Katrina and Ike as an advantage. Her first order of business would be to sit down with the controller’s office and finance department, to “really look at the financial condition of the city.” Robinson, 50, wants to examine city pensions as well as ReBuild Houston, the city’s “pay-as-you-go” fund for infrastructure improvements.
[…]
First-time candidate Jonathan Hansen, 35, wants to take his experience teaching economics from the classroom to council chambers. A high school teacher and head swim coach, he sees city pensions and the permitting process for businesses as the city’s top troubles.
If elected, he would advocate for a defined contribution system, such as a 401(k) or 403b. Hansen said a lot of small businesses have been negatively affected by the “cumbersome” permitting process, pushing possible tax revenue from new businesses outside of city limits. Once these issues have been resolved, he would move on to infrastructure.
[…]
Amanda Edwards, another first-time candidate, wants to focus on quality-of-life issues that will bring more people to live within city limits so they can contribute to the tax base and fund necessary infrastructure repair.
“It’s falling apart, literally, as we speak. It’s fallen apart,” she said.
Edwards, 33, wants to give Houston residents access to grocery stores, walkable streets and healthy lifestyle choices. A municipal finance lawyer, Edwards plans to rely on her experience with public-private partnerships to find different ways to pay for these ideas.
[…]
While some are first-timers, other candidates such as Roy Morales, 58, are more “seasoned.” A technology consultant and retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, Morales previously ran unsuccessfully for mayor as well as City Council. He debated which ring to throw his hat in this time, and ultimately decided on the at-large position.
Morales says the first item on his to-do list would be to fix city streets. He links better roads and infrastructure to more business.
[…]
Evelyn Husband Thompson, 57, made her decision official to run for City Council 12 hours after dropping her son off at college. The widow of Rick Husband, the captain of the Space Shuttle Columbia, Husband Thompson said she “felt a little more freedom to give back to the community she loves” once her children had grown up and left home.
Husband Thompson said she’s done a “tremendous amount” of research to better understand City Council responsibilities and issues facing Houston. She hasn’t had as many public appearances or meetings as her competitors, but plans to go out with police officers and firemen to see different areas of the city.
[…]
For Larry Blackmon, 65, the retired educator and community activist, the Memorial Day floods helped him decide to run. He had considered running four years ago, but the birth of his new granddaughter kept him occupied. Now, she’s his campaign manager. She’s good at getting people to take campaign materials, he said.
Blackmon found it hard to believe that in the fourth largest city, “we had someone drowning in the middle of the city.” He proposes dividing Houston into regions with dedicated pump stations and other flood control measures, with one command station. Then he said, it would be easier to address the region that floods.
[…]
Matt Murphy, 40, compares the campaign experience to triathlon training, something that takes a gradual build-up. The two-time triathlete took on the challenge as a tribute to his son, who was born with a rare birth defect. Murphy, a fire protection engineer designer, is a first-time candidate.
“If you wait around to get qualified, wait around until you feel like you deserve or you earn it, then you’re really kind of neglecting the opportunity to make change now,” he said.
If you look at my Election 2015 page, you can see links to interviews I have done with Robinson, Edwards, Hansen, and Murphy. There are also links to Q&As they and Larry Blackmon have done elsewhere. All of the 30 day financial reports for six of the seven candidates are posted as well; I can’t find one for Jonathan Hansen. Here are the current totals for them:
Candidate Raised Spent Loans On Hand
===================================================
Blackmon 27,285 34,500 0 0
Edwards 131,417 61,327 0 191,445
Hansen
Morales 17,495 30,042 2,200 3,786
Murphy 670 5,125 14,045 167
Robinson 29,050 25,923 15,040 35,886
Thompson 0 1,850 0 0
Blackmon’s finance report is not correctly filled out – his “Support and Totals” section on cover sheet page 2 is blank, though he does have the Subtotals section on cover sheet 3 filled out. That doesn’t include a cash on hand number, so I filled in the zero on my own. Blackmon reported a $10,000 contribution from a Daniel Jackson of Stafford, which if true seems like a violation of the $5,000 limit for individual contributors. I haven’t looked very closely at the other reports just yet.
We got a mailer from Edwards late last week. I’ve not gotten anything from the other candidates as yet, though I have seen numerous sponsored posts on Facebook from Robinson and Edwards. Only Edwards is officially for HERO. Husband Thompson is the Hotze candidate. I suspect those items will serve as filters for some of us. Robinson got the Chron endorsement; she and Edwards split all the other non-Hotze endorsements that I tracked. I couldn’t find a webpage or campaign Facebook page for Husband Thompson, so i guess you’re on your own if you want to know more about her. Other than that, I hope this is enough to help you at least narrow the field down for yourself.
Throughout the report, the name “EVELYN Husband Thompson” is Shortened to “HUSBAND Thompson” in the at-large 4 race.
This is important because the last paragraph seems to imply that Amanda Edwards has a husband running for office who is endorsed by Hotze!
I doubt Amanda Edwards would want even an indirect Hotze endorsement. 🙂
Otherwise, thanks for the good reporting!
– Mike