Here we have the least competitive runoff of the six that were citywide.
Dist Edwards Morales
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A 6,322 6,153
B 14,660 1,761
C 17,813 10,238
D 18,341 2,882
E 7,688 13,231
F 4,046 3,080
G 11,996 15,203
H 5,610 3,903
I 4,371 3,774
J 3,070 2,287
K 12,150 3,830
A 50.68% 49.32%
B 89.28% 10.72%
C 63.50% 36.50%
D 86.42% 13.58%
E 36.75% 63.25%
F 56.78% 43.22%
G 44.10% 55.90%
H 58.97% 41.03%
I 53.66% 46.34%
J 57.31% 42.69%
K 76.03% 23.97%
Amanda Edwards
As was the case in November, Edwards had a dominant performance in the runoff, winning every district except E and G, and she didn’t do too badly in them, either. I saw more ads on TV for her and for Controller-elect Chris Brown than I did for the two Mayoral candidates combined. That may have helped her achieve the rare distinction of getting more votes than any other candidate, a hard thing to do when there’s a contested Mayoral race on the ballot since the undervote is so much higher for At Large contests. With this strong win, Edwards joins CM Michael Kubosh as the early favorites to not get serious challengers in 2019. Four years is an eternity, and it’s also uncharted waters for us in Houston, so it’s a bit silly to say such things now. It’s always possible for things to go wrong for a Council member, and who knows what the electorate will be like in four years. That said, AL5 will be open, AL1 is sure to draw interest, and five district Council seats will also be up – A, B, C, J, and K. Assuming nothing crazy happens between now and then, I’d surely put any of those races higher on my priority list if I were inclined to run for something.
As for Roy, he’s beginning to edge into Andrew Burks/Griff Griffin territory. He’s been on a ballot for something in 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2013, and 2015, winning his HCDE seat by forfeit in 2006 and making it into an At Large runoff in 2007, 2013, and now 2015. What I find fascinating, beyond the psychology of people who run for office cycle after cycle without any clear plan for a campaign or idea of how they might win, is how little support Morales seems to draw in some of these elections. The runoff in the special election in 2007 was closer than supporters of Melissa Noriega would have liked, but that was mostly about the usual problem of getting Democratic voters out to the polls at non-standard times, and she still won by ten points. He got a bit of late support in the 2009 Mayor’s race, enough to get his Election Day vote total to nudge past Peter Brown’s though not enough to threaten the top two finishers. He didn’t seem to make much of an impression in 2013 or this year. Morales was unlikely to win against Edwards, and I can certainly understand why Republican players might have put a higher priority on folks like King, Frazer, Knox, and Le. I still wonder, do they just not like the guy? Do they get the same Burks/Griff vibe that I get? Is it that he’s just not good at asking for support? Whatever the case, it’s another familiar result. I wonder if he’ll be back for more in 2019.
Out of all the candidates I felt Edwards put the most effort on grassroots efforts. There was no denying her presence on every level of civic engagement. She treated every person at every level with the same level of respect. I saw her a few times at various fundraising and local neighborhood events. There is something very special about her and how she is not afraid to be herself. I didn’t get this from any of the candidates that ran for any type of office. She is young and down to earth and that is very hard to do while running for office.
As far as Roy the guy is another Adrian Garcia. Their egos as so strong that they are willing to do anything to reach power.
It’s not that candidates continually run for office.
It’s that candidates don’t take the time to create a platform.
They don’t compare cities, counties or states.