Normally, at this time I would be scanning through Houston candidate campaign finance reports, to see where incumbents stand at the start of the season. Of course, barring near-term court action there is no season for Houston municipal officeholders this year, and unlike past years they have been able to raise money during what had once been a blackout period. It’s still worth it to check in and see what everyone has, so let’s do that.
Name Raised Spent Loan On Hand
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Turner 681,972 177,867 0 1,312,028
Stardig * 39,361 24,088 0 79,980
Davis * 8,500 27,439 0 154,707
Cohen * 8,350 21,563 0 77,451
Boykins 26,400 23,820 0 186
Martin 4,250 17,469 0 95,896
Le 13,100 13,519 42,823 2,023
Travis 0 12,984 76,000 23,606
Cisneros 7,500 15,295 273 4,959
Gallegos 20,834 14,742 0 33,077
Laster * 3,000 6,292 0 145,071
Green * 10,000 52,652 0 107,248
Knox 6,275 20,061 0 16,737
Robinson 44,750 15,277 0 52,408
Kubosh 10,925 12,907 276,000 20,824
Edwards 42,401 18,379 0 110,660
Christie * 1,367 22,653 0 18,563
Brown 30,520 52,814 0 41,245
Parker 0 36,503 0 136,368
King 0 50 650,000 0
Asterisks indicate term-limited incumbents. I included Annise Parker and Bill King mostly out of curiosity. Parker can’t run for anything in Houston, but if she does eventually run for something else she can transfer what she has in this account to whatever other one she may need.
Clearly, Mayor Turner has been busy. Big hauls by incumbent Mayors are hardly unusual, it’s just that Turner had the benefit of more time to make that haul. A few Council members plus Controller Chris Brown were busy, though there was nothing that was truly eye-popping. I didn’t look at the individual forms beyond the totals page, so I can’t say what everyone spent their money on, but if I had to guess I’d say recurring fees for things like consultants and websites, plus the usual meals, travel, donations, and what have you. Loan amounts always fascinate me – you have to wonder if any of them will be paid back. Probably not.
It’s not too surprising that the term-limited members are among those with the largest cash on hand totals. They have had the longest to build it up, after all. I have to assume some of them – in particular, Jerry Davis, Mike Laster, and Larry Green – have a run for something else in their future. For what will be mostly a matter of opportunity. Of those who can run again in 2019, I’ll be very interested to see how their fortunes change between now and the next two Januaries. One way or another, 2019 ought to be a busy year.
Maybe with all her money amanda edwards can hire smarter staff to help her put together real policy ideas?
Joe-What would be the incentive to do that?