Tag Archives: Election 2013

Early To Rise submits its petitions

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From here it gets real. The Harris County School Readiness Corp., a new nonprofit led by business and civic leaders, is calling for a ballot intiative to levy a 1-cent-per-$100 tax through the Harris County Department of Education to generate … Continue reading →

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Astrodome referendum officially on the ballot

Posted on August 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s been a long, strange trip, but at last you will get to vote on the fate of the Astrodome. The Commissioners Court on Tuesday unanimously voted to place a bond election for up to $217 million to convert the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Rogene Gee Calvert

Posted on August 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Next up for At Large #3 is Rogene Gee Calvert, who has worked for non-profits such as the United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast and for the city, as a City Director under Mayor Bill White, and Chief of … Continue reading →

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Interview with Roland Chavez

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Next up among At Large #3 candidates is Roland Chavez. Chavez was a Houston firefighter for 34 years before retiring in June. He was active for many years in the firefighters’ union, Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, Local 341, including … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Chron for Early To Rise

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Technically, this isn’t an endorsement, since there isn’t anything to endorse just yet. Nonetheless, it is clear that the Chron supports the Early To Rise campaign. It looks like Harris County will vote on the future of the Astrodome this … Continue reading →

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Interview with Jenifer Pool

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This week we move into the crowded field for At Large #3, which is the only open At Large Council seat on the ballot. Currently held by CM Melissa Noriega, there’s a large but not easily pinpointed number of candidates … Continue reading →

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School superintendents for Early To Rise

Posted on August 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

From the press release: (Houston, TX) Today Harris County Superintendents participated in a press conference for the Early to Rise campaign, which is seeking to create a dedicated funding stream to improve the quality of early childhood education through a … Continue reading →

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Astrodome referendum headed for the ballot

Posted on August 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

If you’ve been waiting for the chance to vote on the fate of the Astrodome, your wait will soon be over. Commissioners Court next Tuesday is expected to approve a measure asking voters to authorize the county to spend as … Continue reading →

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Sheriff Garcia endorses the Early To Rise campaign

Posted on August 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It makes sense that he would. The group attempting to get a 1-cent tax hike on the November ballot to bolster early childhood education programs got a hearty endorsement from Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia on Wednesday, and announced it … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Jack Christie

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

CM Jack Christie is serving his first term on Council in At Large #5, becoming one of only four people in the term limits era to defeat a sitting incumbent when he nipped former CM Jolanda Jones in a runoff. … Continue reading →

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Chron wants multiple multi-candidate debates

Posted on August 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Don’t know if they’ll get what they want, but it can’t hurt to ask. For the main show, mayoral candidate Ben Hall has called for six one-on-one debates with Mayor Annise Parker, albeit with three debates after early voting begins. … Continue reading →

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On PACs in city elections

Posted on August 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Houston Politics looks at something we haven’t seen much of in city elections – PACs that are candidate-specific instead of being centered on a referendum. Among the topics bandied about last week was why [Ben] Hall and District A candidate … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Ed Gonzalez

Posted on August 5, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member Ed Gonzalez is serving his second term in District H. He’s actually already four full years into his service, as he was the winner of the 2009 special election to succeed former CM and now Sheriff Adrian Garcia. … Continue reading →

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Debating about debates

Posted on August 3, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

There will be some number of debates between Mayor Parker and Ben Hall between now and Election Day. How many debates, and how many participants there will be in those debates, is itself a matter of debate. In a letter … Continue reading →

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July campaign finance reports, HISD and HCC

Posted on August 2, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Ericka Mellon did me the favor of the heavy lifting for HISD Trustees. Campaign finance reports filed this week show at least two non-incumbents are entering races for the Houston school board this November, while contributions for most trustees generally … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for non-candidates

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone who files a finance report with the city is running for something this November. Term-limited incumbents, and former candidates who still have money in their campaign treasuries are required to file reports as well. Here’s a look a … Continue reading →

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A closer look at Mayoral campaign finances

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I said I’d get to a closer look at the Mayoral campaign finance reports later, after I had a chance to read all the way through them. That time is now, so let’s have our look. Mayor Parker’s finance report. … Continue reading →

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Farmers Branch loses again

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Same story, next chapter. The Farmers Branch ordinance barring people in the U.S. illegally from renting in the city is unconstitutional, an appeals court ruled for the second time Monday. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans … Continue reading →

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July 2013 finance reports for district Council candidates

Posted on July 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We move now to the remaining Council races, which are the district races. Here are the July finance reports for candidates in District Council races. Please note that all reports now appear on my newly-published Election 2013 page. Refer to … Continue reading →

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Petitioning for Early To Rise

Posted on July 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This arrived in my inbox a couple of days ago: With only two weeks to go, we really need your help! We are working to get an initiative on the ballot in November 2013 to fund the Early to Rise Program. The … Continue reading →

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House passes different transportation bill than the Senate passed

Posted on July 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Our endless summer of special sessions isn’t over yet. The Texas House on Thursday gave final passage to a measure to boost funding for transportation projects, though few members expect it to survive the Senate without significant changes. After more … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for At Large candidates

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Still plowing my way through all the July finance reports. July and January are very busy months, since everybody has finance reports to do. After I’m done with the city candidates, I’ll be looking at HISD and HCC candidates, then … Continue reading →

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The Chron continues to rage against the pensions

Posted on July 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Hobby horse mounted, away we go! There is something particularly frustrating about municipal pensions, which are funded by the city but controlled by the state. This is a recipe for disaster, which can be seen in ballooning burdens to the … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for Controller candidates

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing my look at July 2013 campaign finance reports for city candidates, here’s a look at the reports for the two Contoller hopefuls, incumbent Ronald Green and challenger Bill Frazer. Candidate Raised Spent On Hand Loan ————————————————- Green 71,548 31,185 … Continue reading →

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Mayoral finance reports for July

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s go to the press releases for the initial hype. Here’s Mayor Parker’s announcement of her fundraising haul for the July report. Houston Mayor Annise Parker has raised more than $2.2 million for her re-election campaign since February, with the … Continue reading →

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Waiting to hear about New Dome financing

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Just a reminder that the process is still in progress. Two weeks ago, the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation presented its vision for a 194 million dollar project dubbed THE NEW DOME EXPERIENCE. It included turning the inside into … Continue reading →

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Interview with CM Ellen Cohen

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Welcome to the start of the 2013 interview season. Things are going to be a little different for me this year, because my personal schedule is not as flexible as it has been in years past. What that means is … Continue reading →

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Mayoral multitude

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Campos has an update on who’s running for what. Commentary dropped by the City Secretary Office a couple of days ago to check out the latest campaign treasurer designations. Here is who I will add to my political page later … Continue reading →

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Special election set in HD50

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Mark Strama announced his resignation from the Lege in February to go and run Google Fiber in Austin. Last week, Rick Perry set November 5 as the special election date to replace him. The race to serve out the remainder … Continue reading →

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Eric Dick is just trolling us now

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Like a three-year-old having a tantrum – and against our better judgment – he gets the attention he so desperately seeks. Two City Council candidates facing thousands of dollars in fines for violating the city’s sign ordinance during their 2011 … Continue reading →

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What does the DOMA decision mean for Texas?

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the day after the disappointing SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, we got a much more heartening ruling on DOMA, declaring it to be unconstitutional. However, not all of DOMA was struck down. In a landmark Supreme … Continue reading →

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Commissioners Court approves HCSCC Astrodome plan for further review

Posted on June 29, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

I noted this briefly in an update to my interview with Willie Loston, but on Tuesday Harris County Commissioners Court unanimously approved the proposal by the Harris County Sports & Convention Corporation to redevelop the Astrodome for further study. Commissioners … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The firefighters still don’t like the Mayor

Posted on June 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the Ben Hall campaign teased on its Facebook page that it was about to get a “game-changer” endorsement. This week, that endorsement was announced. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association announced they will be endorsing Ben Hall in … Continue reading →

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RIP, Section 5

Posted on June 26, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

By now you are well aware that SCOTUS has dealt a blow to the Voting Rights Act. They actually left Section 5, which is what requires certain parts of the country (including Texas) to get preclearance on voting-related changes, intact, … Continue reading →

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