Tag Archives: Election 2010

Stipeche wins HISD Trustee runoff

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From School Zone: Juliet Stipeche has won the Houston ISD District VIII school board runoff election by 48 votes, according to the unofficial results. Stipeche, an attorney, beat Judith Cruz, a stay-at-home mom and former HISD teacher, with 51 percent … Continue reading →

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Runoff Day in HISD VIII

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the day of the runoff election for HISD Trustee in District VIII between Judith Cruz and Juliet Stipeche. According to School Zone, only about 1000 votes were cast during early voting, so if you live in this district, … Continue reading →

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State auditor to look at Emerging Technology Fund

Posted on November 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

State Auditor John Keel will perform an audit on the state’s Emerging Technology Fund to see if the money is being used and distributed properly. State Auditor John Keel said Wednesday that his office will review the monitoring of the … Continue reading →

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From the “What Greg said” department

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Among the things I’m thankful for at this time of year is that Greg is back to blogging. In particular, I’m grateful that he said what needed to be said about Bill King’s ridiculous column that advised Democrats to lay … Continue reading →

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County buys more eSlates

Posted on November 27, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now that the election is over and all those borrowed voting machines need to be sent back to their owners, Harris County needs to buy replacements. Commissioners Court has approved an expenditure of $19 million to buy some 4600 eSlate … Continue reading →

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Recount sought in HD48

Posted on November 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Given how close this one was, a recount was to be expected. Republican Dan Neil is seeking a recount in his challenge to state Rep. Donna Howard in the District 48 seat that represents part of Travis County. Neil has … Continue reading →

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Ortiz concedes

Posted on November 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. U.S. Rep. Solomon Ortiz on Monday conceded the loss of his 27th District seat that he held for nearly three decades. A recount netted him more than 100 votes in Cameron County but left him still hundreds of … Continue reading →

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What about red light cameras elsewhere?

Posted on November 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Before the election, I noted a DMN story about how the red light camera referendum in Houston might spur opponents in other cities to try their luck with a similar ban. This DMN story discusses that, but you have to … Continue reading →

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As goes Harris, so goes CC2

Posted on November 22, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Just as HD133 was a microcosm of Harris County in 2008, Sylvia Garcia’s County Commissioner precinct was a miniature version of the county as a whole in 2010. Take a look at how Democratic candidates did in County Commissioner Precinct … Continue reading →

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Gambling proponents still optimistic for some reason

Posted on November 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The conventional wisdom, to which I subscribe, says that the results on this election are bad news for proponents of expanded gambling. One reason for this is that the Republican wave means more socially conservative members. Gambling proponents are doing … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Runoff reiteration

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates its endorsement of Judith Cruz in the HISD Trustee runoff. To a large degree, the solution to the United States’ education problems is being worked out here in Houston. We’re the birthplace of some of the nation’s … Continue reading →

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Lineup set for HD44 special election

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here are your candidates for the special election to replace the late Rep. Edmund Kuempel of Seguin. Tony Gergely, a Seguin business owner, is the Libertarian in the race. The Democrats are Daniel Rodriguez Andrade of Seguin, who lists his … Continue reading →

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More on KBH 2012

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Fix on our senior Senator and her next electoral challenge. Hutchison, who previously broke a term-limit pledge when she ran for reelection in 2006, had been saying since 2007 that she would not seek another term in the Senate. … Continue reading →

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Who cares about the will of the voters?

Posted on November 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Prop 1 opponents don’t. Opponents of Proposition 1 are planning to lobby the state legislature to strike down the controversial drainage fee, even after voters narrowly approved it earlier this month. Don Hooper, who organized a political action committee blasting … Continue reading →

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Early voting information for the HISD VIII runoff

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

One more election to go this year, the runoff for the open HISD Trustee seat in District VIII. Because of the Thanksgiving holiday, early voting begins tomorrow and runs through next Wednesday. Here’s what you need to know from the … Continue reading →

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Thibaut versus Murphy, third time around

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We know that the story of HD133, which has now been won twice by Jim Murphy and once by Kristi Thibaut, is one of turnout. With sufficient turnout in the Democratic part of the district – that is, the precincts … Continue reading →

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What’s next for Bill White?

Posted on November 17, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Not a campaign. In the nearly two weeks since his decisive loss to Gov. Rick Perry, he’s had time to begin planning a family Christmas trip to a yet-to-be-decided Spanish-speaking country, to indulge his penchant for exploring new and interesting … Continue reading →

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Partisan breakdown for the city propositions

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Now that I have addressed the question of the effect of straight ticket voting on the city propositions, the next question is to figure out how they did in Republican and Democratic areas. To try and get a handle on … Continue reading →

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So what about that elections administrator?

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about Abe Simpson Don Sumners, our new Tax Assessor, is this little nugget: So, if [County Judge Ed] Emmett insists on putting the election administrator position on a Commissioners Court agenda, Sumners said, “I think we … Continue reading →

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Straight ticket voting and the city propositions

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, the Chron recently wrote an editorial decrying the rise in straight ticket voting. Among other things, they said: In two highly publicized Houston propositions on the ballot last Tuesday, nearly 56,000 voters did not register a choice … Continue reading →

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Red light cameras to be turned off Monday

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This was unexpected. This week, officials with American Traffic Solutions Inc., of Scottsdale, Ariz., received a letter dated Nov. 10 from city attorney David Feldman, who reversed his previous opinion that the contract requires Houston to give ATS a 120-day … Continue reading →

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Some people just can’t handle prosperity

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Infight away, y’all! House Republicans have launched open warfare against one another as they vent spleen and fight over whether Joe Straus should remain speaker. In open letters and news releases that came very close to being vitriolic, members on … Continue reading →

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How much would you pay for those inmates?

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Harris County has a new plan for dealing with its overflow jail population. Under the new plan, the county’s purchasing agent would ask for all interested bidders to submit their lowest prices for taking inmates, much like it does for … Continue reading →

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Special election to succeed Rep. Kuempel set

Posted on November 12, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Not surprisingly, Gov. Perry has set it for as soon as possible. The election for the term beginning in 2011 will be held Dec. 14, the governor’s office said. Candidates for District 44 in Texas House of Representatives must file … Continue reading →

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On Latino turnout

Posted on November 11, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know how to make more Latinos vote. But I do know these things: 1. Whatever it is that Texas Democrats have been doing, assuming there is something that qualifies as some kind of action in this area, it … Continue reading →

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The anti-immigrant hysteria has officially begun

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Didn’t take long. State Rep. Debbie Riddle camped out and endured “creepy” noises inside the cold, empty Capitol to be first in line Monday morning to file legislation targeting illegal immigration and ballot security. The Tomball Republican said she remained … Continue reading →

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If you’re looking for a focal point

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Democrats will have no shortage of opportunities to play offense in 2012, but if you want to get a head start on that, I have a suggestion. Here’s a bit from this story about Commissioner Sylvia Garcia’s electoral defeat to … Continue reading →

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Rep. Donna Howard wins re-election

Posted on November 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The closest election of this cycle has been decided, for now. State Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin, has defeated Republican challenger Dan Neil for state representative in District 48 by 16 votes. The count came after Travis County officials tallied all … Continue reading →

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So was this a one-time thing or not?

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

So was the Republican showing in this year’s election an aberration or not? I’m going to limit this discussion to Harris County here. It’s clear by now that what we saw here was an unprecedented spike in Republican turnout. A … Continue reading →

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On straight ticket voting

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After Democrats made big gains in 2008 in Harris County thanks in part to straight ticket voting, I defended the practice from the Republican concern trolls that came out to wring their hands about it now that they were no … Continue reading →

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They picked a good year to have a scandal

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Reps. Joe Driver and Linda Harper Brown made it through the election and now just have to worry about what a prosecutor might think. The Travis County district attorney’s office is looking into Driver’s travel reimbursements. An official there last … Continue reading →

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Texas blog roundup for the week of November 8

Posted on November 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Texas Progressive Alliance remains committed to moving forward as it brings you this week’s blog roundup. CouldBeTrue of South Texas Chisme is still reeling from the republican blowout. Say goodbye to your Social Security and hello to Warren Chisum … Continue reading →

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How many votes did we think we’d need?

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve already established that this election saw an historically high level of turnout in the county, and an historically high level of vote support for Republican candidates. It’s clear that Republican candidates rode a wave of voters who don’t normally … Continue reading →

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Who needs Medicaid?

Posted on November 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an early peek at what we have to look forward to next year. Some Republican lawmakers — still reveling in Tuesday’s statewide election sweep — are proposing an unprecedented solution to the state’s estimated $25 billion budget shortfall: dropping … Continue reading →

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