Tag Archives: Don Sumners

GOP results, Harris County

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bullet points for all these result posts, I was up way too late last night. See the numbers here and the chat transcript from last night here. – You could have sold me on any result in the GOP DA … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the Tax Assessor primary

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Having just reported on the vehicle registration problems at the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office, the Chron now writes about the GOP primary for that office. A Houston Chronicle story Friday reported Sumners’ staff is working overtime to process a … Continue reading →

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I got those can’t get my car registration done on time blues

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The Harris County tax office is paying 32 clerks overtime on weekends to eliminate a large backlog of unprocessed auto registrations, a potentially serious problem that could force some motorists to drive … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Sullivan for Tax Assessor

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron made its first primary endorsement on Friday, and I just now noticed. The [Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office] is, or should be, the quintessential service department – run with the customer’s satisfaction uppermost in mind. For almost half … Continue reading →

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Harris County voter registration lawsuit settled

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For now, at least. Something tells me we have not heard the last of this. Harris County officials and the Democratic Party have settled an ongoing legal dispute over denial rates of new voter registration applications – at least for … Continue reading →

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Harris County rejecting fewer voter registrations

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In other lawsuit-related news: Harris County officials have rejected far fewer would-be voters since 2008, but Democrats are demanding more proof that voter rolls are not being illegally suppressed – particularly among Hispanics – as another U.S. presidential election approaches. … Continue reading →

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Still no voter registration cards yet

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written about this before, but apparently there are some rumors running around regarding voter registration cards. Central Texas elections officials are warning against a rash of emails spreading false information about voter registration — an already confusing issue for … Continue reading →

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January finance reports: Harris County

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

January is a very busy month for campaign finance reports, since they are due for all levels of government. I’ve been busy updating the 2012 Primary Election pages for Harris County and elsewhere in Texas with reports as I can … Continue reading →

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Sullivan says he’ll step down if he wins primary

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

He’s hoping to defuse a campaign issue. Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan will submit his resignation in July if he wins the Republican nomination for Harris County tax assessor-collector in April’s primary, he said. The resignation would not be effective … Continue reading →

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Sullivan files against Sumners

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I was writing a long candidate update for the weekend on Friday that’s pretty much junk now, but not every election is affected by the SCOTUS stay ruling. One such election is for Harris County Tax Assessor, where on Friday … Continue reading →

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Sumners v Sullivan?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this would be entertaining. County tax assessor-collector Don Sumners thinks Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan may be preparing to take a run at him in next year’s GOP primary, and Sullivan isn’t denying it. Sumners took a swipe or … Continue reading →

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More on the drainage fee exemptions

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron story about the Mayor’s change in direction to exempt churches and schools from the new drainage fee. Under previous numbers published by the administration, exempting those institutions would raise the monthly fee on other property owners by … Continue reading →

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Dallas County’s elections administrator resigns

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I spotted this story in the DMN the other day. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins has called a meeting of an obscure commission charged with appointing a county elections chief, raising the suspicion that it’s an attempt to oust longtime … Continue reading →

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What now for Sylvia Garcia

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This story about Sylvia Garcia’s last Commissioners Court meeting leads to the obvious question of what she might do next. A former Houston city controller and an attorney who hasn’t practiced for more than 25 years, she’s still interested in … Continue reading →

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LWV update

Posted on December 10, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following email has been sent to League of Women Voters registration volunteers: To Our Voter Registration Volunteers: It is with great pleasure that I write to tell you that we shall after all be able to provide our usual … Continue reading →

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More on Sumners and the LWV

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got some updates on the change in policy by Tax Assessor-to-be Don Sumners regarding voter registrations at naturalization ceremonies. First, Sumners has acknowledged the need to get pre-clearance from the Justice Department for any changes to voter registration procedures, … Continue reading →

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No voter registration for you

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following email, sent from the League of Women Voters registration address to its membership, was forwarded to me. I present it below in its entirity: From: LWV Voter Registration Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2010 3:19 PM Subject: Voter Registration … 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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Chron overview of Tax Assessor race

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes, the difference between two candidates is especially clear. Don Sumners has been complaining about government for so long that the Republican’s slogan for his campaign for tax assessor-collector is “I was tea party before tea party was cool.” Elect … Continue reading →

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I-Day Houston

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox, from the League of Women Voters: The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area and the American Society of Civil Engineers are set to host two debates, a candidate meet-and-greet, and infrastructure townhall meetings during the … Continue reading →

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Fundraising: Harris County

Posted on July 20, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The top story for the Harris County money race is that County Judge Ed Emmett has a big lead in financial resources over challenger Gordon Quan. Gordon Quan said he knew from the start that challenging County Judge Ed Emmett … Continue reading →

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Casey and the Chron on an elections administrator

Posted on May 29, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Rick Casey sums up the recent proposal by County Judge Ed Emmett to consider adopting a non-partisan elections administrator for Harris County: While Dallas and Tarrant counties have found it a source of electoral confidence and stability, Bexar County went … Continue reading →

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Briefly noted

Posted on May 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Some interesting things from today that I wanted to note… There are plenty of people who want to be on the Appropriations Committee, so putting some who doesn’t want to be there, like State Rep. Joe Driver of Dallas, doesn’t … Continue reading →

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Ballot position and the Republican races

Posted on March 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Inspired by a comment JJMB left on the previous post about the effect of ballot position on the judicial races, I went and looked at the Republican results to see what I could see. Here’s what I found. – Though … Continue reading →

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Vasquez and Carrillo

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Newly-unelected Tax Assessor Leo Vasquez makes the same complaint about why he is headed for the unemployment line as Victor Carrillo did. Carrillo started the ethnic angst with an e-mail to supporters indicating racial bias had cost him re-election. That … Continue reading →

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Election results: Harris County

Posted on March 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

It was a bad day to be the establishment candidate for Harris County Clerk, let me tell you. Ann Harris Bennett crushed Sue Schechter for the Democratic nomination, winning with 63% of the vote. On the Republican side, wingnut Stan … Continue reading →

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Overview of the Tax Assessor primary

Posted on January 23, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We’re a bit more than three weeks out from the start of early voting, so it’s time for some overviews of the contested primaries on the ballot. Here’s the first one, for the Republican race between County Tax Assessor Leo … Continue reading →

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