Tag Archives: Election 2012

Judge halts anti-voter registration laws

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good. U.S. District Judge Gregg Costa of Galveston ruled that a law that prohibits third-party voter registrars from working in more than one county and another that mandates registrars in Texas be residents of the state violate the First Amendment. … Continue reading →

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HISD tweaks its bond proposal

Posted on August 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

HISD Superintendent Terry Grier presents Bond Referendum 2.0 for your approval. Grier’s amended proposal adds five high schools to a list of 20 that would get new buildings or partial replacements. The additions, originally slated for smaller renovations, are Davis, … Continue reading →

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Up or down, more or less

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Metro has chosen its referendum. A sharply divided Metro board approved a plan Friday that would give the city of Houston tens of millions of dollars more for road projects under a ballot referendum to be put before voters in … Continue reading →

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The discussion is closed

Posted on August 4, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know about this. The mayor and city attorney are floating the idea of shutting the public out of some City Council discussions. Houston is unusual, perhaps even unique, among Texas cities in requiring that its council always meet … Continue reading →

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Is it time for an election administrator?

Posted on August 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Campos revives an old topic. I think it is way past time to get an Election Administrator over at the County and take running the elections out of the hands of the ideologues and partisans. [County Judge Ed Emmett] and … Continue reading →

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What will The Dew do next?

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst isn’t going anywhere next January. I’m going to put aside the questions of what happened for now and ask instead what happens in 2014? As we know, there are three people running for what they … Continue reading →

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Now you see those votes, now you don’t

Posted on August 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Tuesday was not a good day for the County Clerk. Zerick Guinn went to bed late Tuesday, believing he had won the Democratic nomination for Precinct 2 constable by a comfortable margin. By morning, he had lost the race by … Continue reading →

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2012 Democratic primary runoffs

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

All state results here. Best news of the night was Paul Sadler‘s easy win. Can we please raise some money for this guy? Congressional results: James Cargas in CD07, Pete Gallego in CD23, Rose Meza Harrison in CD27, Marc Veasey … Continue reading →

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2012 Republican primary runoffs

Posted on August 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

All the results are here. In the end, Ted Cruz won a pretty solid victory. I’ll note that in the last two publicly released polls, PPP had Cruz up by 10, whereas Baselice & Associates claimed Dewhurst was up by … Continue reading →

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Election night returns

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For your convenience: Statewide Democratic results Looks good for Paul Sadler. Going to be a long night in CDs 23 and 33. Statewide Republican results Ted Cruz has a modest early lead. Wackjob John Devine is leading Supreme Court Justice … Continue reading →

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Runoff Day

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At long last, the 2012 primary season is about to be over in Texas, other than perhaps the HCDE race. To say the least, it’s been a long, strange trip, one that I hope goes down in the books as … Continue reading →

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HCDE runoff will be held

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

So ruled a judge yesterday in the ongoing lawsuit filed by the HCDE to void the Democratic primary in Precinct 1 Position 6. The Harris County Department of Education told a federal judge Monday it wants to proceed with the … Continue reading →

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Keep Moving Houston Forward PAC poll on Metro and GMP

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yesterday I wrote about a poll commissioned by Houstonians for Responsible Growth on Metro and the General Mobility Program. That poll suggested that any changes to the GMP would be difficult for Metro to get, especially in the face of … Continue reading →

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HRG poll data on Metro and the GMP

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I mentioned on Friday that there had been a poll commissioned to measure voter attitudes towards Metro and the General Mobility Program. That poll was commissioned by Houstonians for Responsible Growth, and Joshua Sanders was kind enough to send me … Continue reading →

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No settlement deal for HCDE election screwup

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Just as well, because this wasn’t a good deal. A proposed settlement hashed out Thursday evening would have seen the Republican race – a blowout victory – stand, and the Democratic race – for which a runoff is under way … Continue reading →

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Congressional runoff stories

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of Chron stories about area Congressional primary runoffs for your perusal. CD14: Sometimes [CD14 GOP candidate Randy Weber] mentions that he was designated the most conservative member of the Texas House during his two terms in Austin. “We … Continue reading →

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Here come the GMP proposals

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

At Metro’s board meeting yesterday, trustees presented their proposed ballot referenda for the General Mobility Program. “I’m anxious to see the outcome just like everybody else,” said Chairman Gilbert Garcia, before anyone offered their specifics. As it turned out, city-appointee … Continue reading →

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Early runoff voting in perspective

Posted on July 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here are four numbers for your consideration: Year Total votes =================== 2006 13,726 2008 9,670 2010 15,225 2012 14,778 The first three numbers are the complete final turnout figures for the last three Democratic primary runoffs in Harris County. The … Continue reading →

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County wants to keep its share of the GMP

Posted on July 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Harris County Commissioners Court made it official Tuesday, passing a resolution calling on Metro to keep a quarter of its 1 percent sales tax flowing to road projects. The 5-0 vote leaves only Mayor Annise Parker backing Metro … Continue reading →

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Precinct 1 Constable runoff overview

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview of the Democratic runoff for Constable in Precinct 1 between Alan Rosen and Cindy Vara-Leija. Rosen is an investor and a reserve major with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, who has been a certified peace officer … Continue reading →

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July campaign finance reports for Harris County candidates

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

You know the drill by now. Office Candidate Raised Spent Cash Loans ============================================================ Sheriff A Garcia 47,025 41,900 357,818 0 Sheriff L Guthrie 70,176 75,646 33,075 157,000 Sheriff C Pittman 11,309 11,566 5,217 24,000 DA M Anderson 73,888 60,980 33,371 … Continue reading →

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Precinct 2 Constable runoff overview

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron does an overview on one of the two Democratic Constable runoffs. The Democratic runoff for Harris County Precinct 2 constable asks voters to decide which type of experience they value more: law enforcement chops or time as a … Continue reading →

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Runoff turnout

Posted on July 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Who knows what to expect? Texans are voting in July for the first time in decades, the result of a lengthy federal court battle over new political districts that delayed the primary from March 6 to May 29. The unusual … Continue reading →

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July finance reports, other legislative races of interest

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a roundup of campaign finance reports for other legislative races of interest from around the state. Dist Candidate Raised Spent Cash Loans =============================================================== SD10 W Davis (D,I) 824,871 405,628 1,097,238 0 SD10 Shelton (R) 53,293 35,916 301,146 0 SD25 … Continue reading →

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Your vote is worth 30 times what it usually is

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

A little runoff math from the Trib. It is easy to lament low voter turnout. Only 11 percent of the state’s voting age adults showed up for the May primaries. But look at their clout: Every actual voter was making … Continue reading →

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Waiting for Rick (and Greg, and David)

Posted on July 22, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Ross Ramsey breaks out his crystal ball and looks ahead to the 2014 election. Remember this: In his long history in state politics — closing in on three decades — [Rick] Perry has run for everything he said he was … Continue reading →

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HCDE sues for new election

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: The Harris County Department of Education (HCDE) today filed suit in federal court seeking new elections for Trustees whose district boundaries were wrong in the May 29th primary. HCDE officials learned earlier this week that outdated boundaries … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for area State House candidates

Posted on July 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a brief look at the July campaign finance reports for candidates in area State House races of interest. HD23 Raised Spent Cash Loan Wayne Faircloth 8,320 31,139 36,655 30,000 Bill Wallace 0 0 507 20,500 Craig Eiland 0 0 … Continue reading →

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Joshua Sanders: Required Referendum Does Not Need To Be A Bump In The Road For A New Metro

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. The METRO Board should not risk its newfound goodwill by raiding its member entities’ General Mobility Program (GMP) funds after the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Smith in HD137

Posted on July 19, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron makes its second runoff endorsement in a race where its original endorsee failed to make it out of the first round. Whoever wins the race for Texas House District 137 will have big shoes to fill, replacing longtime … Continue reading →

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Boundary screwup could affect HCDE race

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

This is just freakin’ great. Because of a mix-up with the new district boundaries, not everyone who was qualified to vote in a school trustee race was able to and some voters who weren’t supposed to, were allowed to cast … Continue reading →

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Looking back at Romo versus Doggett

Posted on July 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Former CD35 candidate Sylvia Romo does a post-mortem on her unsuccessful run for Congress. “Texas is ready for a qualified Latina congresswoman,” she said. “If I wasn’t the first one, then I hope I opened the door for another woman … Continue reading →

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Christof Spieler: Deciding the future of Houston’s transit

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The following is from a series of guest posts that I will be presenting over the next few weeks. We as a region are facing a huge decision about our future. If we don’t increase transit use by offering more … Continue reading →

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How many bonds are too many?

Posted on July 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We may find out this November. Houston voters may face a dizzying array of decisions in November as the city, school district and community college system seek authority to borrow more than $2 billion for construction work. The multiple measures … Continue reading →

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