Tag Archives: Clarence Bradford

Drainage fee passes with exemptions

Posted on April 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Council has passed the drainage fee ordinance required by Renew Rebuild Houston, with exemptions for existing church and school properties. The fee will apply to all future “impervious cover” at church and school buildings, such as roofs and parking lots. … Continue reading →

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“Nobody likes a sore winner”

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker’s updated drainage fee proposal, which would allow for exemptions to schools and churches, was introduced to City Council amid a torrent of whining from the pro-exemption forces. Church and school leaders testified at a special council meeting that … 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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So will we have a Mayor’s race or not?

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

We’re now more than a month into the city election fundraising season, and as of this week the only person to file a declaration of Treasurer for the office of Mayor is the incumbent, Annise Parker. As of this time … Continue reading →

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A very early look at 2011 fundraising

Posted on January 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

A couple of weeks ago I took an early look at the 2011 city elections, but there was a key ingredient missing in that analysis: Money. The fundraising season for city candidates, which has been closed since last January, will … Continue reading →

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A very early look at the 2011 elections

Posted on January 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Texas on the Potomac lists 11 national races of interest for 2011. Well, of interest to some – outside of the Dallas Mayoral race, none of these mean much to me, and that’s only if incumbent Tom Leppart leaves to … Continue reading →

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Fee for all

Posted on December 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Much as the state will soon do, the city of Houston is raising a bunch of fees. The city of Houston is poised to raise an estimated 150 fees for services ranging from pool inspections to boiler permits, part of … Continue reading →

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Council shakeup

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Things are getting mighty interesting down at City Hall. Mayor Annise Parker has parted ways with two major conservatives on the Houston City Council, removing Councilman Mike Sullivan from his role overseeing redistricting and accepting the resignation of Councilwoman Anne … Continue reading →

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What now for Renew Houston?

Posted on November 5, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to the disposal of the red light cameras and the associated costs of their removal, Mayor Parker and City Council now need to work out the details for Prop 1, which created the dedicated fund for streets and … Continue reading →

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The Mayor editorializes for Prop 1

Posted on October 19, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker lays out the case for Prop 1, the ballot referendum to establish a dedicated revenue source for street and drainage improvements. Is it necessary? Absolutely! Approximately 65 percent of our streets and drainage systems are beyond their useful … Continue reading →

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Council passes demolition moratorium for historic properties

Posted on June 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Houston City Council has taken a step forward to providing stronger protection for historic properties. City Council passed a temporary law today that puts a moratorium on demolitions in Houston’s 15 historic districts. The city’s 15-year-old preservation ordinance has allowed … Continue reading →

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Council adopts higher water rate hike

Posted on April 21, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

City Council voted to adopt the higher water rate hike that was proposed this week. And apparently set the stage for a lawsuit. Council members Mike Sullivan, Oliver Pennington and C.O. Bradford voted against the plan. Pennington, Bradford and several … Continue reading →

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Council approves Lakewood sale

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This had generated a lot of discussion, but in the end it went through. The Houston City Council on Wednesday approved the sale of the former Compaq Center to Lakewood Church for $7.5 million. The vote was 13-to-2, with Councilmen … Continue reading →

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Council turnover

Posted on November 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

One underappreciated aspect of this year’s election is that we may wind up with more than two new At Large City Council members. We started with two open seats, and with incumbents Sue Lovell and Jolanda Jones in runoffs, the … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: City Council At Large races

Posted on November 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Moving on to the At Large City Council races. I’m going to look at each of them here. First up, At Large #1: Dist Cook Litt Alls Cost Derr Rodr Perk Batt ============================================================ A 1,521 1,629 397 4,806 4,144 2,087 … Continue reading →

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Eight days out: Spending on voter outreach by At Large candidates

Posted on October 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As with the Controller’s race, I took a look at spending on voter outreach for At Large candidates in the 30 day out report. Given that some large number of people have no clue about who is running for these … Continue reading →

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“I don’t know” wins big!

Posted on October 29, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Just as the Chron poll also asked about the Controller’s race, so did the recent KHOU poll, which went it one better and also asked about the At Large Council races. Not that this told us anything useful. The poll, … Continue reading →

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We’ve got mail

Posted on October 18, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Campos observed the other day that he’d hardly received any campaign mailers so far this year. That’s largely been true for me as well – before this week, I’d gotten the Peter Brown pieces, an Anna Eastman mailer, and maybe … Continue reading →

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Chron poll: Brown leads

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Campos teased the news earlier today, and now the story is up: Peter Brown leads in a new Zogby poll of the Mayor’s race. According to the poll, Brown leads the field with 23.8 percent of the vote, followed by … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: At Large

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Having dispatched with the District Council races yesterday, the Chron continues with the schedule I’d hoped they’d follow by making their endorsements in the At Large races. As I thought, they went with incumbents Sue Lovell in #2 and Jolanda … Continue reading →

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Correction!

Posted on October 17, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Now that everyone has had a chance to look over everyone else’s campaign finance reports, a number of candidates have made some corrections to their reports. Former City Attorney Gene Locke and City Controller Annise Parker received money from donors … Continue reading →

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Ethics complaint filed against Bradford

Posted on October 10, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve received word via email that an ethics complaint has been filed against At Large #4 candidate C.O. Bradford, alleging violations in his October campaign finance report. The sender included a PDF of the complaint, but I’m not posting it … Continue reading →

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Corrections, clarifications, and conundrums

Posted on October 6, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This is a followup to my post from this morning about the 30 days out reports. I’m sure there will be more of this stuff to come, from plenty of folks, but this is what I’ve got as of now. … Continue reading →

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And here’s Locke’s first ad

Posted on October 3, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We were told that the Gene Locke campaign would begin running an ad on TV next week. It’s on YouTube now, so have a peek: It’s a good effort. The spot is biographical, and Locke has a substantive resume to … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: SEIU and HOPE

Posted on September 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

The Houston Organization of Public Employees (HOPE) and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 members have made their endorsements for the November elections. From the press release: Mayor – Annise Parker At Large 1 – Karen Derr At Large … Continue reading →

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Freeman and Bradford spar over SEIU endorsement

Posted on September 2, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Last night, Noel Freeman sent out this press release: Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1 confirmed Tuesday during a screening interview with City Council At-Large Position 4 candidate Noel Freeman that his opponent, C.O. Bradford, has falsely claimed to … Continue reading →

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At Large action

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We’ve certainly got a fascinating Mayor’s race going on this year, with three viable candidates that can all plausibly claim a path to victory, but it seems to me that there’s a lot of interesting stuff happening in the At … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: We take it back

Posted on August 11, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s something you don’t see every election. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association, which had previously endorsed City Council Member Jolanda Jones for re-election to her At Large #5 seat, has now rescinded that endorsement. You can read their letter … Continue reading →

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City campaign finance reports come rolling in

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

As the campaign finance reports for City of Houston races come online, I’ve been collecting all the reports and putting them together into an easier-to-read format. I’ve also received a bunch of press releases, which I’ll be reproducing beneath the … Continue reading →

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Interview with CO Bradford

Posted on July 15, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Next up in the interview series is C.O. “Brad” Bradford, who is running for At Large #4, currently held by the term-limited Ronald Green. Bradford was the Democratic candidate for Harris County District Attorney last year, and though he lost … Continue reading →

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Regional crime lab

Posted on March 30, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

This has been talked about for some time, and not unexpectedly it’s starting to move forward. After years of scandal at crime labs across the state, local officials have proposed opening a regional lab based at the Harris County Medical … Continue reading →

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Bradford announces for At Large #4, Pennington announces in G

Posted on February 25, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

We know he had been contemplating the possibility, but now former HPD Chief C.O. Bradford has made it official: He’s going to run for the open At Large #4 City Council seat. From his email: Chief Bradford has been a … Continue reading →

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Derr files, Bradford contemplates

Posted on January 26, 2009 by Charles Kuffner

Karen Derr made her treasurer’s report filing on Thursday last week, becoming at least the second candidate for District H to do so. I know that Maverick Welsh has filed his report, and I know that as of Friday, Ed … Continue reading →

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