Tag Archives: Bill White

Endorsement watch: White for Christie

Posted on October 18, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

This came as a surprise to me. Former Mayor Bill White has endorsed Jack Christie for the At-Large 5 City Council seat. It is the only endorsement the ex-mayor has made in this year’s city elections. White sent out a … Continue reading →

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No tax rate increase this year

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

No surprise. Mayor Annise Parker has officially proposed not raising taxes this year. Through her finance director, the mayor is asking the City Council at its Sept. 21 meeting to adopt the existing property tax rate of 0.63875 per $100 … Continue reading →

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The 70 Percent Solution

Posted on September 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Where have I heard this before? November’s election really is about 2013, said lawyer, lobbyist and blogger Robert Miller. He speculates that the mayor needs to win big against low-profile opponents in November to discourage stronger candidates from running against … Continue reading →

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Finance reports and the Mayor’s race

Posted on July 17, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Finance report updates: David Robinson has filed his corrected report, which includes the $53,095.57 cash on hand total that was omitted in the original. There were no other changes made. Mayoral candidate Kevin Simms has now filed his report. He … Continue reading →

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Where the votes were and weren’t in 2006 and 2010

Posted on June 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When I was doing the electoral analysis for the new Congressional districts, I also had data about how many votes were cast in each district. And in looking through that data, I saw some interesting things. What I was looking … Continue reading →

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Congressional map gets final approval

Posted on June 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

On to the Governor. The Republican-controlled Texas Senate approved a new congressional district map for the state Monday and sent it to Gov. Rick Perry for his approval. […] The map was approved 19-12 along party lines and without debate. … Continue reading →

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“Sanctuary cities” bill passes the Senate

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Once it was added to the call, this became inevitable. Senate Republicans finally passed a priority issue for their party early Wednesday morning when they outmuscled their Democratic colleagues on an immigration-related bill intended to make it easier for law … Continue reading →

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You may say to yourself “Well, how did I get here?”

Posted on June 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What’s missing from this story? The city of Houston’s budget crisis that has resulted in 747 employees getting pink slips last month and likely will close pools and community centers did not happen overnight. It has been brewing for the … Continue reading →

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The Mayor and the firefighters

Posted on May 31, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Despite the tone of this, I wouldn’t make too much of it. While looking for tens of millions of dollars through a combination of cuts, deferrals, savings and fee hikes, Mayor Annise Parker repeatedly has identified the Houston Fire Department … Continue reading →

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Maybe Perry for President would be good for us

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

When George W. Bush began being talked about as a Presidential candidate, the story line on him was that he was a well-liked, popular Governor who had bipartisan appeal and support in the state. Outgoing Democratic Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock … Continue reading →

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Are there any seats Dems could lose?

Posted on May 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I’m sure you’ve heard someone express the view that if there’s a silver lining for the Democrats after the 2010 election, it’s that their decimated caucus offers no real targets for the Republicans to aim for. The Rs weren’t completely … Continue reading →

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Council will vote on SafeClear changes

Posted on April 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Back in March, the city announced that it would be removing most of the subsidies for SafeClear as a cost-saving measure. The details have now been finalized and will be ready for Council action in June. Roadside services, such as … Continue reading →

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No more free tows

Posted on March 26, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Change is coming to SafeClear – it will now cost $50 for a tow on a highway inside the city, instead of it being provided for free. Passing the cost of towing to motorists is expected to save the city … Continue reading →

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Don’t claim endorsements you don’t have

Posted on March 20, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like that lesson needs to be re-learned every cycle. We already have two examples of it this cycle. Here’s example one: City Council candidate Eric Dick apologized for advertising an upcoming fund-raiser by sending out a mailer featuring a … Continue reading →

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About the Tommy Lee Jones bandwagon

Posted on March 14, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I really don’t think this will amount to anything, but I have three things to say about it anyway. In recent weeks, an idea of Houston attorney Geoff Berg’s turned into a Facebook page and then became a website that … 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 few thoughts from Opening Day

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Just a few random bits from today’s festivities… – In the end and despite the teabagger footstomping, the Speaker’s Race turned out to be a big nothingburger, which was what most rational people expected all along. There were a few … 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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HPD braces for cuts

Posted on December 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

More than $15 million is going to be cut from HPD’s budget, in part to lost red light camera revenue and in part to the overall budget picture. The equivalent of more than 100 civilian jobs, including temporary workers, will … 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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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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Opening thoughts on the carnage

Posted on November 3, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

In no particular order… – Republicans gain 22 seats in the State House, for a 99-51 advantage. That’s with Pete Gallego, Hubert Vo, and Donna Howard, all of whom had been trailing early, coming back to win. Howard’s margin of … Continue reading →

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What the polls said

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a roundup of the most recent versions of the most recent polls on the Governor’s race, some of which include one or more other statewide races. We’ll come back to this and see how accurate they were after tomorrow: … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Early voting? Never heard of it

Posted on November 1, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Somewhat incredibly, there were still endorsements being made over the weekend. Two newspapers finally got around to picking a side in the Governor’s race. The good news is that at least they picked the right one. First up, the Abilene … Continue reading →

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Last round of polls

Posted on October 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The newspapers have another poll, and I have a question about it. The survey of 673 likely voters found Perry leading Democratic nominee and former Houston Mayor Bill White 49 percent to 37 percent. They are followed by Green Party … Continue reading →

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Once again, I’ll take the under

Posted on October 26, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a bizarre new UT/Texas Trib poll that’s so odd I can’t even come up with a good introduction for it, so I’m just going to jump straight to the weirdness: Republican Gov. Rick Perry leads his Democratic challenger, Bill … Continue reading →

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Another look ahead at redistricting

Posted on October 25, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The short version of this Chron story is basically “Republicans would like to control every aspect of the redistricting process, while Democrats would at least like to win the Governor’s office and maintain some semblance of parity in the House”. … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: What took them so long?

Posted on October 24, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Nearly a full week into early voting, the last of the five major dailies, the Star Telegram, endorses Bill White. The hard economic reality of 2010 is that Texans deserve a governor who can work effectively on a national level. … Continue reading →

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Interview with Bill White

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

And so we come to the end of the 2010 candidate interview cycle with the candidate whose entry into his race changed the narrative and the perceptions of what was possible for the Democratic ticket. That candidate is Bill White, … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: All for Bill White

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

We don’t have another sweep yet, as the Star-Telegram hasn’t weighed in quite yet, but all the endorsements so far have gone Bill White‘s way as expected. A sample: The DMN is particularly pointed. Perry, 60, has done relatively little … Continue reading →

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One election at a time, please

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Apparently, some folks are bored with this election and are ready for the next one. Rice University political scientist Mark Jones isn’t ready to stick a fork into Democrat Bill White’s campaign for governor, but he does suggest White start … Continue reading →

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More on Perry’s self-appropriation of Emerging Tech funds

Posted on October 15, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman moves the ball forward on the Emerging Technology Fund story and Governor Perry’s self-appropriation of its funds. Two points from the story stand out to me. Gov. Rick Perry and the state’s legislative leaders awarded a $4.5 million … Continue reading →

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What will the teabaggers do?

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

For the most part, I don’t really care what they’ll do, but there is one point worth noting: “I can’t say the tea party support for Rick Perry is very strong, but the opposition to Bill White is intense,” said … Continue reading →

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