Tag Archives: Houston City Controller

King makes his official entry

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Add Bill King to the “made his official announcement” list. In the middle of a noisy, torn-up west Houston street that he said epitomized Houston’s crumbling roads, Bill King launched his campaign for mayor Monday morning, pledging to return the … Continue reading →

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More candidate updates

Posted on February 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another Council hopeful tosses his hat into the ring, though we don’t know exactly which office he intends to seek just yet. Tom McCasland, who took over the Harris County Housing Authority after it suffered in scandal, will run for … Continue reading →

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Where are the women?

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I have several things to say about this. The slate running to replace Mayor Annise Parker features a globetrotting sailor, a triathlete grandfather, a millionaire minister and no women. Despite the most-crowded pack of mayoral contenders in decades, no female … Continue reading →

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January campaign finance reports – Controller wannabes

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Like the Mayoral race, the 2015 race for City Controller is wide open, as incumbent Ronald Green is term-limited. There are three candidates of which I am aware so far – HCC Trustee and former At Large city Council member … Continue reading →

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On game rooms and gambling

Posted on December 18, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like Fort Bend County wants to follow in the footsteps of Harris County when it comes to dealing with game rooms. Last weekend, Fort Bend County sheriff’s deputies raided the H-90 Game Room on U.S. 90A east of Richmond, … Continue reading →

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Carroll Robinson announces for City Controller

Posted on November 16, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Not a surprise. City Controller Race – I Am In – Carroll Robinson Dear Friends, As we begin to prepare for another holiday season, I wanted to personally let you know that, after much deliberation and prayer, I will run … Continue reading →

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Post HERO, watch for the petition drives

Posted on May 30, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the full Chron story about the passage of the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. I’m going to skip ahead in the story and focus on what the haters are saying and planning to do. Opponent Dave Welch, of the Houston … Continue reading →

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January campaign finance reports for Houston officeholders

Posted on February 7, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

One more set of finance reports to document, from city of Houston officeholders and candidates. I’m not going to link to the individual reports this time, since the city’s system automatically downloads the PDFs and I don’t feel like uploading … Continue reading →

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Audit letters

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There’s a thing called audit letters that I hadn’t known existed. We’ve got them for Houston, but we had not been making them public even though other cities do as a matter of course. Houston officials have blocked the release … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: At Large 1, 4, and 5

Posted on November 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, we looked at the competitive At Large Council races. Now let’s look at the three At Large races that weren’t competitive. First up is At Large #1, where CM Stephen Costello won a third term. Dist Costello Griffin … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: City Controller

Posted on November 19, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Let’s move on to the Controller’s race, where incumbent Ronald Green held on to win a third term against challenger Bill Frazer. Dist Frazer Green Frazer% Green% ===================================== A 6,609 4,102 61.70% 38.30% B 1,637 10,035 14.03% 85.97% C 14,185 … Continue reading →

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Election results: Houston

Posted on November 6, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Annise Parker easily won re-election, collecting over 57% of the vote in Harris County to beat Ben Hall by nearly thirty points, and far exceeding the expectations of most observers going into Election Day. I personally thought she had … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Controller’s race

Posted on October 20, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It’s an interesting race. On paper, City Controller Ron Green would appear to have been ripe for a bevy of challengers in November. The city’s elected financial watchdog owes tens of thousands of dollars to the IRS, was criticized for … Continue reading →

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Where things stand going into early voting

Posted on October 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

A few impressions of the state of the races as we head into early voting. Mayor – The thing that I will be looking for as initial results get posted at 7 PM on November 5 is how the gaggle … Continue reading →

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Chron profiles the Mayor

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Sunday Chron has an expansive profile of Mayor Parker. In a system where term limits cap elected officials at six years, City Hall veterans joke that new council members spend their first year finding the bathrooms and their sixth … Continue reading →

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Interview with Bill Frazer

Posted on October 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

City Controllers have generally had it easy in re-election efforts. No sitting City Controller has had an opponent since Sylvia Garcia knocked off Lloyd Kelley in 1997. Until now, that is, as Bill Frazer filed to oppose Controller Ronald Green. … Continue reading →

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Interview with City Controller Ronald Green

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We move now from the Houston City Council races to the executive offices, beginning with two-term City Controller Ronald Green. Like his predecessor in the office, Mayor Annise Parker, Green served three terms as an At Large City Council member … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: A change for Controller

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Bill Frazer to be Houston Controller. At a time of looming pension obligations, we need someone who isn’t there to make friends, but to make sure that our house is in order. Bill Frazer is the man … Continue reading →

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How city candidates have voted in past primaries

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

This is great to see. The Harris County Democratic Party does not endorse candidates in the non-partisan City of Houston elections; however, in an effort to keep you informed as to which candidates are Democrats and which are not, we … Continue reading →

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The 2013 lineup

Posted on August 28, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

So many candidates. More than 60 candidates have filed to run for city of Houston elective office this fall, many of them rushing in before the 5 p.m. Monday deadline. […] Atop the ballot, [Mayor Annise] Parker is challenged by … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: GLBT Caucus and HSYD

Posted on August 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

We are entering the part of the election cycle where groups are making their endorsements. One of the first out of the box is the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, which held its endorsement meeting on Saturday night. Here’s their press … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for non-candidates

Posted on July 31, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Not everyone who files a finance report with the city is running for something this November. Term-limited incumbents, and former candidates who still have money in their campaign treasuries are required to file reports as well. Here’s a look a … Continue reading →

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July finance reports for Controller candidates

Posted on July 17, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Continuing my look at July 2013 campaign finance reports for city candidates, here’s a look at the reports for the two Contoller hopefuls, incumbent Ronald Green and challenger Bill Frazer. Candidate Raised Spent On Hand Loan ————————————————- Green 71,548 31,185 … Continue reading →

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An opponent for the Controller

Posted on March 18, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Big Jolly reports on a new candidate. There are two powerful elected positions in the City of Houston: Mayor and City Controller. So naturally I was curious when I heard that someone was going to challenge the incumbent Controller Ronald … Continue reading →

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January finance reports for Houston offices

Posted on January 22, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Previously, I gave the July campaign finance numbers for Houston elected officials who are eligible for the ballot this fall. Here now are the cash on hand figures from the January reports, with all incumbents and a few assorted extras … Continue reading →

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A first look at the 2013 elections

Posted on January 10, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

It is 2013, right? So while we have the SD06 special election and the new legislative session to worry about, it’s not too early to start talking about the 2013 elections. Let’s start with a peek at the campaign finance … Continue reading →

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Sumners for Controller?

Posted on November 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Yeah, I don’t know about that. County tax assessor-collector Don Sumners, who lost his bid for re-election in the May GOP primary, said Wednesday he is considering running for city controller next year. “The part that has to be decided … Continue reading →

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The Green blues

Posted on August 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

First there was this. City Controller Ron Green, Houston’s top elected money manager and self-described watchdog, is seeking leniency for a five-time convicted felon and contractor who masterminded an elaborate real estate and forgery scam targeting the city’s historically African-American … Continue reading →

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City budget outlook

Posted on January 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Last year was a lousy budget year for the city of Houston. This year will be better, if only because it really can’t be much worse, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be good. Kelly Dowe, the mayor’s finance … Continue reading →

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Interview with City Controller Ronald Green

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

What I had originally thought would be my final interview with a City of Houston candidate is with City Controller Ronald Green. As it happens, due to some late contact with a couple of campaigns, I have some more to … Continue reading →

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Your 2011 electoral lineup

Posted on September 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

There are many candidates running for office this year. Some of them have a better rationale for running than others, but thankfully for them that’s not a requirement. A flurry of late filings to run for city office Wednesday filled … Continue reading →

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How many votes will it take?

Posted on September 6, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Nancy Sims has a lament about the upcoming city elections. What disturbs me most is the complete lack of interest I’m seeing and hearing from my friends, co-workers, students and people I encounter daily. Everyone wants to complain about the … Continue reading →

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Former CM Pam Holm to run for HD136

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So says Robert Miller. Pam Holm, who represented District G on the Houston City Council from 2004 through 2009, has decided to run to replace Speaker Beverly Woolley in Texas HD 136. Ms. Holm was a prolific fundraiser the three … Continue reading →

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Better times are coming (we hope)

Posted on July 25, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So says City Controller Ronald Green in the Chron’s op-ed pages. Officially, the U.S. recession has ended. We have certainly rounded the corner here in Houston. And while there is a loss here of public sector jobs, the private sector … Continue reading →

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