Tag Archives: Election 2010

Judicial Q&A revisited: Sandra Peake

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As you know, in addition to selecting a Democratic nominee for County Commissioners Court in Precinct 1, precinct chairs everywhere in Harris County will get to select two judicial nominees, for newly-created courts. There are six people who have expressed … Continue reading →

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We precinct chairs will have at least one more nomination to fill

Posted on April 5, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

As everyone knows, Democratic precinct chairs in Commissioners Court Precinct 1 will be selecting a nominee to replace the late El Franco Lee on the November ballot. If we wind up selecting someone who is also on the November ballot … Continue reading →

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Once again with CD29

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about the turnout. On a Gulfgate-area side street lined with union halls, Hillary Clinton’s Houston field office and U.S. Rep. Gene Green’s congressional re-election outfit sit mere doors apart, a coincidental marker of the anticipated link between their … Continue reading →

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Overview of two Bexar County legislative primaries

Posted on February 11, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

The turnover of Bexar County’s Democratic legislative caucus continues apace. With the departures in 2015 of Mike Villarreal and Jose Menendez (succeeded by Diego Bernal and Ina Minjarez, respectively) and the departures this year by Joe Farias, Trey Martinez-Fischer, and … Continue reading →

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David Porter not running for re-election to RRC

Posted on December 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another open seat. Texas Railroad Commission Chairman David Porter will not be running for re-election after all. Thursday’s surprise announcement from Porter, who was first elected in 2010, unleashed a flood of interest from Republicans pondering bids for his seat. … Continue reading →

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Steve Brown to run in HD27

Posted on November 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This ought to shake things up a bit. The bad week for state Rep. Ron Reynolds is getting worse. Steve Brown, the former chairman of the Fort Bend County Democrats, wrote on Twitter Wednesday that he will challenge Reynolds in … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Old reliables, newcomers, and everyone else

Posted on November 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I have three more views of the 2015 electorate, now that I have a copy of the voter roster. With that, and with the past rosters that I have, I can try to paint a more detailed picture of who … Continue reading →

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Will someone sue over the term limits referendum?

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Maybe. Pre-election polling showed voters slightly favored the change, but not if they were told that it benefits sitting council members. Rice University political scientist Bob Stein conducted the News 88.7/KHOU 11 News election poll. “When we informed voters that … Continue reading →

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Morris Overstreet to run for DA

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I know we’re all still recovering from Tuesday, but the 2016 filing season is almost upon us, and the Democratic race for Harris County DA just became a contested race. Former appeals court judge Morris Overstreet announced Thursday that he … Continue reading →

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Day 12 EV 2015 totals: Final turnout projections

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The last day was another big one: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ======================================= 2015 164,104 29,859 193,963 43,280 2013 87,944 21,426 109,370 30,572 The running 2015 totals are here, the full 2013 totals are here, and for completeness the full … Continue reading →

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Back to square one for ReBuild Houston

Posted on October 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go again. A state district judge on Thursday voided the 2010 charter referendum that enabled the city to create the ReBuild Houston program, muddying the fate of the multi-billion-dollar funding scheme to dramatically improve Houston’s streets and drainage. … Continue reading →

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If you really want to improve turnout in city elections

Posted on October 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

This is a plan that would do it. Councilman Ron Nirenberg [recently] called for a major change to local elections that he says would boost voter turnout and bolster public participation. The councilman said he’s spent years considering ways to … Continue reading →

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Neugebauer to step down in CD19

Posted on September 23, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

At least one Congressional seat will have a new person sitting in it next year. U.S. Rep. Randy Neugebauer, R-Lubbock, announced Thursday that he would not seek re-election in 2016. Neugebauer, who has represented his West Texas district in Congress … Continue reading →

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Perry’s pathetic pity party

Posted on September 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There isn’t a violin small enough. Rick Perry blamed his criminal indictment and exclusion from the Republican debate mainstage for his failed presidential bid in his first interview since suspending his presidential campaign on Friday. “The indictment by the Travis … Continue reading →

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Adios, Rick Perry

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I feel like I ought to say something about this. In many ways, Rick Perry might have been a victim of his own success. After 14 years in the governor’s mansion, riding a freewheeling Texas oil economy and a tea … Continue reading →

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Just how old are our city voters?

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

In my previous installment, we talked about how many people vote across city elections. In this post, we’re going to look at another aspect of our city races that is often remarked on but seldom specified: The ages of the … Continue reading →

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Mayoral ad spending

Posted on July 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron takes a look at one of the more visible aspects of all the money that Mayoral candidates have raised or loaned themselves so far. Despite taking in a total of more than $7 million, Houston’s mayoral candidates spent … Continue reading →

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Montgomery County “voter fraud” case update

Posted on July 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Glad to hear this. The whole case is ridiculous. A self-described “egghead,” Jim Jenkins accomplished his dream by founding his own microsystems company. He also takes satisfaction in being a Christian conservative who is unabashedly proud of his 11 grandchildren. … Continue reading →

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What now for road projects?

Posted on June 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

What do we do with road projects that were going to use ReBuild Houston funds now that the Supreme Court has ruled the 2010 referendum to have been illegal? A necklace of neighborhood streets encircling Hudnell’s home is among the … Continue reading →

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ReBuild Houston and the Mayor’s race

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

It’s all about the conservative voters, because no one cares what anyone else thinks. When the most conservative candidate in the Houston mayor’s race dropped out two months ago, the battle to win over right-leaning voters became a two-man show: … Continue reading →

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ReVote Houston?

Posted on June 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Mayoral candidate Bill King calls for a do-over on Renew/ReBuild Houston. Houston mayoral candidate Bill King wants to put ReBuild Houston, the city’s controversial streetand drainage program, back up for a vote. […] King, the most vocal opponent of ReBuild … Continue reading →

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New litigation against ReBuild Houston

Posted on June 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

To be expected at this point. A class action lawsuit has been filed against the city, seeking to reimburse residents who pay the drainage fee that helps fund ReBuild Houston, the multibillion-dollar streets and drainage improvement program that voters narrowly … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court deals a blow to ReBuild Houston

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Ugh. Houston’s divisive, multibillion-dollar effort to fund two decades of street and drainage improvements faces an uncertain future after the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that the ballot measure voters narrowly approved in 2010 obscured the nature and cost of … Continue reading →

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Keeping up with Team Hillary

Posted on May 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Just checking in, but this story does address a question I’ve been wondering about. The dozen or so Hillary Clinton supporters gathered here late Tuesday had no illusions that ruby-red Texas would play a key role in electing the next … Continue reading →

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Senate passes anti-red light camera bill

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Is this finally the end? Red-light cameras in Dallas and other Texas cities would be gradually turned off under legislation approved Wednesday by the Senate. The measure by Sen. Bob Hall, a Republican whose district includes part of Dallas County, … Continue reading →

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National Dems say they’re looking at Farenthold’s seat

Posted on March 31, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I’ll believe it when I see it. The hunt is on in Southeast Texas for a Democrat to challenge U.S. Rep. Blake Farenthold, R-Corpus Christi. At first glance, it might seem like an absurd notion; Farenthold won re-election by a … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Abbott versus Perry in Latino districts

Posted on March 30, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

District level election data for 2014 has been available for a few weeks now. Seems like as good a time as any to return to a favorite topic, namely how Greg Abbott did in heavily Latino areas. An exit poll … Continue reading →

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Targeting straight ticket voting

Posted on March 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From Trail Blazers: Texas is one of only 10 states still doing straight-ticket voting but a North Texas legislator is hoping to change that. At a hearing today, Rep. Ron Simmons (R-Carrollton) told the Elections Committee that doing away with … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court hears Renew Houston appeal

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Last stop of the litigation train for the plaintiffs that have sued to overturn the Renew Houston referendum, on the grounds that the voters were misinformed about what they were voting for. Two lower courts have sided with the city, … Continue reading →

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Early voting is up in the special election runoffs

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Make of that what you will. If three days of early voting are any indication, the tense runoff fight for the state Senate 26 seat between Trey Martinez-Fischer and José Menéndez is attracting more voters than cast ballots in the … Continue reading →

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Supreme Court to hear Renew Houston lawsuit

Posted on February 2, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Jeez, I’d forgotten this was still a thing. In a lawsuit filed after the election, three Houston property owners allege the ballot language was misleading. “You would have thought if you voted for this thing that it was a one-time, … Continue reading →

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January campaign finance reports – HISD trustees

Posted on January 26, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Four HISD Trustees are up for re-election this year. There are nine Trustees in all, and they serve four-year terms, so in a normal year either four or five are up for re-election. As things stand right now, all four … Continue reading →

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Gilbert Pena

Posted on January 4, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Let the man have his victory lap, but let’s not read more into his victory than there is. By the time Harris County’s conservative leaders fished for their car keys at their Election Night watch party, there were few candidates … Continue reading →

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We need to understand why our voters didn’t vote

Posted on January 3, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So now we know that Battleground Texas wasn’t pursuing a base turnout-increase model for the 2014 election, for reasons that have not yet been adequately explored. I’m mad about that, but I don’t want to get bogged down in that. … Continue reading →

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