Tag Archives: Harris County Tax Assessor

You sure you’re registered?

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Your voter registration could get cancelled without you realizing what’s happening. More than 300,000 valid voters were notified they could be removed from Texas rolls from November 2008 to November 2010 – often because they were mistaken for someone else … Continue reading →

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Sullivan confirms he will step down in January

Posted on June 3, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

There will be one more election on the ballot this November. Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan confirmed Thursday that he will submit his resignation next month as a result of his victory in the Republican Party primary for county tax … Continue reading →

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GOP results, Harris County

Posted on May 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Bullet points for all these result posts, I was up way too late last night. See the numbers here and the chat transcript from last night here. – You could have sold me on any result in the GOP DA … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of the Tax Assessor primary

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Having just reported on the vehicle registration problems at the Harris County Tax Assessor’s office, the Chron now writes about the GOP primary for that office. A Houston Chronicle story Friday reported Sumners’ staff is working overtime to process a … Continue reading →

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I got those can’t get my car registration done on time blues

Posted on May 12, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The Harris County tax office is paying 32 clerks overtime on weekends to eliminate a large backlog of unprocessed auto registrations, a potentially serious problem that could force some motorists to drive … Continue reading →

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30 day financial reports, Harris County offices

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Candidates for county offices who are in contested primaries are also required to submit 30 day campaign finance reports. I’ve been going through the County Clerk’s campaign finance reports page to collect what’s there; ones for Democratic races are on … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Sullivan for Tax Assessor

Posted on May 1, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron made its first primary endorsement on Friday, and I just now noticed. The [Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector’s Office] is, or should be, the quintessential service department – run with the customer’s satisfaction uppermost in mind. For almost half … Continue reading →

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Your voter registration card is in the mail

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Someone was just asking me about this, so I’m glad to see that they’re on their way. Harris County officials prepared to ship out 1.7 million voter registration cards Tuesday – after an unprecedented nearly five-month delay resulting from a … Continue reading →

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Harris County voter registration lawsuit settled

Posted on April 7, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

For now, at least. Something tells me we have not heard the last of this. Harris County officials and the Democratic Party have settled an ongoing legal dispute over denial rates of new voter registration applications – at least for … Continue reading →

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Harris County rejecting fewer voter registrations

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

In other lawsuit-related news: Harris County officials have rejected far fewer would-be voters since 2008, but Democrats are demanding more proof that voter rolls are not being illegally suppressed – particularly among Hispanics – as another U.S. presidential election approaches. … Continue reading →

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If it walks like a PAC and talks like a PAC…

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

…the odds are pretty good that it’s a PAC. A Travis County district court judge ruled this week that a Houston-based tea party group is not a nonprofit corporation as it claims, but an unregistered political action committee that illegally … Continue reading →

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Still no voter registration cards yet

Posted on February 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve written about this before, but apparently there are some rumors running around regarding voter registration cards. Central Texas elections officials are warning against a rash of emails spreading false information about voter registration — an already confusing issue for … Continue reading →

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Why do we make it so hard to vote?

Posted on February 17, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

News item: Many voter registrations around the country are outdated or incorrect. Some 24 million voter registrations in the United States contain significant errors, including about 1.8 million dead people still on the rolls and many more approved to vote … Continue reading →

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January finance reports: Harris County

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

January is a very busy month for campaign finance reports, since they are due for all levels of government. I’ve been busy updating the 2012 Primary Election pages for Harris County and elsewhere in Texas with reports as I can … Continue reading →

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Sullivan says he’ll step down if he wins primary

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

He’s hoping to defuse a campaign issue. Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan will submit his resignation in July if he wins the Republican nomination for Harris County tax assessor-collector in April’s primary, he said. The resignation would not be effective … Continue reading →

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Your voter registration card is not in the mail just yet

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Another side effect of the Supreme Court stay. Even if you’ve registered to vote in Texas, you won’t be getting a new voter registration certificate until February. Although the latest blue cards expired at the end of the year, counties … Continue reading →

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Sullivan files against Sumners

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I was writing a long candidate update for the weekend on Friday that’s pretty much junk now, but not every election is affected by the SCOTUS stay ruling. One such election is for Harris County Tax Assessor, where on Friday … Continue reading →

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Filing season opens today

Posted on November 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

It’s supposed to open today, anyway. It may get pushed back a day or two until the remaining legal actions get sorted out. As we know, after being turned down by the San Antonio federal Court, AG Greg Abbott is … Continue reading →

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Turnout is only half the story

Posted on November 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One other thing that I noticed while compiling the data for the elections from a bygone era is something that I never hear about whenever the turnout level in city elections gets bemoaned is the number of registered voters in … Continue reading →

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More 30 day finance reports for City of Houston races

Posted on October 13, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Following up on yesterday’s report, here are the interesting, odd, and questionable things I’ve seen in the rest of the 30 day campaign finance reports. Mayor Parker raised $469K, spent $526K, and maintained $2.3 million on hand. She appears to … Continue reading →

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30 day finance reports for City of Houston races

Posted on October 11, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The 30 day campaign finance reports for City of Houston elections were due last week, and they are now mostly up on the city’s campaign finance report website, with a large number showing up today. Already I’m seeing questionable, curious, … Continue reading →

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Lawsuit filed against Harris County redistricting

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Hot off the presses, here’s a release from CM Ed Gonzalez: Today, Council Member Ed Gonzalez joined as a plaintiff in a lawsuit versus Harris County over the proposed Commissioners Court redistricting map. “The proposed map cracks communities of interests … Continue reading →

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Sylvia for Something

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

So many rumors, so little time. Among those voicing support for the alternative [County Commissioners] map was Sylvia Garcia, who was Precinct 2 commissioner from 2002 until this year. Garcia’s loss – by 2,310 votes – to Republican newcomer Jack … Continue reading →

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Sumners v Sullivan?

Posted on August 2, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Well, this would be entertaining. County tax assessor-collector Don Sumners thinks Houston City Councilman Mike Sullivan may be preparing to take a run at him in next year’s GOP primary, and Sullivan isn’t denying it. Sumners took a swipe or … 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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What now for Sylvia Garcia

Posted on December 30, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

This story about Sylvia Garcia’s last Commissioners Court meeting leads to the obvious question of what she might do next. A former Houston city controller and an attorney who hasn’t practiced for more than 25 years, she’s still interested in … Continue reading →

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More on Sumners and the LWV

Posted on December 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve got some updates on the change in policy by Tax Assessor-to-be Don Sumners regarding voter registrations at naturalization ceremonies. First, Sumners has acknowledged the need to get pre-clearance from the Justice Department for any changes to voter registration procedures, … Continue reading →

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No voter registration for you

Posted on December 7, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The following email, sent from the League of Women Voters registration address to its membership, was forwarded to me. I present it below in its entirity: From: LWV Voter Registration Sent: Sunday, December 05, 2010 3:19 PM Subject: Voter Registration … Continue reading →

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So what about that elections administrator?

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Buried in this story about Abe Simpson Don Sumners, our new Tax Assessor, is this little nugget: So, if [County Judge Ed] Emmett insists on putting the election administrator position on a Commissioners Court agenda, Sumners said, “I think we … Continue reading →

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TPJ files complaint against King Street Patriots

Posted on October 18, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the inbox: TPJ today filed a formal complaint with the Texas Ethics Commission alleging that the King Street Patriots and KSP/True the Vote have violated the state’s prohibition on corporate contributions to political parties and candidates. The complaint says … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The remaining countywides

Posted on October 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

After making a normal and expected endorsement of County Judge Ed Emmett and an abnormal and unexpected endorsement of Orlando Sanchez, the Chron goes Democratic for the remaining three countywide offices. District Clerk: The duties of this office include summoning … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of Tax Assessor race

Posted on October 8, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Sometimes, the difference between two candidates is especially clear. Don Sumners has been complaining about government for so long that the Republican’s slogan for his campaign for tax assessor-collector is “I was tea party before tea party was cool.” Elect … Continue reading →

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I-Day Houston

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

From the Inbox, from the League of Women Voters: The League of Women Voters of the Houston Area and the American Society of Civil Engineers are set to host two debates, a candidate meet-and-greet, and infrastructure townhall meetings during the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Diane Trautman

Posted on September 16, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

Diane Trautman was the Democratic nominee for Harris County Tax Assessor in 2008 against then-incumbent Paul Bettencourt. With Bettencourt announcing his resignation approximately five minutes after he won re-election, the office is on the ballot again this year, and Trautman … Continue reading →

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