Tag Archives: Election 2015

Time to get out the vote

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A look at the strategies for turning out the vote for various Mayoral campaigns. In the days before Monday’s start to early voting, Houston’s top mayoral campaigns moved to mobilize their volunteer forces, aiming to ensure their supporters make it … Continue reading →

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Chron overview of HCC Trustee races

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As always, HCC Trustee races don’t get as much attention as they deserve. Since the 2013 election put four new trustees – Zeph Capo, Robert Glaser, Dave Wilson and Adriana Tamez – on the board, one trustee, Carroll Robinson, has … Continue reading →

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Day One EV 2015 totals

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here they are, fresh from the inbox: Year Early Mail Total Mailed ====================================== 2015 8,889 14,240 23,129 40,626 2013 5,028 8,560 13,588 28,620 The 2015 Day One file is here, and the final 2013 file is here. A few observations: … Continue reading →

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Interview with Adrian Garcia

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of my Mayoral interviews, and almost the end of all my interviews for this cycle. Adrian Garcia was the last major candidate to officially join the race, though he was unofficially in it for months … Continue reading →

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My sense of where things stand right now

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s an aggregation of the polls we’ve seen so far: Candidate HAR HRBC KHOU KPRC Avg ======================================== Turner 19 24 19 20 20.50 Garcia 19 14 9 13 13.75 King 10 18 9 14 12.75 Bell 10 11 6 12 … Continue reading →

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Early voting starts tomorrow

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

From the Harris County Clerk: Early Voting for the upcoming November 3, 2015 Election starts Monday, Oct. 19 and runs through Friday, Oct. 30. There are 41 Harris County Early Voting locations, some of which have changed. The Houston Community … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: One Farias, two Farias

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There’s one state race on the ballot this year, where there’s a special election in HD118 to succeed the retiring Rep. Joe Farias. The San Antonio Express News has endorsed Gabe Farias in that race. Six candidates — three Democrats … Continue reading →

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KPRC poll: Turner 20, others close together

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Yet another poll with Sylvester Turner in the lead. As of Oct. 15, State Representative Sylvester Turner finishes just ahead of the rest of the pack of 13 candidates with 20 percent of the vote; attorney Bill King gets 14 … Continue reading →

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The phony “bathroom” issue

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I am so tired of this. Although Houston’s 36-page equal rights ordinance makes no mention of public restrooms, access to restrooms has become the focus of a raging public debate with the law set to go before voters on election … Continue reading →

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Chron race overview: District G

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Only two open district Council seats this cycle, and the open District G race has only two candidates. Sandie Mullins Moger and Greg Travis, candidates for Houston City Council District G, have similar objectives in their bids to represent the … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Bonds, five bonds

Posted on October 17, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There are four Harris County bond issues on the ballot this fall. The Chron supports them all, with some reservations. I’m just going to focus on the first one, since it’s by far the biggest and the one for which … Continue reading →

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Interview with Chris Bell

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We come to the end of this week of Mayoral candidate interviews. I still have one more to go, which will run on Monday, and I will have one more (non-Mayoral) interview to run after that. Today we have Chris … Continue reading →

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Who cares about Bob McNair?

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Another bad decision. Houston Texans owner Bob McNair donated $10,000 this week to opponents of the city’s embattled equal rights ordinance, entering the political fray over the law headed to voters in November. McNair, a frequent GOP donor, mailed the … Continue reading →

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Turner’s public agency work

Posted on October 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A lot of the attacks in the Mayoral campaign so far have been aimed at Adrian Garcia, in part to knock him out of second place where he is perceived to be, and in part because there’s some real material … Continue reading →

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Interview with Steve Costello

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with Mayoral candidate interviews. Steve Costello is finishing up his third term as Council Member, At Large position 1, where he has served as chair of the Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee and chair of the Transportation Policy … Continue reading →

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30 day finance reports, citywide races

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s a brief summary of the 30 Day campaign finance reports that I’ve been able to find, some of which are on this page and some of which are findable via the normal campaign finance report website, and all of … Continue reading →

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Chron race overview: District H

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

A look at the race in District H, to succeed the term-limited CM Ed Gonzalez. Roland Chavez views city leadership from a labor management perspective with an eye to curbing overtime and ensuring retirement benefits for city workers. He retired … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: The state propositions

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

There are seven constitutional amendments awaiting your vote on the November ballot. The Chron evaluates them. Proposition 1 The amendment would boost homestead exemption amounts for school district property taxes from $15,000 to $25,000. It also would reduce the amount … Continue reading →

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Interview with Bill King

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with Mayoral candidate interviews. There are many candidates running for Mayor of Houston this year, but only one who has actually been a Mayor before – Bill King, who served two terms as Mayor of Kemah. King is … Continue reading →

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Chron race overview: At Large #1

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the Chron overview of the race to succeed term limited Council Member (now Mayoral candidate) Steve Costello in At Large #1. M. “Griff” Griffin A perennial candidate in Houston politics, Griffin is running for the council for the 11th … Continue reading →

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Race and runoffs and Turner

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Everyone agrees that Sylvester Turner will be one of the candidates to make it to the runoff for Mayor this year. But what happens then? Yet, to succeed term-limited Mayor Annise Parker, Turner, an African-American, will need to broaden his … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Changing term limits

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses City Proposition 2, which would change the current system of term limits from three two-year terms to two four-year terms. If our leaders know they’ll be judged by a six-year timeline, there’s little incentive to plan for … Continue reading →

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Interview with Marty McVey

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We continue with Mayoral candidate interviews. Marty McVey is making his first run for elective office, in Houston or anywhere else. A businessman, McVey is the founder and shareholder of private equity businesses in the Real Estate, Energy Services and … Continue reading →

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KHOU poll: Turner 19, King and Garcia 9

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Our third poll result in the past week. Sylvester Turner remains the front-runner, but Adrian Garcia has lost his once firm grip on second place and Bill King rises into the top tier of contenders in the race for Houston … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Did we mention that you should vote for HERO?

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron reiterates its endorsement of the HERO. All’s fair in love and local politics, we presume, although a campaign of fear-mongering and false claims against Houston’s equal rights ordinance is unworthy of this city. HERO, Proposition 1 on the … Continue reading →

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Interview with Sylvester Turner

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

We are officially down to the wire. The last group of interviews I have to do is with Mayoral candidates. I’ve got six of them for you, which will run through Friday this week plus Monday next week, in the … Continue reading →

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Chron race overview: At Large #4

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

With all of the Mayoral profiles done (*), the Chron turns its attention to the other open seat races. Here’s their profile of At Large #4. Laurie Robinson kicked off her campaign in December 2014, almost a year before Election … Continue reading →

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More focus on inequality

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Good to see. As Houston’s mayoral candidates spar over the city’s largely agreed upon top issues – finances, infrastructure and public safety – a fourth policy concern is percolating: economic inequality. Concerns about disparity underpin discussions about the city’s revenue … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Going for Turner

Posted on October 12, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chronicle endorses Sylvester Turner for Mayor. Because there is no perfect candidate on the ballot, voters should look for someone who has the talents best suited to fixing the problems that currently threaten Houston’s long-term success: Sylvester Turner. For … Continue reading →

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Mimi Swartz’s Mayoral campaign rant

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here it is. What if they held a mayoral race and nobody came? That’s the question plaguing many people currently involved in Houston politics—even if no one else in town is asking it. This phenomenon isn’t entirely new: in 2009,* … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Gallegos in I

Posted on October 10, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses CM Robert Gallegos for re-election in District I. Two years ago we wrote that District I was the face of Houston’s future, filled with key landmarks, booming growth and changing neighborhoods. During his first term on City … Continue reading →

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HRBC poll: Turner 24, King 18

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Looks like we’re going to see more polling than usual this cycle. This was sent as a press release from the Bill King campaign, which was kind enough to forward the full poll data to me when I requested it: … Continue reading →

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Finally, some coverage on the pension issue

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I kid, I kid. Like it or not, HERO or not, it’s what this race has been about. The top candidates for Houston mayor are talking far more about the city’s growing cost of retiree benefits than voters are, which … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: Four for HISD

Posted on October 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here are the Chron endorsements for HISD Board of Trustees. The endorsements of incumbents Rhonda Skillern-Jones and Juliet Stipeche were expected and easily justified, so not particularly remarkable. The other two are worth comment. District III: Manuel Rodriguez Our choice … Continue reading →

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