Tag Archives: Annise Parker

The next phase of the effort against homelessness

Posted on November 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes. Mayor John Whitmire stood Thursday afternoon on a stage in City Hall, alongside a screen with a bold proclamation. “In Mayor Whitmire’s first term, Houston can be the first major city to end street homelessness,” … Continue reading →

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Should we appeal the zombie ReBuild lawsuit ruling?

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Controller Hollins says no. Mayor Whitmire seems likely to go ahead anyway. Houston Controller Chris Hollins has warned Mayor John Whitmire’s administration about potential financial challenges the city could face if it were to appeal a state appellate court ruling … Continue reading →

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Food Not Bombs lawsuit may proceed

Posted on June 26, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Do I hear a settlement offer? Anyone? A lawsuit filed by Food Not Bombs against the city of Houston will proceed after a federal judge rejected the city’s effort to dismiss the case. Since March 2023, FNB volunteers have received … Continue reading →

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Appeals court declines to block zombie ReBuild lawsuit ruling

Posted on June 21, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

That means the city is still on the hook for a bunch more money to be allocated to drainage projects. Which the just-adopted budget didn’t account for. A state appellate court on Tuesday rejected the city of Houston’s request to … Continue reading →

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Judge Hidalgo will run again in 2026

Posted on May 31, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

In case you were wondering. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said Thursday she plans to seek a third term in office in 2026. Hidalgo told the Chronicle during a live virtual event that she is “really excited” to run for … Continue reading →

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Former Mayor Parker “considering” a run for County Judge in 2026

Posted on May 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

The next election is always closer than you think. Former Houston Mayor Annise Parker has been talking to friends and supporters in recent months about making another run for elected office. Parker, a Democrat who led City Hall from 2010 … Continue reading →

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Zombie ReBuild lawsuit returns with a vengeance

Posted on April 24, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Unbelievable. Houston City Hall will have to use significantly more tax money to fight flooding with street and drainage projects, after an appeals court sided Tuesday with engineers in a years-long lawsuit over how much funding the city devotes to … Continue reading →

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Food Not Bombs gets temporary ticketing reprieve

Posted on February 16, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Pending a ruling from the judge, so this could be very temporary or it could be for the duration of the lawsuit. A U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday ordered Houston to temporarily stop enforcing a law that requires city … Continue reading →

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Food Not Bombs sues the city again

Posted on February 2, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

We’ll see how it goes. Food Not Bombs, a group of volunteers who serve meals outside Houston Public Library’s downtown branch, filed suit Tuesday against the city, alleging that a food-sharing ordinance is unconstitutional. The suit claims that the city’s … Continue reading →

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Chris Hollins begins his term as Controller

Posted on January 6, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

Lots of potential for action here. Houston Controller Chris Hollins knows that following Tuesday’s inaugural celebration comes the hard work. But the 37-year-old former Harris County Clerk says he is up to the task. “The people of Houston put (me) … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: 2023 Mayoral runoff

Posted on January 3, 2024 by Charles Kuffner

You might want to hide your children’s eyes, these numbers are quite ugly if you were a Sheila Jackson Lee supporter: Dist Whitmire J Lee ======================= A 12,578 3,807 B 2,625 11,199 C 29,030 8,769 D 5,012 14,150 E 20,469 … Continue reading →

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A crime threefer

Posted on December 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Houston on pace to post 20% decline in homicides in 2023 Houston’s homicide rate is down 20% compared to the year before, outpacing a historic decline in killings nationwide. The city logged 339 homicides thorough Dec. 18, down from 425 … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

SurveyUSA Mayoral runoff poll: Whitmire 42, SJL 35

Posted on November 28, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

We finally have a second pollster. State Sen. John Whitmire maintains a 7 percentage point lead over U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee in the Houston mayoral race, with a fifth of likely voters having yet to make up their minds … Continue reading →

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Latest ReBuild lawsuit dismissed

Posted on July 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

One less thing for the next Mayor to worry about. I hope. A district court judge has ruled in favor of Houston leaders in a 4-year-old lawsuit, countering allegations that Mayor Sylvester Turner and the City Council illegally shortchanged the … Continue reading →

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How was there still an active lawsuit over the 2004 revenue cap referendum?

Posted on April 22, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I am gobsmacked. The Texas Supreme Court on Friday struck down part of Houston’s revenue cap, creating the possibility that the city may have to comply with an even more stringent cap in the future. Elected officials in Houston long have blamed … Continue reading →

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Gilbert Garcia is in for Mayor

Posted on March 11, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Widely expected. Gilbert Garcia, the bond investor and former Metro chairman, is running for mayor, he told the Chronicle Friday. Garcia’s candidacy has been an open secret in Houston politics for months, if not years. His name has appeared on most early … Continue reading →

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We do need to find someone to run against Ted Cruz

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I don’t know who that ought to be yet, but surely someone is out there. Ted Cruz said on Saturday that he would seek a third term in the U.S. Senate in 2024, though he also did not rule out … Continue reading →

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The Lege is a little more diverse now

Posted on November 14, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

A good thing. Voters in Texas added to the diversity of their state Legislature on Tuesday, tripling the number of openly gay Black lawmakers holding office and electing the first two Muslim lawmakers to serve in the Capitol. As recently … Continue reading →

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Maybe this is finally the end of that zombie same sex employee lawsuit

Posted on June 2, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I dream a dream. The Texas Supreme Court has declined to consider a challenge aimed at preventing the city of Houston from offering benefits to employees’ same-sex spouses. The ruling is the latest blow to two Houston residents’ prolonged fight … Continue reading →

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The HPD transparency portal

Posted on June 17, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This is good. Traffic stops. Discipline. Use of force. Following widespread calls for police accountability, Houston residents now can use the city’s “Police Transparency Hub” to get far more detailed, accessible information about some of police’s most controversial topics than … Continue reading →

Posted in Crime and Punishment, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Supreme Court upholds Houston historic preservation ordinance

Posted on June 8, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Blast from the past. The Texas Supreme Court has upheld Houston’s ordinance regulating the preservation of historic districts, after residents argued it was an illegal zoning measure. Two homeowners in the Heights challenged the law, arguing that it constituted zoning … Continue reading →

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Zombie same sex employee lawsuit denied again

Posted on May 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Shuffling along like the undead flesh eater that it is. A Texas appellate court struck a challenge Thursday to Houston’s policy giving same-sex spouses of city employees the same benefits as different-sex spouses, saying that the city was immune from … Continue reading →

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More 2022 speculation

Posted on December 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

From Campos: I was watching “What’s Your Point” yesterday and the 2022 election was brought up. Rice University political scientist Mark Jones said Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo would face an opponent in the Democratic Primary. My friend Bill King … Continue reading →

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So let’s talk about HERO 2.0 again

Posted on June 18, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Surely now is the time. In November 2015, 61 percent of Houston voters rejected a city ordinance that would have barred employers from discriminating against people based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, a devastating blow for LGBTQ advocates in the nation’s … Continue reading →

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Did we mention that the next city budget is gonna suck?

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

Because it is, in case we hadn’t mentioned it before. Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said Monday that the coronavirus crisis will impact “every facet of city governance” and require furloughs of city workers, though he declined to say how many … Continue reading →

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January 2020 campaign finance reports: City of Houston

Posted on February 8, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

We’re done with the 2019 Houston election cycle, but there are still things we can learn from the January 2020 campaign finance reports that city of Houston candidates and officeholders have to file. Other finance report posts: My two-part look … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner’s second term begins

Posted on January 4, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

He’s on the clock now. Freshly sworn in Thursday morning, Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner promised to make significant strides in street repairs and flood control while boosting services for the city’s homeless in his second term. He also called on … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: 2019 At Large #5

Posted on November 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Our last At Large race, and another one with many candidates. There wasn’t a clear division among the nine contestants here, so I’m presenting them all. Dist Batteau Garcia Flowers Dick Rivera Bonton Alcorn Woods McNeese ============================================================================ A 654 955 … Continue reading →

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HERO 2.0

Posted on November 22, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been waiting for this, though in reading this story I’d argue we should wait just a little bit more. Houston’s two mayoral candidates say they support expanded anti-discrimination protections for the LGBTQ community, but would leave it to voters … Continue reading →

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Another ReBuild Houston lawsuit

Posted on October 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Gotta say, this puzzles me. A pair of Houston residents filed a lawsuit against Mayor Sylvester Turner and city council Monday, accusing them of failing to follow the will of voters who approved a charter amendment last year for funding … Continue reading →

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Do you believe in magical thinking?

Posted on September 24, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

I did not read this long profile of Tony Buzbee, because life is short and we all have better things to do. I did briefly scan the print version a bit, and in doing so I noticed the following paragraph, … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Checking in on the Mayor’s race

Posted on September 4, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Remember the Mayor’s race? Yeah, that. “The candidates have been running for months but were focused on fundraising and defining their message,” said Nancy Sims, a Houston political analyst. “Labor Day is when people tune into the election.” The stretch-run … Continue reading →

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We have a consent decree

Posted on July 11, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

It appears to be a done deal. Houston would add $2 billion to its planned sewer system improvements over the next 15 years under a proposed deal with state and federal regulators that is expected to produce higher water bills … Continue reading →

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By the way, Commissioners Court updated the county’s nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies

Posted on June 27, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

Nice. The Commissioners Court voted 3-2 along party lines to [add sexual orientation and gender identity to the county’s nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies]. County Judge Lina Hidalgo, along with Commissioners Rodney Ellis and Adrian Garcia — all Democrats — voted … Continue reading →

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