Tag Archives: charter

Do unto public schools as you would not do to charter schools

Posted on October 13, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Infuriating, but hardly surprising. In June, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath embarked on the largest school takeover in recent history, firing the governing board and the superintendent of the Houston Independent School District after one of its more than … Continue reading →

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Endorsement watch: For the proposition allowing Council members to put an item on the agenda

Posted on September 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

I didn’t think we’d begin Endorsement Season with a charter referendum, but here we are. This is no way to run a representative democracy in the nation’s fourth-biggest city. Thankfully, Houstonians have an opportunity to change that in this year’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The charter referendum will be in 2023

Posted on August 13, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

So be it. The organizations and residents who petitioned the city to give City Council members more power will have to wait until 2023 to vote on the measure, after the council declined to put it on this year’s ballot. … Continue reading →

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We will have that charter election

Posted on July 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

For that thing I still don’t have a pithy name for. Someone form a PAC and throw me a bone here. A petition filed in April by a group seeking to give City Council members the ability to place items … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2021 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

City appeals firefighter collective bargaining case to Supreme Court

Posted on June 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

Here we go. The city of Houston on Monday asked the Texas Supreme Court to weigh in on a recent appellate court ruling that rejected Mayor Sylvester Turner’s attempt to strike down a key provision of state law governing how … Continue reading →

Posted in Legal matters | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 14 Comments

Charter amendment petitions are in

Posted on April 7, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I need a simpler name for this thing, so that Future Me will have an easier time searching for relevant posts. Houston voters likely will get to decide in November whether City Council members should have the power to place … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2021 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Here come the petitions for the latest charter amendment effort

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

I’m still skeptical of this, but we’ll see how it goes. A coalition pushing to give Houston City Council members more input at City Hall says it has gathered the required 20,000 signatures to place a charter amendment on the … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2021, Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Here comes a charter amendment effort

Posted on October 30, 2020 by Charles Kuffner

I’m neutral about this, at least for now. The Houston Professional Firefighters Association and a coalition of other groups are launching a referendum campaign to give city council more power at City Hall. The fire union and other groups announced … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

There will be charter referenda next year

Posted on December 6, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Details are pending, but one way or another we’ll get to vote on some charter changes next November. City Council members on Thursday agreed that any city charter reforms, including changes to term limits, should go to voters in November … Continue reading →

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Charter review gets set

Posted on December 2, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

From Campos: This Thursday, December 4 the City Council’s Ad Hoc Charter Review committee will meet and several members of Council want the following in BOLD discussed. I have added a few devil’s advocate observations. BTW: All members of City … Continue reading →

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Council approves meaningless tax cut

Posted on October 26, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

Such awful policy. The Houston City Council unanimously passed a nominal property tax cut Tuesday afternoon, the first rate reduction in five years, as the city for the first time runs into a revenue cap imposed by voters a decade … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Chartering

Posted on October 13, 2014 by Charles Kuffner

There will be more than just the Mayor’s race going on in 2015. Houston is guaranteed a frantic 2015 political season with an open mayor’s race on the ballot, but it could get busier still with growing talk of placing … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Mayor Parker announces same sex spousal benefits for city employees

Posted on November 21, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Mayor Parker had been talking recently about a more comprehensive non-discrimination ordinance for Houston and possibly revisiting the 2001 charter amendment that forbids the city from offering domestic partner benefits. I knew something would be coming, but I didn’t expect … Continue reading →

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No repeal petition for San Antonio non-discrimination ordinance

Posted on October 16, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Good. Opponents of San Antonio’s nondiscrimination ordinance spread the word at churches and parks about their petition drive to place the policy on a citywide ballot. A few hours before Tuesday’s deadline, they informed city officials that effort had fallen … Continue reading →

Posted in The great state of Texas | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Endorsement watch: For the Mayor

Posted on October 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron endorses Mayor Parker for a third term. During Annise Parker’s first term, Houston was stuck in a drought. The global economy was in an economic downturn. And City Hall had to prune a budget suffering from wilting revenues. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2013 | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Can we get a charter review?

Posted on October 11, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Council Member C.O. Bradford and HCC Trustee Carroll Robinson would like one. Houston needs a Charter Review Commission to review, update and propose recommendations to the voters to modernize our charter, the structure and operations of city government, with specific … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Time for a real NDO in Houston

Posted on September 13, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Bring it on. Last week, San Antonio passed an ordinance protecting gay and transgendered residents and veterans from discrimination. Houston Mayor Annise Parker says that vote “upped the ante” and that Houston should follow suit. “It is absolutely something we … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

What does the DOMA decision mean for Texas?

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

Last week, the day after the disappointing SCOTUS ruling on the Voting Rights Act, we got a much more heartening ruling on DOMA, declaring it to be unconstitutional. However, not all of DOMA was struck down. In a landmark Supreme … Continue reading →

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Interview with Mayor Annise Parker

Posted on October 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

It’s bonds and more bonds this week, as we discuss the remaining referenda on the ballot. First up is the city of Houston bond package, which by law will be broken out into five separate propositions for your approval. Proposition … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The ballot propositions we won’t have

Posted on August 20, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Today is the 78th day before the November 6 election. That makes it the statutory deadline for ordering an election, as noted by the Secretary of State. They cite Sec. 201.054 of the Elections Code for this, which seems wrong … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The door will stay open

Posted on August 8, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good decision. A proposal to give Houston City Council the ability to meet behind closed doors is dead. What a mayor’s spokeswoman called a “lack of consensus” was manifest in a committee meeting last week during which several council members … Continue reading →

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Discussing the Z word

Posted on July 13, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I have three things to say about this. The go-ahead for the Ashby high rise has left me feeling really depressed. If affluent residents with all their political and social connections can’t keep a 21-story skyscraper out of their bucolic … Continue reading →

Posted in Elsewhere in Houston | Tagged , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Another homeless feeding update

Posted on June 27, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Depending on how you look at it, time is either running out for the petition signature gatherers who hope to overturn the homeless feeding ordinance, or it isn’t. Free to Give Houston, a recently formed political action committee, needs about … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Non-discrimination ballot referendum coming

Posted on February 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

I’ve been waiting for this. Activists are preparing a petition to put a referendum on Houston’s November ballot, calling for a ban on discrimination against gays and permission for the city to grant health insurance benefits to the unmarried partners … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

No action on red light camera settlement yet

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Houston City Council voted to wait two weeks before deciding whether or not to accept the settlement agreement with camera vendor ATS. The City Council on Wednesday delayed approval of a $4.8 million settlement with its red-light camera vendor amid … Continue reading →

Posted in Planes, Trains, and Automobiles | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Parker joins other mayors in push for marriage equality

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Good for her. Good for all of them. Houston Mayor Annise Parker seized the vanguard of a drive by 78 mayors Friday to win the equal rights of marriage for gay couples, donning a national leadership role that contrasts sharply … Continue reading →

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Elections from a bygone era

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

All through the Early Voting period, I’ve been comparing turnout this year to elections from 2005 through 2009. It’s not like we didn’t have elections in this city before then, of course. Obviously, the city now is different than it … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments

Council redistricting will be messier than it needs to be

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Houston City Council is set to start their discussion about redistricting, but some people want them to stop. Councilman Mike Sullivan views expansion as a function of mayor-council politics, and he opposes it. Houston’s residents, Sullivan said in an impromptu … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Renew Houston

Posted on April 9, 2010 by Charles Kuffner

The fact that Houston is currently in the throes of a severe revenue shortage doesn’t change the fact that there’s a great need to renovate and repair large portions of the city’s infrastructure. Naturally, that will cost a lot of … Continue reading →

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