Tag Archives: Stephen Costello

My initial thoughts on the 2023 election

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Charles Kuffner

Suffice it to say I was off base on turnout. I thought we would be on track to top the turnout of the 2003 Mayor’s race, but in the end we fell short of 2015’s level. I’d have lost quite … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2023 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Is there any chance the GLO won’t screw Houston this time around?

Posted on May 24, 2022 by Charles Kuffner

I mean, maybe. Things can happen. I just wouldn’t count on it. Mayor Sylvester Turner on Wednesday commended the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for ordering Texas to fix a Hurricane Harvey recovery plan that the federal agency … Continue reading →

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

GLO still screwing Houston on Harvey aid

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

This shit has got to stop. Harris County and the city of Houston this week blasted the Texas General Land Office’s revised plan for distributing billions in federal Hurricane Harvey aid, saying that while it is an improvement over the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

The Chron debunks P Bush

Posted on June 2, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You love to see it. In recent days, Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush has said his office is not to blame for failing to award Houston or Harris County a single penny of $1 billion in flood mitigation funding … Continue reading →

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

P Bush tries to deflect blame on flood funding fiasco

Posted on May 23, 2021 by Charles Kuffner

You can run, but you can’t hide, George P. Bush. Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush blamed local leaders Friday for Houston and Harris County’s failure to secure a single penny of roughly $1 billion in federal flood mitigation funds … Continue reading →

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KHOU/HPM poll: Turner 37, Buzbee 20, King 10

Posted on September 26, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We must be getting into the serious part of Houston Election Season, because we have our first public poll of the Mayor’s race. Mayor Sylvester Turner leads trial lawyer and businessman Tony Buzbee by 17 points, according to a KHOU/Houston … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2019 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 19 Comments

July 2019 campaign finance reports: Open City Council seats, part 2

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Charles Kuffner

We come down to the last three open Council seats to examine, all the result of term-limited incumbents. The first post, with Districts A, B, and C, is here, and the rest of the non-Mayoral races is here. As before, … Continue reading →

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Flood tunnels

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

It’s so crazy, it just might work. The Harris County Flood Control District is exploring the possibility of building several massive, deep tunnels aimed at keeping storm water out of flood-prone neighborhoods and carry it underground for miles to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Houston’s flood mitigation priorities

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Charles Kuffner

The sooner the better with this. Converting a defunct golf course and dormant landfills into detention basins, digging new channels and buying out or elevating scores of homes are among Houston leaders’ key priorities as Hurricane Harvey recovery funds begin … Continue reading →

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Harris County to consider floodplain regulations change

Posted on November 25, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good idea to me. Nearly three months after Hurricane Harvey, Harris County is proposing using 500-year floodplains instead of 100-year floodplains for new development, the first significant overhaul of county elevation requirements in nearly two decades. The … Continue reading →

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

What the Harvey needs are from the state

Posted on October 8, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

It’s not just about recovery. The long term needs, including mitigation against future events like Harvey, is where the real money will need to be spent. More than one month after Harvey’s deluge hit, local officials, including Mayor Sylvester Turner … Continue reading →

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Let’s review those flood control regulations

Posted on September 23, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

Seems like a good idea, wouldn’t you say? The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has agreed to review Harris County’s flood control regulations to gauge whether they sufficiently neutralize the flood risk posed by the region’s booming development, a question … Continue reading →

Posted in Hurricane Katrina | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More flood mitigation coming

Posted on January 27, 2017 by Charles Kuffner

This is ambitious. After local leaders stood on the banks of Brays Bayou to celebrate a creative agreement that is expected to speed up work on a long-delayed effort to lessen the risk of flooding in southwest Houston, some angry … Continue reading →

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Mayor Turner delivers State of the City 2016

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the press release. Flooding, pensions, City finances and public safety were front and center as Mayor Sylvester Turner delivered his first State of the City before the Greater Houston Partnership. In a major move designed to produce tangible results … Continue reading →

Posted in Local politics | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Turner’s Council

Posted on December 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

So what kind of City Council will Mayor-elect Sylvester Turner have to work with? In addition to Turner replacing term-limited Mayor Annise Parker, the council also will gain five new faces, four thanks to term limits and one who defeated … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Is Bill King a sign of a trend?

Posted on December 16, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Probably not. Doesn’t mean that other candidates like him can’t do well, however. Bill King’s near-upset over Sylvester Turner in the Houston mayoral runoff stoked the hopes of some Republicans that the party soon could break Democrats’ 34-year hold on … Continue reading →

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Chron analysis of how Turner won

Posted on December 15, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I suppose it’s a bit simplistic to say “he got more votes than the other guy”, but one way or the other that’s what happened. Sylvester Turner’s 24-year quest for the mayor’s office was realized by a narrow margin Saturday … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The ground game

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Where we are with one day to go. The neck-and-neck Houston mayor’s race has become an all-out ground war in the final days before Saturday’s runoff election as Sylvester Turner and Bill King turn to local Democratic and Republican party … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Endorsement watch: Bell for King

Posted on November 18, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

As the headline notes, this came as a surprise to many. Former Congressman Chris Bell publicly backed fiscal conservative Bill King in the Houston mayoral runoff Tuesday, a move that could bolster King’s efforts to make inroads with progressive voters. … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 18 Comments

Endorsement watch: Costello for Turner

Posted on November 13, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I’m glad to see this. Houston City Councilman Steve Costello endorsed Sylvester Turner for mayor Wednesday, dealing a potential financial blow to fellow conservative Bill King as he looks to expand his donor base in the runoff. An engineer who … Continue reading →

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Precinct analysis: Mayor’s race

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

I now have draft canvasses. You know what that means. All data is for Harris County only. First up, the Mayor’s race: Dist Hall Turner Garcia King Costello Bell =================================================== A 1,906 4,587 3,509 6,265 1,522 1,129 B 2,494 15,947 … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

8 day finance reports: Mayoral candidates

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Here’s the story: Adrian Garcia outspent his chief rivals in the Houston mayor’s race over the last month, hoping to hold what polls suggest is his slipping grip on a spot in the likely December runoff. The final round of … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

An Election 2015 threefer

Posted on October 28, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

Three links of interest that weren’t quite worth a post on their own. Cort McMurray deconstructs Bob McNair: It’s not easy, being Bob McNair. Back in the old days, being a Houston billionaire was fun: Whether you made your fortune … Continue reading →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

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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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 →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

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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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 →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

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 →

Posted in Election 2015 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

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: 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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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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HAR poll

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Charles Kuffner

And some more good news here. With less than four weeks to go before the election, the Houston mayoral race remains “fluid,” according to a new poll commissioned by the Houston Association of REALTORS® (HAR). The poll finds Adrian Garcia … Continue reading →

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