BOR: - Annise Parker

Texas Lunch Links: Guns on College Campuses, Bouncy House Regulations, and Santa Claus

Nick Hudson — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:59:44 GMT

Texas Capitol. by stevelyon, on Flickr

Texas Lunch Links is a lunchtime buffet of Texas News and Views with a heavy emphasis on happenings at the Texas Legislature.

BOUNCY HOUSE: Inflatable bouncy house operators, air-conditioner repairmen and tow-truck drivers are required to carry liability insurance, but companies like West Fertilizer Co. that mix and store volatile chemicals are not.

TEACHER PENSIONS: The Texas Senate unanimously approved a bill that would bring big changes to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on Wednesday. The bill, which now heads to the Texas House for consideration, will phase-in larger contributions from all teachers and prevent newer teachers from retiring with full benefits until they turn 62. The plan also allows a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment this year for for longtime retirees.

BICYCLES: The Houston City Council unanimously passed a "safe passing" ordinance that requires drivers to give vulnerable road users, including bicyclists, pedestrians, disabled travelers, highway utility workers and tow truck drivers, three feet of space while passing.

GUNS: Shortly after Houston Senator John Whitmire effectivelydeclared a campus-carry bill dead on arrival to his Senate Criminal Justice Committee, it looks like the long-serving Houston Democrat may now allow a modified campus-carry bill to have a hearing. The modified bill would allow public universities to opt out of allowing campus-carry.

HISPANIC VOTE: Census figures released Wednesday show that Hispanics in Texas continue to lag the state's overall population in both registration and voting rates by double digits.

Read more Texas Lunch Links below the fold!
EMPLOYMENT DISCRIMINATION: Five equal rights protesters were arrested in front of the Texas Capitol on Wednesday for blocking traffic while they demanded passage of Senate Bill 237, dubbed the "Fair Employment Act." Senate Bill 237 would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity or expression. You can view pictures of the arrests and read more coverage at this True FM Online.

MERRY CHRISTMAS: Santa Claus made a special trip from the North Pole to the Texas Capitol on Wednedsay just to show support for State Representative Dwayne Bohac's House Bill 308, dubbed the "Merry Christmas Bill." Bohac's bill authorizes public school students and staff to offer traditional holiday greetings and erect religious displays like nativity scenes as long the displays include symbols from more than one religion.

SALES TAX REVENUE UP: Texas' sales tax collections for the month of April came in at 3.9 percent above last year's collections, according to the state comptroller.

TAX PROGRESSIVITY: If Democrat State Representative Eddie Rodriguez's proposal to amend the Texas Constition and allow local governments to ease property tax burdens on some middle and lower-income residents passes today, it will probably be by a slim margin.

Annise Parker Calls for CSN Houston Summit

Michael Hurta — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:00:00 GMT

Since our tax dollars tend to heavily support the sports we love, it was only a matter of time before a politician waded into a battle for getting one of Texas's exclusive sports channels onto constituents' televisions. Mayor Annise Parker took a stand today on behalf of Houston sports fans.

The Burnt Orange Report readers who root for a Houston team or two may be frustrated that they cannot see their favorite baseball, football, or soccer team on television.

The Houston Rockets, the Houston Astros, and NBC Sports started a Houston-based sports network six months ago, the Comcast Sports Network - Houston, and the network shows Houston Dynamo games, as well. But the network is available only on Comcast, owned by NBC. Comcast does not even cover a majority of Houston (not to mention Austin or other nearby markets with fans).

Mayor Parker, hoping to help remedy the situation, today called for a summit with the local television providers and CSN Houston. Read on to learn about the proposed summit and its chances of success.
From the Houston Chronicle article:

Mayor Annise Parker has asked officials of DirecTV, AT&T U-verse and Suddenlink Communications to meet in Houston with her and with officials with Comcast SportsNet Houston to discuss a solution to the unresolved carriage negotiations between providers and the Rockets- and Astros-owned network.
In Parker's one page-letter, dated April 5, the mayor said she was requesting the meeting "on behalf of the millions that passionately root for our Houston teams."
"The proud followers of our Houston teams - many of whom have paid for the venues where the Astros, Dynamo and Rockets compete - have been patient as your negotiations with Comcast SportsNet Houston have unfolded," Parker wrote. "That said, as the Rockets push toward the NBA playoffs and the Astros and Dynamo seasons get underway, the situation is intolerable."
Parker last month also described as "intolerable" the impasse between the providers and CSN Houston, the six-month-old regional sports network that airs Rockets, Astros and Dynamo games and is owned by the Major League Baseball and NBA teams and the NBC Sports Group.

All parties have agreed in principle to a meeting.

It's nothing but good news for fans that the mayor is getting involved in CSN Houston, but it's unclear how much her summit can move the needle. If the Longhorn Network is any indication, adding providers to an exclusive and local sports channel will be a slow and long haul. The differences, however, between the Longhorn Network (which only shows two or three games for its flagship sport, Football) and CSN Houston (which shows a majority of games for three sports) may make a difference.

Unfortunately, a window may be closing for a deal. The Rockets are finally a playoff team again, but their regular season is almost done. And before this season, both the Astros and Rockets teams fared poorly, which effected their television ratings. Or, as AT&T puts it: an "historical lack of viewership of Rockets and Astros games." And the Astros, meanwhile aren't getting good again until next year, and that's if one's a mighty optimist.

But Parker may still find opportunity to place political pressure on each party. If nothing else, the popular mayor is up for reelection this November. I imagine there aren't many issues as popular as getting everyone's favorite sports teams onto their television sets. If anyone's in a position to flood each of these parties with bad press, it's Annise Parker.

If Houstonians can't watch their teams for too much longer, I imagine other politicians will join in, too. If the corporations involved think their PR is bad now, they should wait until a major city's bipartisan set of politicians agrees on one thing: to yell at them.

Overview of Mayoral Races-so far

Aboubacar Ndiaye — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:50:18 GMT

With Battleground Texas stoking hopes of turning Texas into a swing state by the 2016 presidential election, more attention is being paid to organizing during the interim. Before the 2014 midterms, Texas Dems have an amazing opportunity to identify supporters, mobilize communities, and train organizers and activists this year. Major cities in Texas will be having municipal elections this year. In competitive contests for offices from Mayor to City Councilperson, millions of dollars will be spent and countless organizing opportunities will arise. I have put together an overview of the Mayoral contests in the biggest cities in Texas:

Houston

Shaping up to be the most expensive and possibly most divisive of the city races, Houston's mayoral race pits incumbent Annise Parker against former City Attorney and current superlawyer Ben Hall. First elected in 2009 in a runoff victory against Gene Locke, Parker narrowly avoided another runoff in her reelection campaign in 2011, winning 50.4 percent of the vote against a slew of unknown candidates. Because of Ben Hall's ability to fundraise and large personal resources, the race is likely to be much more competitive this time around. The unaccounted variable in the race is potential entry of a Republican candidate in the race.

San Antonio

Golden Boy, Future Presidential Nominee, and Great Brown Hope of the Texas Democratic Party Julian Castro still has to win re-election as Mayor of San Antonio this year before he can fulfill the wish of every democrat in Texas. He is facing an array of newbie and perennial candidates with little name ID or campaign funds. As of this writing, unless something crazy happens between now and Election Day, he will cruise to re-election without having to stop his current national speaking schedule.

El Paso

Current Mayor John Cook is term-limited and a large field of candidates are vying to replace him Among the eight declared candidates are current City Representative Steven Ortega, local businessmen Oscar Leeser and Robert Cormell, and substitute teacher Jorge Artalejo. Even in such a crowd, Cormell and Ortega, by virtue of their early fundraising prowess, are beginning to separate themselves from the pack.

Fort Worth

After handily winning her election to a first-term as Mayor of Fort Worth, Republican Betsy Price is running unopposed in her re-election campaign.

Aboubacar "Asn" Ndiaye was a Field Organizer on the Harris County Democratic Party's 2012 Coordinated Campaign. Follow him at twitter.com/thehardask

Friday Wrap: Joe McCarthy, Septic Wards, Strong Mayors, and the GOP's Perception Problem

Burnt Orange Report — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 16:48:38 GMT

It's time for the Friday Wrap, where your Burnt Orange Reporters comment on all the news that fits in a blockquote.

It was a great week for consumers as Senator Elizabeth Warren attended her first Senate Banking Committee hearing. The gentlewoman from Massachusetts had a few questions for regulators that were long overdue. Upworthy has the video:

Senator Elizabeth Warren, y'all!

Below the jump, get caught up on Ted Cruz, Jerry Patterson, Annise Parker, Steve Munisteri, and religious fervor in Texas.

It didn't take long for Ted Cruz to be compared to one of the most extreme characters in American political history. Democratic senators compared him to Joe McCarthy this week. Wow.
--Michael Hurta

According to the Texas Tribune, Jerry Patterson said yesterday: "The First Amendment kills as many as the Second, or is as dangerous."
So, then, what exactly would he mean by bans on magazines?
--Edward Garris

Republican State Senators Bob Deuell, Donna Campbell and Charles Schwertner are trying to shut down abortion clinics by requiring them to follow administrative code for surgical centers, even though most of the code has little or nothing to do with abortion services. Currently only 5 clinics in Texas meet this standard.
No word if they will include additional funds for hospitals to construct new septic abortion wards to handle the likely consequences of such a law.
--Katherine Haenschen

At the University Democrats meeting this week, speaker Annise Parker mentioned how great a strong mayor system is. I wish we could experience that accountability in Austin.
--Michael Hurta

Texas unsurprisingly was ranked as one of the more religious states in the nation according to a new Gallup poll, with 47% of Texans characterizing themselves as "very religious." But Texas actually falls short of the top ten list and comes in behind most of the Deep South and Utah, with Mississippi taking the lead at 58%. As a comparison, most New England states' "very religious' percentages are in the 20s.
--Emily Cadik

Republican Party of Texas chair Steve Munisteri told a group in West Texas, "we have to get over a perception that Republicans dislike Hispanics or African Americans."
Meanwhile, Midland's Congressman Mike Conaway supports ending birthright citizenship, which Munisteri agrees with -- after all, Republicans can't have those terror babies growing up and voting in Texas.
Republicans appear to still have a ways to go on that "perception" problem.
--Katherine Haenschen

White Leads Perry: Poll Shows Need for Strong Democrat in 2014

Michael Hurta — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 23:25:40 GMT

For the first time in over a decade, a Democrat leads a Republican statewide in a public opinion poll. Sure, it's within the margin of error. And sure, we aren't close to an election and Republicans poll better as we get closer. And sure, the polls that truly matter (in November) show that Texas actually has a very long way to go before electing a Democrat.

But a scientific survey of Texans has a Democrat winning the state.

"If the candidates for Governor next year were Republican Rick Perry and Democrat Bill White, who would you vote for?" asked Public Policy Polling. 47% answered Bill White. 44% answered Rick Perry.

Before we go hootin' and hollerin' in excitement, let's remember that if Rick Perry wants to run for reelection to governor in 2014, Rick Perry is still the favorite. This is just one poll, and we don't even know if Bill White would want to run again. Rick Perry also leads other hypothetical match-ups against Democrats.

But Battleground Texas is getting Democrats excited to compete sooner rather than later and to aggressively campaign instead of simply waiting for demographics. If we're ready to bring the fight to a new level, we need a candidate, too. So, we only hear Greg Abbott's name when people speak of potential challengers to Rick Perry? We can't make Texas a battleground without strong candidates. And if nothing else, this poll shows that even as soon as 2014, a strong Democratic candidate can win Texas.

If you're still unsure; the reasoning is a two-step process. First, Rick Perry is the favorite if he runs again in the Republican Primary. Second, Rick Perry can be beat. But he clearly can't be beat by anybody, so we need someone to step up. Read on below the fold about these two steps.
First: Rick Perry would be the favorite in a 2014 Republican Primary.

Remember how Kay Bailey Hutchison was a big favorite to beat Rick Perry in 2010? Yes, she really was; I know how hard that may be to believe now. But at a similar time in the 2010 cycle, Public Policy Polling published a poll of that hypothetical primary, too. The result? Kay Bailey Hutchison in a landslide, 56% to 31%.

Now, at this point in the 2014 cycle, potential challenger Greg Abbott can't even boast a single point lead. In the poll released today, Rick Perry leads Republican voters over Greg Abbott: 46% to 41%. Think of what will happen after Perry has a successfully conservative legislative session (see: his State of the State) and a campaign to make Abbott appear moderate? I don't care about any Abbott monetary advantage; if Rick Perry wants to stay governor, he can definitely get the nomination. (Note: we saw similar numbers in a BOR PAC poll in May!)

Further proof in the polling: Rick Perry has a 62% approval rating among Republicans. That's a pretty big margin for an "unpopular" governor.

Is there any good news for Greg Abbott in the polling? Sure. More Republicans would generally prefer someone else to Rick Perry, 47% to 41%. And Abbott's approval rating is an impressive 46% approving to 13% disapproving. But he will have a long way to go, and Rick Perry has some sort of Texas Teflon.

Second: Rick Perry can be beat in the general election.

Not since John Sharp led David Dewhurst in a 2002 poll has a Democrat led a Republican in a statewide publicly released survey. Yet, Bill White leads Rick Perry - and by 3 points, too.

Now, if Bill White runs in 2014, that's already a strong candidate who we know can win (if he runs a better campaign than 2010). But as anyone who remembers the 2010 election results can attest, Bill White isn't all that special when it comes to Texas Democrats. Another strong candidate can also succeed.

Notably, however, other candidates polled against Perry were all down by a range of 5 to 7 percentage points in today's poll. (Perry 47% to Julian Castro 42%; Perry 47% to Wendy Davis 41%; and Perry 47% to Annise Parker 40%.) None of those candidates, however, name recognition as high as Bill White. Annise Parker and Wendy Davis don't even have name recognition above 35%.

Any unknown yet strong Democrat has plenty of room to grow.

Yes, Rick Perry would still be the favorite in 2014. He'd be the favorite in both the Republican Primary and the general election, even if Bill White runs. But with some luck, a strong uphill campaign, and whatever magic outside groups like Battleground Texas may bring...A Democrat can beat Rick Perry in 2014.

Democrats can't afford to let Rick Perry sail. We know a strong candidate can win. Now, we'll just have to find one.

A first look at Houston's 2013 elections

kuff — Thu, 10 Jan 2013 11:57:19 GMT

Dist Name Cash on hand

=================================

Myr Parker 1,281,657

Ctrl R Green 9,983

AL 1 Costello 57,345

AL 2 Burks 3,160

AL 4 Bradford 20,590

AL 5 Christie 14,535

A Brown 22,641

B Davis 64,211

C Cohen 45,597

F Hoang 6,429

G Pennington 119,951

H Gonzalez 57,899

J Laster 31,816

K L Green 9,107

It is 2013, right? So while we have the SD06 special election and the new legislative session to worry about, it's not too early to start talking about the 2013 elections. Let's start with a peek at the campaign finance reports from last July of the Houston officeholders who will be on the ballot this November, at right.

I omitted the three Council members who are term-limited out (Melissa Noriega, Wanda Adams, and James Rodriguez), as well as newly-elected Dave Martin, since his July report would not be relevant. Normally there would have been five open seats this year, but with Mike Sullivan stepping down due to his successful candidacy for Tax Assessor and Jolanda Jones losing in 2011, there are only three vacancies, and as such there will likely be a stampede for those seats. But we'll get to that in a minute.

Below the jump, let's take a closer look at where the non-term limited incumbents are.

Mayor As we know, Mayor Parker will probably by challenged by former City Attorney Ben Hall, will possibly be challenged by her former Housing Director James Noteware, may possibly be challenged by some yet unknown candidate or candidates, and will certainly have a few fringe challengers as well. It could be quite the crowded race at the top of the ticket. While Hall would certainly be a more serious opponent in terms of money, resume, and presumed base of support than the 2011 hopefuls were, with Noteware and the others also possibly having more juice, I have believed for some time now that Parker starts out in a stronger position this year than she was in two years ago. The much-improved economy and real estate market mean that the city's budget is far healthier than it was, which means the Mayor can do positive things rather than negative things like layoffs and service reductions. Distractions like red light cameras and Renew Houston are in the past, while the overwhelming passage of the city's bond referenda gives the Mayor some wind at her back and a nice accomplishment with which to begin the year. Anything can happen, and we'll see who if anyone else emerges to run against her, but I believe we will look back and say that 2011 was the better chance to beat her.

How would one go about defeating Mayor Parker if one were inclined to do so? The conventional wisdom is to aim to replicate the 1991 campaign, in which State Rep. Sylvester Turner and eventual winner Bob Lanier squeezed then-Mayor Kathy Whitmire into a third place finish. This is the vaunted "pincer strategy", combining African-Americans and Republicans to shrink the remaining voter pool for the white Democratic lady Mayor. I'm skeptical of this. For one thing, Whitmire - who garnered an incredibly low 20% of the vote in that election - was running for her sixth term in those pre-term limits days, at a time when the term limits movement was gaining steam. There was a strong case for change, or at least there was a more restless electorate that was going through an economic downturn that year. Whitmire was also coming off a bruising defeat, as her $1.2 billion monorail proposal was killed by Metro's board chairman, who was none other than Bob Lanier. Lanier promised to spend that money on roads, which was much more popular. There isn't an issue right now that could be used as a cudgel against Parker, which makes the argument to fire her that much more challenging.

Which isn't to say there aren't issues to be used against Parker, but they're not issues that I think are likely to be used effectively by an establishment insider like Hall, or any Republican who may file. Given that Hall is who he is, I think a more potent strategy would be to pair him with an outspoken liberal, who can compete with Parker's base voters in District C by attacking her for things like the homeless feeding ordinance, the lack of any effort to advance equality in Houston, and the Metro referendum if one believes the University Line is mortally wounded. Quantifying the irony of Whitmire losing for promoting a rail plan, and Parker losing for being perceived as insufficiently supportive of rail, is left as an exercise for the reader.

And as long as I'm giving out advice, my suggestion to Team Annise is to work on building its ground game and seek to build turnout. There were 160K ballots cast in the 2009 runoff, but only 123K in 2011. Neither of these are particularly high totals for a city election - indeed, the 2011 total failed to reach the puny 125K ballots cast in the sleepy 2007 election. There are plenty of people who have voted in city elections, certainly as recently as 2003, but haven't done so in the past few cycles. I rather doubt that Parker versus Hall et al is likely on its own to draw any more voters than Parker/Locke/Brown/Morales did in 2009 (181K, in case you're curious), but there's no reason Parker shouldn't be working to identify and bringing out voters who have a less consistent history of voting in city elections. I think that offers a better path to 50% plus one than another dreary exercise in talking to only the same old hardcore voters. You know, like me. She has plenty of money, she'll have plenty more after the curtain comes up on fundraising season. Target a bigger universe, I say.

Controller I'm wondering if Ronald Green has a typo in his finance report. He reported $46K on hand last January, then his July report showed that he raised $26K and spent $13K, so I have no idea he could have had only $9,983 on hand. I guess we'll see what this January's report says. Beyond that, not much to see here. He's still not a big fundraiser, and he still has no credible announced opposition despite his recent negative press.

Council At Large Is it just me, or are those some anemic cash on hand totals? Six out of eight district Council members have larger campaign treasuries than three of the four At Large members. Bradford often reports a lot of in kind contributions - he has listed some things we might normally think of as expenditures as in kind contributions - which tends to reduce his COH figure. Burks, who raised $35K but had $34K in expenses, paid off a number of debts, including the $10K loan from his wife and two items dating from the 2009 campaign that totaled $4650. Christie also spent nearly as much as he raised - $66K raised, $63K in expenditures. This included $45K for "printing", which I presume was a deferred expense from his runoff campaign.

As was the case in 2011, there's only one open At Large seat, At Large #3, so once again I expect a cattle call in that race. I know Jenifer Pool, who ran in At Large #2 in 2011, is in for AL3 this year, and other names will surely emerge in the next few weeks. I have to think that it would be worthwhile for a Council wannabe who might be concerned about getting lost in that shuffle to consider taking on one of the incumbents instead, specifically Burks or Christie. Burks' winning campaign in 2011 after however many previous tries was, to put it gently, atypical. The only policy item I can recall that he originated last year was a proposal to revamp Houston's term limits ordinance, which never made it out of committee. He also drew scorn for suggesting that the propane tanks used by food trucks might potentially by used as weapons by terrorists. He doesn't have much money, doesn't have a history of fundraising, has generally run do-it-yourself campaigns, and his main asset is the name recognition that a dozen or more previous campaigns has earned him. You can make a similar case for Christie, who made an interesting proposal relating to shelters for homeless people that as far as I know went nowhere and who also said silly things during the food truck debate. Unlike Burks, Christie has been and should continue to be a good fundraiser, but also unlike Burks he has no natural constituency - he's a moderate Republican who isn't beloved by county GOP insiders. His win in 2011 could also reasonably be described as out of the ordinary. I'm not saying either would be easy to beat this year, I'm not even saying someone should run against them. I'm just suggesting that a multi-candidate open seat race where getting to the runoff is more crapshoot than anything else doesn't necessarily offer the best odds of being sworn in next January.

District Council Just so you know, former Council Member Brenda Stardig reported $26,574 on hand in July. If she aims for a rematch with Helena Brown, she starts out at parity in the money department. I'm not sure what's up with CM Hoang and Green, but I don't expect either of them to have much difficulty this year. Everyone will be watching District A, probably even more than the two open seats, but I'd keep an eye on Jerry Davis in District B as well. Davis has worked hard, but doesn't appear to have won over the insiders in the district, being a new resident of B himself. It would not shock me if he gets a serious opponent. Beyond that, Dwight Boykins appears to be in for the open seat in District D, and while other names will soon emerge we may have to get a judge's opinion about whether Jolanda Jones can be among them. There are already two candidates for District I; if history holds, there likely won't be too many more.

HISD and HCC It's a bit confusing because the County Clerk webpage doesn't track uncontested Trustee races, but I'm pretty sure that the following people are up for election:

For HISD Trustee: Mike Lunceford, Anna Eastman, Greg Meyers, Lawrence Marshall, and Harvin Moore. Lunceford and Eastman are finishing their first terms; Moore and Meyers were unopposed in 2009; Marshall won in a runoff. I have not heard anything so far to indicate that any of them are not running for re-election. If Anna Eastman runs for and wins re-election she will be the first Trustee in District I to do so since at least 1997 - I can't check any farther back than that. Gabe Vasquez was elected that year, followed by Karla Cisneros in 2001, Natasha Kamrani in 2005, and Eastman in 2009.

For HCC Trustee: Mary Ann Perez's election to the Lege in HD144 means there will be a vacancy in HCC Trustee District III. The Board has appointed former Herlinda Garcia to replace her. Garcia, about whom you can learn more here, will need to run in a special election to be able to serve the remainder of Perez's term, which expires in 2015. The three Trustees whose terms are up this year are Bruce Austin, Neeta Sane, whose district includes a piece of Fort Bend County, and Yolanda Navarro Flores. It's fair to say that Trustee Navarro Flores' current term in office has been rather eventful. She won a close race last time, and if she runs again I would expect her to get a strong challenger. Sane is completing her first term, while Austin, the longest-serving Trustee, was first elected in 1989. I am pleased to note that this year the Trustee candidates' campaign finance statements are now available online. Sometimes, a little bitching and moaning goes a long way.

That's all I've got for now. January finance reports are due next week, and a few will probably trickle in early. I'll keep an eye out and will post a report on my site when they're all up, or at least at some point after they're all supposed to be when I've run out of patience waiting for them. I'll throw in the reports for County officeholders who are up in 2014 as well, just because. Please add your own speculation and rumormongering about who is or isn't running for what in the comments.

Mayors Parker, Leffingwell, and Castro Endorse Freedom to Marry

Karl-Thomas Musselman — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 00:18:25 GMT

Today, Freedom to Marry, a national organization promoting equal marriage rights, issued a major statement of nearly 100 mayors across the county who signaled their support for same-sex marriage rights. Co-Chair Annise Parker of Houston was joined by Austin Mayor Lee Leffingwell and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro in representing Texas as part of today's announcement.

To view the entire list, click here.

Having strong allies and leaders in Texas helps move the national conversation about equality in the right direction and I'm happy to include Mayor Leffingwell's statement below.

MAYOR LEE LEFFINGWELL SIGNS FREEDOM TO MARRY PLEDGE FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES
AUSTIN - Mayor Lee Leffingwell has today joined dozens of mayors from across America in supporting the right of same-sex couples to marry by signing on to the Mayors for Freedom to Marry Pledge. The Mayors Freedom to Marry group - an effort of the national Freedom to Marry organization - aims to expand public and political support for ending discrimination in marriage.
"I'm proud to stand with the gay and lesbian community and defend their right to equal marriage," said Mayor Leffingwell. "The tide is changing in America and I hope that by joining this loud chorus, I can play a small role in helping set us on a path to full marriage equality in our country in my lifetime."
Other big city mayors to sign the pledge include Antonio Villaraigosa of Los Angeles, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago, Michael Bloomberg of New York, Michael Nutter of Philadelphia and Thomas Menino of Boston. Houston Mayor Annise Parker, who is openly gay, is the only other Texas mayor on the list.
Community leaders in Austin applauded Mayor Leffingwell's decision to join the coalition.
"As the first openly gay person elected to serve on the Austin City Council, I am especially appreciative of Mayor Leffingwell's leadership on this issue," said former Council Member Randi Shade. "Mayor Leffingwell recognizes the importance of achieving marriage equality and is willing to fight for it."
"Mayor Leffingwell is to be commended for his pro-equality stance with regard to the Freedom to Marry initiative," said Rich Bailey, President of the Stonewall Democrats of Austin. "For too long we have seen the LGBT community used as a wedge issue in politics and it is refreshing, but not unexpected, for the Mayor to be supportive of the right of all consenting adults to enter into marriage."
"This is a very important step in the path to equality," said Anne Wynn, Founder of Atticus Circle. "I started Atticus Circle in 2004 in response to the trend of states constitutionally prohibiting same-gender couples from marrying and I am so happy to see my hometown standing up to achieve equality for every parent and every partnership."
"I appreciate Mayor Leffingwell's endorsement of this petition along with other U.S. mayors," said community activist Celia Israel. "It is yet another reason for all of us - not just GLBT Austinites - to be proud of our city."
"Mayor Leffingwell echoes the values and beliefs of Austinites - that ALL men and women are created equal," said Eugene Sepulveda, former co-chair of President Obama's GLBT Leadership Council.
"I've always known Austin to be a community of respect and I am glad to see our Mayor taking the lead on this issue," said Karen Gross, Austin Community Director for the Anti-Defamation League. "I hope other Texas mayors will follow suit and join this important effort."
"Public support for marriage equality has grown in leaps and bounds in this country over the past few decades and too often, politicians refuse to catch up with the times," said Karl-Thomas Musselman, publisher of the Burnt Orange Report. "Mayor Leffingwell is instead reflecting Austin's values by rejecting discrimination and embracing our entire community."

An overview of the 2011 City of Houston elections

kuff — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:16:46 GMT

Howdy. This is Charles Kuffner from Off the Kuff, and I was asked by the fine folks at BOR to write an overview of the 2011 Houston municipal elections. What follows is my effort to summarize it all for you. For more information, please see my 2011 Election page, which contains links to interviews I have conducted with the candidates (more are to come), campaign finance reports, and endorsement lists. On to the overview...
Mayor

Houston has a strong Mayor system, so this is the single most important job in city government. Mayor Annise Parker was elected in 2009, winning a runoff against former City Attorney Gene Locke; then-Council Member Peter Brown and HCDE Trustee Roy Morales also ran but did not make it to the runoff. This time around, Mayor Parker has ~~four~~ five opponents, but none have any money or prior electoral success, and nobody expects her to be seriously challenged. She will be re-elected, it's just a matter of the final score.

That's the short version. Things are a little more complicated than that. The Mayor has had an eventful first term in office. Some of that is due to the city's financial situation, which is not as bad as some other big cities but which still required $100 million in budget cuts and over 750 jobs cut, and which has looming issue with pension funds and health care costs. Some of that is due to items that were not originally on her agenda but which resulted from the 2010 election, in particular Renew Houston (now known as Rebuild Houston), which added a charter amendment directing the city to create a dedicated fee for street and drainage improvements, and the red light camera referendum that resulted in the removal of said cameras from intersections around the city. Some of that is due to items that were on her agenda, such as the new Historic Preservation ordinance that was passed amid vocal opposition.

There's more, but you get the idea: It's been a busy two years, and with all that action comes a certain amount of drama. For several months this year a few people who might have been serious opponents for the Mayor talked about entering the race against her. There was speculation that the Mayor could get squeezed between an African-American Democrat and an Anglo Republican, in a similar fashion to then-Mayor Kathy Whitmire in 1991. None of that panned out, but the current line of thinking among the chattering classes is that the wannabees will jump in for real if Mayor Parker doesn't do well enough (for some value of "well enough") against the minor opponents she does have. Ask me again in two months and I'll tell you whether I think we'll have a contested Mayoral election in 2013 or if Mayor Parker will get to serve her three terms without too much fuss.

City Controller

First term City Controller Ronald Green is unopposed for re-election. Nothing to see here.

City Council At Large

There are five At Large City Council seats, four of which are held by incumbents running for re-election. Three of these incumbents - CM Stephen Costello in At Large #1, CM Melissa Noriega in At Large #2, and CM C. O. "Brad" Bradford in At Large #4 - face opponents with minimal funding, and all are expected to be elected without great difficulty. The fourth incumbent, CM Jolanda Jones, won in a runoff in 2009, narrowly defeating former SBOE member Jack Christie. Christie is running again, along with businesswoman Laurie Robinson and a fourth candidate. As was the case in 2009, CM Jones has been no stranger to controversy this year, being the target of an ethics complaint that stemmed from an Office of Inspector General report that concluded Jones had used city employees and resources to benefit her private law practice, feuding with the City Attorney, and being targeted by the police and fire departments for defeat. The good news for her is that she raised over $100,000 as of June 30, far better than she did last time, and has not lost any significant endorsements. This is one race everyone will be watching.

The other At Large race that will draw attention is the one open seat race, in At Large #2, where incumbent CM Sue Lovell is term-limited out. Ten challengers are in the mix for this seat, some with better odds than others. Among them are:

Former State Rep. Kristi Thibaut.

Former GLBT Political Caucus President Jenifer Rene Pool.

Former Planning Commission member David Robinson.

Bolivar Fraga, son of former Council member Felix Fraga.

Eric Dick, whose ubiquitous campaign signs may make him the candidate with the most name recognition.

Also in the running are two of the city's most perennial candidates, Michael "Griff" Griffin and Andrew Burks, each of whom could make it to the runoff in a low-profile election based on their own name recognition. My personal assessment of this race is that it's a crapshoot. I can make an argument for any of these people to be in the runoff. I would not bet my own money on any particular outcome, however.

City Council District races

There are now 11 Council districts thanks to the redistricting process the city went through this year. A map of the new districts can be found here. This was the result of a 1979 lawsuit that forced the creation of district Council seats - part of the agreement was that when Houston reached 2.1 million people, two new districts would be added. Despite falling inches short of that in the official Census numbers, the city went ahead with the redraw, and while there was some pushback on the original map proposed by Mayor Parker, in the end the process went about as smoothly as you could want. How smoothly? Not a single lawsuit has been filed against the new map. How often do you hear that?

Seven district Council members are running for re-election. One, Mike Sullivan in District E, is unopposed. The other six have at least one opponent each, though many are of the fringe variety, and a few only filed at the deadline. Given that only two incumbents in any city office have lost a re-election bid since the term limits law was passed in the mid-90's, it's probably a safe bet that all seven will be back next year.

Four seats are open - the two newly-created seats, plus two where incumbent members were term-limited out. The latter two are Districts B and C. B is an African-American district on the northeast side of town, currently held by CM Jarvis Johnson. Eight candidates are running to replace Johnson, including his constituent services director Alvin Byrd; community organizer Phillip Bryant; businessman Jerry Davis; 24-year-old Bryan Smart; and Katherine Daniels, who is being supported by the runnerup to Johnson from the 2005 election. District C, now held by Anne Clutterbuck, was transformed into an urban core district that fills most of the space just inside the West Loop. Five candidates are on the ballot, including former State Rep. Ellen Cohen, whose name recognition and fundraising prowess have made her the acknowledged favorite in the race; realtor Karen Derr, the 2009 runnerup for At Large #1; attorney Brian Cweren, who ran for the old District C seat in 2005; and former airline pilot Joshua Verde. Both races will likely go to a runoff, with Cohen almost certainly in the mix for C while B is more open.

Finally, there are the two new districts, J and K, both of which are in the southwest part of town. J was drawn to be a Latino opportunity district, though as Greg Wythe has argued, its current demographics make it unlikely to function as such in the short term. Nonetheless, two of the three candidates for this seat are Latino: Criselda Romero, who works as a constituent coordinator for CM Ed Gonzalez, and businessman Rodrigo Cañedo; they are joined by attorney Mike Laster, who was the runnerup in District F in 2009. Laster will probably make it to the runoff, against either opponent. District K, which was drawn to be an African-American opportunity district, has three candidates as well, but only one serious candidate, attorney Larry Green. I can't think of a scenario in which he doesn't win easily in November.

HISD and HCC Trustee

Not strictly city of Houston, but important anyway are the elections for HISD and HCC Board of Trustees. There are four HISD Trustee races for four-year terms. One incumbent, former District B Council member (and HISD Trustee before that) Carole Mims Galloway stepped aside at the last minute; her seat will be taken by Rhonda Skillern-Jones, a member of the activist HISD Parent Visionaries group. Board President Paula Harris, who is at the center of various ethics-related issues, is being challenged by retired educator Davetta Daniels, whom Harris defeated handily in 2007. Board Vice President Manuel Rodriguez is opposed by Ramiro Fonseca, who has made this race a lot more interesting by garnering an impressive array of endorsements since his late entry, including that of Mayor Parker. Newest member Juliet Stipeche, who won a special election in 2010, will run for her first full term; she is opposed by perennial candidate/Republican activist Dorothy Olmos. On the HCC side, where terms are six years, one seat is open, as trustee Michael Williams is stepping down. He was originally going to run for Council in At Large #2 but his campaign there never got off the ground. In any event, the race for his seat is a matchup between former Council members Carroll Robinson and Jew Don Boney. One trustee, Richard Schechter, is unopposed. Finally, trustee Chris Oliver drew an opponent at the last minute, Wendell Robbins; I had not heard of him until I saw an email saying that Robbins had earned the endorsement of the Harris County Tejano Democrats.

So that's my overview of the Houston elections. Barring anything earthshaking, we'll have the same Mayor and Controller, and five or six of the now-17 Council members will be new. We will have at least one new HISD trustee and one new HCC Trustee, with the possibility of more for each. Looking ahead to 2013, two At Large members (Noriega and Jones, if she wins) and three District members (Wanda Adams in D, Sullivan in E, and James Rodriguez in I) will be term-limited out. We'll see if we have a contested Mayor's race that year or not.

Texas Progressive Alliance Texan of the Year: Annise Parker

Burnt Orange Report — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 22:00:00 GMT

The Texas Progressive Alliance announced on Wednesday, December 30th that Houston Mayor-Elect Annise Parker is its "Texan of the Year" for 2009.

"Annise Parker's win is a testament to the power of grassroots campaigning," said Texas Progressive Alliance Chair Vince Leibowitz. "Key Houston progressive bloggers endorsed Parker and contributed to her win, with hard hitting stories contrasting her strengths with her opponent's weaknesses," he continued.

Annise Parker is the Alliance's fifth recipient of its "Texan of the Year Award." Parker joins former State Representative Carter Casteel of New Braunfels, who won the award in 2005; Carolyn Boyle of Texas Parent PAC in 2006; State Representatives Garnet Coleman, Jim Dunnam, and Pete Gallego who shared the honor in 2007; and the Harris County Democratic Party's Coordinated Campaign in 2008.

With the election of Annise Parker as mayor of Houston, the fourth largest city in the United States signaled that they pay more attention to qualifications than to sexual orientation. This news reverberated around the globe, and brought positive attention to Texas. National Democratic groups took note of a more progressive Houston than they assumed, and the talk and speculation turned to the possibilities of Texas turning blue sooner rather than later.

The Parker win was no accident. She put together a talented campaign team that ran on the strength of the grassroots, rather than City Hall insiders. Key Houston area progressive bloggers aligned themselves with Parker, and were embraced by the campaign. Blogs became an effective messaging strategy, emphasizing Parker's qualifications, and her opponent's weaknesses.

In the runoff, several third parties, including one longtime right wing operative who endorsed Parker's opponent, launched a series of homophobic attacks against her, but they failed to do her any serious damage because voters recognized her distinguished service as a member of Council and City Controller, and valued her experience and financial acumen. Voters knew who she was and what she was about because she had always been open and honest about it, and that was more important than anything some agitator could say.

For her historic victory, for making the rest of the world re-evaluate its opinion of Texas, and for running a truly modern grassroots campaign, the Texas Progressive Alliance is proud to name Houston's Mayor-Elect Annise Parker its Texan of the Year for 2009.

The Texan of the Year Award is voted on annually by the members of the Texas Progressive Alliance, the largest state-level organization of bloggers, blogs, and netroots activists in the United States.

Also earning recognition from the Alliance were Ramey Ko, Hank Gilbert, Calvin Tillman, Texas Watchdog, and State Representative Elliott Naishtat, who were each recognized as "Gold Star Texans" for 2009.

Farouk Shami Perpetrates Misinformation Regarding Houston's 2010 Budget

Todd Hill — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 13:30:00 GMT

A few weekends ago you'll recall that Democratic candidate for governor Farouk Shami appeared on WFAA's Inside Politics in the Dallas/Fort-Worth media market. Shami took a swing at his primary opponent, Houston Mayor Bill White, that most folks may have missed but that I caught and have been looking into.

Oftentimes in campaigns a great deal of misinformation gets bandied about that if not nipped in the bud immediately can eventually become what I like to call a political myth---which is to say, a lie. Look no farther than the 2009 debate on reforming our country's health care system and how Republicans went out of their way to lie about important elements of emerging legislation.

During his interview with WFAA's Brad Watson, Shami made the following remarks when asked about platform specifics such as balancing the upcoming state budget in 2011 or how he'd create jobs:

By creating more jobs here. When you create more jobs you are creating more taxpayers and that is the only solution to create money is to create jobs. The current people in this state with the current governor, a Republican, not doing anything about it. Neither is the candidate from Houston. He is on the verge of bankrupting the city. We need to get rid of those things that really delays our budget and put us in a worse recession that we are in.

Farouk Shami made the claim that Bill White has bankrupted the City of Houston and the fact is that Farouk Shami is wrong. He perpetrated misinformation similar to what the Texas Observer did, which then had to backtrack quickly once facts blew holes in their disappointing reporting.
By Municipal Law Houston, much like our state, must balance its budget each year. Houston cannot carry a budget deficit. And, even despite Rick Perry and Republican claims that they don't want any of Washington's money---yet use them to balance our state budget, federal stimulus dollars can't balance Houston's budget like they did Texas' fiscal budget. Houston Mayor-elect, and current comptroller Annise Parker noted in a letter back in November that a projected budget shortfall of $106.4 million exists; however, in reality only a $3.3 million gap remains to be closed in Houston's fiscal budget for 2010. Without going into too much budget wonk you can read the Houston Chronicle's excellent breakdown of the budget numbers here.

The facts are that due to the fiscally responsible leadership of Mayor Bill White since he took office in 2003 the City of Houston is better positioned to overcome the same revenue shortfalls that other major cities across the United States are experiencing, but unable to overcome.

Since 2003 Mayor Bill White has more than doubled Houston's reserves from $85 million when he took office to $172 million today. Part of the projected 2010 revenue shortfall will be made up by using the city's Rainy Day Fund. Frankly, this is exactly what a Rainy Day Fund is for and demonstrates sound fiscal stewardship and overall foresight on the part of White to build up that fund for situations just like this.

The $3.3 million dollar gap out of a $2 billion dollar city budget will be made up by contract renegotiations, cuts in non-essential city services, budget trimming, and cost savings initiatives such as payroll management and combined utility systems.

Moreover, Mayor Bill White is leaving Houston Mayor-elect Annise Parker a drafted 2010 budget that will continue and steer the city through its current economic recession and not compromise essential city services.

It is flat irresponsible of Farouk Shami and other credible publications to perpetrate misinformation. Now that you have the facts you can help dispel these political myths.