Houston Blogs: Houston Political Blog

1st on the Blog: Gordon Quan to announce for County Judge

Former Mayor Pro Tem Gordon Quan has decided to run for Harris County Judge on the Democratic ticket. We first reported here a few weeks ago that the immigration attorney was mulling over the concept. We have since learned that Quan has hired veteran political consultant Mike Malaise, and is set for an announcement ASAP.

His official news conference will be sometime next week.

Quan was elected at large, and does have firm Democratic roots. However, he irked some local Democrats in the most recent election by recording a robocall for Controller candidate M.J. Khan. Khan is a Republican, so Quan endorsement of him didn’t sit too well with some Dems. Then again, Democratic candidate Chris Bell also recorded a robocall for a Republican candidate in the City’s non-partisan race, so perhaps all will be forgotten.

It’s no secret that Quan has wanted to run for something for a long, long time. He toyed with the idea of running for Congress. However, his family doesn’t want him to move to Washington, D.C. He also thought about running for Mayor this time around. The timing just didn’t work, as he was merging his very successful immigration practice with that of Charles Foster. Finally, with his practice churning along, and his wife convinced, Quan is ready for a run.

Will he make an impact? Depends on who else gets in the race. Current Judge Ed Emmett bucked the Democratic trend during the last election cycle, and kept the seat he was appointed to. However, with Bill White at the top of the ticket, Quan is hoping to turn things around. Let’s see how the election shakes out.

Why Annise Parker won... and why Locke shouldn't be surprised.

In case you missed it, Houston made history Saturday night.  Not a big deal by our city’s standards, but a big deal around the country.

We became the first major U.S. city to elect an openly gay Mayor.  I know some people are just relieved that Houston is considered a top tier U.S. city.  But still, the election of Annise Parker just catapulted her to the national political stage.

This of course, wasn’t how the story was supposed to end, if you are a Gene Locke supporter.  The former City Attorney had everything going for him.  A year ago, many political insiders said it was his campaign to lose.  After all, he had the backing of former Mayor Bob Lanier, a cadre of influential attorneys, and dealmakers ready to make sure he got elected.  Locke promptly gathered the endorsements of various business and political organizations.  The local business community, realtors, developers, the police and fire unions, all fell into line.

It was all going so well.

Sure there was the wealthy Peter Brown, the conservative Roy Morales, and the veteran Controller Annise Parker.  But, the city’s elite figured, we’ll get our man elected.

The Parker campaign though, had a different plan.  They would not get the big bucks donors, they couldn’t self finance, and even their campaign headquarters was sort of a disaster:  It was a creaky old house just north of I-10.  But they had volunteers, they were disciplined, and their opponents would make some major mistakes.

The Locke campaign began their marathon toward the November election with pricey consultants, and lots of paid staff.  But from the beginning, you could feel something was not quite right.  For veteran reporters like me, the campaign just didn’t look like it gelled, even from the outside.  By summer, a big staff shake up brought in well regarded campaign professionals Christian Archer and Kim Devlin, but the momentum felt sluggish.

In the meantime, the Parker campaign was tight and disciplined.  Campaign manager Adam Harris kept his troops in line, focusing on Parker’s experience, and ignoring all the social significance of her campaign.  In the meantime, they quietly tuned up her look by updating her wardrobe, toting along a makeup person, and softening her hair. 

By the time November rolled around, Parker’s campaign was outraised and outspent, but she still came out with the most votes.  Gene Locke squeezed into second place, but the momentum was on Parker’s side.  The six weeks that followed were intense, negative, and pretty expensive.  However, despite hard hitting attacks by the Police Union calling her “soft on crime,” Parker just kept on going.  Then, as Locke aligned himself with the people who attacked Parker on her sexual orientation, you could literally feel the city give a big shrug. The collective electorate seemed to be saying, “Who cares? Who’s going to be our best Mayor?”

Two days before the election, Locke’s major backers, including several elected officials, the Police & Fire unions, and a group of local business people held a last minute rally.  By then, the atmosphere felt desperate.  Everyone except the diehard supporters knew in their guts that Locke was losing.

Then, it was election night.  Sure, it was tight in the beginning, but Parker would soon pull ahead and stay that way.  By then, the national newspapers, websites, and television networks were all clamoring with the headline that “Houston elected its first Gay Mayor.”  But in Houston, people knew better. 

They didn’t choose Parker because they wanted to make a statement.  They chose her because they thought she would be a better Mayor.  And, she ran a much better campaign.  Time will tell if she can run the city in the same disciplined manner.

Annise Parker vs. Gene Locke: Houston results & live blog!

10:10 pm Gene Locke Concedes

9:45pm With 68% reporting

Parker 71,326   53%

Locke  64,266 (- 7060 votes)  47%

9:26pm.

Parker, Annise D.     62,684   52%
Locke, Gene      57,939   48%

Parker Party getting loud

9:00 pm All of Fort Bend County numbers in, early and today

36% reporting

Parker  53,174   51%
Locke  50,162    49%
 

14% reporting
Parker 40,890 51%
Locke 38,994 49%

7:40 pm  People filtering into Parker's party. Quiet. Waiting for numbers

7:22 Other early races:

Jolanda Jones and Sue Lovell are both leading their run-off races.  Brenda Stardig ahead in A, Karen Derr barely ahead in At Large 1, and Ronald Green is ahead in the Controller's race.

7:11p.m. Add in Ft. Bend County, it's a statistical tie:
Parker 34,039
Locke 33,516

7:02 p.m. Early Vote numbers:

Parker  33,945  51%
Locke 32,623  49%

---

Will it be Annise Parker or Gene Locke as Houston's next Mayor? We are getting set to live blog soon.. stay tuned!

Our Political Analyst, Dr. Richard Murray, says turnout across the city is very low.

The latest on the Controller's race, Khan vs. Green

City crews remove more than 1,000 Locke campaign signs

If you’ve driven on Houston’s highways at all recently, you probably have seen those orange Gene Locke for Mayor signs.  Most are on highway esplanades, over bridges and in some fairly precarious locations, including merging ramps.  Putting campaign signs in public right of ways is illegal.  However, over the years, many campaigns have done so.  You’ve seen them near side walks, around street corners, and near voting locations.

So, since all candidates tend to violate the law with their campaign signs, why are the Gene Locke signs such a big deal?  Simply put, because there have been so many of them, and often in very dangerous locations.  According to Andy Icken, the Deputy Director of Public Works, his employees have been picking up more Locke signs than any other candidates, by far.

“As of last Saturday, we picked up approximately 1,000 Gene Locke signs,” Icken told me over the phone.  “We picked up somewhere around the neighborhood of 10 Annise Parker signs.”

Icken also said he’s received several emails complaining of the signs.  In addition, he’s had to send out crews two to a truck to pick up signs in some of the more precarious locations.  He said he needs one guy to pick up the signs, and another to watch out for highway traffic.

Icken does point out that he believes the sign problem is easing.  “We’ve talked to the Gene Locke   campaign,” said Icken.  “Since we talked to them, we’re seeing fewer signs.”

Locke campaign spokesperson Kim Devlin says she's not aware of the city speaking with the campaign. Devlin says they have immediately removed any signs that are put up inappropriately as soon as they become aware of them. "We have taken several measures to inform our supporters to not put signs up illegally, including a note on our website," said Devlin.

The City of Houston can fine candidates, but they have not done so.  In reality, Icken points out that all candidates break the rules when it comes to campaign signs.  His department hasn’t written any tickets.  They would just prefer that candidates stick with the rules, and not put signs in potentially dangerous locations.

The "Non-Endorsement" endorsement by Roy Morales

There’s been much discussions about the various mailers that’s been hitting mail boxes.  I just got four at my place yesterday. 

One that’s jumped out this past week is the Roy Morales mailer.  A casual glance of the mailer may indicate that Morales is endorsing Parker, but he does not endorse her at all in the mailer.  Instead, it’s more of a joint campaign mail piece.  In fact, Morales told us he just wanted to let his supporters know how the remaining candidates for Mayor felt about the issues important to him.

So he called Annise Parker and Gene Locke, and asked them both to take part in a mailer answering questions about five conservative issues.  In fact, I blogged earlier that Morales even met with Locke’s campaign manager in Allen Blakemore’s office.  Morales asked for both campaigns to split the costs of the mailer, which was about $64,000, and answer questions about conservative issues.  Parker agreed and paid the money, but Locke said he did not want to take part.
"Mr. Locke, like I said had the opportunity,” said Morales.  “Same terms, but he refused, because he couldn't answer the questions."
The flyer came out, with Parker's picture and a list of responses, but without Locke's.  Now, some people in Locke’s campaign are saying Parker taking part in the mailer is just paying for an endorsement.
“I'm not going to buy the support of anybody,” said Locke. “I will not promise anything and I will not pay any money to get an endorsement.  I'm certainly disappointed that others have chosen to do that."

Adam Harris, Parker’s campaign manager, brushed off Locke’s response.  “We paid for the mailer to a direct mail vendor. Went directly to the mail house, which then went on and sent the mail out. That's exactly what you are supposed to do in a campaign."

Considering all the other mailers that are out there, this one is pretty straight forward. There is no talk of social issues, sexual orientation, or anything of that nature.  The only topics are things like tax cuts and other standard “conservative” issues.  Both sides can spin this how they want, but the bottom line is this:  Morales got 20% of the vote the first go around.  He has some legitimate support.  Taking part in a standard, legal, campaign mailer with him is not a bad idea in a tight election.  Every vote counts.  Sure the mailer is expensive, but if it shaves off a few points toward Parker, her campaign will say it’s worth it.

The Houston Fire Department needs to take a hard look at itself. That's what the fire chief said Tuesday after the release of an independent report that looked into racism and sexism within the department.

Five months after racist and sexist graffiti were scrawled on the lockers of two female Houston firefighters, a study commissioned by the city says more or less that was an isolated incident.

"We did not see the same type of issues that originally caused us to be engaged, the types of gender discrimination, race discrimination, incidents that got the attention in the summer," said study consultant Merri Schneider-Vogel.

But the 55-page report does point out some areas where the fire department needs work, including:

• Recruit and mentor diverse candidates
• Improve training at all levels in the department
• More human resources support
• Demonstrate leadership improvement

They're ideas that the fire chief welcomes.

"I think the study is meant to be comprehensive and assist the Houston Fire Department in taking a good hard look at itself, a good hard look at its and policies and procedures," said Houston Fire Department Chief Phil Boriskie.

But the study does not satisfy everyone. The lawyer representing several women, including the two whose lockers were vandalized, says it's hard to trust a study where most of the interviews were conducted inside fire houses.

"Certainly, you have to be aware there is potential retaliation and take all steps you can to prevent it so people can speak freely," said attorney Joe Ahmad.

Ahmed also points out that there is still no new developments from the Office of Inspector General in the ongoing investigation into who actually scrawled the graffiti on the women's lockers, a frustration that is shared by the fire chief.

"It's been hurtful for the entire department and nobody wants resolution more than Houston firefighters," he said.

As for the allegations of racist graffiti, the Office of Inspector General is still investigating that. Chief Boriskie says he wants to implement some of what's in the study, but doesn't have a firm timeline yet.

Bill White Announces for Governor: The Video

Here's the full video, if you haven't seen it.

For Bill White's staffers, a sigh of relief

There was a collective sigh of relief among Bill White staffers and supporters last week.  You could almost hear it echo from City Hall to the campaign headquarters at the Galleria.

 

“Finally,” they murmured to themselves, “he’s come to his senses!”

 

What we’re talking about, of course, is Mayor White’s impending announcement to switch from the Senate campaign to run for the Governor of Texas.  Who knows if he’ll make a decent run or not, it’s too early for that.  What we do know is that just about everyone who works with him and talks to him have been trying to get him to run for Governor for years.

 

The buzz, albeit local, first began to build way back in 2006.  Mayor White had just come off a widely lauded, bipartisan handling of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.  He was enjoying some national publicity.  Kinky Friedman was running as an Independent, and so was Carole Strayhorn.  The thinking behind the scenes went something like this:  Perry’s not that popular, you got two independents to siphon off votes, so a strong Democrat can make a run for it.

 

Mayor White, though, wouldn’t budge.  He told me then that he wanted to “finish the job” as Mayor.  Some of his political staffers were not too pleased.  As it turns out, a much underfunded Chris Bell got 30 percent of the vote, and Governor Perry got just 39 percent.  There are lots of people who wondered if a well funded Bill White could have nudged the numbers just enough that he would have already be in the Governor’s Mansion.

 

Two years later, as Mayor White embarked on his third and final term, the big question was:  What’s next?  After much handwringing, Mayor Bill White announced that he would run for Senate in an underwhelming online video.  And off he went. For much of 2009, White would spend his weekends in towns of the Rio Grande Valley, at county fairs in East Texas, or even a few pancake breakfasts far out West.  But no matter how far away from Houston he strayed, the question of running for Governor always followed him.

 

White, who likes to say he’s a man of his word, never changed his tune.  “I’m running for Senate,” he would say.  Privately, many of his supporters and advisors were still murmuring Governor; they just wanted White to listen.

 

Finally, last week, he did.  With non-resignation of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, the prospect of a special election seemed uncertain.  Then, after a weekend meeting, then Democratic candidate for Governor Tom Schieffer withdrew.  Attention turned to White.  On cue, he announced he was actually going to “think about it.”

 

And with that, the people who have worked behind the scenes for White rejoiced.  They haven’t won a single vote, and the official announcement isn’t until Friday.  However, win or lose the people who have helped White achieve his status as a popular Mayor felt great.  That’s because after three years of talking, cajoling, arguing, and convincing, they felt Bill White would finally be in the right race.  Or at least, he finally listened to them.  Time will tell if they were right.

The KTRK Debate, and what happened.

Yesterday, Annise Parker and Gene Locke faced off in the first prime time Mayoral Runoff Debate.  Boy, by debate standards, it was a lively one!  Both Mayoral candidates came out swinging.  Gene Locke stuck by his line of attacks accusing Parker of being "soft on crime."  Parker, meanwhile, continued to accuse Locke of not being a good financial manager of the City's money.

As one of the local bloggers described it, it was a "wear your body armor, hunker down" kind of debate."  He was right.  Here are some highlights.

Behind the scenes, candidates Annise Parker and Gene Locke both seemed relaxed, and in good spirits.. But as soon the cameras turn on, the debate flared.

 

One of the first points of contention was whether Houston Police Chief Harold Hurtt will keep his job.

 

“Every department will be reviewed, nobody has a lifetime contract,” said Locke, who refused to comment specifically on Hurtt’s future.

 

“I'm not shy in saying the Police Chief didn't do a good job,” said Parker.  ”Do you feel safer?”

 

Several initial questions focused on public safety, with Locke touting his endorsement by the Houston Police Officers Union, and Parker pointing out that several smaller law enforcement groups are supporting her.

 

 

 

But, things got really intense when the candidates were allowed to ask each other questions.  Parker accused Locke of being a City Hall lobbyist.

 

 “I've never been a lobbyist, I'm a lawyer,” said Locke.

 

“I think by definition someone who represents outside interests to a city, is a lobbyist,” retorted Parker.  Soon after the debate was over, Parker’s campaign sent over various links and paperwork detailing  Locke’s registration as a lobbyist in 1999.

 

Locke then accused Parker of raising taxes on Houstonians, which prompted another heated exchange.

 

“I actually never voted on a tax increase,” said Parker.

 

“There are no question that you have a record that questions the claim that you're a fiscal conservative, and you have been quiet on the growing deficit,” said Locke. 

 

“Is this an attack on the White administration?” asked Parker. 

 

“This is an attack on you, you're running for mayor,” said Locke.

 

The pointed attacks were a marked departure from the more cordial debates in the prior general election, where things were more cordial.  Our Political Consultant Dr. Richard Murray says it was a tough call on who actually won.