Friday, November 08, 2019

Houston's runoffs, part 2

Blog posting schedule: today will also include another lengthy 2020 Update, with (perhaps) the third part of Houston's runoffs tomorrow, the Funnies on Sunday, and Monday's regularly slated Wrangle.

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Space City could have five Democrats sitting in the At-Large seats around the Bagby horseshoe come January 1, 2020, or five Republicans.  Or some combination of the two, if a bunch of bipartisan weirdos split their votes.


The current conservative faction of Mike Knox, Michael Kubosh, and Jack Christie have held a 3-2 edge, reflecting what liberals hope is the evaporating trend of suburbanites voting Republican.  (Even Dennis Bonnen said so, after all.)  In AL 1, Democratic turnout pushed Cowboy Knox -- he has friends who are black; scroll down -- into a runoff with hard-working millennial Raj Salhotra, who represents in every single fashion the progress Houston needs to take entering the next decade.

The AL 2 runoff is a carbon copy of 2015, with ultra-conservative pastor Willie Davis squaring off again with incumbent CM David Robinson.  This one isn't a brainer.

AL 3 features another odious conservative, Michael Kubosh, who has done the best job of scamming African Americans out of their votes of any Republican in the city.  It's truly remarkable how much hypocrisy he's been able to get away with.  If you want to know when this long con began, start here (hint: red light camera ordinance, feeding the homeless ordinance.  Thanks, Annise!).  Janaeya Carmouche is just the woman to end this madness.

And At Large 4 offers H-Town voters a similarly stark choice between a regressive, inexperienced, unqualified Republican running against a talented, capable African American woman: Anthony Dolcefino versus Leticia PlummerPreviously blogged, there is just no sense in voting for a young man whose residence is listed as a couch in his dad's office to represent nearly five million of us.  His dad is looney toons, and that's who'll be calling the shots here.

Christie will be replaced with either the highly competent establishment Democrat, Sallie Alcorn, or the ridiculous Republican Eric Dick -- laughable not just because of his surname.

Alcorn, to quote Beto O'Rourke, seems to have been born for municipal service.  She has served the past decade with 3 CMs -- Pam Holm, Steve Costello, Greg Travis --  and Costello as 'flood czar'.  She also worked with Chris Bell when he was the Congress critter for the 25th, from 2003-05.  That's one of the largest piles of bipartisan credibility you'll find on your ballot in any year.

You might note that two of those bosses are Republicans, and the other two might as well be.  That's H-Town government for ya.  While Alcorn may be Charles Kuffner's or John Cobarruvias' idea of  the best representative of the people in public service, in my iteration as DSA/Green/Berniecrat/whatever, I endorsed Ashton Woods early on in this race for the change at City Hall I believe is needed.  But Alcorn is quite obviously knowledgeable about the inner workings of municipal government and should be a most capable member of Council.

None of the above, as everyone knows, could be said of Dick.  Vote for Ms. Alcorn in AL 5.

Republicans will be strongly motivated in turning out the vote for Crazy Pants Richie Rich Buzbee and this slate of freaks above.  Kubosh in particular sells himself as a check-and-balance against Mayor Turner's so-called worst instincts.  In the first round last week I voted for more progressive candidates, but the choices above would keep the city on the road to progress, and the wrong ones won't.  Let's flip these seats and get going on the changes we know need to be made.

Lagging behind with these, so the rest will come after the Weekly D-2020 Update.

Wednesday, November 06, 2019

Houston's runoffs, part 1

Thanks to TXElects for their comprehensive wrap of last night this morning's final results.


Four council incumbents -- Martha Castex-Tatum (Dist. K) Robert Gallegos (Dist. I), Dave Martin (Dist. E) and Greg Travis (Dist. G) -- and City Controller Chris Brown won re-election outright.

My predictions here were 4 for 5.  Brown got dented but survived the challenge from Orlando Sanchez.  Blue turnout -- 54-33 in the EV -- got him there.

Mayor Sylvester Turner (47%) will face Tony Buzbee (28%). Turner’s 2015 runoff opponent, Bill King, was a distant third with 14% followed by council member Dwight Boykins (6%). Turnout citywide was 22%.

Turner should be able to get this done.  Buzbee has already shot $10 million of his wad, and who knows how high he will go to win.  He's got a tall hill; Boykins' and Sue Lovell's and possibly some of the others' votes will transfer to Mayor Sly.  Hizzoner will have to beg, plead, and borrow with his cash network, his troops will have to beat the streets in the precincts, and the turnout will have to be there, but this year should look a lot like 2015, when he eased past King for the big chair.

I doubt if it matters whether Chris Bell endorses Buzbee.

The council seat runoffs:
  • A: Amy Peck (45%) and George Zoes (17%)
  • B: Tarsha Jackson (21%) and Cynthia Bailey (14%)
  • C: Abbie Kamin (32%) and Shelley Kennedy (15%)
  • D: Carolyn Evans-Shabazz (17%) and Brad “Scarface” Jordan (15%)
  • F: Tiffany Thomas (39%) and Van Huynh (23%)
  • H: Incumbent Karla Cisneros (38%) and Isabel Longoria (27%)
  • J: Edward Pollard (30%) and Sandra Rodriguez (30%)
  • At Large 1: Incumbent Mike Knox (36%) and Raj Salhotra (22%)
  • At Large 2: Incumbent David Robinson (38%) and Willie Davis (27%)
  • At Large 3: Incumbent Michael Kubosh (48%) and Janaeya Carmouche (22%)
  • At Large 4: Anthony Dolcefino (21%) and Leticia Plummer (16%)
  • At Large 5: Sallie Alcorn (23%) and Eric Dick (20%).
The December runoff date has not been set by the council.

That Peck, Jackson, Thomas, and Plummer have to run off with someone who should have been technically disqualified from the ballot could simply be the typical, casual indictment of poorly informed voters.  Or it could be something worse.


Let's refresh our memories.

Dolcefino lives with his parents at a home they bought in Braeswood Place. The family moved there from Katy in February.

To fulfill the requirement for the full year, Dolcefino said he switched his residence last year to his father’s Kirby Drive office building.

“We’ve consulted with election lawyers about the situation ... They didn’t seem to have a problem,” Dolcefino said.

His father, former TV investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino, acknowledged his son spent much of his early period of residency in Houston at addresses other than the Kirby Drive office he claimed. Still, he said the law allows that location, with an Ashley HomeStore couch, to pass muster.

Vote for Dr. Leticia Plummer, please.

Van Huynh is on less shaky ground.

Huynh listed his address as a house he rents just off Brays Bayou, but he and his wife have owned a home in Brays Oaks for two decades.

That home-- in District K -- is where they still claim a homestead exemption, according to property records.

Huynh said he stays in the rental he listed on his filing form two to three nights a week because it is “more convenient” for his work in District F, where he is chief of staff to incumbent Steve Le.

“Sometimes we have a late meeting and everything, I don’t have to go to the other place,” he said of his primary residence on Wrenthorpe, a 15-minute drive away.

Huynh provided a copy of his lease for the rental within the district, which likely qualifies him under the law. That lease says Huynh has his “main address” at the home outside the district.

The family is in the process of moving to a new home on Turtlewood Court, which is in the district, but they did not purchase that home until July of this year.

District F has a habit of sending Vietnamese men to City Hall regardless of party affiliation, so Tiffany Thomas must recharge her ground game to get past what might be expected to be a groundswell from the Viet-American community.

The candidacy of George Zoes appears to be a joke, and if that's a reflection on Amy Peck's tenure as Brenda Stardig's chief of staff, then District A is in serious trouble.

Zoes lists his address in the shopping center where he owns Ruby’s Wig Salon.

He owns a home nearby on Westview Drive that is less than a one-minute drive from the store, but that house is located in the small city of Spring Valley, outside Houston city limits.

Reached by phone, Zoes said he lives in the strip mall on Bingle Road.

“What are you checking on, exactly?” he said. Then he said he was getting a call on another line and agreed to call back later. He did not respond to questions when reached later.

His lawyer, Joe Synoradzki, said Zoes has been forced to live in the shopping center because his Westview home flooded in Hurricane Harvey.

Sounds like a prospective CM willing to be held accountable to his voters, doesn't he?

Cynthia Bailey is the only one of these whose ballot disqualification should have happened not because of a residency violation.

Bailey was convicted in 2007 of theft over $200,000 and sentenced to 10 years in jail, though she did not have to serve the full sentence.

Bailey declined an interview, but provided the Chronicle with a statement.

“I am eligible to run to serve the great people of District B, as I have paid my debt to society, my voting rights have been restored and I meet all necessary criteria to run and serve,” the statement said.

Tarsha Jackson and her TOP crew should be able to win this runoff.

I'll blog the other races above tomorrow.

On to December

Houston mayor: Sylvester Turner and Tony Buzbee.



Wearing his Marine jacket, rolling up his right sleeve so that his shark tattoo was visible, and appearing more than slightly intoxicated at his election night party, Buzbee would be a complete embarrassment if he were elected mayor of the nation's fourth-largest city.  He would be no more accountable to the electorate than Trump.

Continuing with additional Houston results:


I'll have some early predictions for the runoffs here later.

HD-148 (replacing Farrar):  With three precincts still out at 6:30 a.m., Anna Eastman (D, 20.3%) and Luis La Rotta (R, 15.8%).

Early prediction: Eastman will hold this seat for the Blues.

HD-28 (replacing Zerwas): Eliz Markowitz (D, 39%) and Gary Gates (R, 28%).

Early prediction: Since Markowitz was the only Democrat here, her share of the vote bodes ill for her flipping the seat.  Gates will be a lousy replacement for the principled John Zerwas.

HD-100: Unless a recount alters the outcome, the Democrats will select one of Lorraine Birabil and James Armstrong III or Daniel Clayton.


And all statewide propositions passed except for Prop 1.