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2015 Houston Mayor's race


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Looks like a bunch of folks will be jumping into the dragged out fight of succeeding term-limited Mayor Annise Parker (D), who is prevented from seeking a 4th term after 6 years in office.

What do y'all think about Paul Hobby (D) running for Mayor in 2015 ? I know he came very close to being elected Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts in 1998, but it would be nice to see him win something for a change.

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Last I heard, he was on Noriega's US Senate campaign staff back in 2008 and was asked to run for the governorship in 2010, but declined.

IF Hobby decided to run for Mayor, he'll likely run as a moderate Democrat.

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  • 1 month later...

although i cannot vote for houston mayor and have been fiscally conservative most of my life, the houston mayors with business/money management experience have done well for our town.  

i did not want bob lanier (democrat) but he had great business acumen and put the city back on track. i was disappointed he was term limited.  in retrospect, he was a good choice. (funny story: i was dissing lanier in the girls bathroom one night at the after hours club therapy only to find out a girl in the bathroom was related to him; awkward!)

lee brown was from a law enforcement background, a born politician, used to getting his own way.  houston wanted its first black mayor and a safe city; unfortunately, brown was not good leader nor did he manage his associations well (he may have engaged in unethical decisions while in office).

 

bill white, a real estate developer and moderate democrat, maintained the city's finances well and was one who developed consensus with city council on decisions. 

 

mayor parker was the city comptroller with a proven track record of fiscal responsibility.  she also admires the people of houston and loves the city.  she is by far my favorite mayor of houston since i started following houston mayors when bob lanier was elected. 

 

the next mayor should have business experience, a proven track record of fiscal responsibility, and want to be the mayor of all of houston and all houstonians; not someone creating their own fiefdom (brown) or using the mayor's office as a stepping stone (brown) for more clout and influence.  the city of houston deserves good mayors like parker; please do not vote for less.

when considering your candidates: business acumen, successful comptroller experience, fiscal responsibility, positive outlook, houston-centric, concerned about urban planning/intangible benefits.  do not choose a candidate based on skin color, minority status, single issues.  as i stated earlier, had i the opportunity to vote for any of the last four mayors in houston i probably would not have voted for a democrat, except for parker.  however, in retrospect, i was pleased with lanier and white.  i would have not voted for them based on their party affiliation and single issues where i disagreed with them; i see now how this mindset is wrong and does not benefit houston.

as a devoted HAIFer and houston-centric to the core, i've discovered that the best mayor for houston isn't always the one we feel the most love for initially, during the campaign.  we have to look at the city's needs for long term growth, development, city planning, fiscal responsibility, and place the best candidate in office who is suited to manage those items rather than considering political views or social groups.

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Bachanon, Brown was too old to seek higher office, considering he was 66 when he left office in 2004. His approval ratings were downright incompetent and terrible during his final 2 terms in office.

The big question is whether Turner has the stain of the 1991 Ch. 13 investigative story of his personal life hanging over his head ?

Does anyone have the full video of the 1991 Ch. 13 report on Turner's infamous scandal ? I'd like to see it on YouTube.

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  • 2 months later...

Houston Chronicle reported that Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia (D) is mentioned as a possible candidate for Mayor.

 

If he starts to run, he has to resign as Sheriff, which means the County Commissioners will appoint a Republican replacement. That's widely seen as a bad thing. Although, I ahve no clue as to why that should be a partisan race, given that the duties of the office don't really change with the party of the holder. Is there a Republican or Democrat way to run a jail? Is there a Republican or Democrat way to patrol unincorporated areas of the County?

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If he starts to run, he has to resign as Sheriff, which means the County Commissioners will appoint a Republican replacement. That's widely seen as a bad thing. Although, I ahve no clue as to why that should be a partisan race, given that the duties of the office don't really change with the party of the holder. Is there a Republican or Democrat way to run a jail? Is there a Republican or Democrat way to patrol unincorporated areas of the County?

 

If you follow the political pundits then the Republican way to run a jail is to out-source it and the Democrat way is to turn it over to the inmates.  The Republican way to patrol is with humvee's and 50 cal's and the Democrat way is to hug the criminals instead of arresting them.  :P

 

Making that appointment (or any), or voting, on the basis of party affiliation rather than competency is a big part of the problems we perennially have with government officials.

 

 

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Other possible contenders for Houston Mayor include City Councilmembers Jack Christie ® and Mike Kubosh (messed up his name: forgive me) including former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell (D-TX).

One big question is whether Houstonians have forgotten about Turner's scandals from the 1991 Mayoral campaign ?

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One big question is whether Houstonians have forgotten about Turner's scandals from the 1991 Mayoral campaign ?

 

I imagine most people have forgotten.  OTOH, I'm quite sure that we will be reminded of them if he runs.

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It will be interesting to see how much traction, if any, the special friend gets, 14 light years later.  I know we still have us the haterz, but they just don't seem to be quite as influential any more - at least within the City of Houston (cf - HERO).

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No word if City Councilman C.O. Bradford of At-Large 4 would jump in the competition.

 Councilman Bradford spoke at an Avondale gathering last night and sounded very much like a candidate----although I don't remember anyone asking if he was running

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Molkusk, the special friend was soooo out there on live TV during the 13 Eyewitness News evening newscast back in the fall of 1991.

I wish someone can upload the entire video of Ch. 13's news report on the story that year.

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I think references to Sylvester Turner's "special friend" might come back into the spotlight if Turner becomes the big favorite for the race. I could see old antigay activist Dr. Stephen Hotze throwing his support to Turner's opponent and trying to use that 20+  year old news story against Turner. He'd probably send out some mailers with Turner's picture, somehow make reference to the HERO ordinance and mention how Turner supports "teh geys" ordinance to let godless crossdressers into bathrooms so they can steal Houston's Christian children.

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Hotze and Woodfill and their ilk are gonna do what they're gonna do.  But their constituency - which does exist - is shrinking, particularly within the city limits.  I mean crikey, our female mayor went out to California and got all gay married, an event which was pretty much met with a collective yawn.  

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I think references to Sylvester Turner's "special friend" might come back into the spotlight if Turner becomes the big favorite for the race. I could see old antigay activist Dr. Stephen Hotze throwing his support to Turner's opponent and trying to use that 20+  year old news story against Turner. He'd probably send out some mailers with Turner's picture, somehow make reference to the HERO ordinance and mention how Turner supports "teh geys" ordinance to let godless crossdressers into bathrooms so they can steal Houston's Christian children.

 

Good article on Hotze and the state medical board http://www.houstonpress.com/2014-03-27/news/steven-hotze-texas-medical-board/ with an amusing drawing of him. I really hope his influence on area politics is waning.

 

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Will Pennington have any major impact on the campaign?

Big question is who would likely Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (Rep) prefer in the 2015 Houston Mayor's contest ?

I'm going to laugh if a Tea Party Republican wins the mayoral election: which will drive people crazy.

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Will Pennington have any major impact on the campaign?

Big question is who would likely Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick (Rep) prefer in the 2015 Houston Mayor's contest ?

I'm going to laugh if a Tea Party Republican wins the mayoral election: which will drive people crazy.

The person I spoke to remembered that Penningtons wife was also present and was extremely intelligent, knowledgeable and articulate.

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If the jenga stack fell just right, an R from the sane, business side of the party might be able to get some traction.  A T, though... no way.  And when it comes to politics, I rarely say "no way."  Cruz barely won Harris County as a whole in 2012, and that includes the far more conservative burbs that aren't in the city of Houston.  This year, the T side is definitely getting mixed results.

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Mollusk, we also got to get prepared for possible wild cards, who'll come out of nowhere and run as well.

So far, the list of likely and possible contenders for Houston Mayor in 2015 include:

1.) Turner-publicly declared his intentions on running

2.) Pennington

3.) Adrian Garcia-having to give up the Harris County Sheriff gig will leave him without something to fall back on, which means he won't run for Mayor.

4.) Bradford-he'll need to run for something else since he's termed out of the City Council

5.) Kubosh

6.) Bell-can he break the curse of losing ?

7.) Jack Christie

8.) Emmett-would he want to give up his safe job as Harris County Judge for a citywide job that limits you to 3 2-year terms and out ?

9.) Hobby

10.) Costello

Other wild cards:

1.) Green-the man has won 6 consecutive citywide elections, but has had a controversial tenure as City Controller.

2.) Ellis-possibility of losing his committee chairmanship by Lieutenant Governor Patrick in the Texas State Senate during the 2015 legislative session.

3.) Alvarado-bored of being in the minority of the GOP-controlled Texas House of Representatives might leave her with no other options.

4.) Sanchez-the Harris County Treasurer might get the itch to run again: his 2nd attempt at the Mayor's office in 2003 blew up in his face.

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