TLCQ 2015: Joseph McElligott

In the Twelfth installment of the 2015 Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire we hear from Joseph McElligott candidate for Houston City Council, At-Large Position 3.

Please note: Responses are directly from the candidate, and have been posted ver batim from the email received. This is done out of fairness to all candidates. Publishing these responses does not constitute an endorsement, but may be considered during the endorsement process.

 

TL:  What is your name, as it will appear on the ballot?

JM:  Joseph McElligott

 

TL:  As a political candidate, you clearly care about what happens in certain levels of government. In your own words, why is government important?

JM:  Government is important, but more important is transparency and cost effective ideas.  Many politicians like to use catchy phrases like “revenue cap” or “taxpayer bill of rights”. Houston refers to it as the revenue cap while other cities and states call it TABOR. (taxpayer bill of rights. As is to be expected with most politicians, the current formula used for the city of houston budget is neither a cap nor a bill of rights. Instead it is a corporate hand out and places the city budget on the backs of the veterans, poor and middle class.

The easiest way to solve the city of houston financial issue is to repeal the revenue cap. It would only cost taxpayers $12.27 per year, per home. Colorado is having serious problems in regards to infrastructure, education and revenue in regards to TABOR (taxpayer bill of rights).

 

TL:  If elected, what is your top priority in office for the upcoming term? Describe how you plan to accomplish it.

JM:  Educate voters about the stupidity of TABOR and put it on the 2017 ballot to be repealed.

 

TL:  After decades of deferred maintenance and neglect, Houston’s infrastructure is in a critical state of disrepair. Ask any driver, cyclist or pedestrian, and they can readily tell you that city streets and sidewalks are crumbling… some to the extent that they pose significant danger to those that would traverse them. The Parker Administration has attempted to address the problem by the voter-approved ReBuild Houstonprogram. Knowing that the next Mayor has no choice but to invest in city infrastructure, do you support the continuation of ReBuild Houston?  If yes, please explain why.  If no, please explain how you would address our copious infrastructure needs differently.  

JM:  I support repealing TABOR.  The elephant in the room is TABOR and getting it repealed, the state of Texas already has a TABOR. It’s either present years value or last years value plus 10%, this is more than reasonable.  The reason we just now hit the TABOR ceiling is because it was enacted in 2004, the recession started in 2007/2008 and we “came out” of the recession in 2013/2014.

 

TL:  At present the city of Houston has one of the strongest forms of “strong-Mayor governance” in the state of Texas, to the point that the Mayor alone decides what business comes before City Council. If elected, would you support an amendment to the City Charter that would allow any coalition of 6 Council Members to place items on the Council Agenda without prior approval from the Mayor? Whether yes or no, please explain your answer.

JM:  I believe this needs to be further explored.  There are 16 council members total.  I believe a simple majority could also be explored and could be viewed as more democratic.

 

TL:  If elected, would you support and seek to continue the current administration’s Complete Streets policy, which establishes that any new or significant re-build of city streets will work to prioritize and incorporate safe access for all road users, including pedestrians, persons with disabilities and cyclists?  

JM:  Yes, but again we can’t do this without repealing TABOR.

 

TL:  What makes you the best candidate for this office?

JM:  I’m the only candidate in at-large 3 with a public policy platform that discusses each issue in depth and offers 2-3 solutions for each one.

 

TL:  When not on the campaign trail, how do you like to spend your free time?

JM:  Spending time with family

 

Thanks to Mr. McElligott for the responses.

Election Day 2015 is Tuesday November 3rd, and Early Voting runs from October 19th through October 30th.  Check out this year’s Harris County Early Voting information for locations and times.

jm

 

 

 

Texoblogosphere: Week of September 28th

The Texas Progressive Alliance hopes that everyone made it through the blood moon apocalypse all right as it brings you this week’s roundup. (Assuming we’re all still here to read it.)

Off the Kuff comments on the first poll of Texas we’ve seen in awhile.

Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos and contributing to Daily Kos notes that George P. Bush is a predictable clone of his father and uncle. It’s all about him and his cronies. Texans should be wary. George P. Bush: A Chip Off of the Old Block.

SocraticGadfly has a two-fer on Texas-related big business smackdowns. First, he compares VW to Blue Bell, without being sure who loses more in that. Second, after yet ANOTHER recent flight delay, he bitches about Southwest becoming more and more just another legacy airline.

With seven million bucks to spend and a Houston mayoral race that’s putting people’s feet to sleep, the Houston Chronic excitedly reports that the campaign air wars are about to begin. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs points out that this is just one of the signs of a dysfunctional political system.

Neil at All People Have Value took a picture in Downtown Houston that suggested the important place of just plain luck in our lives. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

It may not generate much press during this election cycle, but Texas Leftist has been seeing the signs of a growing challenge for the Houston region. We are now in an affordable housing crisis that is likely to worsen in the coming years.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

Eric Berger shows us what Sunday’s lunar eclipse would have looked like if we saw it from the moon.

Offcite reports from Parking Day in Houston.

Greg Wythe wonders when the campaign for Houston Mayor will begin.

Glenn Smith notes that the late Yogi Berra was a beneficiary of birthright citizenship, which many Republicans like Ted Cruz would like to rescind.

Mean Green Cougar Red recalls Hurricane Rita.

 

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Today’s feature photo is an original gas lamp on the historic Strand, Galveston, Texas.  

 

TLCQ 2015: John LaRue

In the Eleventh installment of the 2015 Texas Leftist Candidate Questionnaire we hear from John LaRue candidate for Houston City Council, At-Large Position 3.

Please note: Responses are directly from the candidate, and have been posted ver batim from the email received. This is done out of fairness to all candidates. Publishing these responses does not constitute an endorsement, but may be considered during the endorsement process.

 

TL:  What is your name, as it will appear on the ballot?

 JL:  John Christian Bullitt LaRue

 

TL:   Are you a current or former elected official? If so what office(s)?

JL:  No.

 

TL:  As a political candidate, you clearly care about what happens in certain levels of government. In your own words, why is government important?

JL:  I am a firm believer in the good that government, at all levels, can do for people from varying walks of life. I also believe that elected officials, as public servants, should seek to represent all of their constituents, not just those who vote for them. Local government is the level that is most responsive and accessible to constituents. Whether it is potholes and speed bumps or pensions and property taxes, Houston’s city officials have an opportunity to hear from the public twice a week about what is most important to them.

 

TL:  If elected, what is your top priority in office for the upcoming term? Describe how you plan to accomplish it.

JL:  My top priority would be helping to find a long-term solution to our infrastructure woes. Our city is littered with potholes, our sidewalks are either in disrepair or nonexistent, and there need to more options for mass transit, most especially light rail. If our city is going to continue to grow in population, we must address the fact that we cannot sustain the current amount of growth in vehicles on our roads.

 

TL:  After decades of deferred maintenance and neglect, Houston’s infrastructure is in a critical state of disrepair. Ask any driver, cyclist or pedestrian, and they can readily tell you that city streets and sidewalks are crumbling… some to the extent that they pose significant danger to those that would traverse them. The Parker Administration has attempted to address the problem by the voter-approved ReBuild Houston program. Knowing that the next Mayor has no choice but to invest in city infrastructure, do you support the continuation of ReBuild Houston?  If yes, please explain why.  If no, please explain how you would address our copious infrastructure needs differently.  

JL:  I support the continuation of ReBuild. However, right now the future of it is uncertain. We need to continue to increase funding for infrastructure and transportation improvements. We cannot expect to be considered a world-class city that hopes to bring in events like large conventions, the Super Bowl, the Final Four, and others and have the infrastructure issues we have right now. We may get the initial event—but once people arrive and see the mess, it would seem unlikely they would want to return. Our city has gotten by on the strength of the energy industry, the kindness of our citizens, and our low cost of living—but it’s time to step up and make the improvements needed to bring Houston to the next level.

 

TL:  At present the city of Houston has one of the strongest forms of “strong-Mayor governance” in the state of Texas, to the point that the Mayor alone decides what business comes before City Council. If elected, would you support an amendment to the City Charter that would allow any coalition of 6 Council Members to place items on the Council Agenda without prior approval from the Mayor? Whether yes or no, please explain your answer.

JL:  I would support such a provision. While I support a strong-Mayor city government, I don’t believe that should come at the expense of members of Council. If you can find six council members who actually agree that something needs to be brought up, I believe that demonstrates that it has significant support on council, even if it’s not a majority. In fact, the At-Large system we have is a holdover from an attempt to keep traditionally underserved populations from having the ability to pass their legislative agenda. Providing for six council members to place an item on the agenda is good for our city and good for democratic republican government.

 

TL:  If elected, would you support and seek to continue the current administration’s Complete Streetspolicy, which establishes that any new or significant re-build of city streets will work to prioritize and incorporate safe access for all road users, including pedestrians, persons with disabilities and cyclists?  

JL:  Absolutely. Our city needs to be much more walkable, friendly to cyclists, and accessible for those with disabilities. The more options we have for transportation, and therefore less drivers on our congested roads, the better.

 

TL:  What makes you the best candidate for this office?

JL:  I believe, first and foremost, that the fact that I will go into the City Council Chamber not being part of the entrenched political system will help me to address the issues I plan to focus on. At the same time, I have the policy knowledge and knowhow that is required of an at-large city council member charged with representing the entire city. I am open to meeting with all groups—left, right, and center—to address the issues our city faces.

 

TL:  When not on the campaign trail, how do you like to spend your free time?

JL:  I have a variety of interests including walking with my husband and our dog around our neighborhood, eating at some of Houston’s great local restaurants (where we also often take our dog), and I have a healthy love of Netflix. I am also a board member of Integrity/Houston, a group of LGBT Episcopalians and their allies, and my local parish, Trinity Church in midtown Houston.

 

Thanks to Mr. LaRue for the responses.

Election Day 2015 is Tuesday November 3rd, and Early Voting runs from October 19th through October 30th.  Check out this year’s Harris County Early Voting information for locations and times.

John LaRue

Houston: Get Ready For More B-Cycle

Just 5 years ago, the thought of a city like car-centric Houston having a bike sharing program was still something of a fantasy.  Even those working to start such an endeavor were unsure whether or not it would catch on.

But since it’s commencement in 2012, Houston B-Cycle has grown at a consistently higher rate than anyone could have expected.  And would you believe that some of the highest months of ridership are in the midst of the area’s most oppressive heat?

With these facts in mind, the program has announced plans for a big expansion.

Here’s the info, via City press release…

Houston’s Bike Share Program is growing!

Today, the Houston-Galveston Area Council Transportation Policy Council (H-GAC TPC) approved $3.484 million of Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) dollars to expand bike sharing in Houston. The funding will enable the bike share program to increase three fold over the next 18 to 24 months, expanding from 29 stations to 100 stations and nearly 800 bikes when the phases are completed. The program will stretch from south of the Texas Medical Center to the north up into the Heights and from the west to Memorial Park to the Greater East End.

“Following on the heels of our METRORail expansion and METRO’s New Bus Network launch, this is a great day for transportation in Houston. Bike Share is an extremely successful and sustainable transportation initiative, and with the support of our regional and federal partners, we are able to expand the system into a large and thriving bike network, providing a real commuter and recreational transportation option for workers, residents and visitors while also improving health and quality of life,” said Mayor Annise Parker.

The expansion will be divided into three phases, with community input. The first phase will populate the Texas Medical Center, Rice University and Rice Village. Phase II will focus on creating greater station density; primarily in the Museum District, Midtown, Montrose and Downtown. Phase III will broaden the footprint into the East Side, SE around Texas Southern University and University of Houston Main campus, up into the Heights and west of Downtown.

The expansion will also create the largest bike share program in Texas and the Southwest.

Students at the University of Houston and Texas Southern University have been eyeing the B-Cycle program for a while.  For those that live on campus without a car, it will make for much-improved trips to places like the closest grocery stores and pharmacies to those campuses.  The only question so far would seem to be around the station densification plans for places like Montrose and Downtown.  As a casual observer, it seems that after Phase I, the most logical route would actually be to implement Phase III before working to fill in the already established areas.  But that assumption is made without looking at the proper data of which stations are most heavily-used.

In any event, this is great news for Houston’s growing bike culture, and overall transportation needs.  Let’s hope they can continue the expansion effort and bring all the benefits of bike sharing to places outside the loop as well.  The Energy Corridor, with rapid trail expansion and it’s new Portsmouth Street Woonerfis ready to go.

Have you tried B-Cycle?  What are your thoughts on the expansion plans?  Leave them below in the comments.

B-Cycle

 

Speaker John Boehner Set To Leave Congress

Some huge news this Friday morning out of Washington.  Just one day after Pope Francis I made an historic speech before a Joint Session of Congress, Speaker of the House John Boehner has plans to not only relinquish his Speakership, but exit Congress altogether. Here’s the story from Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times…

WASHINGTON — Speaker John A. Boehner, under intense pressure from conservatives in his party, will resign one of the most powerful positions in government and give up his House seat at the end of October, throwing Congress into chaos as it tries to avert a government shutdown.

Mr. Boehner made the announcement in an emotional meeting with his fellow Republicans on Friday morning.

The Ohio representative had struggled from almost the moment he took the speaker’s gavel in 2011 to manage the challenges of divided government and to hold together his fractious and increasingly conservative Republican members.

Most recently, Mr. Boehner was trying to craft a solution to keep the government open through the rest of the year, but was under pressure from a growing base of conservatives who told him that they would not vote for a bill that did not defund Planned Parenthood. Several of those members were on a path to remove Mr. Boehner as speaker, though their ability to do so was far from certain.

John Boehner has represented Ohio’s Eighth Congressional District since 1990.

From an interesting statement from one of the Speaker’s spokesmen, it appears that the Fringe Right in Congress was already trying to force him out.

Whether one agrees with Bohener on most issues or not, there’s little doubt that having him in charge of the Republican majority was likely the best possible scenario to avoid a government shutdown. Congress has until September 30th to come up with a fiscal plan that will carry the Federal Government through to the next year.  As we know from past experience, most of the GOP members of Congress love to shutdown the government, and even consider it an accomplishment.  At least, until their constituents show up with pitch forks demanding to receive their hard-earned paychecks.

Hold on to your seats folks.

john boehner

Houston’s Next Great Challenge? Affordable Housing

Like the brightest of stars, the 2010s have (thus far) been a very good decade for Houston. The parade of accolades have been rolling in… best city for this, number 1 at that.  In the coming years however, the Space City may be brought back to earth.

Besides a fluctuating oil price market, there’s another important metric where Houston’s big advantages are fading fast:  affordable housing.  The days of the Bayou City being a place where you could ‘have it all’ on a modest income are just about gone.  Paul Takahashi of the Houston Business Journal even goes so far to label our current market in an ‘affordable housing crisis’…

For much of the past half-decade, Houston has been in this envious position where employment and incomes have been growing while housing has remained “remarkably affordable.” However, that has changed amid the recent energy boom, according to Zillow economists.

Houston home prices have climbed to record highs as thousands of new residents moved to the Bayou City, fueling a hot housing market. In addition, growing construction, land and labor costs have forced homebuilders to build ever more expensive homes to hit their profit margins.

[…]

At the same time, rents also have risen to record levels amid Houston’s tight housing market. Houston’s median monthly rent grew 5.4 percent year over year to $1,522 in July 2015, according to the Houston Realtors Information Service Inc.

For many middle-class Houstonians the term crisis may seem a little harsh to describe the area’s housing woes.  But one look at the struggles of low-income residents reveals a very tough road ahead. As rent and housing prices continue to ratchet upward, the Republican-dominated state legislature has done everything in its power to restrict a city or county’s ability to raise its minimum wage, even as they simultaneously sue Washington, preaching the “necessity of local control” from the Federal Government.  The end result of this political wrangling?  Real Houston families making far below the city’s Living Wage, getting priced out of their preferred neighborhood and worrying whether they’ll have any place to live tomorrow.

It’s time to shed some light on Houston’s affordable housing crisis.  This issue may not garner much press in the current municipal elections, but affordable housing is likely to be a major challenge for the next Mayor and City Council of Houston.  Let’s hope that all of the candidates will see this coming.

 Affordable Housing Hou

Texoblogosphere: Week of September 21st

The Texas Progressive Alliance wishes everyone a happy and balanced equinox as it brings you this week’s roundup.

Off the Kuff stands with Ahmed.

Socratic Gadfly turns a bit of a skeptical eye to European panic over the “refugee crisis” and provides some critical analysis of how it’s being handled.

Libby Shaw at Texas Kaos and contributing to Daily Kos tried her very best to watch the second GOP Presidential debate but she just couldn’t take it anymore. She hung in there for two hours and twenty minutes. GOP Presidential Debate: A Trip Back to the Twilight Zone

Tired of watching Bernie Sanders surge, Clinton surrogates grabbed the ‘socialist’ brush and started smearing him. PDiddie at Brains and Eggs is pretty certain that this is how it’s going to go until the Sanders campaign no longer represents a threat to her coronation nomination.

From WCNews at Eye on Williamson. It’s becoming clear that the GOP in Texas has no problem with the cuts to Medicaid therapy. They just don’t want to be blamed for it, Abbott, GOP Want Cuts, But No Blame.

Neil at All People Have Value said that Alexander Hamilton should remain on the $10 bill. APHV is part of NeilAquino.com.

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And here are some posts of interest from other Texas blogs.

The TSTA Blog salutes education reporter Terrence Stutz on his retirement.

Paradise in Hell annotates Donald Trump’s Texas speech, and celebrates its first year of blogging.

Texas Clean Air Matters explains why parents should care about climate change.

David Ortez reports from a Houston Mayoral forum on issues facing younger voters.

Danyahel Norris illustrates the importance of Houston’s equal rights ordinance.

Finally, the TPA congratulates Lize Burr on her new positions as Editor and Publisher of the Burnt Orange Report.

 

FtSam

Today’s feature photo is of the Ballet Folklorico del Cielo performing in a parade at Ft. Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.  Photo credit:  Esther Garcia.