Tag Archives: Mike Morris

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics

Houston Equal Rights Ordinance Won’t See 2014 Ballot

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After dropping a temporary restraining order, a State District Judge has set the all important court date for the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance.  As a result, Houstonians will not be voting on HERO in 2014.  Here’s the story from Mike Morris of the Houston Chronicle…

Opponents of Houston’s equal rights ordinance dropped their request for a temporary injunction Friday that could have triggered a repeal referendum this November.

Now, their lawsuit against the city is scheduled to be heard Jan. 19, 2015, a trial date ordinance opponents called “expedited” and among the reasons they agreed to withdraw the request. For the city, though, the withdrawal marks a victory in what could be a lengthy legal battle.

The injunction sought by the ordinance foes would have forced City Secretary Anna Russell to certify their petition and sent the issue to an emergency city council vote in order to get the repeal referendum on the November ballot. The group of conservative pastors and activists was also asking the city to suspend enforcement of the ordinance, though Mayor Annise Parker had already agreed to do so until a ruling is issued.

The expeditious trial date is welcome by supporters and opponents, because in the case of HERO, all parties want answers as soon as we can get them.  By Parker’s order, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance is still not in effect because of the anticipated legal drama, and the longer we wait to enact the law is the longer that Houstonians have to endure city-sanctioned discrimination.

But at least for now, both sides can plan their actions accordingly, knowing that they do not have to wage an aggressive ballot campaign for this November.  However, there is still a possibility that the signatures could be ruled valid and HERO would then come up for a referendum in 2015… a scenario that many municipal candidates are not excited about.

Many have debated on which year would be best to have a HERO referendum, and depending on the circumstances it could be won or lost in either 2014 or 2015. The 2014 ballot would yield higher turnout than the municipal-only contest next year. But given that it’s solely a City of Houston measure, supporters of HERO are cautious, but confident they could win in any scenario. After all, this is the same electorate that supported Mayor Parker in three mayoral elections (nine if you count back to her Council Member days), even after enacting a similar non discrimination Executive Order in 2010. Any way you see it, Houston voters have shown that they support the principles of equality and fairness, which is unlikely to change.

Off the Kuff and Texpatriate have more.

Equality, Houston, Houston Politics

HERO Opponents File Suit Against City of Houston

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Here’s the story from Mike Morris of the Houston Chronicle…

Opponents of Houston’s new non-discrimination ordinance sued Mayor Annise Parker late Tuesday after city officials rejected a petition the group had submitted hoping to force a repeal referendum in November.

Plaintiff and conservative activist Jared Woodfill said his group is asking a state district judge to declare that City Secretary Anna Russell followed her legal duty and verified a sufficient number of signatures to force a referendum before City Attorney David Feldman illegally inserted himself into the process.

“If he felt there were underlying problems with the petition then he, like us, has the right to file a lawsuit if he doesn’t agree with what the city secretary did,” Woodfill said. “Going in before she’s ever made the decision and influencing her is inappropriate, it’s illegal and we believe the court will agree with us and that folks will have their voices heard in November on this issue.”

Feldman declined to comment until he had seen a copy of the lawsuit, but earlier Tuesday disputed the idea that his involvement crossed any ethical or legal lines.

“The fact is, that given my role as defined by law,  I’m supposed to give advice to city officials, whether they be elected, appointed or just employees,” he said. “That’s part of my role and the role of this department, so I don’t see anything out of the ordinary here in terms of our involvement.”

This move was to be expected, which is why Mayor Parker decided to delay the new ordinance while all of the legal battles are being worked out.  Plaintiffs listed on the lawsuit were Ex-Harris County Republican Party Chairman Jared Woodfill, almost convicted criminal Steven Hotze, Pastor F.N. Williams Sr. and Pastor Max Miller.  Noticeably absent from the plaintiff list was Pastor and Kendall Baker, whom has had his own trouble with the law. Rest assured, it ain’t no “family values” Brady Bunch.

UPDATE:  Be sure to visit Lone Star Q for an excellent post on the lawsuit as well.  Here is some critical information that they have published…

The lawsuit alleges that last Friday, City Secretary Anna Russell determined there were approximately 17,846 valid signatures on the petition, more than the 17,269 needed to qualify for the ballot. However, on Monday, Parker and City Attorney David Feldman held a press conference to announce that the petition contained only 15,249 valid signatures.

Given that there is a significant disagreement between the City Secretary’s numbers from Friday, and the announcement on Monday, this could certainly strengthen the plaintiff’s case in the lawsuit.  Kudos to Lone Star Q for publishing not only this information, but including both the lawsuit and City Secretary’s official memo, dated Friday August 1st.

(Steven Hotze.  photo credit:  Death and Taxes mag) 

Houston Politics

City Council Deconstructs Rebuild Houston… A Little Bit

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Houston is a city that is growing and changing rapidly.  That change obviously refers to the physical form of the city with new homes and businesses being built in every direction.  But those changes are more than material.  Thanks to an influx of new residents, increased national profile and more ways than ever to inform city government of infrastructure concerns, the expectations of Houstonians have also risen.  Areas that used to be under-represented are now becoming increasingly active. Citizens are taking a look at the city, and no longer being silent about its pothole-ridden streets or sub-par drainage.  All of those new factors seemed to be on display at this week’s City Council meeting.  Here’s the story from Mike Morris and Katherine Driessen of the Houston Chronicle…

Expressing impatience with the pace of street repairs under the ReBuild Houston program, City Council voted this week to siphon off some of the drainage-fee supported funds to speed up projects and help resolve smaller neighborhood problems sought by their constituents.

In an amendment to the city’s five-year $7.8 billion capital improvements program, the council voted to draw down $31 million from ReBuild Houston, prompting a warning from Mayor Annise Parker and Department of Public Works and Engineering officials, who said the move could drive the program’s cash flow into the red within two years and force the delay of other projects.

“Council members today would get a lot of short-term relief, but council members in a couple years may see delays,” Parker said.

Councilman Jerry Davis and other council members pushed back, saying constituent concerns have forced them to look for new funds.

“I respect the voices of the engineers and I respect the voices of Public Works,” Davis said. “But again, this is why we’re voted in to be here to make these decisions based upon the wants and needs of the people.”

This is a tough spot for all sides, and just a further admission of how huge Houston’s need for repairs is when contrasted with how little money is available (or how little political will there is to institute additional revenue streams like tax increases). These are issues that existed long before this council.  It’s not a problem they created, but they are trying desperately to be the ones who can save the day.

The pressure to act weighs particularly heavy on district Council Members, as they are the ones that handle more concerns related to their home and neighborhood, while At-Large members have a bit more freedom and flexibility to chase their desired cause.  This was on display at the Wednesday meeting.  Though Council Member Stephen Costello co-sponsored an amendment to free up Rebuild Houston funds for city projects, he and CM Christie (also At-Large) later voted against a separate amendment to allocate money specifically to Council districts.

The other reason Costello was against this the latter was obvious… If elected as the next Mayor, he’d be the one that has to deal with these shortfalls with a future Council, just when the Rebuild Houston should be picking up steam and yielding more tangible results.  The discussions this week at council are far from over, and will likely be cornerstones of the 2015 municipal elections.

Off the Kuff has another take.

Uncategorized

Houston, We Have A Budget…

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And we didn’t have to fudge it.  

As exciting as Texas state politics have been this week, it’s important to also take a look back at events in local politics. For the City of Houston, a lot has been accomplished in the last couple of weeks. Far-removed from K-street underbelly controlling DC, or even the overt grand-standing that you find in Austin, Houston politics is on the whole a series of honest events. But that doesn’t mean municipal government lacks for excitement, or doesn’t have its fair share of fights. Houston City Council is about as diverse a government body as one may find. With a contingencies of Liberals, Conservatives and even Tea Party members holding office, Houston’s City Government feels quite reflective of the nation itself.  
But there is one critical delineation… In local government, failure is not an option. If Houston is to be a successful city, we must have a successful council. If they mess things up, Houstonians immediately know it. It also means that a city’s annual budget has to be real. Council can’t pass Continuing Resolutions, or waste constituent time and money promoting religious holidays through meaningless legislation. For a city, every dollar counts.  
That was the massive task that lay before Houston City Council on last week. They showed up to City Hall, political philosophies in tow, and worked together  past sundown. It wasn’t easy, but it was done.  
From Houston Chronicle reporter Mike Morris, here’s a summation of how the day went down…  
The roller-coaster 10-hour meeting – all but 45 minutes of which focused on Mayor Annise Parker’s budget and council members’ 60 proposed amendments to it – will require Parker to shuffle about $3.9 million in the $2.2 billion general fund budget. The rest of the city’s spending occurs in enterprise funds fed by fees and not taxes.

Parker said this year’s budget cycle has been far different from the past three, which saw the city slash spending during the recession.  


“This budget we had new revenue coming in, and so there was an opportunity to set priorities for new spending,” she said. “So it was a little more difficult here at the table because we all had different ideas on how we spend that new money.”  

Among the successful amendments: A $2 million push to redeploy four ambulances shelved during the cutbacks; a $1.5 million summer jobs program for youth; $250,000 for cameras to monitor illegal dumping; and money to increase the Houston Center for Literacy’s budget from $400,000 to $500,000. Other big-ticket items, including a $3 million summer-jobs program and $1.5 million for after-school programs, were voted down. 
Houston’s Senior Citizens will be getting some tax relief as well. The city’s current tax exemption for homeowners 65 and older will rise from $70,862 to $80,000. This exemption, along with the other amendments will impact the overall budget, requiring the Mayor’s office to look for flexibility in other areas.

“I’m not going to make the cut right away… Since we all believe that the revenue will come in above our expectations, we believe we can still hit our targets even with this cut. It just means there’s less going to next year’s fund balance” Mayor Parker said. Council Member Brown went on to reiterate that this year’s budget came in with a $6 million- dollar surplus as well, confirming that the money was available to absorb the cut.

And 10 hours later, the Houston City Council adopted a $4.9 Billion- dollar budget. The first one in three years with no significant job cuts. I applaud the Mayor and Council members for their hard work. 

A city budget may lack the glamour of a raucous floor vote at the Capitol, but keeping an area as massive as Houston running is noble and necessary work indeed. Mayor Parker and City Council deserve to be lauded for it. Off the Kuff has a more timely post on the subject.