Teddy Schleifer had a front page story in yesterday’s Chron where he introduced us to the folks that are running for H-Town Mayor or thinking about running. There really were not any surprises regarding the names. Schleifer says:
The race to succeed Mayor Annise Parker is shaping up to be Houston’s most crowded in decades, with a half-dozen candidates already having declared they will run and another half-dozen possibly joining them.
Of course it is a long ways to filing and a month and half before the official fundraising season begins. We will see who can put together a viable campaign.
Schleifer also writes:
Most observers consider Rep. Sylvester Turner, with his support base from the African-American population that could cast a third of next year’s vote, to be the man to beat in November. Yet his fortunes to win in a December runoff – all but guaranteed to be needed in a large field – depend heavily on whom he faces in a one-on-one comparison.
I guess the “observers” are making the assumption that Ben Hall won’t be much of a factor in the African American voting community. I also think some would challenge the idea that African Americans could cast a third of the vote next year.
And Schleifer says:
Turner’s 25 years in the Legislature gives him his own advantages, said Austin lobbyist Bill Miller, as does his political alliance with top Democratic Sen. John Whitmire. Turner will have the power to influence the budget and help deliver in Austin what he will be running on in Houston.
“Most candidates would trade their ability to raise money for the ability to spend $90 billion,” Miller said. “That’s a powerful position.”
Bill Miller is a pal but I don’t agree with him on this. Dems are going to be playing the old prevent defense in the upcoming legislative session. Maybe Rep. Turner and The Dean will be able to claim credit for stopping some of the Tea Party’s legislative agenda.
Since the GOP took over the running of state government the past decade or so, I am hard pressed to think of anything positive that Dems delivered that could impact a H-Town Mayoral race and the recent election results just made the possibility of delivering for Dems a bit more difficult.
Well now that we know who is thinking about running, maybe we can start talking about the why? So far the only candidates to talk about the issues at length and in detail – that I know of – are Bill King and Council Member Stephen Costello. King had the Chron columns and now a book. Costello has put out some newsletters on city fiscal issues.
H-Town may be looking and feeling a bit different next year. Commentary paid $2.39 per gallon of gas yesterday at the Kroger. The falling price of crude is hitting the energy industry – cut backs in spending, layoffs, and rig counts are down. We all know what the energy industry means to H-Town and our economy. If this is the backdrop to next year’s Mayoral race, you have to wonder what kind of conversation the voters will want with the candidates so stay tuned!
The ‘Stros introduced their new high paid relievers on Friday. Luke Gregerson will wear Roy O.’s numero 44 and Pat Neshek will wear the numero 37. Name the former ‘Stro pitcher who wore the numero 37 from 1993-2002?
Now who didn’t see this coming? Last Friday I put out this:
Channel 13’s Ted Oberg tweeted this a couple of days ago:
Ted Oberg @tedoberg • Dec 10
I’ve been BLOCKED! @SheriffGarcia blocked me and @trentseibert after this story aired last night: http://abc13.com/429120/.
Oh well, maybe this was an accidental block.
Commentary has certainly had his share of disagreements with media coverage and stories, but that is all they are – disagreements. I don’t hold grudges or that kind of stuff. I just move on.
I would hope that the Sheriff’s folks didn’t block Ted and Trent. That would be kind of silly and unproductive. What is accomplished? Absolutely nothing!
The next day the Chron E-Board gave the Sheriff’s folks a thumbs down. What did you expect? Here is the E-Board take:
(Thumbs down) KTRK investigative journalists Ted Oberg and Trent Seibert should be happy that Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia temporarily blocked them from viewing his Twitter account. If Garcia had his druthers, it would probably be to put them in the dungeon also known as Harris County Jail. The investigative reporters were following up their excellent story about deplorable conditions in Garcia’s facility. What did the most recent story say? Two months after their initial report that a prisoner was locked in a filthy cell for weeks, “not one member of Garcia’s sheriff’s department has been disciplined.”
I tweeted this after last night’s series finale of “The Newsroom.”
Marc Campos @MarcCommentary • 11h 11 hours ago
And happily ever after for @TheNewsroomHB0. #HBO
Will and Mac are having a baby. Mac takes Charlie’s job at ACN. Maggie and Jim are in love. Neal returns. Flashbacks come in handy. Good evening!
I have said it before that pro sports GMs and front offices think they are a lot smarter than the rest of us but they really are not. Everybody new at the end of last season that we needed to address the QB situation but the team didn’t. Today everybody still knows that we need to address the QB situation. Do you think the front office will finally make the QB situation a priority now?
Shane Reynolds of course wore the numero 37 from 1993-2002.
That’s all I have from The Yard today.
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