by Nancy Sims
Pierpont Communications
Tuesday, November 3 is Election Day. If you haven’t yet cast your ballot in Early Voting, please remember to make your voice heard this coming Tuesday.
Important decisions are on the ballot. Even if you don’t live in the City of Houston, there are 11 Constitutional Amendments that are important to Texans, including Proposition 4 which, as one of my previous columns stated, will help bolster the University of Houston to Tier 1 status. The League of Women Voters has prepared a voters guide that provides a thorough analysis of each proposition. Visit www.lwvhouston.org to learn more.
Of course, the City of Houston elections are also on the ballot. We will have a new Mayor this year as term limits prevented Bill White from seeking re-election. To recap, the major candidates vying for the position are, in alphabetical order, Peter Brown, Gene Locke, Roy Morales and Annise Parker. These folks have appeared in multiple forums and televised debates yet few Houstonians are paying attention. It is likely that two of these leaders will face-off in a December run-off.
The entire region will be affected by Houston’s newly elected leader. The City faces tough financial times ahead. Public safety is critical to the region’s success and to our economic growth potential. Transportation and rail expansion will be critical issues for the new mayor. A crumbling drainage system and aging streets will need particular focus as the problems are growing too big for the city to ignore. All of these factors, and more, will come into play for the next administration.
In addition to the office of Mayor, there will definitively be at least five new Council Members. Four of them were term-limited and one seat became open as Peter Brown chose to run for Mayor rather than seek re-election to his third term. District A, currently represented by Toni Lawrence, includes areas in the near northwest, Spring Branch, north of 1-10 and farther northwest, and will choose between several qualified candidates that will likely cause the election to end in a run-off. District F, currently represented by M.J. Khan, is composed of mostly southwest Houston and will likely also see a run-off. District G is the "west side" district, currently represented by Pam Holm, and has several strong candidates. Most likely, Oliver Pennington will lead that district into a run-off.
At-Large Position 1, currently held by Peter Brown and At-Large Position 4, currently held by Ronald Green, are intensely contested races. It is most likely that At-Large 1 will see a run-off. At-Large 4 is a tighter race but still may face a run-off.
Additionally, all of the incumbent Council Members, with the exception of Melissa Noriega, face opponents in their bids for re-election.
Bottom line – Houston has a lot at stake in this election! Please cast your ballot on November 3.
The views expressed in this column are the opinion of Nancy Sims. Nancy Sims is Senior Vice President of Pierpont Communications. She blogs on politics and the state she loves at www.texasmusings. com. She may be contacted at nsims@piercom.com.