District H contest will decide sheriff's successor

As reported in the Chronicle

By BRADLEY OLSON
Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
May 10, 2009, 1:10AM

Houston Police Officer Ed Gonzalez and former City Council aide Maverick Welsh will square off in a runoff to replace former City Councilman Adrian Garcia, who resigned his District H City Council seat after being elected Harris County sheriff in November.

With all 13 precincts reporting and nearly 4,200 ballots cast in a district of more than 93,000 registered voters, Gonzalez had 31.4 percent of the vote and Welsh had 26.9 percent.

They were followed by attorney Yolanda Navarro Flores, HPD officer Rick Rodriguez and pastor Larry Williams. Lupe Garcia, Gonzalo Camacho, Hugo Mojica and James Partsch-Galvan took in less than 3 percent each.

The strikingly low turnout did not surprise political handicappers or any of the campaigns, many of which knocked on doors and placed volunteers at the district’s polling places to do last-minute electioneering. Their efforts had a slightly blunted impact, as nearly half of the votes counted came from absentee and early voting.

Gonzalez had a huge lead in the early totals, coming in at least 10 points ahead of the nearest candidate.

Both campaigns said they plan to continue frenzied efforts to reach voters for another month, when the runoff most likely will be scheduled. A City Council vote will be required to set the exact date.

“I feel very positive right now,” Gonzalez said as he watched the totals come in at The Manor in the Heights. “It’s a testament to the hard work of a lot of our volunteers.”

He estimated that he knocked on more than 1,000 doors while campaigning.

“We had a really good grass-roots effort and really took it out to the community and heard their concerns and issues and I think it paid off,” he said.

Welsh was also optimistic.

“We’re going to keep connecting with as many voters as we can, going door to door and listening and talking about change,” he said. “People are tired of business as usual and they want a new approach, and I totally represent that.”

He also spoke of highly organized block-walking and phone-banking efforts conducted by volunteers for his campaign as a decisive factor in his success.

“We’re a grass-roots campaign and as you go through all the neighborhoods in (District H), you can see from the signs that people are excited to support me,” he said. “I just think it’s fantastic.”

In sparse numbers, voters fanned out on Saturday across the sprawling district, which includes the Heights, much of the old Second Ward just east of downtown and a wide swath that extends midway between the inner and outer loops around Interstate 45.

Several voters said they personally knew or had met the candidate they ultimately voted for, illustrating the heightened importance of shoe-leather campaigning in such a short contest with so many candidates.

Robert French, 90, said he received a visit from Gonzalez Saturday morning that tipped the scale in his favor.

"He’s the first man that ever came to my door and asked for my vote," French said after casting his ballot at Roosevelt Elementary off Fulton near Interstate 45. "He was a very nice fella, and after he came I was glad that I hadn’t been over here yet. I think he’ll do a good job."

Bardo Martinez, who voted in the same location, said he chose Flores, who has been an acquaintance "since the Little League days" and who is known to have done well in other jobs, such as her current post on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees.

Voters stressed the impact of their personal interaction with the candidates.

Steven Ponder, 57, said he was impressed with how Welsh handled himself in a few instances when they had met. And although city elections are non-partisan, he said, he knew Welsh is a Democrat, and that was another important factor in his vote.

"I thought he seemed very inclusive in his views, very articulate and intelligent," said Ponder, who voted at Hogg Middle School in the Heights. "I liked his demeanor, the way he handled himself.’’

Meanwhile, in Baytown, Mayor Stephen DonCarlos was re-elected with more than 70 percent of the vote, defeating three other candidates, including Lee High School senior Ali Cuellar, 18.
Baytown also shot down a measure that would have allowed smoking in stand-alone bars.

Baytown's voters approved the existing ordinance, which prohibits lighting up in virtually all public places, in November 2006. A vote to repeal the ordinance was rejected in May 2007.