HPD officer wins runoff for District H council seat

As reported in the Chronicle.

By BRADLEY OLSON and MOISES MENDOZA Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
June 13, 2009, 9:31PM

Houston police officer Ed Gonzalez won the runoff special election to fill Houston City Council District H Saturday, defeating former high school teacher and City Council staffer Maverick Welsh.

Although the campaign was hard fought, with both candidates personally knocking on thousands of doors and calling registered voters repeatedly, Gonzalez ultimately prevailed by a wide margin.

With all 13 precincts reporting, Gonzalez earned 61 percent of the vote to Welsh’s 39 percent with 4,680 ballots cast. That actually exceeded the total number of ballots cast in the initial nine candidate special election May 9, a rarity in Houston runoffs.

“I feel just tremendous,” Gonzalez said Saturday night. “I feel very humbled at the fact that the voters of District H have spoken.”

Gonzalez will immediately fill the seat vacated by Sheriff Adrian Garcia, a close friend and former police colleague with whom he has worked on several previous political campaigns.

He said he plans to establish relationships with members of City Council and ensure that all constituent services and relationships with the community remain strong.

Welsh, who drew fire in the final weeks of the campaign for mail pieces sent in the district that said his opponent “was just politics as usual” and “we can’t trust him,” did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Gonzalez will face re-election again in November, a race politicos have said could be another hotly contested election depending on today’s results.

Voters fanned out Saturday across the district, which includes the Heights, much of the old Second Ward and a wide swath that extends midway between the inner and outer loops around Interstate 45.

“I voted because I’m a homeowner and I’m just really concerned with what goes on in our district,” said Noelle Kanady, 64, who cast a ballot for Gonzalez at Hogg Middle School.

One of her big concerns is crime. She voted for the 18-year police officer and homicide detective because “I weighed all the different campaign materials and he just sounded the best to me.”

Former school teacher Dave Roberts, 71, saw a kindred spirit in Welsh.

He voted for him with hopes of having someone to represent him, someone who will think like a teacher.

“We’re very neighborhood-minded and I think we need a strong voice in the city government,” he said.