2009 City Elections

HOUSTON ELECTIONS
Firefighter critical of HFD jumps into council race
By BRADLEY OLSON Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
Sept. 2, 2009, 8:11PM

More than 60 candidates have filed to run in Houston municipal elections Nov. 3, including a few surprises that could portend a busy campaign season.

The attitude was electric outside Mayor Bill White's office Wednesday evening, where those seeking city office had to file by 5 p.m., as candidates and politicos gathered to see whether there would be any last-minute surprises.

Ultimately, there was only one big one: Otis Jordan, president of the Houston Black Firefighters Association, who has been a frequent critic of the Houston Fire Department's handling of allegations of racism and sexism among firefighters in recent months, filed to run against District D Councilwoman Wanda Adams, who also will face Larry McKinzie.

Like others who filed just before the deadline, Jordan's position on the ballot is not yet guaranteed while the city evaluates his eligibility as it has for every other candidate.

Making it official
Other than that, many of the filings were expected and merely made official the races that City Hall observers had come to expect.

“Now, we finally know who is running,” said At-Large 2 City Councilwoman Sue Lovell, who drew three opponents and was on hand Wednesday to see who filed. “Now's the time when voters in the city of Houston decide if they want to rehire those people who were elected before and hire some new people to fill those roles that will be opening up. We all get to go through the interview process again.”

The mayor's race shaped up largely as expected, with four major candidates including former City Attorney Gene Locke, City Controller Annise Parker, City Councilman Peter Brown and retired Air Force Lt. Col. Roy Morales. Three additional candidates also filed: Luis Ullrich Jr., Amanda Ulman and Charles Daniel Cupp.

Three council members will leave their seats to run for City Controller, including District D Councilwoman Pam Holm, District F Councilman M.J. Khan and At-Large 4 Councilman Ronald Green.

Just three sitting City Council members will be unopposed: At-Large 3 Councilwoman Melissa Noriega, District I Councilman James Rodriguez and District H Councilman Ed Gonzalez, who won a special election runoff in June for the seat vacated by Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia.

Council challengers
Six incumbents face opponents. Councilman Jarvis Johnson will run against Roger Bowden in District B; Phillip Wayne Garrison II filed against Councilman Mike Sullivan in District E; Lovell will face off against Andrew C. Burks, Jr., Michael Griffin and Roslyn “Rozzy” Shorter in the race for At-Large 2; At-Large 5 Councilwoman Jolanda Jones has drawn opponents Jack Christie, Davetta Daniels and Carlos Obando; and Alfred Molison and Randolph Locke filed to run against District C Councilwoman Anne Clutterbuck, although neither officially are confirmed on the ballot because their eligibility has not been verified by the city.

The five open seats will be far more crowded. District A, which Councilwoman Toni Lawrence is leaving because of term limits, drew seven candidates: Jeff Downing, Darrell Rodriguez, Lane Lewis, Amy Peck, Bob Schoellkopf, Brenda Stardig and Alex Wathen.

District F, which Khan is leaving to run for the controller position, drew Peter Acquaro, Joe Chow, Lewis Cook, Al Hoang, Robert Kane, Khalid Khan and Mike Laster.

District G, which Holm will leave to run for controller, drew Dexter Handy, George Foulard, Oliver Pennginton, Richard Sedita and Mills Worsham.

Eight candidates filed to run for At-Large 1, which Brown is leaving to run for mayor, including Lonnie Allsbrooks, Brad Batteau, Stephen Costello, Donald Cook, Karen Derr, Herman Litt, Kenneth Perkins and Rick Rodriguez.

At-Large 4, the seat occupied by Green, drew four candidates: C. O. Bradford, Noel Freeman, Curtis Garmon and Deborah Shafto.

In the school district
In the Houston Independent School District, District 9 member Larry Marshall, will face challengers George Davis, Michael Williams and Adrian Collins.

Incumbents Greg Meyers, District 6, and Harvin Moore, District 7, are unopposed.

The two open seats have drawn a total of five candidates: Anna Eastman, Alma Lara and Linda Toyota will vie for District 1; and Michael Lunceford and Ray Reiner will face each other for District 5.

In the Houston Community College System board, only one seat is contested: District 3, where incumbent Diane Olmos Guzman will face a challenge from Mary Ann Perez.

In District 6, the only candidate to file was Sandra Meyers. The lone candidate for District 8 is Arturo Aguilar.

Reporters Ericka Mellon and Jeanne Kever contributed to this story.

bradley.olson@chron.com