By Eric Dick
The November 2015 voting cycle in Houston included one ballot result that surprised many: the decision to extend the term limits of city officials from three two-year terms to two four-year terms. The result was so unexpected, it immediately raised controversy, eyebrows, and the question, “Did the voters of the City of Houston actually mean to extend term limits?”
Phillip Paul Bryant filed a lawsuit to invalidate Proposition 2 because he believes the ballot language misled Houston voters. Annise Parker and the City of Houston have a rich history with misleading voters when it comes to ballot language. Indeed in 2015 alone, Texas Supreme Court has found that Annise Parker and the City of Houston have used inappropriate ballot language twice.
On November 3, 2015, registered voters of the City of Houston were asked to vote on several propositions, including a proposition extending term limits (“Proposition 2”). The ballot language for Proposition 2 reads:
- (Relating to Term Limits for City Elective Office) Shall the City Charter of the City of Houston be amended to reduce the number of terms of elective offices to no more than two terms in the same office and limit the length for all terms of elective office to four years, beginning in January 2016; and provide for transition?
The voters of the City of Houston passed Proposition 2 on November 3, 2015.
Phillip Paul Bryant’s attorney argues that the language of Proposition 2 was misleading for several reasons:
- The ballot language suggested that it would “limit” term length instead of extending it from two year terms to four year terms;
- The ballot language read as if it was shortening the total amount of time an elected official could stay in office when it actually extended it from six years to a total of eight or ten years;
- The ballot language omitted a chief feature of the proposition – it suggested that it shortened the amount of times an elected official can serve to two terms when in fact there were hidden exceptions that unfairly benefited incumbents.
Indeed, Mayor Annise Parker literally said:
“There may have been some voter confusion out there. I don’t know that they realized that they were giving council members more time in office.”
As further evidence that the City of Houston misled voters, the Houston Chronicle reported that the underlying ballot language was obscured:
“Political scientists were not convinced Tuesday’s result was proof of radically shifting attitudes, however. The ballot language did not spell out the effect on incumbents or that the item would loosen the existing restrictions.
‘It was ballot confusion or obfuscation,’ Texas Southern University political scientist Michael Adams said. ‘The way it was written, some people may have thought they were voting to limit the terms rather than extend them to two four- year terms.’
That take made sense to Rice University political scientist Bob Stein, who added, ‘Nobody reads the ballot when they walk in there. They don’t have to read it to vote.’”
In addition, Houston Public Media reported that the ballot language didn’t tell the whole truth:
“’When we informed voters that the adoption of the two four-year (terms) would take place immediately in 2016 and advantage incumbent council members, support swung the other way and it was a deficit of 17 points against,’ Stein said.
But that information was not in the ballot language. In fact, it didn’t even mention that it would actually extend term limits.”
On June 2, 2016, a writ of mandamus was filed with the Texas Supreme Court asking them to invalidate Proposition 2. If you would like clarity as to whether Houston has municipality elections in 2017, please contact the Texas Supreme Court justices and encourage that they rule on the pending writ of mandamus.
They may be contacted by calling:
Nathan Hecht –512-463-1348
John Devine –512-463-1316
Eva Guzman –512-463-1340
Don Willett –512-463-1344
Phil Johnson –512-463-1336
Jeffrey Brown –512-463-3494
Jeffrey Boyd –512-463-1348
Debra Lehrmann –512-463-1320
Paul Green –512-463-1327
You can email them as well:
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected];
[email protected].
Eric Dick is an HCDE Trustee and Vice President of the Board of Trustees for HCDE. He is a Christian conservative and also the owner of Dick Law Firm, PLLC which is a boutique law firm that represents policyholders with his or her homeowner’s insurance claim. He can be contacted by emailing [email protected].
I knew exactly what I was voting for, I voted against the 4 years, I also knew that some Council persons would get an extension. We still have term limits and two four year terms is not that bad. Wish we had term limits for the commissioners and everyone else in the state.
If I knew everyone else had the duty to learn, I don’t support stupidity, it got approved let it be.
I, also, voted against spending money on the Dome, that carried and look at what the commissioners are doing.
Manuel, I too felt I knew what I was voting for by voting against the four year terms. The problem several of the people I know that also thought they were right to ‘limit’ the terms without realizing they were extending them. The two year terms are extended to four years and the total ‘limit’ they voted for went from six to eight years.
The wording was intentionally misleading and is pretty typical of the language Lee Brown, Bill White and Anise Parker used to pass several city charters. IIRC Bill White even inserted a proposition with language so misleading in an attempt to defeat the proposition on revenue limits that was petitioned on it was tossed out didn’t he?
And yes, I too voted to stop pouring money into the Dome and we have a free spending county judge that refuses accept those results. Harris County is going the way of Houston. Spend/tax/spend/tax and on and on….
These issues explain the double digit growth of Montgomery, Brazoria and Ft Bend Counties while the city of Houston is flat lining population wise. Truly sad because Houston was a very nice town until it became the fiscal mess it is under almost 20 years of very liberal spending policies by democrats that have taken the Detroit model nationwide.
If the citizens of Houston truly want all this spending, taxes and debt I and many others will be high-tailing it out of here. I don’t believe the majority knows the Texas Supreme Court has ruled unanimously the rain tax was struck down for similar language reasons yet Turner still threatens tax liens and water cut-offs if you don’t pay it. The people do not realize that tax revenue has been transferred to pay a hugely expanded public works force while the 11{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} slice of the budget that used to pay for them is now used for all kinds of other things.
I’ll let it be after I leave, until then I’ll stay and work to protect my pocket.
Most ballot measures cannot be read at the ballot box, they have to be studied before hand, anyone with experience voting should be aware of that. Poor wording is no excuse, the problem is that most people don’t read and study what they are voting for. In the last 40 years I have only voted in favor of one bond vote. Because if one is paying debt on a bond they are not paying something else.
From what I am reading Montgomery County is not much better than Harris County.
http://thegoldenhammer.net/montgomery-countys-fy-2016-financial-report-highlights-out-of-control-spending/
http://thegoldenhammer.net/the-6-billion-man-montgomery-county-judge-craig-doyal/
And, in spite of that, taxes are lower in the City of Houston than in most of the unincorporated areas. HISD has the lowest school tax rate in Harris County, and the City of Houston taxes are lower than many MUD’s. Now, if we could just get the morons we have for County Commissioners to recognize that those of us who live in the City of Houston pay the same tax rate to the County as everyone else, and we deserve the same level of service.
Dan, neither Houston nor Harris County are flat lining in terms of population, comparing percentage increases to counties with 10{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of the number is a statistical sleight of hand parlor trick. Given the free spending ways Houston/Harris County have shown for over 20 years now, it says a lot when people are taking so long to come to the realization everyone else has been aware of for so long. But you can look up the US Census data to find Harris County was the #2 county in the country in terms of population growth, no mass exodus on the horizon per those who track such things, all the wishful thinking in the world not stopping Houston’s continued growth either.
Peter every report showing huge growth for Houston does what you just did. They confer the area as Houston itself. With the massive growth of the region, why is Houston itself lagging?
The population in 2005 was 2.016 million, in 2014 it was 2.099 million. We peaked in 2010 at 2.258 million. This year its 2.4 million but do you know where the growth comes from?
http://www.click2houston.com/news/census-bureau-shows-houston-leads-in-population-growth-across-us
I’m not setting the trend, I’m just observing it. The best case scenario has Houston growing at under 2{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} over the last 12 years and its because we are going Hispanic. Yay!
I have lived here all my life. If you believe all is hunky dory that’s great. I don’t. Our franchise fees for utilities are not included in the tax rate and they are exorbitant. The rain-tax concept was shopped to a judge in Travis County that declared it did not conflict with the revenue cap because it too could be considered a utility. When we tried to challenge it we were told as citizens we did not have standing.
I have always enjoyed the city’s reputation as the biggest little town in America and laugh at the constant declaration of the things that makes us an ‘International City’. If you believe it is my wishful thinking to note the flat population growth that is on you. I have no parlor and I don’t know what sleight of hand you are referencing.
We floated the largest bond in HISD history and within a year or so they came back for another $400 million because they said inflation caused their estimates to be off for all the new construction. We are replacing campuses that have fewer students that when the buildings opened (Bellaire excepted) and our school taxes are so high we have to ship money to the state to make it fair.
For 2018 Turner is counting on a 6.1{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} increase in city revenues from property taxes over the 2016 year yet he also concedes to a 2{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} drop in sales tax revenue. Ouch. Almost every other revenue resource is down except for property taxes. Oh by the way, with the revenue cap held to population growth (4{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}) and inflation (2{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986}), his proposed budget increase is just fitting the current law.
We’re $18 billion in debt over pensions. He needs to increase property taxes by 50{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} over 30 years to pay it off. He wants us to juice the pensions with $1 billion in bonds.
La di da. How much are you willing to pay Peter? Or do you even live here?
We do not send money to the state because HISD taxes are high, we send money yo the state because the property valuation per student exceeds an arbitrary threshold set by the State some time in the past. HISD could have a tax rate of 0.50, and would still have to send the money to the State
Dan, you can backpedal as you see fit but even you point out that the city’s population continues to grow and you don’t seem to have a problem with the US Census data that tells us Harris County, a county we both agree has a spending problem as well, is #2 in the entire country in growth. Knowing that the city itself is still growing while oil prices are depressed, should tell you something about whether it is using a “Detroit model”, that city having lost 25{997ab4c1e65fa660c64e6dfea23d436a73c89d6254ad3ae72f887cf583448986} of its population in a decade and much more over a longer period of time. You also admit that the city spending problem has been an issue for decades yet have stuck it out like so many others but after some amount of this grievous exercise in fiscal irresponsibility, an outsider gets to ask you the question, “What are you waiting for?”.
Houston is one of the biggest cities in the country and has traditionally lost many people when the price of oil dropped below a certain point yet here it is continuing to grow. Contrast that to many of the older big cities out there that are truly losing population to see the error in your projections. You can cry how the growth comes from one group or another but it is still growing, albeit not as fast as the unincorporated portions of Harris County that are soaring in comparison to outlying counties in terms of pure numbers, their much smaller size making it sound like they are thriving yet the reality is, they are emulating Harris County in every way possible, increasing costs as they themselves model after the spendthrift ways of Commissioner’s Court.
I’m not sure where you are getting your pension numbers that more than double Houston’s liabilities but you might care to learn that the recently passed legislation checks those costs a great deal and does it in such a way that scores of additional employees are quitting or retiring, all at a pace the city can’t replace which lowers costs. So we largely agree that the spend happy City Council, complete with their growing slush funds, need more money but there is no reason to believe tax rates are going to be any worse than the rest of the area, we can thank the GOP dominated state legislature for their lack of property tax reform for changing the system in any meaningful manner.
And in answer to your last question, I have pointed out several times before how I moved out of the city based on the oft told lie that it would be cheaper. I found out just how big that lie was soon after moving when I discovered how the county provides almost no services beyond a subsistence level, everything else expected of local government having to be pried out of my wallet to the point where only a fool would believe they are going to save money now. Those who think moving increasingly further away are in for a rude awakening too, neighbors pointing out to me that that is the new lie, perhaps generated by realtors or developers but not experienced by the people who move further out.
Let me make another guess. Besides not living in town, you’re also a city employee right?
Dan, sorry to disappoint you but that is not the case. I couldn’t support a family on what the city paid back when I was actively seeking a job. Things worked out just fine for me but it seems odd you’d take that approach rather than just admit you were wrong or address any of the points made.
Wrong about what? school funding? meh, I note it is the high evaluations that cause the district to have to give money to the state to redistribute according to Ross. Property rich means higher taxes.
You don’t disappoint Peter. Your response to me was your take on my positions. I didn’t back pedal, I am waiting to see if we are going to fund these pensions as proposed and act accordingly. You have yet to explain why the areas that surround Houston proper are growing at double digit rates while the city growth is so much lower no matter how you state your stats,
I certainly do not believe the city council needs more money to spend and your constant push to increase city revenues tells me you somehow have a stake in that happening, You live outside of the city and want higher taxes in the city? c’mon!
I laugh at your claim the county only provides subsistence services. Heck I don’t even ask that from the city. It never occurs to ask for more stuff because I know TINSTAAFL. Using your logic, you confirm you are for higher taxes for other people without limit since you didn’t respond to that question. Thanks for playing.
Dan, you claimed the city was flat-lining in terms of population growth yet it added almost as many people as currently reside inside Montgomery county over the last ten years, your further assertions that Houston had adopted the “Detroit model” makes no sense since that is tied to massive population loss. Then you point out that city spending has been wild for 20 years and at some point, many people are going to leave;
“If the citizens of Houston truly want all this spending, taxes and debt I and many others will be high-tailing it out of here.”
I agreed with you that spending was a problem but also pointed out how the city of Houston is not alone in that particular endeavor, Harris County spending ever increasing amounts with little to show for it. If you and those many people that are frothing at the bit to leave Houston in a mass exodus over spending are to be believed, 20 years has not been enough to get you moving and you appear to be of the belief that life is cheaper somewhere further away. As pointed out, it is not.
So a few things are clear from our discussion, the city continues to grow without annexation, all taxing bodies in the area are showing record revenues, and there doesn’t appear to be any serious Detroit-esque exodus from the city, any percentage growth of nearby counties not a factor since they were so small to begin with. Those of you that have remained inside the city like the fantasy that you can move to save money but the closer you look at the details, the more you will find you really won’t save anything by leaving.
Make no mistake, I am not advocating more spending, you’re confusing me with some of the others in that belief. I am also not saying Houston is growing as fast as the surrounding areas in the unincorporated limits of Harris County or nearby counties either, merely that growth is still taking place, contrary to your assertions. I’d rather Houston become more fiscally responsible because it might help push Commissioner’s Court in a similar direction, As far as the pension issue, if the bond measure fails, there will be rejoicing by municipal and police employees all across the area since all their cuts are rescinded should that happen. The group that won’t be as happy is the one that will remain stuck with their benefit cuts with ample layoffs to boot.
From my perspective, the pension deal was good for the taxpayers as all employee groups gave up significant benefits and future liabilities were limited. If city voters want to keep funding higher pensions and still have the growing liabilities to cover, all they have to do is vote down the bonds. Then they will have fewer services and bigger costs, albeit with some cuts made to HFD that are not tied to the bonds whatsoever. There are many in the business community that will benefit either way, and I am one of them, but by no means do I think the elected city officials need a blank check. Had real property tax reform been passed or measures to require cities to fully fund all obligations moving forward been placed on the legislative agenda, we’d all be better off but too many in Austin reap the rewards for keeping things as is.
m’kay Peter. Bless your heart.
Don’t let the door hit ya’ where the Good Lord split ya’ Dan, you won’t be missed.. God Bless!