City Council At-large 1 – OPEN SEAT
Incumbent Peter Hoyt Brown will not be seeking a third term because he is running for Mayor.
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Lonnie Allsbrooks (Democratic)
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Brad Batteau (Independent)
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Stephen Costello (Republican)
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Karen Derr (Democratic)
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Herman Litt (Democratic)
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Kenneth Perkins (Independent)
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Rick Rodriguez (Democratic)
City Council At-large 2
Incumbent Sue Lovell will be seeking a third term.
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Andrew Burks (Democratic)
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Michael Griffin (Republican)
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Sue Lovell (Democratic) – Incumbent
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Rozzy Shorter (Democratic)
City Council At-large 3
Incumbent Melissa Noriega will be seeking a second full term. She is unopposed.
City Council At-large 4 – OPEN SEAT
Incumbent Ronald Green is term limited. He is running for City Controller.
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C.O. Bradford (Democrat)
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Noel Freeman (Democrat)
City Council At-large 5
Incumbent Jolanda Jones will be seeking a second term.
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Dr. Jack Christie (Republican)
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Dr. Davetta Daniels (Democratic)
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Jolanda Jones (Democrat) – Incumbent
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Carlos Obando (Independent)
Like I said, a LOT of candidates. Only two of them did not attend: Kenneth Perkins (At-Large 1) and Jolanda Jones (Incumbent At-Large 5). Even unopposed Melissa Noriega attended.
Mrs. Noriega was given an opportunity to speak at the start of the meeting because there was no need for her to participate in the debate. I’ve long thought that she has the potential to be a major force in Houston politics, perhaps even state-wide and last night she showed that. My wife attended with me and was very impressed, saying things like “authentic”, “well-spoken”, “did not over-promise”, “understands the role of government”, etc. Honestly, coming from my wife, that is a superb compliment.
After Mrs. Noriega’s speech, each candidate was given two minutes for an opening statement. According to my assistant’s (ahem) notes, Brad “Jay” Batteau wants to bring more entertainment and jobs to Clear Lake, Karen Derr is concerned with the drop-out rate, crime and flooding, Herman Litt is for green space and diversity, and Rick Rodriguez was an HPD officer for 24 years. Whew, that is only Position 1!
In Position 2, Andrew Burks wishes to reduce crimes committed by children, increase jobs and encourage city workers. Michael “Griff” Griffin is a St. Thomas grad and opened the first sports bar targeted at college students, Sue Lovell is the incumbent and was recently elected to some national GLBT board, and Roslyn Shorter’s dad worked at NASA.
In Position 4, we have C.O. Bradford running. It seems odd that such a high profile individual would be running for council, especially after his defeat last year in the District Attorney’s race. At any rate, he touted his experience and ability in running large departments (can you say Houston Crime Lab?). Here, I’ll let you hear it for yourself:
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Also running for Position 4 is Noel Freeman, who worked at the Public Works Dept. for 5 years and is endorsed by the Houston GLBT Political Caucus, and Curtis Garmon. Curtis Garmon, remember that name conservatives, remember that name. Mr. Garmon got up in the middle of a room full of Democrats and had the courage to say he was against red-light cameras, for lower taxes and smaller government. He received a small round of very polite applause. I really wish I had known about him beforehand, I would have captured his talk on video.
Next and last up was Position 5. Dr. Jack Christie is a long time, good, solid Republican. But he didn’t say the things that Curtis Garmon said. Here, you can watch:
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The next candidate for Position 5 was Dr. Davetta Daniels, an educator who thinks all of our problems would be solved if only teachers could run for office. And lastly (fittingly because he arrived just prior to the ending) was Carlos Obando. Carlos ran in the Republican Primary last year but doesn’t have a word about being a Republican on his website. He is listed as an Independent on Wikipedia, FWIW. Here is his speech:
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That’s all I have because I left after that and went to T-Bone Tom’s and listened to the Grateful Geezers.
I did follow up with Curtis Garmon, sending him an email and asking him several questions, to which he responded this morning (his answers in bold):
- What motivated you to run for council? Was tired of people saying “someone should do something”, so I figured I would. The city (along with other government departments/agencies) has been spending entirely too much money, and enough is enough.
- Have you been involved in politics in the past? Yes. Have voted in every major election (sadly except school) since I turned 18. Last year was the first time I participated in the Republican Primary. I was chosen to run the Republican Caucus then elected to represent my precinct at the Senatorial and State Conventions…..it was a great experience for me.
- If so, are you a Republican or Democrat? (the Harris County GOP has you listed as a Republican) I am Republican by Party, Conservative by Choice
- If not, do you generally lean one way or another?
- Have you been involved in the recent Tea Parties around Houston? I have not participated at the Tea Parties. I admire all that put them on and attended….it is a great demonstration of patriotism. I did not attend due to the fact that I was running for office. It was my understanding and believe that it would not have been appropriate to attend as a candidate.
Conservatives in Houston, remember that name: Curtis Garmon. Do your research but think about his willingess to put himself on the front lines and confront the growth of government head on.
Click here to view a slideshow from the event.
UPDATE: Martha at Musings has learned that Jolanda Jones did attend, arriving after I left and after all of the candidate’s opening statements. As Muse notes, that makes for 17 of 18 attending. That says a lot about the BAAD Women club’s reputation.