District Bfills council seat after year in limbo

Thirteen months after the first round of voting, Houstonians in District B on Saturday finally picked their city councilperson.

Tarsha Jackson beat out Cynthia Bailey, whose 2007 felony conviction became cause for a lawsuit that stalled the runoff.

Saturday’s decision ended the long period of limbo, both for the candidates and residents of the district.

Bailey congratulated Jackson in a statement.

“I look forward to continuing to fight to solve neighborhood issues together,” Bailey said. “District B will benefit from her leadership. It’s time to get to work.”

Fourteen people ran in Nov. 2019 to represent District B, which includes Acres Homes, Fifth Ward and Kashmere Gardens.

Jackson and Bailey finished first and second in that race, with 21and 15 percent of the vote, respectively. A run off was scheduled for the next month.

But third-place-finisher Renee Jefferson-Smith argued Bailey should not have been allowed to run at all. Bailey served 18 months for stealing money from a local school district.

State law allows those with felony convictions to run for office if they’ve been released from “resulting disabilities” — a phrase courts have interpreted differently.

Attorneys for the city defended the decision to include Bailey on the ballot. In August, an appellate court ruling allowed her name to stay. Jefferson-Smith did not appeal that decision, clearing the way for Saturday’s election.

Jackson through it all felt disappointed by the delay and eager to move ahead. While she waited, she worked on a criminal justice reform platform.

Outgoing councilman Jerry Davis, who was term-limited, meanwhile stayed in the seat. Nearly 200,000 people lived in the district as of 2018, a vast majority of whom are Black and Hispanic.

City officials expect the winner will be sworn in around Dec. 21, after the vote is made official.

Southwest of Houston in Missouri City, another race drew attention: Mayor Yolanda Ford was trailing her opponent in early returns.

Ford made history two years ago when she defeated longtime Missouri City Mayor Allen Owen and won his seat. Owen had been mayor for 24 years.

But early Saturday evening it remained possible she would lose it after one termin a runoff with Robin Elackatt, a candidate Owen backed.

The early returns also showed another incumbent candidate, Missouri City councilman Chris Preston, behind against Lynn Clouser.