Vote whittles City Council hopefuls to 24
Only 4 incumbents win outright as rest of the field renews campaigns for Dec. 14 runoff
Tuesday’s election left a majority of Houston City Council seats undecided, and the 24 candidates who advanced to runoffs said Wednesday they don’t plan to veer much from their successful first-round campaign messages.
And, hours after final votes were tallied, some were already mounting attacks.
The field vying for the 12 undecided council seats dwindled from more than 100 to 24 in Tuesday’s
contests, as candidates competing in crowded races struggled to reach the threshold needed to win outright. Only four candidates, all incumbents, secured the majority needed to avoid runoffs.
Another four incumbents find their re-election campaigns prolonged in a runoff on Dec. 14. The remaining eight races are open seats left vacant by members who faced term limits or ran for other offices.
Some candidates said they were happy simply to have made it to a runoff. Several races had more than a dozen people vying for the top two vote counts, resulting in razor-thin margins that decided who moved forward.
Brad "Scarface" Jordan said he was still in shock Wednesday. The former member of the Geto Boys hip hop group hadn’t expected to advance, but ultimately took second in a 16-candidate field for District D.
“This is unbelievable bro,” he said. “I’m just as shocked as you are.”
Others, like incumbent Michael Kubosh in At-Large 3 (47.8 percent), Amy Peck in District A (45.4 percent) and Tiffany Thomas in District F (38.9 percent), enter their runoffs with commanding leads.
“We could have won outright last night if those clowns weren’t on the ballot,” Thomas said of the candidates eliminated Tuesday, most of whom polled in the single digits. “They didn’t work at the polls, they weren’t at early voting.”
Peck said her level of support indicated that voters want a continuation of the service they have seen under incumbent Brenda Stardig. Peck is Stardig’s chief of staff, and she has pledged to work towards finishing drainage and infrastructure projects already underway.
“Being that far ahead, it’s a clear message of what the voters want,” Peck said.
Other candidates said they plan to focus on issues that voters have said drove them to the polls — flooding and the city's budget. Last week, dozens of early voters told the Chronicle that they were dismayed by the negative tone of the mayoral race, and said that the back-and-forth distracted from the city’s more pressing issues.
That strategy may work for the political newcomers who, in the absence of records to defend, framed their contests as ones based on ideas, not attacks.
But for the four incumbents who failed to garner a majority of votes, the month until runoff elections could resemble a referendum of the city’s current leadership, including Mayor Sylvester Turner.
That could pose problems for Turner allies, particularly now that more centrist mayoral candidates have been vanquished
Mark Jones, a Rice University political science professor, said that the mayoral race could impact down-ballot races.
“If the Buzbee campaign is able to flourish and expand his base of support, then it’ll be a positive for the more conservative candidates,” Jones said. “You could also see a scenario where Buzbee pursues a type of scorched-earth strategy that ends up backfiring.”
He added that, because candidates can now focus on one challenger, they may try to differentiate themselves through more negative campaigning.
That much was already clear on Wednesday.
Thomas, the top vote-getter in District F, raised questions that her opponent, Van Huynh, has faced about his residency. He is incumbent Steve Le’s chief of staff.
Three of the last four District F council members, including Le, have faced questions about whether they live in the southwestern district, as required by city charter and state law.
“I don’t run nasty races, but I do think it’s a valid point that I’m in a runoff with someone who doesn’t live here,” Thomas said.
Huynh, who did not return calls for comment Wednesday, listed his address in campaign filings as a house he rents just off Brays Bayou, but he and his wife claim a homestead exemption on a home they have owned for two decades that sits outside District F.
The council aide has said he stays in the rental he listed on his filing form two to three nights a week, and last month provided a copy of his lease that lists his “main address” at his home outside the district.
Huynh said he and his family are in the process of moving to a new home in the district, but they did not purchase that home until July of this year. City rules require candidates to live in the district they hope to represent for 12 months before election day, but experts say the dictate is hard to enforce.
In a few races, candidates already had begun to sharpen their differences, suggesting ideological contrasts that could produce combative races.
“The citizens of Houston need to know what they’re getting with their elected officials,” said At-Large 1 Councilman Mike Knox. “With me, they get a dispassionate approach to government. I’m more focused on the business of the city. My opponent is more interested in using the platform as a launching pad to promote a particular political agenda.”
Raj Salhotra, a former high school math teacher who is facing Knox, disagreed, arguing that the incumbent has taken votes on council that prioritize politics over core budgetary issues.
“I think there’s a clear dichotomy in choice between him and I, in terms of vision for the city, specificity of policy ideas and core values,” Salhotra said.
Letitia Plummer, a dentist and business owner running for AtLarge Position 4, said there was a “huge distinction” with her opponent, 22-year-old Anthony Dolcefino.
“I think it’s amazing that millenials are coming up and getting engaged in the political process, but I do think there’s something to be said when you’ve created jobs for 20 years, when you’ve balanced budgets, when you know what life looks like,” Plummer said. “We can all have a platform but you have to find how that platform fits in with all of these different, dynamic communities… That’s what’s difficult. I’m able to do that because I can relate to them.”
In response, Dolcefino said he has all the experience needed for a seat on council, citing his work for a state representative at the statehouse and as an investigative researcher. His father, former television reporter Wayne Dolcefino, now runs a consulting firm. The candidate, who has campaigned on a message of ethics reform, emphasized the need for new perspectives at City Hall.
“We need accountability and action now at City Hall,” he said.
“It’s time to elect a fresh face to do that.”
In District H, Councilwoman Karla Cisneros is battling for a second term against Isabel Longoria, a former city planning commissioner and legislative policy aide. During the first leg of the campaign, Longoria said she focused her campaign intently on promoting civic engagement, and pitched the case that Cisneros has not been proactive enough on issues like opposing TxDOT’s I-45 expansion plan.
“That's really where I think the difference is between Karla and I,” Longoria said. “It's just being more proactive and being community organizer-centric, where there's always something that we could be working towards.”
Cisneros, a former teacher and HISD board president, said she wants to continue her focus on expanding the city’s role in education and workforce development. She called Longoria’s critiques “off base” and accused her of “making stuff up,” while insisting that she has actively opposed the I-45 expansion as it stands.
“I feel good about this. I expect to win,” Cisneros said. “I was in the runoff last time and I did just fine. So, this isn't new to me. I've got a strong work ethic and I'm going to be working hard.”
In the race for At-Large Position 2, candidates were more diplomatic. Incumbent David Robinson said it would be “unfortunate” if the campaign turned negative. “Those attacks have not resonated or gotten traction with a majority of the voters,” he said.
His challenger, longtime community activist Willie Davis, echoed those concerns, and said he’s running solely on his record rather than Robinson’s — which Davis said is unimpressive.
“I don’t have to run on criticism of (Robinson),” he said. “I can run on my record. (Robinson’s) record can’t speak for him because he has no record.”
Jordan, in District D, will face Carolyn Evans-Shabazz in the race to replace Councilman Dwight Boykins, who vacated his seat for an ill-fated mayoral run. Evans-Shabazz said she, too, was surprised — but pleased — that she’d face Jordan.
“I think he’s a good person, and I look forward to a good race and good run,” she aid.
Personal injury attorney Eric Dick, who took second in the race for At-Large Position 5, was similarly complimentary of his opponent Sallie Alcorn, a longtime City Hall aide and staffer.
“She’s a nice woman,” Dick said. “I’m not going to say anything bad about her. I’m just going to explain to people my life and who I am, and that I’m going to listen and do my best to represent everybody, especially the people I disagree with.”