Media

Wednesday, October 16, 2009

Leading Candidates Give Back Illegal Donations (click here for full article)

Chronicle review finds some gifts over limit or made in ‘blackout’ period

By MIKE SNYDER and BRADLEY OLSON

HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Oct. 16, 2009, 6:41AM

THE MAYORAL RACE

In-kind gifts questioned

Others have raised questions about Bradford’s report because more than 60 percent of his total of $112,945 was in-kind rather than monetary donations. These included $7,200 in donations for the value of the use of donors’ property for placement of large political signs.

Several political professionals unaffiliated with Bradford’s or his opponents’ campaigns said they had never heard of this being reported as an in-kind contribution. They suggested it was an effort to create the appearance of greater support.

“He wanted to show the bottom-line funds on his report as higher than he had received in cash donations or checks,” said Nancy Sims, a longtime Houston political consultant who now works in public relations and is blogging about the mayor’s race. “He’s stretched a bit to beef those numbers up and make the race look competitive.”

Bradford denied that, saying he made an effort to report everything to be as transparent as possible.

On the spending side, Khalid Khan, a candidate for council District F, did not report any direct mailing expenditures even though residents of his southwest Houston district report having received numerous campaign mailings from him during the time covered by the most recent report.

Khan also filed an affidavit that his total contributions did not exceed $20,000 to get a waiver from the electronic filing requirement. However, donations in the report totaled more than $34,000.

Khan said he filed the affidavit because he was unable to get a password to file his report electronically from the city secretary’s office on the day it was due. He said the mailing expenses were not reported because he had not been billed for them yet, although the law requires that expenses be reported when they are incurred.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Check out my interview with KPRC Channel 2 News and Beyond The Headlines with host Kim Davis. Mustafa Tameez, Orlando Sanchez and I discuss campaign finances. (Click images for video)

Plus I was quoted in the Houston Chronicle’s Houston Politics blog discussing former Mayor Bob Lanier and his influence in the mayoral race.

Mayoral race heating up, but no spark yet

Click title for full article

By BRADLEY OLSON Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle

Aug. 25, 2009, 9:07PM

After a moribund summer political season, the race for Houston’s next mayor is beginning to pick up steam.

Voters this week were greeted on television by the first candidate to take his message to the airwaves, and nearly all the major political, business and labor groups that endorse candidates finally have picked sides.

The Houston Police Officers Union announced its support for former City Attorney Gene Locke on Monday, City Controller Annise Parker was endorsed last Thursday night by the Houston Organization of Public Employees, and City Councilman Peter Brown began presenting himself in short TV ads Monday night as a lifelong Houstonian with a “detailed blueprint” to improve America’s fourth-largest city.

What does it all mean? That the race remains a toss-up going into the final two months, as each new development has failed to crown any candidate with the title of frontrunner, area politicos say.

“I still see it as a fairly tight race,” said Nancy Sims, a Houston political analyst and former campaign consultant who is blogging about the race. “There seems to be a significant amount of voter apathy. … That means we will see a low voter turnout, and any variety of factors could put one of these candidates into a frontrunner position.”

Monday, August 3, 2009

Check me out in this month’s issue of Texas Monthly. Pick up a copy or read online.

“White Elephant: Can the candidates vying to be Houston’s next mayor shake the outsized reputation of their popular predecessor?” (click image for story)

Illustration by Steve Brodner

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Check me out on KPRC Channel 2’s Beyond The Headlines with host Kim Davis. Marcus Davis, owner of the Breakfast Klub and talk show host for MAJIC 102 FM, and I discuss what Houstonians need in a mayor. (Click the image to view. My segment is in the middle at 11:50.)