City Politics II GOVT 2305, Module 11

Houston Electorate White Republicans—31 % African American—22 % White Democrats—28 % Hispanics—12 % Asians—4 % Population: Latino—44 % White—26 % Black—24 % Asian—6 %

Bob Lanier, 1992-1998 Bob Lanier defeated African American legislator Sylvester Turner with the support of white, Latino, and Asian voters.

Lee P. Brown, 1998-2004 Lee Brown defeated Hispanic Republican Orlando Sanchez with the support of African American voters and white Democrats.

Bill White, 2004-2010 Bill White defeated Orlando Sanchez with the support of white Democrats and African Americans.

2009 Election Gene Locke, port commissioner Peter Brown, councilman Annise Parker, controller Roy Morales, County Board of Education

Locke, Morales, Parker, Brown

Gene Locke, Democrat Civil rights activist turned corporate lawyer Former city attorney Downtown business support Never run for office before

Annise Parker, Democrat Won six straight citywide elections for council and controller Stressed experience and problem solving skills Out lesbian, former president of Gay/ Lesbian Political Caucus

Peter Brown, Democrat Wealthy architect (it’s his wife’s money) Member of city council Focus on urban planning

Roy Morales, Republican Member Harris County Board of Education Only Republican in the race No one took him seriously

Campaign Dynamics Brown spent the most money on TV (> $ 2 million) Locke spent money on TV and tried to mobilize black voters Parker had the strongest organization and the most Facebook friends, but lagged in fundraising Morales ran as the only conservative in the race, but had no organization and no money

Results of Nov. Voting Annise Parker 54,193 (30.5%) Gene Locke 45,954 (25.90%) Peter Brown 39,904 (22.4%) Roy Morales 35,925 (20.20%)

Runoff Strategies Parker Locke Parker stayed the course by presenting herself as an experienced leader with the knowledge to address the city’s financial problems. Relied on volunteer network. Fundraising picked up. Brown endorsed her. Path to victory was no longer clear. Tried to secretly play the sexual-orientation card to scare voters away from Parker, but the media uncovered his involvement and the play backfired.

Ad secretly funded by Locke backers Political activist Dave Wilson (remember the name) mailed out the ad, but it was funded by Locke backers.

Locke put on defensive Locke’s fundraising chair and another key backer gave $50 K to conservative Republican activists Dave Wilson and Steven Hotze* who used the money to attack Parker because of her sexual orientation Hotze is an associate of Dan Patrick.

Parker Won Runoff Annise D. Parker 81,975 (53%) Gene Locke 73,337 (47%)

Analysis Parker won six of nine council districts. Locke won big in the African American areas, but turnout was low. The candidates split the Latino areas. Parker won everywhere else.

De-racialization & Sexual Orientation Parker’s election is an example of applying a de-racialization strategy to sexual orientation. Parker held her base without appearing to be threatening to other groups of voters. As a result, she was able to win a majority of the vote.

2011 Election Mayor Parker won reelection in 2011 against a group of unknown opponents. She received just more than 50 percent of the vote, barely avoiding a runoff.

2013 Election Parker easily won a third and final term as mayor in 2013, defeating attorney Ben Hall.

2015 Election With Mayor Parker term limited, Houston had its first wide open mayor’s race in six years. Several serious candidates mounted campaigns.

Turner was endorsed by the fire and police unions. Sylvester Turner Turner was the early frontrunner because his base in the African American community made him almost certain to make a runoff. Turner was endorsed by the fire and police unions. Democratic State Representative Sylvester Turner

Adrian Garcia Sheriff Adrian Garcia was a strong candidate because he had won election countywide, but he started with a relatively small base. Also, when he announced, he was forced to resign. Harris County Sheriff Adrian Garcia, Democrat

Chris Bell Chris Bell, a former member of city council, former congressman, and former Democratic nominee for governor, hoped to win the support of white Democrats. Chris Bell, former Democratic member of Congress

Bill King Bill King is a Republican businessman who ran as a moderate. He hoped to combine the votes of Republicans with independent voters. Businessman Bill King

Stephen Costello Stephen Costello, a Republican member of city council, ran as a moderate problem solver. City Councilmember Stephen Costello

November Vote Sylvester Turner 32 % Bill King 25 % Adrian Garcia 17 % Ben Hall 9 % Chris Bell 7 % Stephen Costello 7 %

Runoff Contenders

Runoff Election Turner 108,389 51 % King 104,307 49 % Turner won 93 % of the black vote; King took 71 % of the white vote. Turner won because he had a much better get out the vote operation.

Color-Coded Voting

Houston Demographics

Side by Side

Quiz Which of the following is the smallest voting bloc in Houston elections? Republicans White Democrats Hispanics African Americans The answer is C.

What You Have Learned How does the election of recent Houston mayors demonstrate the de-racialization strategy of urban politics? What the 2009 election demonstrate about Houston politics? Who are the major contenders for mayor in 2015 and how did the race play out?