Tag: city politics

Full Show

The State of Houston Politics and Government, and Political Roundup: Wednesday’s Show (May 3, 2017)

Posted on · Today on Houston Matters, we continue our 3rd annual State of Houston series with a look at the state of politics and government in Greater Houston with the help of Andrew Schneider, News 88.7’s politics and government reporter Also this hour…

Houston Matters

With a Pension Plan Decided, How Does Houston Sell It to the Legislature?

Posted on · A couple of weeks ago (Oct. 26, 2016), the Houston City Council passed a resolution of support for Mayor Sylvester Turner’s proposal to reform the city’s pensions system. As News 88.7 reported, the deal includes $2.5 billion in benefit reductions, changes to annual cost of living adjustments and increased employee contributions. Mayor Turner says the […]

Full Show

Selling the Pension Plan, and Helping the Homeless: Thursday’s Show (November 10, 2016)

Posted on · A couple of weeks ago, the Houston City Council passed a resolution of support for Mayor Sylvester Turner’s proposal to reform the city’s pensions system. As News 88.7 reported, the deal includes $2.5 billion in benefit reductions, changes to annual cost of living adjustments and increased employee contributions. Mayor Turner says the proposal will lower […]

Houston Matters

Former Mayoral Candidate Bill King Takes Issue With Potential Pension Reform Deal

Posted on · The Houston City Council this morning (Oct. 26, 2016) passed a resolution of support for Mayor Sylvester Turner’s proposal to reform the city’s pension system and address an unfunded liability in the billions, paying it off over 30 years. This, after the firefighters’ pension board Monday agreed to the plan which will, among other measures, lower the assumed […]

Houston Matters

Houston Matters Highlights Conversations About Solving the City’s Pension Problems

Posted on · During this fundraising week, Houston Matters is highlighting coverage of a number of important issues and developments that we’ve felt compelled to revisit a number of times over the course of the last year, like campus carry, the state of the oil and gas industry and efforts to mitigate traffic. Today, though, we turn our […]

Houston Matters

Mayor Turner Answers Your Questions About Pensions, Potholes and City Politics

Posted on · Earlier this month (Sept. 14, 2016), Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced a preliminary plan to reform the city’s pension system and address an unfunded liability in the billions, paying it off over thirty years. The plan will, among other measures, lower the assumed rate of return on pension investments to seven percent, which Turner says […]

Good, Bad and Ugly

City Budget Passes and Houston Drinks More Than Chicago: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Houston News

Posted on · A lot can happen in a week. Some of it good. Some of it bad. Some of it downright ugly. When faced with intriguing developments in the week’s news, we turn to our rotating panel of “non-experts” to parse The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of it all. On this edition, we discuss: The […]

Houston Matters

Talk to the Mayor: Sylvester Turner Answers Your Questions

Posted on · Upon taking office in January, Mayor Sylvester Turner’s first action was to establish a new policy in hopes of better addressing Houston’s ongoing pothole challenges. He has also begun a full-scale review of the city’s budget. Of course, those efforts represent just some of the responsibilities of being the mayor of America’s fourth-largest city. We […]

Houston Matters

Inauguration Ceremonies Held for Mayor Turner, Council Members

Posted on · At inauguration ceremonies this morning (Jan. 4, 2016) at Jones Hall, Mayor Sylvester Turner took the oath of office, along with new city council members and City Controller Chris Brown. In his inaugural address, Mayor Turner shared some of his personal journey in politics and a positive message regarding the challenges facing the City of Houston. And […]

Houston Matters

What Challenges Face Houston’s Next Mayor?

Posted on · On Saturday (Dec. 12, 2015), Houston voters went to the polls and narrowly elected Sylvester Turner as the next Mayor of Houston. Turner, who eked out the runoff election win with 51 percent of the vote, reinforced in his victory speech that he “will do [his] very, very best to represent every single Houstonian in this city.” The […]

Houston Matters

Breaking Down the 2015 Houston City Council and Controller Races

Posted on · In just a few weeks, Houstonians will cast their ballot not only for the next mayor, but also for city council members and controller. To better understand the races and what’s at stake, we talk with Charles Kuffner, who writes the “Off the Kuff” political blog, about the various races and the issues of most […]

Houston Matters

Houston Mayoral Candidate Steve Costello Answers Your Questions

Posted on · On Tuesdays through Sept. 22, 2015, we offer you a chance to speak directly with the major candidates running to be the next mayor of the City of Houston. We continue on this edition with Houston City Council Member Steve Costello. Costello is a civil engineer, the co-founder and president of the engineering and surveying firm Costello Inc. […]