Mayor’s race, Astrodome lure voters to the polls By Allan Turner, Erin Mulvaney | November 4, 2013 | Updated: November 5, 2013 11:19am Not rocket science, maybe, but an “off-off year” ballot crowded with high-dollar propositions and contested races, two issues seemed to draw voters Tuesday: the fate of the Astrodome and of Mayor Annise Parker‘s bid for re-election. In an unscientific sampling of voters, those topics consistently topped the list of concerns. Parker, who is seeking her third term as mayor, is being challenged by former City Attorney Ben Hall. Seven lesser-known, lesser-funded candidates also are vying for the city’s top administrative post. The Astrodome, the world’s first covered all-purpose sports stadium, opened in 1965. It largely was supplanted by Reliant Stadium, however, losing a major tenant, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, to the new venue in 2003. The proposed $217 million plan facing voters would convert the dome into an event and exhibition space dubbed “The New Dome Experience.” “The Astrodome is an important historical landmark for Houston in a city that doesn’t have many landmarks,” said Hal Werner, 29, an advertising copy writer. “It’s worth saving.” Werner, among a handful of early voters at Grace Lutheran Church in Montrose, also said he cast his vote for Parker, whom he lauded for her advocacy of parks and bicycle paths. Steven Lorch, who voted at the West Gray Recreation Center, said he grew up in Houston. He, too, voted to rehab the Astrodome. “It’s the Eighth Wonder of the World, after all,” he said. Stephanie Cochran, who moved to Houston from New York City a decade ago, demurred. “I believe we spend too much that we don’t have on things that don’t have value to us,” she said of the Dome. “We have to move on.” Some Parker supporters who voted at Grace Lutheran suggested they were drawn by her persona rather than specific issues “I like what she does for Houston and I trust her,” said Jamie Bobbitt, 34, a management consultant. “I appreciate how she represents us.” Said Alexandros Kinalidis, 25, “I couldn’t find any reason to vote for anyone else.” Even so, he added, he wished Parker’s administration was more aggressive in promoting mass transit. Keron Seale, 33, a telecommunications worker voting at Payne Chaple AME Church in Houston’s Fifth Ward, said community issues such as increased police patrols and the removal of derelict buildings led him to support Hall. “As minorities, we need to stick together…,” he said. “Our opinion matters and we can change things we don’t like. Hall seems like he would be a good change, but only time will tell if he’s the person he says he is.” Parker, a former City Council member and city controller, is seeking her final two-year term as mayor. Hall, an African-American with a divinity school background and a Harvard law degree, has sought to galvanize black voters, political observers say, but his best chance at winning may be to push the contest into a runoff. Rice University political science professor Robert Stein said African-American voting thus far has been “way up,” but added that the support seems evenly split between Parker and Hall. Houston voters also will cast ballots for controller and 16 City Council position. Harris County Clerk Stan Stanart predicted roughly 100,000 voters may trek to the polls Tuesday, despite cloudy skies and a 30 percent chance for rain. Already, early balloting, which ended Friday, topped 109,000, a record for early voting in elections in which no state or federal offices were at stake. Tuesday morning, elections spokesman Hector DeLeon said polling was progressing smoothly. “The only way we can gauge is by telephone calls, and it’s been quiet,” he said. Among proposed bond issues, Harris County voters will decide the fate of a $70 million plan to fund a portion of a joint city-county inmate processing center to be used by the Houston Police Department and the Harris County Sheriff’s office. Looming large in suburban balloting is a proposed $99 million bond issue at the Katy Independent School District. Slightly more than $69 million would be used to build an athletic stadium. Statewide, voters will determine the fate of Proposition 6, which would provide $2 billion to help finance reservoirs, pipelines and other water infrastructure. If approved, the measure would move money from the state’s rainy day fund to a revolving, low-interest loan program for water projects. Voting at Eastwood Academy on the city’s east side, Michele Sabino said she favored the proposition. “Water is the next hot topic on everyone’s agenda,” the 69-year-old former University of Houston-Downtownadministrator said. “Water is important for our industries.” Devon Murphy, 47, a residential contractor, agreed. Proposition 6, he said, “shows forward thinking from our leaders.” Stanart said voting machines were distributed to 775 polling places in the county. Last-minute training of election judges was completed over the weekend. Stein agreed that voting in the election will be substantial, but said the heaviest turnout may have come during early voting. Turnout in the 2011 election barely topped 10 percent. The 2013 election, Stein predicted, “may go closer to 20 percent.” ift.tt/1a5PgVn
Posted on: Tue, 05 Nov 2013 19:50:14 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015