GregsOpinion.com

More or less Final Results:

Reflections:
White blowing the 60% threshold out of the park cannot serve as a huge surprise, but Annise Parker doing the same, is. City Controller has typically been a stepping stone for those with ambitions, and Annise Parker could well be on her way to positioning herself for a Mayoral bid six years from now.

The parties trading races on the At Large seats is likewise not too shocking. I called Green as having an advantage. The rationale that George Strong provided also serves as being reinforced ... female + incumbant = tough to beat. Nevermind that Shelly is the biggest airhead on council. Life will go on. Despite having the garden variety of endorsements and networking ties that Peter Brown had, he came across as unpolished in the few times I saw him on TV. Come to think of it, Bert Keller always struck me as a bit of a goof on TV also.

The city council now has a GOP majority. That, in and of itself is notable. But the voters have also rewarded candidates that have stuck to the middle. Bill White is the obvious poster child of this, having positioned himself well in the middle of Sanchez and Turner. But even here in District F, two GOP candidates duke it out with the winner, MJ Khan, having the endorsements of such liberal luminaries as Sylvester Turner, Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gordon Quan. That Khan stuck to issues of street repair and police patrols (he did have the hot check mailer late, also) shows he made a skillful choice in looking for bipartisan support. Khan may yet be the most worthwhile to watch in order to see if his votes reflect the type of support he won. He'll also get some attention as the first Pakistani-born member of council and its first Muslim. Despite the outcome in District G, Pam Holm's apparent win can even be viewed in the same light. The district there, however, is solidly GOP and should have favored a candidate from "the Republican wing of the Republican party" as Jeff Daily might have been inclined to portray himself. Holm, who has worked with Trees for Houston among other groups that aren't quite part of the stereotypical GOP landscape, managed to lead the November vote count and may yet hang on for a win after all the p's and q's are checked on the final tally.

Assuming any type of misconduct, scandal, or fiscal woes on the part of the city, look for Mayor White to get, perhaps, nominal opposition in 2005, and assuming he fends that off better than Lee Brown's 65% showing in '99, little to no opposition in 2007. The 63% return this time around may well earn him a relatively unopposed 6-year term, however.

What I do expect to occur as a counter to a White Administration, is the county to ramp up its efforts to weigh in against the city whenever possible. Will Judge Lindsay and Steve Radack place the faith in Bill White that they had in Bob Lanier? My hunch is that if the county GOP is as worried about White building support for a statewide run in 2006 (or 2008 ... or 2010), they may not allow for a softening of their efforts to earn more control over Metro, the Sports Authority, and other issues. Another force at work is the group of contractors on the outs with Metro and/or White. Those have been the ones funding the anti-rail efforts ... does White mend bridges with that group and soften the urge to act as a counterweight? Watch and see what happens with the 290 corridor on rail to be an indicator. If White can work with the county to get that added to the rail proposal, then its a sign of cooperation on both sides. If not ... then it could be a contentious 6 years for Bill White.

Will there be anything similar to expect in order to prevent Annise Parker from gaining more and more credibility as a citywide candidate? I've got to think so. Her outcome this time around was a notch better than her runoff win last time as an At Large councilmember. Bigger question ... will conservatives view her as they did Sylvester Turner this time around ... the candidate they hope will be in the race in order to hand-deliver the GOP vote to one of their own and allow them to cherry-pick others still uneasy about Parker's sexuality? Could be interesting to see.

Rising Stars:
Michael Berry and Mark Ellis both won their races in November. Berry's desire to run for something larger is well-known. Announcing for a higher office months after being elected to another is usually a dead giveaway. Look for him to await announcement of the ruling on congressional districts. Two possibilities: He challenges Chris Bell if the old lines hold ... he runs for the 2nd if the new ones hold up in court. The 25th CD is one that favors Dems, but is always going to have to be fought tooth and nail by both sides. The new-look 10th already has a strong candidate in Ted Poe, but it also covers Berry's hometown of Orange as well as the Northeastern area of Harris County.

Mark Ellis, as I understand it ... can only serve two more years. So look for his citywide run to serve as a testing ground for a possible run for Mayor or Controller next time around (if he's so inclined). He's not as well-known, but the fact that he won without a runoff may fuel a few dreams on his part.

Gordon Quan ... another winner in November, may or may not have similar aspirations. But his limitation is that the two top city offices are held by Dems. A challenge would be extremely difficult and therefore, has to be considered unlikely. Will Quan retire into the good night of the political world? He's got two years to decide.

MJ Khan, as noted earlier, is the first Muslim and Pakistani-born member of council. He's made some lofty promises about increasing funds spent in Dist. F on road repair. His first order of business is to deliver. If he does, and he stays in the middle of any ideological disputes, he may have a future. That his 6-year clock begins at the same time as White's and Parker's is advantageous. Don't be shocked if he opts for an At Large seat as vacancies open up. Also, don't think you've heard the last of Khan's main challenger: Terry McConn.

10:40pm:
Holm wins by the slimmest of margins (29 votes) ... look for a recount on this one.
Khan pulls away ... 53-47 (81.8% in)
Green pulls away with similar results.
(UPDATE: Overseas votes will apparently decide the Holm/Daily race)

10:30pm:
White - 62-38 (60% reporting)
Gibbs- 52-48
Green - 52-48
Parker - 62-38
Khan - 52-48
Daily - leads by a whisker
Garcia - 52-48

About all that's left to see is if the 60% threshold stays there for White & Parker and if Daily can hold on to a lead.

10pm:
Orlando concedes ...
White accepts ...
Khan leads 52-48
Gibbs & Green & Parker lead on the citywides.

7:00 - Early returns posted:
White up 60-40
Khan over McConn by all of 41 votes
Daily over Holm by 534 votes
Garcia over Martinez 54-46
Gibbs over Brown 55-45
Keller over Green 52-48
Parker over Tatro 58-42

I'd be shocked if there's any wild swings from those numbers between now and the time all votes are counted. Over 76,000 votes case in the mayors race, so if the total remaining is around 200,000 votes, the early votes should be a pretty decent indicator. Updates coming as warranted .....