Melissa Noriega in a Runoff, FBISD School Board Swept Clean

Well in the Melissa Noriega race for Houston City Council, there’s good news and there’s bad news. The good news is that Melissa won in Fort Bend County. She garnered 216 (51.67 %) votes to her nearest competitor, Kendall Garner, who received 63 votes (15.07 %). Roy Morales, who will face Melissa in a runoff election got 24 votes in the Fort Bend County part of Houston. Unfortunately, his numbers in Harris County were a bit higher, at 6,321 (18.69 %) to Melissa’s impressive 15,729 (46.50 %). So the bad news is that Melissa Noriega did not win the race outright and will have to face one opponent in a runoff election: Rick "I will save Houston from the Terrorists" Morales.

I attended the Melissa Noriega election watch party after the polls closed (sorry forgot the camera) and listened to Melissa as she spoke to a crowd, that at times topped 200 souls, telling them that they could all go home and celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday, but to be prepared to come back on Monday to begin again if there is a runoff.

Melissa Noriega has lots of supporters. She spoke of that over and over again in her election night speech. She likened putting your name on the ballot in an election to someone dumping a mountain of sand in your backyard, and then they give you a spoon to move the whole thing. “I can’t do this,” she said in exasperation, “but then everyone showed up holding spoons”.

Some of the more well-known politicos who showed up with their spoons were none other than Chris Bell who came within just a few percentage points (well, 9 and change) of being our governor right now, Houston Mayor Bill White, Judge Susan Criss of the 212th District court in Galveston County (rumored to be in the race for Texas Supreme Court Justice), and a couple of SDEC members that I could see. Also in attendance was Melissa Noriega’s trophy husband, State Rep. Rick Noriega.

So that’s what’s happening in Houston. Back over here in Fort Bend County we have a new school board. Bob “Anyone but Lisa” Broxson swept Lisa Rickert out of office by an impressive margin with 6,406 votes (63.58 %) to her 3,670 (36.42 %).

So long Lisa. It’s been (a) real (pain).

David Reitz, the Republican that I could not support because there was a credible Democrat on the ballot, edged out his fellow Republican, Ken Bryant by a few percentage points. None of those running in the race garnered a majority but in this race, you only need a plurality, and that was what Reitz got with a total of 3,521 votes (36.36 %) to the next higher vote getter, Bryant, whose totals were 2,936 (30.32 %).

Notable in this race was that Daniel Menendez took in 504 clueless votes. Menendez pulled out of the race in deference to Reitz. Imagine what would have happened had he stayed in. We’d be stuck with Bryant just like we are stuck with Rick Perry.

By the way, have we deported Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn yet? If not, what’s the hold-up?

And last but not least, the Fort Bend County Proposition 1 passed by 79.21% to 20.79 %. People, people, people. Do you not know that you have plopped another 156 million smackers in the hands of our kleptocratic county court? I give up. OK, someone has to watch these characters and it isn’t going to be me because I warned you. You gave them this windfall, YOU hold them accountable.

By the way, rumor has it that Judge Hebert is something like $100 poorer now due to a Texas Ethics Commission fine.

$100.

Now I could be wrong, but I think that is just the tip of the melting iceberg in what is coming.