MCC Report: Lou Hunter Makes It Official and Endorses Gary In District B Run-off!

From the Hunter campaign headquarters:



It's Official! Lou Hunter Endorses Gary In District B Run-off!!!


Lou Hunter, former district B reform challenger, after extensive meetings with both Cynthia Lenton-Gary and Don Smith, run-off candidates in the Missouri City council race, has decided to endorse Gary in her bid for the hotly contested city council seat against the longtime incumbent (Smith). Hunter was quoted as saying "he will now actively spend the next few weeks blockwalking and calling his supporters to get out the vote for Cynthia." He added, "after spending much time interviewing the two candidates, I'm convinced that Ms. Lenton-Gary has the best plan for addressing many of the issues neglected by Smith during his tenure in office."

Mr. Smith has been endorsed by Allen Owen, the Missouri City mayor, who some have noted is heavily backed by Houston area developers. What finally lead to Hunter's decision was the fact that "Ms. Gary lines up well with many of the larger issues impacting our community such as the expanding Blue Ridge Landfill, that the current council supported, loss of our only hospital at the end of 2006, disparity in growth along the hwy 6 and Texas Pkwy corridor, repealing ordinance 46-4, lower ISO fire ratings, lack of independence from the special interests of the current council, increasing crime in district B, and of course, the rising taxes facing all home and property owners", said Lou.

The Hunter for council campaign committee want to offer our best wishes and good luck to Cynthia and her supporters as she carries the flag forward on reforming our city council!

6603 Voters Participated In Early Voting (Ended Tues)-Click the title link

From the Chron:

More than 6,000 Fort Bend County residents voted early

By SESHADRI KUMAR
Chronicle Correspondent

In Fort Bend, 6,603 people voted by the end of early voting Tuesday, representing about 2.5 percent of the county's 265,000 registered voters.

Expected turnout Saturday is 6 percent, said Fort Bend County Election Administrator J.R. Perez.

On Tuesday, 1,841 people voted at 14 locations in Fort Bend, Perez said. Four more early voting locations were added this year.

Also, 803 people have voted early by mail, though 1,531 had requested a ballot by mail.

As in May 2006, Fort Bend voters have a bond proposition on the ballot this May. The county is asking voters Saturday to approve a $156 million bond issue for road and bridge projects.

The highest early voting turnout was at the Rosenberg Annex where 1,050 people voted, followed by 1,019 at City Hall in Missouri City and 942 in First Colony.

For the Fort Bend Independent School District election in which Position 3 and 7 incumbent trustees face challengers, 4,076 people had voted early. . .

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Comment: If you haven't voted get out Saturday and do so!

Missouri City Out Of Compliance With State Law!

This just in to MCC:

Tunstall Uncovers Statutory Shortcomings

MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS Kevin Tunstall, candidate for City Council District C of Missouri City, has uncovered a shortcoming of City Officials regarding statutory reporting requirements for Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones.

State law requires City Councils to file a notification of the establishment of a TIRZ and further requires annual financial reports to be filed with Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts (Tax Code, Chapter 311 § 311.016 (b)).

As of April 16, 2007, Patricia Bailey with the Comptrollers office has verified that Missouri City officials have neither notified their office, nor filed any of the required reports mandated under Chapter 311 of the Texas Tax Code. Depending on when the zones were created, both TIRZs 1 & 2 may have been operating outside of oversight capabilities of the state government.

A government bureaucracy derelict in its responsibilities casts a negative perception on our city, Tunstall said. Perhaps the City Council should spend less time and money on PR Firms and Lobbyists and spend more time on performing their duties as elected officials.

This statutory requirement has been in effect since 1999. Currently, the only Fort Bend County TIRZ being reported is Sugar Land TIRZ #1.

Ethical, open and fiscally responsible government should be the goal of our community,Tunstall stated. When government is not held accountable, we all lose both our dignity and our rights. I think we can do better.

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Ms. Bailey with the Comptrollers office may be reached at 800-252-9121 x 34416


Comment: Last night, during the open session, Kevin Tunstall confronted the Missouri City Council over improper reporting (or the lack of reporting) on several tax reinvestment zones in our city. Could this impact one of these zones being formed for Sienna Plantation near the town center?