On the Eve of Early Voting

Today is the big day in which folks will begin to cast their ballots and decide who will lead Houston for at least the next 2 years but most likely the next 6 if history proves to be any indicator on how our system works.

The most recent Houston Chronicle/Zogby poll does not look pretty for Gene Locke. No matter how many endorsements he gets or that he is the defacto Democratic Party candidate … times are hard for the former City Attorney turned Andres Kurth partner.

Perhaps, the information that reminded folks that he earns about $640 an hour while representing the City of Houston hurt a bit. It could also be the incompetence of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority which is bleeding money left and right … and the responsible party at moment is Gene Locke. Maybe, it is the ill delivered allegations attacking Annise Parker regarding the city budget … Parker was able to dodge that swipe and convinced us all that Locke is just confused about the city budget. At the end of the day … it could just be the poorly run campaign that was not able to capitalize at opportune times.

One thing is for sure though … if the polls are any indicator of what we shall expect on November 3, 2009 … it's that Peter Brown and Annise Parker are headed to a runoff. But, you cannot count out Locke just yet … 36% of those polled are still up for grabs which is more than enough to cause an upset.

Then we have to think of the ballot setup and everyone who knows anything about politics knows that location matters. Peter Brown could not have asked for a better spot … coming in first on the ballot while unfortunately for Locke … he is last. The first candidate benefits from a 5% voter increase because let’s just be honest … some folks will A) be too lazy B) be ignorant and not know who to vote for or C) not understand how to operate the machine and thus the first candidate will benefit because it is the first choice.

So, it seems that Peter Brown’s ads have worked … I spotted them at least twice this weekend … once during the UT vs OU (Sucks!) game on Saturday and during the Phillies vs. Dodgers National League Championship Series game last night.

According to the poll … Brown and Parker are in a statistical tie, which is better news for Parker than it is for Brown because no matter how much money he has thrown into the race … he has only benefitted marginally against Parker. I do not know how long Parker can keep that up once her bank account begins to run on fumes and Brown begins to stimulate the Houston economy a second time from his checking account in order to seal the deal in December.

Then the Houston Chronicle pulled a WTF? when they decided to co-endorse Parker and Locke … they might as well have thrown Brown in because that endorsement is useless. Who the hell goes into the ballot to vote and gets to split their vote. I agree the candidates are great and they have excellent ideas on how to make the city an even better Houston. The co-endorsement is as useless as Michael Steele is to the GOP … or is it more like Rush Limbaugh when he doesn’t get to pop his “prescription” pills.

All these “What ifs?” can really torment someone that does not have access to a magic 8 ball. One thing is for sure … today you can join Annise Parker and cast your vote at 9AM at the Metropolitan Multi-Service Center located on 1475 W. Gray in Houston, Texas 77019. Coincidentally, that is where I voted for the first time in my life when I drove in from Austin, Texas to vote for Mayor Bill White.

You can click here to find out the nearest locations and times for early voting centers in Harris County. With 2 weeks left … candidates let's get ready to rumble ...