2001 Houston mayoral election
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| Turnout | 28.65% (first round) 31.28% (runoff) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Texas |
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 Government |
The 2001 Houston mayoral election took place on November 6, 2001. Incumbent Mayor Lee Brown was re-elected to a third term. Officially the race was non-partisan. None of the candidates received a majority of the votes, so a run-off election was held on December 1, 2001.
Background
[edit]Lee P. Brown was elected mayor of Houston, the first black person to do so, in 1997, and was reelected in 1999. Brown announced that he would seek reelection to a third term, the maximum allowed due to term limits, on August 26, 2001.[1]
Campaign
[edit]- Chris Bell, member of the Houston City Council[2] (Democratic)
- Lee P. Brown, Mayor of Houston[1] (Democratic)
- Larry DeVoy, electrician[3]
- Anthony Dutrow, Socialist Workers Party candidate in Utah's 3rd congressional district in 1990 election[3]
- Orlando Sanchez, member of the Houston City Council[2] (Republican)
- Luis Ullrich, plumber[3]
City controller Sylvia Garcia and city councilor Carroll Robinson considered running.[4][5]
The mayoral election is formally nonpartisan, but Brown and Chris Bell were aligned with the Democratic Party while Orlando Sanchez was aligned with the Republican Party.[6] A forum was held at Kingwood College on October 2,[7] and televised debate was hosted on October 10.[8]
Brown was accused of causing the death of a fire captain due to the city's policy of three people per fire truck rather than the standard four. Brown proposed a $16 million expansion to the fire department's budget after the incident, but Sanchez attacked it as a "self-serving, despicable and cynical act".[6] Bell's wife received a fake anthrax letter. Brown and Sanchez also reported receiving suspicious mail.[9][10]
The Democratic National Committee spent $75,000 to aid Brown and DNC chair Terry McAuliffe campaigned for him. The Republican National Committee donated $15,000 to Sanchez's campaign. Elaine Chao and Mel Martínez, members of President George W. Bush's cabinet, campaigned for Sanchez. 60% of Hispanic voters supported Sanchez in the initial election.[11][12]
Endorsements
[edit]State officials
- Mario Gallegos Jr., member of the Texas Senate from the 6th district[13]
Local officials
- Chris Bell, member of the Houston City Council and mayoral candidate (runoff)[14]
Individuals
- Kenneth Lay, CEO of Enron[15]
Federal officials
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Lee Brown |
Orlando Sanchez |
Chris Bell |
Other / Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston Chronicle KHOU[17][18] |
September 5–10; 20–26[a] | 792 RV | ± | 36% | 19% | 15% | 30% |
Results
[edit]| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Lee P. Brown | Non-partisan democracy | 125,282 | 43.46 | 165,866 | 51.67 | |
| Orlando Sanchez | Non-partisan democracy | 115,967 | 40.23 | 155,164 | 48.33 | |
| Chris Bell | Non-partisan democracy | 45,739 | 15.87 | |||
| Luis Ullrich | Non-partisan democracy | 572 | 0.20 | |||
| Larry DeVoy | Non-partisan democracy | 488 | 0.17 | |||
| Anthony Dutrow | Non-partisan democracy | 235 | 0.08 | |||
| Total | 288,283 | 100.00 | 321,030 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 288,283 | 100.00 | 321,030 | 100.00 | ||
| Invalid votes | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Blank votes | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.00 | ||
| Total votes | 288,283 | 100.00 | 321,030 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 1,006,301 | 28.65 | 1,026,404 | 31.28 | ||
| Source: [19][20][21][22] | ||||||
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Houston's mayor will run again". The Victoria Advocate. August 27, 2001. p. 2A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Houston Looking To Make Internet Accessible To All". Tyler Morning Telegraph. August 21, 2001. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c "Mayoral candidates". Houston Chronicle. October 28, 2001.
- ^ "Bell launches mayoral bid". Houston Chronicle. February 11, 2001.
- ^ "Robinson reconsiders mayoral race". Houston Chronicle. June 6, 2001.
- ^ a b "Houston mayoral race". The Victoria Advocate. October 27, 2001. p. 9A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Political forum at Kingwood College". Houston Chronicle. October 9, 2001.
- ^ "Anthrax made news, but economy kept our attention". Austin American-Statesman. October 14, 2001. p. A20. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston candidate's wife receives hoax". El Paso Times. November 2, 2001. p. 2A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston candidates receive threatening mail". The Orange Leader. November 2, 2001. p. 7A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Duggan, Paul (December 1, 2001). "Houston's Democratic Mayor Pulls Ahead Of GOP Challenger in Incomplete Vote Count". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
- ^ Duggan, Paul (December 2, 2001). "Houston Reelects Mayor in Close Race". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
- ^ "Sanchez to toss hat in the ring for mayor". Houston Chronicle. April 22, 2001.
- ^ "Former candidate backs incumbent mayor". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 16, 2001. p. 5B. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Runoff would mark new era in Houston politics". Houston Chronicle. November 6, 2001.
- ^ "Mayor hopeful gets elder Bush support". Waco Tribune-Herald. November 21, 2001. p. 6D. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Houston mayor bids for 3rd term". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 27, 2001. p. 5B. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Brown leading in mayor's race". Houston Chronicle. September 30, 2001.
- ^ Results 2001, p. 1.
- ^ Results 2001, p. 4.
- ^ Runoff 2001, p. 1.
- ^ Results 2001, p. 2.
Notes
[edit]- ^ Polling was suspended due to the September 11 attacks