ELECTION RESULTS
2022 VOTER GUIDE
A number of state, county and congressional races were on ballots for Bellaire-, Meyerland- and West University- area voters during Nov. 8 midterm elections. RESULTS BREAKDOWN
Bonds pass; Democratic candidates earn wins in local races
BY SHAWN ARRAJJ & RACHEL CARLTON
an even more inclusive, vibrant place where every- one has a fair shot.” In addition to participating in bimonthly Com- missioners Court meetings, Briones will also serve the Precinct 4 community, which changed after a redistricting e ort took place in 2021. Under the new map, Precinct 4 covers the western part of Harris County, including Gulfton, Sharpstown, and parts of southwest Houston and Meyerland. It stretches as far as Katy and Waller to the west to River Oaks and parts of the Heights in Houston’s Inner Loop. Cagle, prior to his defeat, launched an e ort to bring new soccer pitches to Burnett Bayland Park in Gulfton. Other Commissioners Court duties include planning road, bridge and infrastructure work in the areas they represent. With the concession by del Moral Mealer and the wins by Garcia and Briones, the Democrats will to expand their current 3-2 majority to 4-1 on Commis- sioners Court with Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey left as the sole Republican. Local representation In other races covering parts of the Bellaire, Meyerland and West University area, results largely favored Democratic candidates as well. Incumbent U.S. Reps. Lizzie Fletcher and Al Green kept their seats in the 7th and 9th Congres- sional districts, respectively. Fletcher took 63.8% of the votes against her opponent Republican Johnny Teague. After redistricting, the 7th District was redrawn to an area that was considered much safer for Democrats by political analysts, covering southwest Houston— including Bellaire and West University Place—as well as parts of Fort Bend County. “This campaign is and always has been a coali- tion of people from across our diverse and dynamic district who want to ensure that our community’s core values—inclusion, innovation, and collabora- tion—result in progress, equality and opportunity for all Americans,” Fletcher said in a statement. Democrat John Whitmire won his re-election bid in the race for Texas Senate District 15, earning 65.3% of all votes against Republican George Brian Vachris. In the Texas House, Ann Johnson won her re-election bid in the race for District 134, which represents western parts of Houston’s Inner Loop and southwest Houston. Johnson earned 61.5% of the votes, beating Republican Ryan McConnico and Libertarian Carol Unsicker, who earned 37.2% and 1.3% of the votes, respectively. Other local seats featured Democratic candidates who ran unopposed, including Democrat Shawn Theirry, who will keep her Texas House District 146 seat, and Democrat Borris Miles, who will keep his Texas Senate District 13 seat. County investigation Texas Gov. Greg Abbott called for an investigation into Harris County on Nov. 14 to look into what he
Republican candidates took home wins across all of the top statewide elections in Texas during Nov. 8 midterms, but local races continued to trend in favor of Democratic candidates, including congressional, state and county representatives in the Bellaire, Meyerland and West University areas. Additionally, city of Houston voters Nov. 8 approved all seven of the city’s bond referendums on the ballot, which will provide roughly $478 mil- lion in bond authority to the city to address needs that range from public safety facility improvements to a new animal shelter. “Funding for such items ... police [and] re vehicles, parks libraries, solid waste and the new animal shelter, ... all of those items are moving forward,” Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said in Nov. 9 public comments. Meanwhile, Harris County voters also approved three bond referendums for the county totaling $1.2 billion for roads, parks and public safety. County control The makeup of the Harris County Commissioners Court will shift more in favor of the Democrats after three races on the ballot all went in their favor. Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo narrowly won her re-election campaign over Republican chal- lenger Alexandra del Moral Mealer. Hidalgo nished with 50.8% of the vote to del Moral Mealer’s 49.2%. According to certi ed results, Hidalgo won both the early vote by around 2,000 votes, the mail vote by over 12,000 votes and the Election Day vote by around 3,000 votes. In a Q&A with Community Impact prior to the election, Hidalgo said the role of county govern- ment has changed under her leadership and that she wanted to keep the county moving forward. “Before I was elected, county government ew under the radar, dodged tough decisions and operated reactively, not proactively,” Hidalgo said in a statement. “I’ve steered Harris County through a winter storm, chemical res, oods, hurricanes and COVID[-19]. I did it while making bold changes to how our government operates—from record law enforcement funding, to early childhood education, smarter ood control and everything in between.” O cials results also gave victories to Democratic candidate Lesley Briones in the race for Precinct 4 on the court and incumbent Democrat Adrian Garcia for Precinct 2. The win from Briones represents the only ip on the court after she beat Republican Commissioner Jack Cagle, who earned 48.3% to Briones’ 51.7%. In a statement, Briones said she was grateful to the voters for placing con dence in her and thanked Cagle—who has held the position since 2011—for his service. “Now, the campaign is over, and I look forward to representing each and every individual in Precinct 4,” Briones said. “I will strive to make Harris County
Incumbent Republican
Winner
Democrat
Libertarian
R
D
L
CONGRESSIONAL
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, 7TH DISTRICT
63.8% Lizzie Fletcher 36.2% Johnny Teague
D
R
U.S. REPRESENTATIVE, 9TH DISTRICT
76.7% Al Green
D
23.3% Jimmy I. Leon
R
TEXAS SENATE
DISTRICT 15
65.3% John Whitmire 34.7% George Brian Vachris
R
D
TEXAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DISTRICT 134
61.5% Ann Johnson 37.2% Ryan McConnico 1.3% Carol Unsicker
D
R L
HARRIS COUNTY HARRIS COUNTY JUDGE
50.8% Lina Hidalgo
D
49.2% Alexandra del Moral Mealer
R
PRECINCT 4 COMMISSIONER
51.7% Lesley Briones 48.3% R. Jack Cagle
D
R
SOURCES: TEXAS SECRETARY OF STATE, HARRIS COUNTY ELECTIONS ADMINISTRATOR COMMUNITY IMPACT
called “widespread problems with Harris County’s elections.” In the announcement, Abbott speci cally cited insu cient paper ballots in precincts with high numbers of Republican voters and sta ng problems. In a Nov. 14 letter, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg requested assistance from the Texas Rangers to investigate allegations of irregularities in the elections. Under the state’s election code, Ogg’s o ce is required to conduct an investigation if it receives a davits from two or more registered voters alleging criminal conduct. Harris County Elections Administrator Cli ord Tatum has acknowledged issues, including polling locations that opened late and what he said was a need for a better communications system to relay problems and track when they are resolved.
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BELLAIRE MEYERLAND WEST UNIVERSITY EDITION • DECEMBER 2022
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