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September 15, 2007
Residency Rears Its Head
Wow, that didn't take long. Just two days after Matt Stiles wrote a story in the Chronicle questioning whether two candidates for the Houston City Council At-Large #5 seat actually live in the city, one of those candidates has dropped out of the race.
Jack Christie ended his Council bid today after questions about whether he resides in Bunker Hill Village, where he has his homestead property tax exemption, or in a rental house inside the Memorial area, which was just cited by the City of Houston for stagnant water in his swimming pool.
The other candidate in question, Zafir "Zaf" Tahir, who faces similar questions about whether he resides in a comfortable home in Fort Bend County or a condo in a crime-plagued southwest Houston neighborhood, so far isn't budging from the race, and told Stiles today that he was ready to change the subject. Gee, wonder why?
To top it off, the Chronicle ran an editorial on the subject today, which took current City Council Member MJ Khan to task for similar behavior. Ouch.
The current candidate for the At-Large #5 seat who would seem to benefit from what's transpired over the last few days would be Tom Nixon, who is now the lone Republican in a multi-candidate field. If he can consolidate the GOP citywide vote, he would be in a strong position to make a runoff, likely against Jolanda Jones, who is hoping to take the lion's share of the African American vote.
We are far from "pollyannish", but requiring a candidate for City Council to actually reside inside the city limits strikes us as completely reasonable. Way to go Matt. Once again, you've distinguished yourself as one of the best things going at the Chronicle.
Posted by houtopia at September 15, 2007 06:33 PM