Five things to know about Houston mayoral race
HOUSTON (KTRK) -- For those who would like to run Houston, here's their chance to sell themselves to voters.
VIDEO CLIPS FROM THURSDAY'S DEBATE
Candidate 1-minute wrap-up
Chris Bell on his viability as a candidate
Sylvester Turner question for Steve Costello
Bill King question to Marty McVey
Marty McVey question to Adrian Garcia
Adrian Garcia on the Terry Goodwin case
Sylvester Turner on prior mayoral runs
Ben Hall on prior mayoral run
Bill King on HERO
5 Things to know:
No more Mayor Parker. Mayor Annise Parker, who has been in office since 2010, cannot run for re-election due to term limits. Each mayor is limited to three two year terms.
Houston doesn't like change, at least at City Hall. The last five mayors were re-elected multiple times.
2010- Annise Parker
2004-2010 Bill White
1998-2004 Lee Brown
1992-1998 Bob Lanier
1982-1991 Kathy Whitmire
Houston Mayors have a lot of power. Houston has a strong mayor-council form of government, which means the mayor has his/her hands in pretty much everything. Houston's mayor serves as the city's chief administrator and executive officer. The mayor is also responsible for managing the city and making sure all laws and ordinances are enforced.
You're about to be bombarded with political ads. This race is on track to be the most expensive in the city's recent history, with candidates raising more than $7 million in the first half of the year.
Political parties supposedly don't matter. The mayoral race is non-partisan. Still, Houston's past five mayors have all been Democrats. The city hasn't had a republican mayor since James McConn, who served from 1978 - 1982.
