Houston deadlocks on council member

HOUSTON — In two and a half hours and following three deadlocked votes, the Houston City Council elected Monday to delay, for now, its choice from among council members to replace former mayor Steve Frost. The council also deadlocked on picking a candidate to fill Frost’s vacant council seat.

In Houston, the mayor also sits on the council, whose members choose the mayor from among their ranks. Three candidates applied for Frost’s vacant council seat:

• Tammy Bennett, daughter of former Houston mayor Dale Adams. Adams was unseated last fall by Councilman Roger Purcell.

• Ralph Buzard, retiree and former Petersburg city councilman, who sits on a pair of committees working on city issues in Houston.

• Paul Stout, local software developer and analyst and former business owner.

Stout received only one vote and was out of the running after the first ballot. Three subsequent votes deadlocked with Purcell, Acting Mayor Sandy McDonald and Councilwoman Rosemary Burnett voting for Buzard and council members Lee Himes, Carla Hendrix and Glen Tilghman voting for Bennett.

After the third vote also deadlocked, the council decided to revisit choosing a mayor and a new council member on March 17. At that meeting, Stout will be back in the running, McDonald said.

Bennett last month filed a request for recall petitions against Purcell and McDonald. According to Acting City Clerk Debbie Fites, the petition, as of Monday, was still being reviewed by the city attorney. In the petitions, Bennett alleges McDonald improperly allowed Purcell access to employee personnel records and that both didn’t provide adequate notice of an “emergency” meeting held in Janurary.

When questioning the council hopefuls Monday, Tilghman was honest about his first impression of Bennett.

“When I first met you, you seemed kind of obnoxious,” Tilghman said to Bennett. “What I pictured as obnoxious was somebody having resolve.”

Later, he cited that resolve as his reason for voting for Bennett. Himes said Bennet could be a positive change on the council. Hendrix pointed out that Bennett has been a resident of Houston longer than any sitting council member.

On the other side, Burnett, Purcell and McDonald cited Buzard’s experience as reason to vote for him. Purcell added that he just couldn’t vote for Bennett.

According to McDonald, Houston’s municipal codes do not state a deadline for when a council seat or the position of mayor must be filled. In theory, she said the deadlock could remain until the seat is filled through an election this fall.

Frost resigned his seat on the council in February, citing family issues and political bickering among council members as reasons.