2001 Houston mayoral election explained

Election Name:2001 Houston mayoral election
Flag Image:Flag of Houston, Texas.svg
Type:presidential
Previous Election:1999 Houston mayoral election
Previous Year:1999
Next Election:2003 Houston mayoral election
Next Year:2003
Election Date:November 6, 2001 (first round)
December 1, 2001 (runoff)
Turnout:28.65% (first round)
31.28% (runoff)
1Blank:First round
2Blank:Runoff
Image1:Lee Brown.png
Candidate1:Lee P. Brown
Party1:Non-partisan democracy
1Data1:125,282
43.46%
2Data1:165,866
51.67%
Candidate2:Orlando Sanchez
Party2:Non-partisan democracy
1Data2:115,967
40.23%
2Data2:155,164
48.33%
Candidate3:Chris Bell
Image3:ChrisBellTX.jpg
Party3:Non-partisan democracy
1Data3:45,739
15.87%
2Data3:Eliminated
Map Size:250px
Mayor of Houston
Before Election:Lee P. Brown
After Election:Lee P. Brown

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

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

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". 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]

Works cited

Notes and References

  1. News: August 27, 2001 . Houston's mayor will run again . 2A . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223103242/https://www.newspapers.com/article/victoria-advocate/141902320/ . Newspapers.com.
  2. News: August 21, 2001 . Houston Looking To Make Internet Accessible To All . 3 . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223103338/https://www.newspapers.com/article/tyler-morning-telegraph/141902279/ . Newspapers.com.
  3. News: October 28, 2001 . Mayoral candidates . .
  4. News: February 11, 2001 . Bell launches mayoral bid . .
  5. News: June 6, 2001 . Robinson reconsiders mayoral race . .
  6. News: October 27, 2001 . Houston mayoral race . 9A . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223103641/https://www.newspapers.com/article/victoria-advocate/141902382/ . Newspapers.com.
  7. News: October 9, 2001 . Political forum at Kingwood College . .
  8. News: October 14, 2001 . Anthrax made news, but economy kept our attention . A20 . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223103951/https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman/141902348/ . Newspapers.com.
  9. News: November 2, 2001 . Houston candidate's wife receives hoax . 2A . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223104136/https://www.newspapers.com/article/el-paso-times/141902491/ . Newspapers.com.
  10. News: November 2, 2001 . Houston candidates receive threatening mail . 7A . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223104238/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orange-leader/141902500/ . Newspapers.com.
  11. News: December 1, 2001 . Duggan . Paul . Houston's Democratic Mayor Pulls Ahead Of GOP Challenger in Incomplete Vote Count . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223095813/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/12/02/houstons-democratic-mayor-pulls-ahead-of-gop-challenger-in-incomplete-vote-count/a67c0229-3b9f-41dc-a775-7f45edd41265/.
  12. News: December 2, 2001 . Duggan . Paul . Houston Reelects Mayor in Close Race . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223095546/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2001/12/03/houston-reelects-mayor-in-close-race/e3a8c633-d88a-4222-9194-d3293d989446/.
  13. News: October 27, 2001 . Houston mayor bids for 3rd term . 5B . . live . February 23, 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240223092018/https://www.newspapers.com/article/fort-worth-star-telegram/141902447/ . Newspapers.com.
  14. News: September 30, 2001 . Brown leading in mayor's race . .

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