M.J. Khan Launches TV Ad In Race For City Controller October 12, 2009

On Monday, the M.J. Khan for City Controller Campaign launched its first television ad, and if you believe the message, there are a lot of  voters across Houston who really want  Khan to be the next controller.

The title of the ad is, “I Want M.J. Khan.”

According to a news release sent to 2 On The Beat, the ad is designed to “highlight how council member Khan will bring fiscal responsibility to the controller’s office and how he has established a strong record of fiscal management while on city council.”

It also has a lot of people featured in the ad saying, “I want M.J. Khan.”

“I believe that this ad will aid to inform voters about my record of fiscal management, as well as my experience and qualifications to lead Houston through these touch economic times,” said Khan in the release.

Late Monday I spoke with Andre Castro, Khan’s campaign manager. He told me that the campaign bought time on  all local network stations and some cable stations. Khan should have a heavy television presence leading up to early voting and election day.

Last week controller candidate Pam Holm announced that she was releasing a TV ad.

When I saw her last Thursday she indicated that her campaign had not purchased any time on local television stations, but that the ad was available on her campaign website, youtube and facebook.  I’m not sure if anything has changed since our last conversation.

Meanwhile, the third candidate in the controller’s race is  city council member Ronald Green.  His campaign spokesman told me that Green has no immediate plans to go up on television between now and election day.

Green was just endorsed by the Houston Chronicle, and has a history of running and winning elections citywide.

Will the lack of  paid television commercials hurt Green . as his two major opponents rely on the airwaves to help spread their messages?

The controller’s race has been very low key, but as we move closer to early voting more people are beginning to pay attention and choose a candidate.

City Controller’s Race Heating Up October 8, 2009

The city of Houston Controller is the chief financial officer. Some also describe that role as  “the taxpayer’s watchdog.”

It’s a race that hasn’t generated a lot of excitement, but it is an important position that has three experienced leaders vying for your vote on election day.

All of the candidates currently serve on Houston city council, and their campaigns are starting to heat up.

On Tuesday, candidate Pam Holm released her first TV political commercial . On Wednesday night,  candidate Ronald Green attended a fundraiser to help his campaign reach more voters.

Green was the star attraction at the fundraising event dubbed 100 Women for Green.  The successful and fashionable women in attendance vowed to open their checkbooks and roll up their sleeves to help Green get elected controller. 

Controller candidates Green, Holm and M.J. Khan recently faced off  in a political forum hosted by KPRC Local 2 and The League of  Women Voters.  Investigative Reporter Amy Davis served as  moderator of the discussion.  You can watch the debate on line @ http://www.click2houston.com/video/21201251/index.html

Meanwhile, Green’s campaign manager told me that they will not invest in any TV political commercials leading up to election day.   Keir Murray says that Green has high name identification with voters after running three successful races for the city council at-large seat he currently holds.  Murray says Green will focus on face to face voter contact, through  door to door campaigning and direct mail.

You can expect to see a TV political commercial from M.J. Khan.  Khan’s campaign manager told me that the controller candidate will launch a TV commercial in the next few days.  Andre Castro says that Khan has already taped the commercial , and it is currently being edited in post production.

FBI Asked To Investigate Email September 14, 2009

I  wrote this weekend about  the mysterious and mean- spirited email that was circulating in the community, targeting candidates in the race for Controller of  the City of Houston.

I wanted to share an email that was sent to me today.

HoustonWorks USA CEO Target of Slanderous Email Campaign
Larry V. Green Working With FBI to Solve Mystery

 

HOUSTON (September 14, 2009)– On Saturday, September 12, 2009 at 9:34 P.M., a bogus email from “Larry Green” at “sunnysideprecinctjudges@gmail.com” containing racial and religious slurs targeting candidates running for City of Houston Controller. Larry V. Green, Esq., CEO of HoustonWorks USA unequivocally denies any association with this activity and is working with the Houston Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National White Collar Cr hteime Center (NW3C) to bring those responsible to justice.

 

“As soon as I heard about this email I was in contact with authorities,” said Larry V. Green, Esq., CEO of HoustonWorks USA. “I am the CEO of a nonprofit organization whose sole basic role is to make life better for people who are ‘down-on-their-luck.’ The hallmark of HoustonWorks USA for the past 25 years is the diversity of our employees—I encourage everyone to view our Web site—highlighting our diversity and our culture is well documented. I am looking forward to finding out who is responsible for this slanderous attack on me and prosecuting them to the fullest extent of the law.”

 

Larry V. Green has reached out to Pam Holm, MJ Khan and Ronald Green (no relation), the three candidates running for Houston Controller to express his outrage regarding the email being sent erroneously under his name from an organization, “Sunnyside Precinct Judges” that doesn’t exist. Larry V. Green is not endorsing any candidate running for office.

 

HoustonWorks USA own IT department launched an internal investigation and was able to determine that the email in question came from an anonymous Gmail account. HoustonWorks USA is working closely with Google the operators of Gmail in hopes of finding the original IP address where the email was sent.

 

About HoustonWorks USA:

Founded in 1984, HoustonWorks USA is the leading provider of services focusing on job placement, continuing education and vocational training. Serving more than 900,000 annually, HoustonWorks USA provides job seekers with a variety of workshops including job search techniques, interviewing skills and resume writing, or use of the resource library with Internet access and postings of local, state and national job openings. Training is also available in career fields such as healthcare, business, computers and education. HoustonWorks USA manages several of the largest Workforce Solutions offices in Houston and the surrounding region for the Houston Galveston Area Council. These offices offer a wide range of services for job seekers as well as employers looking for trained workers. HoustonWorks also provides numerous youth programs including internships, scholarships, summits and summer camps. HoustonWorks is a 501(c) 3, tax-exempt organization. Visit www.houstonworks.org for additional information.

Ronald Green Responds To Mysterious and Mean-Spirited Email September 13, 2009

No one has  been able to determine who is responsible for circulating the repulsive email in the race for  City of  Houston Controller.

(read previous post: https://2onthebeat.wordpress.com/2009/09/13/ugly-politics-in-the-race-for-city-of-houston-controller/)

Controller Candidate/Council member Ronald Green has issued a statement denouncing the letter,  and the ugly attacks against his two opponents and fellow city council members Pam Holm and M.J. Khan.

Here is Green’s Statement that w as sent to 2 ON THE BEAT:

Yesterday someone using an asssumed name and purporting to support  my candidacy for City Controller, sent an email disparaging my opponents in the a particularly bigoted and mean-spirited way, and falsely claimed its contents were endorsed by a number of elected officials and community leaders.

This email is a fraud and an affront to all who received it and were referenced in it.  I UNEQUIVOCALLY REJECT IT!!! My work, as an At-Large Council Member for the last 6 years, and my campaign for City Controller are about bringing Houstonians of all backgrounds together to move our great city forward. The hateful messages in this email have no place in our political discourse.

Ronald

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I also received an email from Larry Green, who is listed as the author of the email.  As I reported earlier,  he denies having any knowledge of who sent it.

Fellow Houstonians,

It has recently come to my attention that a slanderous email issued the name of   Larry Green was distributed to the Southeast precinct judges, and god knows whoever, stating vile and racist comments about members in the race for Houston City Controller.  You should know that I,  Larry V. Green, did not write this email and would never write such ridiculous propaganda.  I am not endorsing anyone  in the  Controllers race or any race for that matter and my position as a leader of a major non-profit precludes me from doing so.  Someone is playing politics and I do not appreciate being thrown in the middle.  If anyone knows the origin of this tainted piece of scum email, please contact  me immediately.  I am turning this matter over to the local authorities for a full investigation and prosecution.  This email is repulsive and I DID NOT write it and whatever politico did and I find out will be sued.

Larry V. Green,  Esq.