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2001 Houston mayoral election

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2001 Houston mayoral election

← 1999 November 6, 2001 (first round)
December 1, 2001 (runoff)
2003 →
Turnout28.65% (first round)
31.28% (runoff)
 
Candidate Lee P. Brown Orlando Sanchez Chris Bell
Party Nonpartisan Nonpartisan Nonpartisan
First round 125,282
43.46%
115,967
40.23%
45,739
15.87%
Runoff 165,866
51.67%
155,164
48.33%
Eliminated

Mayor of Houston before election

Lee P. Brown

Elected Mayor of Houston

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

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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

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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".[6] 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]

Endorsements

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Lee Brown endorsements

State officials

Local officials

Individuals

Orlando Sanchez endorsements

Polling

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Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Lee
Brown
Orlando
Sanchez
Chris
Bell
Other /
Undecided
Houston Chronicle
KHOU[17][18]
September 5–10; 20–26[a] 792 RV ± 36% 19% 15% 30%

Results

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CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond round
Votes%Votes%
Lee P. BrownNon-partisan democracy125,28243.46165,86651.67
Orlando SanchezNon-partisan democracy115,96740.23155,16448.33
Chris BellNon-partisan democracy45,73915.87
Luis UllrichNon-partisan democracy5720.20
Larry DeVoyNon-partisan democracy4880.17
Anthony DutrowNon-partisan democracy2350.08
Total288,283100.00321,030100.00
Valid votes288,283100.00321,030100.00
Invalid votes00.0000.00
Blank votes00.0000.00
Total votes288,283100.00321,030100.00
Registered voters/turnout1,006,30128.651,026,40431.28
Source: [19][20][21][22]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Houston's mayor will run again". The Victoria Advocate. August 27, 2001. p. 2A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ a b "Houston Looking To Make Internet Accessible To All". Tyler Morning Telegraph. August 21, 2001. p. 3. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ a b c "Mayoral candidates". Houston Chronicle. October 28, 2001.
  4. ^ "Bell launches mayoral bid". Houston Chronicle. February 11, 2001.
  5. ^ "Robinson reconsiders mayoral race". Houston Chronicle. June 6, 2001.
  6. ^ a b "Houston mayoral race". The Victoria Advocate. October 27, 2001. p. 9A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Political forum at Kingwood College". Houston Chronicle. October 9, 2001.
  8. ^ "Anthrax made news, but economy kept our attention". Austin American-Statesman. October 14, 2001. p. A20. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Houston candidate's wife receives hoax". El Paso Times. November 2, 2001. p. 2A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Houston candidates receive threatening mail". The Orange Leader. November 2, 2001. p. 7A. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Duggan, Paul (December 1, 2001). "Houston's Democratic Mayor Pulls Ahead Of GOP Challenger in Incomplete Vote Count". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
  12. ^ Duggan, Paul (December 2, 2001). "Houston Reelects Mayor in Close Race". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
  13. ^ "Sanchez to toss hat in the ring for mayor". Houston Chronicle. April 22, 2001.
  14. ^ "Former candidate backs incumbent mayor". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 16, 2001. p. 5B. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Runoff would mark new era in Houston politics". Houston Chronicle. November 6, 2001.
  16. ^ "Mayor hopeful gets elder Bush support". Waco Tribune-Herald. November 21, 2001. p. 6D. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Houston mayor bids for 3rd term". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 27, 2001. p. 5B. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Brown leading in mayor's race". Houston Chronicle. September 30, 2001.
  19. ^ Results 2001, p. 1.
  20. ^ Results 2001, p. 4.
  21. ^ Runoff 2001, p. 1.
  22. ^ Results 2001, p. 2.

Notes

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  1. ^ Polling was suspended due to the September 11 attacks

Works cited

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