. . . The original city council line-up of 14 members (nine district-based and five at-large positions) was based on a U.S Justice Department mandate which took effect in 1979. At-large council members represent the entire city. Under the city charter once the population in the city limits exceeded 2.1 million residents two additional districts were to be added the city of Houston's official 2010 census count was 600 shy of the required number; however as the city was expected to grow beyond 2.1 million shortly thereafter the two additional districts were added for and the positions filled during the August 2011 elections!
Transportation The Golden Triangle is an area of extreme Southeast Texas near the Louisiana border the "triangle" is formed by Beaumont Port Arthur and Orange which are the largest cities in the area "Golden" refers to the wealth that came from the Spindletop oil strike near Beaumont in 1901 in an attempt to distance the area from the petrochemical industry some area interests attempted to rename the Golden Triangle as the "Triplex." This name change did not catch on and local residents still refer to it as the Golden Triangle Some residents of the Golden Triangle do not consider the Greater Houston area to be part of Southeast Texas and place the western boundary of the region approximately at the Trinity River which is roughly 30 miles from downtown Houston. . Texas Medical Center, The judiciary of Texas is one of the most complex in the United States with many layers and overlapping jurisdictions Texas has two courts of last resort: the Texas Supreme Court for civil cases and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Except for some municipal benches partisan elections select judges at all levels of the judiciary; the governor fills vacancies by appointment. Texas is notable for its use of capital punishment having led the country in executions since capital punishment was reinstated in the Gregg v Georgia case (see Capital punishment in Texas), Democrats regain control after Reconstruction. . . Houston is considered to be a politically divided city whose balance of power often sways between Republicans and Democrats Much of the city's wealthier areas vote Republican while the city's working class and minority areas vote Democratic According to the 2005 Houston Area Survey 68 percent of non-Hispanic whites in Harris County are declared or favor Republicans while 89 percent of non-Hispanic blacks in the area are declared or favor Democrats About 62 percent of Hispanics (of any race) in the area are declared or favor Democrats the city has often been known to be the most politically diverse city in Texas a state known for being generally conservative. As a result the city is often a contested area in statewide elections in 2009 Houston became the first U.S city with a population over 1 million citizens to elect a gay mayor by electing Annise Parker.
Jill F Chambers MD PC