News Flash! Big Republican Political Campaign Donor Bob Perry gives $20,000 to Houston City Council Candidate Democrat Melissa Noriega

Bob Perry gives $1,000 to $5,000 to Senatorial & Congressional canditates however,"Noriega raised more than $109,000 in the past month — $20,000 of it from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry and his family." See: Related 2000 - 2008 Perry contribution information.

Fundraising efforts largely favor Noriega
Morales takes in about one-fifth of what his council opponent received
By KRISTEN MACK
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
June 15, 2007

Melissa Noriega, who nearly won Houston City Council's At-large Position 3 seat in a crowded field in May, out-raised opponent Roy Morales by a 5-to-1 margin, according to the latest campaign finance reports.

Noriega raised more than $109,000 in the past month — $20,000 of it from Houston homebuilder Bob Perry and his family. Morales' contributions totaled about $21,000.

Both candidates spent more than they received to get voters to the polls in what will be a low turnout election.

Early voting ended Tuesday, with about 11,000 voters casting ballots. Harris County Clerk Beverly Kaufman, who administers elections, said she expects overall turnout for Saturday's runoff to be between 1 percent and 2 percent of registered voters.

"That's pretty abysmal," Kaufman said. "But it's summer, school is out, it's hot, and Election Day falls on Father's Day weekend."

Noriega garnered 47 percent of the vote in May's special election. Morales came in second with 19 percent. They are running to fill the unexpired term of Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, who vacated her council seat last fall for a brief stint in Congress in the District 22 seat left vacant by the resignation of Tom DeLay.

Both Morales and Noriega have had to spend their resources targeting Houstonians most likely to show up at the polls, which translates into mail pieces, low-cost automated phone calls and online advertisements.

Noriega spent $117,000 during the past month and has $56,000 cash on hand.

Her largest contributors were the Perry family. Bob Perry, his wife, Doylene, their son Jack and his wife, Stefani, gave Noriega $20,000.

The Perrys seem to be hedging their bets. They contributed $10,000 to Morales in November, when he was neither a declared candidate nor an officeholder.

Noriega's contributors include the city's biggest unions — $2,500 each from police officers, pipe fitters and plumbers groups.

Morales spent $26,000 and personally lent his campaign $6,800 during the past month. He has a little less than $900 on hand.

Notable campaign contributors are Sekula-Gibbs, who gave Morales $250, and businessman Bruce Hotze, who contributed $500. Former GOP council candidates John Elford and Brian Cweren also chipped in small amounts.

Morales spent most of his money on radio ads on KSEV-AM 700. He also got help in the form of automated calls from the Harris County Republican Party.

The local GOP posted a low-budget ad on its Web site and circulated it via e-mail to gin up support for Morales. The ad, however, was less about backing Morales than it was about opposing Noriega. The party waited until the runoff election to solidly back his campaign.

"We've got a limited budget," said Jared Woodfill, the party's chairman. "This was not costly and created a buzz. The goal is bringing attention to the race."

Morales has a more traditional ad on his Web site. It also is in limited circulation on television, claiming illegal immigration as the city's No. 1 issue.

Morales, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel, says Houston still is perceived as a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants, in part because it spent federal money on a controversial day-labor facility last year.

Noriega, a Houston Independent School District special projects manager, has said immigration enforcement is the federal government's responsibility, a position shared by Mayor Bill White and Police Chief Harold Hurtt.

Noriega wants to increase the number of police officers on patrol, address chronic flooding and preserve dwindling green space. She also supports drug courts, affordable housing and better schools as cost-efficient ways to prevent crime.

"I want to solve problems at the lowest level," Noriega said. "I've seen what computer skills, a good library and after-school programs can do for a life of a neighborhood."

Morales has focused his campaign on crime, saying he wants to upgrade the police department's equipment, namely radios, so it can communicate with other police agencies.

Morales, who has also worked on information technology at the Houston Emergency Center and the Fire Department, says he will push for the city to build better homeland security partnerships with the county and the federal government.

The winner of Saturday's election will serve the remainder of Sekula-Gibbs' term, through the end of the year. He or she will have to run for re-election in November.

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4884815.html