Ben Hall (Texas)
Ben Hall was a 2015 nonpartisan candidate for mayor of Houston, Texas. Hall lost the general election on November 3, 2015.
Biography
Hall received a bachelor's degree from the University of South Carolina in 1977, a master's degree in divinity from Duke University in 1977, a doctorate from Duke University in 1985 and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1986. He founded the Hall Law Firm in 2000. Prior to that, he worked at the law firm of Vinson & Elkins and was the Houston City Attorney. He has been involved in the following organizations:
- Life Member, NAACP
- Sustaining Member, Harris County Democratic Party
- Former board member, Red Cross, Houston Chapter
- Member, American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA)[1]
Campaign themes
2015
Hall's website highlighted the following campaign themes:
Transportation & infrastructure
- Excerpt: "Shorten the time it takes to make needed road repairs, by adopting new technology to repair roads more quickly and permanently and increasing our workforce with more public/private teams. Engage private experts to help design and implement more efficient ways to move traffic around and through the city.[2]
Pensions
- Excerpt: "We must institute a disciplined, pragmatic, and multi-year approach to return our City to financial health. City employees are great assets, and a progressive and multifaceted partnership with citizens, businesses, legislators, and employees is needed to address the pension challenges we face."[3]
Public safety
- Excerpt: "We will use effective community policing practices, including an incentive program to encourage police officers to live in the neighborhoods in which they work. The more neighbors and police get to know one another, the less likely it is that dangerous misunderstandings will occur."[4]
Flooding
- Excerpt: "Flooding may be inevitable in Houston, but it must be better managed. During the first 100 days of my administration, I will assemble a think tank of experts, engineers, first responders, and citizens to devise a comprehensive approach to dealing with this persistent problem."[5]
Education
- Excerpt: "Create an advisory council to strengthen the relationship between our school districts, colleges and universities, and our business community. Utilize every available resource to educate and retain the best and brightest Houstonians to provide an educated, local workforce for our businesses."[6]
Balancing the city budget
- Excerpt: "Rein in wasteful city spending by focusing on the City’s core services (public safety, infrastructure, and utilities). The City must address those needs without further burdening taxpayers."
- Excerpt: "Consolidate City departments in order to streamline administrative costs and eliminate duplicative expenses. We can reduce our current 23-department bureaucracy to fewer than 14 departments, resulting in savings of at least $11 million to $15 million per year."[7]
Elections
2015
- See also: Houston, Texas municipal elections, 2015
The city of Houston, Texas, held elections for mayor and city council on November 3, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was August 24, 2015.[8] In the mayoral race, the candidates were former Congressman Chris Bell, Houston Councilman Stephen C. Costello, Joe Ferreira, Adrian Garcia, Ben Hall, Bill King, Victoria Lane, Marty McVey, Rafael Muñoz Jr., Nguyen Thai Hoc, Demetria Smith, Dale Steffes and Representative Sylvester Turner.[9] Sylvester Turner and Bill King advanced from the general.[10]
Sylvester Turner defeated Bill King in the runoff election.
| Mayor of Houston, Runoff election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Sylvester Turner |
50.2% | 104,639 |
| Bill King | 49.8% | 103,961 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes (100% of precincts reporting) | 208,600 | |
| Source: Harris County, Texas, "Runoff Election Results," December 12, 2015 | ||
| Mayor of Houston, General election, 2015 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Sylvester Turner |
31.3% | 81,735 |
| Bill King |
25.3% | 65,968 |
| Adrian Garcia | 17.1% | 44,758 |
| Ben Hall | 9.5% | 24,805 |
| Chris Bell | 7.4% | 19,345 |
| Stephen C. Costello | 6.7% | 17,546 |
| Nguyen Thai Hoc | 0.9% | 2,325 |
| Marty McVey | 0.5% | 1,378 |
| Demetria Smith | 0.5% | 1,234 |
| Victoria Lane | 0.3% | 908 |
| Rafael Muñoz Jr. | 0.2% | 515 |
| Dale Steffes | 0.1% | 302 |
| Joe Ferreira | 0.1% | 240 |
| Write-in votes | 0% | 0 |
| Total Votes (100% of precincts reporting) | 261,059 | |
| Source: Harris County Texas, "Official general election results," accessed November 16, 2015 | ||
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Hall is married to Saundra Turner Hall. The couple lived in Bonn, Germany, for a year before Ben went to law school. They have two sons.[1]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms " Ben Hall " Houston. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
- City of Houston - November 3, 2015 General Election Candidates
- Official campaign website
- Ben Hall on Facebook
- Ben Hall on Twitter
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Ben Hall campaign website, "Meet Ben & Saundra," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Ben Hall campaign website, "Transportation and infrastructure," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Ben Hall campaign website, "Pension System," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Ben Hall campaign website, "Public safety," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Ben Hall campaign website, "Flooding," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Ben Hall campaign website, "Education," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Ben Hall campaign website, "Balancing the city budget," accessed September 4, 2015
- ↑ Harris County, "Important 2015 Election Dates," accessed January 12, 2015
- ↑ City of Houston website, "November 3, 2015 General Election Candidates," accessed August 27, 2015
- ↑ Harris County Texas, "Unofficial general election results," accessed November 3, 2015
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