Houston Independent School District, Texas, elections (2019)

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2021 → ← 2017
Houston Independent School District elections
General election date
November 5, 2019
Enrollment ('16-'17)
216,106 students

Four out of nine seats on the Houston Independent School District (HISD) school board were up for election in 2019.

Races for two seats advanced to the December 14 runoff election, since no candidate in those districts received more than 50% of the vote during the November 5 general election. Katherine Blueford-Daniels defeated John Gibbs Sr. in the runoff election for District II, and Patricia Allen defeated Matthew Barnes in the runoff election for District IV. In the general election, incumbents Sergio Lira (District III) and Diana Davila (District VIII) lost their re-election bids outright to Daniela Hernandez and Judith Cruz, respectively.

On November 6, 2019, the day after the general election, Texas Commissioner of Education Mike Morath notified the district of his decision to appoint a board of managers to replace the elected school board. This decision came as a result of a Texas Education Agency (TEA) investigation into the board’s governance and as a result of repeatedly poor academic performance ratings at a high school in the district. Under a state-appointed board, elected board members would function as non-voting representatives until they were phased back in by the commissioner. Click here to read about developments occurring after the election.

HISD school board elections are officially nonpartisan. Heading into the 2019 general election, all nine HISD board members were Democrats, according to the Houston Chronicle.

As of the 2018-2019 school year, HISD was the largest school district in Texas and the seventh-largest school district in the United States, serving 209,772 students in 280 schools with a budget of $2.04 billion.

The filing deadline for this election was August 19, 2019.

Houston also held a mayoral election in 2019.

Houston voter? Dates you need to know.
Candidate Filing Deadline	August 19, 2019
Runoff Registration Deadline	November 14, 2019
Runoff Absentee Application Deadline	December 3, 2019
Runoff Early Voting	November 27 and December 2-10, 2019
General Election	November 5, 2019
Runoff Election	December 14, 2019
Voting information
Polling place hours	7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Polling locations: Go to this page to find early voting locations and your assigned precinct for election day.

This election was a battleground race. Other 2019 battlegrounds included:

City elections in Seattle, Washington (August 6, 2019 primary election) Mayoral election in Dallas, Texas (May 4, 2019 general election) Mayoral election in Houston, Texas (November 5, 2019 general election)

Candidates and election results

Click on the tabs below to show more information about these topics.

Runoff elections

District II

General runoff election

General runoff election for Houston Independent School District, District II

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Katherine Blueford-Daniels (Nonpartisan)	62.1	7,773
		John Gibbs Sr. (Nonpartisan)	37.9	4,739

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 12,512
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District IV

General runoff election

General runoff election for Houston Independent School District, District IV

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Allen (Nonpartisan)	53.4	9,285
		Matthew Barnes (Nonpartisan)	46.6	8,107

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,392
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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General elections

District II

General election

General election for Houston Independent School District, District II

Katherine Blueford-Daniels and John Gibbs Sr. advanced to a runoff. They defeated Cristin Moses, Chloe Veal, and Jevon German in the general election for Houston Independent School District, District II on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Katherine Blueford-Daniels (Nonpartisan)	42.5	6,088
✔		John Gibbs Sr. (Nonpartisan)	21.6	3,088
		Cristin Moses (Nonpartisan)	15.8	2,265
	Submit photo	Chloe Veal (Nonpartisan)	10.6	1,522
		Jevon German (Nonpartisan)	9.5	1,361

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,324
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Michael Maloney (Nonpartisan)
• Arthur Smith (Nonpartisan)

District III

General election

General election for Houston Independent School District, District III

Daniela Hernandez defeated incumbent Sergio Lira in the general election for Houston Independent School District, District III on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Daniela Hernandez (Nonpartisan)	63.6	4,936
		Sergio Lira (Nonpartisan)	36.4	2,827

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 7,763
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District IV

General election

General election for Houston Independent School District, District IV

Patricia Allen and Matthew Barnes advanced to a runoff. They defeated Reagan Flowers and Larry McKinzie in the general election for Houston Independent School District, District IV on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patricia Allen (Nonpartisan)	30.6	6,072
✔		Matthew Barnes (Nonpartisan)	29.5	5,857
		Reagan Flowers (Nonpartisan)	27.7	5,496
		Larry McKinzie (Nonpartisan)	12.2	2,414

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,839
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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District VIII

General election

General election for Houston Independent School District, District VIII

Judith Cruz defeated incumbent Diana Davila in the general election for Houston Independent School District, District VIII on November 5, 2019.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Judith Cruz (Nonpartisan)	63.8	8,493
		Diana Davila (Nonpartisan)	36.2	4,816

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 13,309
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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Additional elections on the ballot

See also: Texas elections, 2019

What's on your ballot?

Click here to find out using My Vote

State takeover of school board

On November 6, 2019, following the general election, Morath notified the district of his decision to appoint a board of managers to replace the elected school board, appoint a superintendent for the district, and lower the district's accreditation status to "accredited-warned." Under a state-appointed board, elected board members would function as non-voting representatives until they were phased back in by the commissioner.

Morath's decision came after a TEA investigation into the board's governance and repeatedly poor academic performance ratings at a high school in the district. According to the Houston Chronicle, the transition was originally expected to take place around March 2020.

As part of an ongoing lawsuit disputing the investigation and takeover, HISD filed a request for a preliminary injunction to prevent state intervention on October 29. Click here to read about developments occurring after the election.

After Morath's announcement, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) stated, "The State of Texas will never give up on our students, nor will we allow Houston ISD's school board to stand in the way of a child and their path to success. I fully support the Texas Education Agency's takeover of HISD and will work with them to give every child a chance at a great education." Zeph Capo, president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, an affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers and the AFL-CIO, said, "This is a power grab to disenfranchise families in Houston—particularly families of color—who just exercised their voice in a democratic vote on control of the city's public schools. Now, the state government wants to step in and ignore that vote and exercise state control over this community because of one below-grade school, when the rest of them are scoring in the top tier in math and reading."

Texas Education Agency investigation

The TEA special accreditation investigation into HISD began in January 2019. Special Investigations Unit Director Jason Hewitt recommended in August 2019 that the state appoint a board of managers for the district due to the elected board's "inability to appropriately govern, inability to operate within the scope of their authority, circumventing the authority of the superintendent, and inability to ensure proper contract procurement laws are followed." Preliminary findings of the TEA investigation included violations such as secret meetings that broke state law, misuse of district property, and school board member overreach.

HISD lawyers filed a complaint against the TEA in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas on August 16 which claimed that school board members' rights were violated and that allegations were not fully investigated. The lawsuit also claimed a state-appointed board would violate the Civil Rights Act, since a majority of voters in the district were people of color.

The TEA's final investigative report was released on October 30. The document included the district's response to the preliminary findings of the investigation, in which HISD lawyers claimed the following:

“	The findings presented in TEA’s Report are fundamentally flawed because they resulted from an investigation that began with a predetermined result. This meant that instead of conducting a fair and unbiased investigation, TEA’s investigators searched for a problem to use as a pretext for replacing Houston ISD’s elected Board of Trustees with an unelected board of managers.	”
—Kevin O’Hanlon, Benjamin Castillo, and David Campbell, Special Counsel to Houston ISD

The TEA's recommendation to replace the board remained the same. Hewitt concluded the following in the report's cover letter to the district:

“	Based on the findings and substantiation of Allegation One, Allegation Two, and Allegation Three, the SIU will recommend to the Commissioner of Education that the accreditation status of the district be lowered, a conservator be appointed, and a Board of Managers be installed in accordance with Tex. Educ. Code §39.057(d) to replace the existing board of trustees due to the HISD Board of Trustees’ demonstrated inability to appropriately govern, inability to operate within the scope of their authority by circumventing the authority of the superintendent, and inability to ensure proper contract procurement laws are followed.	”
—Jason Hewitt, Special Investigations Unit, TEA

Academic performance

According to preliminary ratings for the 2018-2019 school year, one HISD high school, Wheatley, received a failing grade for the seventh year in a row. At the time, the district was under oversight from a conservator appointed by the TEA due to poor academic performance at various schools. Texas House Bill 1842 required that the commissioner of education either close a school that received more than five consecutive failing grades or replace the district's board of education. HISD received a waiver from state ratings for the 2017-2018 school year due to Hurricane Harvey.

In a meeting on September 5, 2019, HISD board members voted 7-1 to instruct the interim superintendent, Grenita Lathan, to appeal the failing grade, with Jolanda Jones voting against the appeal and Rhonda Skillern-Jones not present. Carla Stevens, the district's assistant superintendent of research and accountability, stated, "We have tried really, really hard to find anything we can hang out [sic] hat on at Wheatley, and we cannot find anything that would be an allowable appeal that would be granted." Lathan submitted the district's appeal on September 13. Morath denied the appeal on November 5.

Candidate responses

The following responses are from candidates who ran in the runoff election. Click [show] to see candidates' statements from before the general election.

• Katherine Blueford-Daniels (District II): "Even if it’s short-term, if the TEA does take over, they’ll have someone they can relate to, that can have a pulse and sense of what’s going on in the community."

• John Gibbs Sr. (District II): "I want to see the TEA come in and clean up everything in house."

• Patricia Allen (District IV): "The only thing I hear about [from voters] is that they’re concerned with the in-fighting on the board and they want it to stop ... I’m not hearing positive things about the board takeover. But what I am hearing is, the board needs changes, that they need someone in there to focus on education."

• Matthew Barnes (District IV): "What I’m trying to do is let people know that there was going to be life after the TEA [Texas Education Agency] takeover and we’ve got to be focused on student performance throughout all of this."

Click [show] to see candidates' statements from before the general election.

The following candidates commented on the possibility of a state takeover prior to the general election. If you are aware of comments from other candidates, please email us. Katherine Blueford-Daniels (District II): "Even if it’s short-term, if the TEA does take over, they’ll have someone they can relate to, that can have a pulse and sense of what’s going on in the community." Cristin Moses (District II): "People can understand that their vote still matters ... Even if it doesn’t matter six months from now, it might matter two years from now." Patricia Allen (District IV): "The only thing I hear about [from voters] is that they’re concerned with the in-fighting on the board and they want it to stop ... I’m not hearing positive things about the board takeover. But what I am hearing is, the board needs changes, that they need someone in there to focus on education." Matthew Barnes (District IV): "What I’m trying to do is let people know that there was going to be life after the TEA [Texas Education Agency] takeover and we’ve got to be focused on student performance throughout all of this." Reagan Flowers (District IV): "There’s still a tremendous need to educate people, to inform them of the process ... I tell them I’ll be your representative, your voice, making sure the needs of the district are being met." Larry McKinzie (District IV): "With the state approaching it the way they are, I don’t think it’s fair. ... I’m always a proponent for elected officials or people that are part of the community being able to run the community." Judith Cruz (District VIII): "So if we don’t elect new board members, the board members that are rolled back on after the board of managers leaves will be the exact same board members that we have now. So nothing will have changed." Diana Davila (District VIII): "We knew we would not get a fair trial in this situation. From the very beginning, TEA went into the district in January with the intent of taking over HISD." According to an October 2019 Houston Chronicle editorial, John Gibbs Sr. supported a state takeover of the board, Cristin Moses, Katherine Blueford-Daniels, and Jevon German did not support state takeover, and Chloe Veal was undecided.

On November 24, members-elect Daniela Hernandez (District III) and Judith Cruz (District VIII) wrote in the Houston Chronicle, "In Districts 3 and 8, we have a clear mandate for change by winning 64 percent of the vote over the incumbent trustees. ... We ask Gov. Greg Abbott and Morath to embrace democracy and uphold the voice of the voters and appoint us to serve on the board of managers." As of December 6, Katherine Blueford-Daniels had stated that she did not plan to apply for a position on the board, John Gibbs Sr. and Patricia Allen said they planned to apply, and Matthew Barnes had already applied.

However, the Houston Chronicle reported on December 17 that elected board members would not be allowed to serve on the board of managers, according to Morath.

Campaign finance

Runoff election

The table below contains campaign finance data for all runoff candidates who filed 8-day pre-election reports with the Houston Independent School District.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Balance
District II
Katherine Blueford-Daniels	$39,510.00	$13,558.82	$3,521.00
District IV
Patricia Allen	$5,690.22	$318.94	$0
Matthew Barnes	$140,418.16	$125,503.31	$19,846.56

Coverage through December 4, 2019

Source: Houston Independent School District

General election

The table below contains campaign finance data for all general election candidates who filed 8-day pre-election reports with the Houston Independent School District.

Candidate	Contributions	Expenditures	Balance
District II
Katherine Blueford-Daniels	$24,660.00	$10,580.00	$3,212.00
Jevon German	$350.00	$883.04‬	$350.00
Cristin Moses	$790.00	$658.31	$131.69
District III
Daniela Hernandez	$43,507.45	$37,620.48‬	$3,081.97
Sergio Lira	$11,565.00	$12,060.36	$8,512.58
District IV
Patricia Allen	$3,845.22	$318.94	$0
Matthew Barnes	$94,673.16‬	$72,578.67‬‬	$23,677.19
Reagan Flowers	$49,920.00	$39,387.65	$10,532.35
District VIII
Judith Cruz	$79,562.00	$64,527.90	$23,451.67
Diana Davila	$3,100.00	$3,451.00	$0

Coverage through October 26, 2019

Source: Houston Independent School District

Reporting deadlines

See also: Campaign finance requirements in Texas

Candidates running in 2019 Texas school board elections must file campaign finance reports at four deadlines:

• The July semiannual report covering activity through June 30, 2019, was due July 15, 2019.
• The 30-day pre-election report covering activity through September 26, 2019, was due October 7, 2019.
• The 8-day pre-election report covering activity through October 26, 2019, was due October 28, 2019.
• The January semiannual report covering activity through December 31, 2019, was due January 15, 2020.

For more information about HISD campaign finance reporting requirements, click here.

Endorsements

Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Runoff election endorsements

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available.

• Matthew Barnes (District IV)

Runoff election endorsements
Endorsement	District II	Previous endorsee	District IV	Previous endorsee
Newspapers and editorials
Houston Chronicle editorial board	Katherine Blueford-Daniels	Cristin Moses	Matthew Barnes	Matthew Barnes
Organziations
Northeast Harris County Minister's Alliance	Katherine Blueford-Daniels
Elected officials
Texas State Sen. Borris Miles (D)	Katherine Blueford-Daniels
Texas State Rep. Shawn Thierry (D)	Katherine Blueford-Daniels
Texas State Rep. Ron Reynolds (D)	Katherine Blueford-Daniels
Texas State Rep. Senfronia Thompson (D)	Katherine Blueford-Daniels

General election endorsements

Click the links below to see endorsement lists published on candidate campaign websites, if available.

• Sergio Lira (District III)
• Matthew Barnes (District IV)
• Reagan Flowers (District IV)
• Judith Cruz (District VIII)

General election endorsements
Endorsement	District II	District III	District IV	District VIII
Newspapers and editorials
Houston Chronicle editorial board	Cristin Moses	Daniela Hernandez	Matthew Barnes	Judith Cruz
Organizations
Black Lives Matter: Houston	Katherine Blueford-Daniels		Larry McKinzie
Community Voices for Public Education	Katherine Blueford-Daniels and Jevon German	Sergio Lira	Larry McKinzie
Greater Heights Democratic Club				Judith Cruz
Harris County Tejano Democrats		Daniela Hernandez	Matthew Barnes	Judith Cruz
Harris County Young Democrats		Sergio Lira		Judith Cruz
Houston GLBT Political Caucus				Judith Cruz
Houston Police Officers' Union PAC			Matthew Barnes
Houston Realty Business Coalition	John Gibbs Sr.	Daniela Hernandez	Matthew Barnes	Judith Cruz
Houston Stonewall Young Democrats			Matthew Barnes	Judith Cruz
Houstonians for Great Public Schools	Katherine Blueford-Daniels	Daniela Hernandez	Matthew Barnes and Reagan Flowers	Judith Cruz
Latino Texas				Judith Cruz
Texas Coalition of Black Democrats - Harris County Chapter	Katherine Blueford-Daniels		Larry McKinzie
Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation, AFL-CIO	Katherine Blueford-Daniels	Sergio Lira	Reagan Flowers and Larry McKinzie	Diana Davila

Campaign themes

Candidate survey

Ballotpedia invites school board candidates to participate in its annual survey.
Click here to view or fill out the survey.

The following themes were found on candidates' campaign websites.

District II

Katherine Blueford-Daniels

Blueford-Daniels' campaign website stated the following:

“	ISSUES Smart Standards: Ensure high expectations for ALL kids (not just some). Focus on reading and math skills in elementary school. Focus on early childhood education (so kids have the right foundation). Incorporate writing/literacy into all parts of the curriculum (kids need to know how to write) Balance academics with necessary life skills at all levels Smart Partnerships: Ask communities what kinds of programs/opportunities they want in their schools and listen to them. Include community feedback BEFORE making a decision. Build and support programs that will attract kids from across the city. Find new opportunities for programs and funding to support the work. Reserve space for kids in the neighborhood, especially in previously underserved areas. Provide more opportunities for academic and career/technical programs in underserved parts of the city. Provide more dual language programs in underserved parts of the city. Smart Transportation: Ensure safe, efficient passage to and from school. Determine if current transportation system is meeting the needs of students in underserved neighborhoods (bus pick-up/drop-off policy, sidewalk/safe passage access, etc.). Utilize existing resources at Metro and at the City.	”
—Blueford-Daniels' campaign website (2019)

Cristin Moses

Moses' campaign website stated the following:

“	Vision 1. CREATE ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY FOR ALL SCHOLARS 2. IMPLEMENT VOCATIONAL PROGRAMS IN MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL 3. IMPROVE ACCESS TO PRE-K FOR MORE OF OUR YOUNG SCHOLARS 4. MAKE HISD FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE 5. PROVIDE COMPETITIVE PAY AND SUPPORT FOR TEACHERS AND CULTIVATE BETTER CLASSROOMS AND CAMPUSES	”
—Cristin Moses' campaign website (2019)

District III

Sergio Lira

Lira's campaign website stated the following:

“	WORKING FOR YOU Continue to build community partnerships to improve and create new educational opportunities for all high school students in District III. Continue to advocate and provide more equitable resources to our neighborhood schools including the expansion of the Fine Arts Initiative and Pre-K programs in District III. Increase parental involvement by continuing to have parent community forums in English and Spanish in District III including parental community forums that focus only on resources and services for children with special needs. Support competitive pay for all teachers and support staff. Continue to advocate for less high stakes standardized testing. Along side these above initiatives, my goal is that these combined efforts will increase college and career readiness for all students in District III. I believe that in order for us to be successful in implementing and developing these programs to a high level of sustainability more than two years is needed to provide the right support, guidance, and educational strategy. Therefore, I am seeking a four-year term to continue this effort. Together We Can. Si Se Puede.	”
—Sergio Lira's campaign website (2019)

District IV

Matthew Barnes

Barnes' campaign website stated the following:

“	Excellence Without Exception Excellence is the baseline for our campaign and together we will work to fix the broken dysfunctional HISD system by providing dedicated and real leadership at the Board and community level. Job #1 – Every HISD child must be able to read by the 3rd grade, without exception. Parents, teachers, trustees and the community will partner to ensure student success. Each student must be college or workforce ready upon graduation.	”
—Matthew Barnes' campaign website (2019)

Reagan Flowers

Flowers' campaign website stated the following:

“	Change Begins with Us: Our Platform Children First It is our belief that a school district should always have children and their families as their most essential priority. Our children should remain at the forefront of all significant decisions that are made at the board table. Collaboration Collaboration is necessary to ensure that the mission of providing the best educational opportunities to students can be met. To help with this important cause, we must have the assistance of local governmental agencies, community organizations, as well as business entities to help bolster our schools from an organizational, financial and human capital standpoint. Community Engagement Having organizations partner and engage with school districts is necessary. Unfortunately, many schools do not have the access, tools, or resources to fulfill education responsibilities that are necessary for student success. Such organizations can provide technology, knowledge, and other assets that will close the gaps for students, parents, and teachers. Curriculum Improvement A curriculum utilized district wide should always be improved and modified to meet the changing needs of students and our society’s institutions. Such institutions include the higher education sector and public/private industry. Additionally, an effective curriculum should include STEM initiatives that will further enrich the educational experience of students. Teacher Empowerment An educator profoundly affects the life of a child. He or she has the power to influence a student in various ways. To ensure that teachers work effectively to influence the education of students positively, we must strengthen our school districts by providing educators with the necessary resources to be effective classroom leaders. Most importantly, educators should have the full support of their respective school administration and the school board Transparency A community has the right to obtain all necessary information regarding activities performed by a school board. The community elects these leaders in important positions of trust. Therefore, transparency should be a priority, and school boards should govern themselves accordingly.	”
—Reagan Flowers' campaign website (2019)

Larry McKinzie

McKinzie's campaign website stated the following:

“	I support less standardized testing, the “Community School Model”, equitable educational resources, more vocational and CATE (Career and Technology Education) programs and more STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) programs.	”
—Larry McKinzie’s campaign website (2019)

District VIII

Judith Cruz

Cruz's campaign website stated the following:

“	We need a strong principal pipeline and effective leadership at every level beginning in the classroom. Parents want rigor, not mediocrity, for their students. We need to ensure that students have equity of opportunity at both magnet and neighborhood schools. Schools need freedom to innovate. ... We must bring greater transparency and trust to the district. We must elevate the voice of parents, teachers and students.	”
—Judith Cruz’s campaign website (2019)

Campaign advertisements

This section shows advertisements released in this race. Ads released by campaigns and, if applicable, satellite groups are embedded or linked below. If you are aware of advertisements that should be included, please email us.

District II

Katherine Blueford-Daniels

Support

"Kathy For HISD Trustee" - Katherine Blueford-Daniels campaign ad, released September 24, 2019

District III

Daniela Hernandez

Support

• "Dani for HISD District III" - Hernandez campaign ad, released October 2, 2019
• "Dani For HISD" - Hernandez campaign ad, released September 29, 2019
• "Resources" - Hernandez campaign ad, released September 15, 2019

Sergio Lira

Support

• "Vote For Sergio Lira for HISD Trustee, District III" - Lira campaign ad, released October 27, 2019
• "Vote For Sergio Lira for HISD Trustee, District III" - Lira campaign ad, released October 21, 2019

District IV

Matthew Barnes

Support

• "Rev. Lawson Endorses Matt Barnes" - Barnes campaign ad, released December 4, 2019
• "Matt Barnes for HISD" - Barnes campaign ad, released November 20, 2019
• "Why I'm Running" - Barnes campaign ad, released July 18, 2019

"Rod Paige" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released November 4, 2019

"Pastor Jones" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 9, 2019

"Our Community and Students Deserve Better" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 9, 2019

"My Husband Has a Passion for Student Achievement" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 7, 2019

"Matt is My Mentor" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 7, 2019

"Houston Police Officers Union Supports Matt Barnes" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 7, 2019

"Barnes Kids Final" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 7, 2019

"A Champion for All Students" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 7, 2019

"Candidate Challenge" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released October 1, 2019

"Former School Board Trustee Supports Matt Barnes" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released September 27, 2019

"Why Houstonians for Great Public Schools Supports Matt Barnes for HISD" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released September 26, 2019

"For Three Generations, Education was 'the family business'" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released September 16, 2019

"Fighting to ensure student success" - Matt Barnes campaign ad, released August 28, 2019

Reagan Flowers

Support

"Reagan Flowers for Houston ISD District IV Trustee - TV Ad" - Reagan Flowers campaign ad, released October 16, 2019

"Reagan Flowers for HISD - TV Ad" - Reagan Flowers campaign ad, released October 5, 2019

"Reagan Flowers C STEM Pioneer II" - Reagan Flowers campaign ad, released September 6, 2019

"Dr. Reagan Flowers - C STEM Pioneer I" - Reagan Flowers campaign ad, released August 28, 2019

"Dr. Reagan Flowers for HISD District IV - Campaign Announcement" - Reagan Flowers campaign ad, released August 19, 2019

Larry McKinzie

Support

• "Vote Larry McKinzie for HISD Trustee #4" - McKinzie campaign ad, released October 23, 2019

District VIII

Judith Cruz

Support

• "Judith Cruz, Canidata para la Mesa Directiva de HISD, Distrito VIII" - Judith Cruz campaign ad, released October 29, 2019

"Judith Cruz - Transparency and Trust" - Judith Cruz campaign ad, released October 29, 2019

"Judith Cruz, My Why" - Judith Cruz campaign ad, released October 25, 2019

"Vote for Judith for HISD" - Judith Cruz campaign ad, released October 21, 2019

"Judith for HISD" - Judith Cruz campaign ad, released September 25, 2019

Interviews and questionnaires

• Houston Chronicle questionnaires:
  • District II:
    • Katherine Blueford-Daniels
    • Jevon German
    • John Gibbs Sr.
    • Cristin Moses
  • District III:
    • Daniela Hernandez
    • Sergio Lira
  • District IV:
    • Patricia Allen
    • Matthew Barnes
    • Reagan Flowers
    • Larry McKinzie
  • District VIII:
    • Judith Cruz

Election history

2017

See also: Houston Independent School District elections (2017)

Click [show] for 2017 election results.

District I Runoff results Houston Independent School District, District I Runoff Election, 4-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Elizabeth Santos 60.60% 2,506 Gretchen Himsl 39.40% 1,629 Total Votes 4,135 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report — Official: Harris County, Texas — Joint Runoff Election — December 09, 2017," accessed September 19, 2019 General results Houston Independent School District, District I General Election, 4-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Elizabeth Santos 44.80% 3,994 Gretchen Himsl 34.04% 3,035 Monica Richart 21.16% 1,887 Total Votes 8,916 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017 District III Runoff results Houston Independent School District, District III Runoff Election, 2-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Sergio Lira 57.01% 854 Jesse Rodriguez 42.99% 644 Total Votes 1,498 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report — Official: Harris County, Texas — Joint Runoff Election — December 09, 2017," accessed September 19, 2019 General results Houston Independent School District, District III Special Election, 2-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Jesse Rodriguez 39.92% 1,247 Sergio Lira 33.74% 1,054 Rodolfo Reyes 14.05% 439 Carlos Perrett 12.29% 384 Total Votes 3,124 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017 District V Houston Independent School District, District V General Election, 4-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Sue Deigaard 51.40% 5,599 Susan Shafer 16.58% 1,806 Kara DeRocha 16.18% 1,762 Sean Cheben 15.84% 1,725 Total Votes 10,892 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017 District VI Houston Independent School District, District VI General Election, 4-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Holly Maria Flynn Vilaseca Incumbent 50.42% 3,260 Robert Lundin 35.01% 2,264 Daniel Albert 14.57% 942 Total Votes 6,466 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017 District VII Houston Independent School District, District VII General Election, 4-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Anne Sung Incumbent 61.64% 7,108 John Luman 38.36% 4,424 Total Votes 11,532 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017 District IX Houston Independent School District, District IX General Election, 4-year term, 2017 Candidate Vote % Votes Wanda Adams Incumbent 68.43% 5,575 Karla Brown 24.22% 1,973 Gerry Monroe 7.35% 599 Total Votes 8,147 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," accessed November 22, 2017

2016

See also: Houston Independent School District elections (2016)

Click [show] for 2016 election results.

District VII runoff special election Houston Independent School District, District VII Runoff Special Election, 1-Year Term, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Anne Sung 50.28% 3,305 John Luman 49.72% 3,268 Total Votes 6,573 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report — Official: Houston Independent School District — Runoff Election for Trustee, District VII — December 10, 2016," accessed September 19, 2019 District VII general special election Houston Independent School District, District VII General Special Election, 1-Year Term, 2016 Candidate Vote % Votes Anne Sung 46.80% 16,790 John Luman 29.24% 10,491 Victoria Bryant 17.05% 6,118 Danielle Paulus 6.91% 2,480 Total Votes 35,879 Source: Harris County, Texas, "Cumulative Report - Official," November 16, 2016

2015

See also: Houston Independent School District elections (2015)

Click [show] for 2015 election results.

Runoff election District II Houston Independent School District, District II, Runoff Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Rhonda Skillern-Jones Incumbent 70.4% 11,173 Larry Williams 29.6% 4,687 Total Votes 15,860 Source: Harris County Clerk, "Joint Runoff Election Canvass Report," accessed January 14, 2016 District III Houston Independent School District, District III, Runoff Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Manuel Rodriguez Jr. Incumbent 55.9% 3,459 Jose Leal 44.1% 2,730 Total Votes 6,189 Source: Harris County Clerk, "Joint Runoff Election Canvass Report," accessed January 14, 2016 General election District II Houston Independent School District, District II, General Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Rhonda Skillern-Jones Incumbent 46.0% 7,639 Larry Williams 24.8% 4,119 Youlette McCullough 21.1% 3,501 Darlene Smith 8.1% 1,348 Total Votes 16,607 Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 District III Houston Independent School District, District III, General Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Manuel Rodriguez Jr. Incumbent 46.4% 4,074 Jose Leal 29.9% 2,625 Ramiro Fonseca 23.6% 2,075 Total Votes 8,774 Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 District IV Houston Independent School District, District IV, General Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Jolanda Jones 57.8% 12,221 Ann McCoy 20.7% 4,385 Davetta Daniels 11.9% 2,517 Larry McKinzie 9.6% 2,027 Total Votes 21,150 Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015 District VIII Houston Independent School District, District VIII, General Election, 2015 Candidate Vote % Votes Diana Davila 55.6% 6,733 Juliet Stipeche Incumbent 44.4% 5,376 Total Votes 12,109 Source: Harris County Clerk, "Cumulative Report-Official", accessed December 16, 2015

2013

See also: Houston Independent School District elections (2013)

Click [show] for 2013 election results.

District I Houston Independent School District, District 1, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Anna Eastman Incumbent 77.4% 8,144      Nonpartisan Hugo Mojica 22.6% 2,377 Total Votes 10,521 Source: Harris County, Texas, "November 2013 General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2013 District VII Houston Independent School District, District 7, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Harvin Moore Incumbent 53.4% 6,621      Nonpartisan Anne Sung 46.6% 5,773 Total Votes 12,394 Source: Harris County, Texas, "November 2013 General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2013 District IX Houston Independent School District, District 9, 4-year term, 2013 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Nonpartisan Wanda Adams 71.2% 8,005      Nonpartisan Clyde Lemon 18.1% 2,040      Nonpartisan Coretta Mallet-Fontenot 10.7% 1,200 Total Votes 11,245 Source: Harris County, Texas, "November 2013 General Election Official Results," accessed December 12, 2013 Note: Michael L. Lunceford in District 5 and Greg Meyers in District 6 ran unopposed races and were re-elected to their seats.

About the office

See also: Board of education

The HISD board of education is the official policy-making body of the district and comprises nine trustees who are elected by district to staggered four-year terms.

Election trends

The table below shows election trends for HISD school board elections held between 2013 and 2017, compared with state and national trends.

Note: The 2016 special election was called to complete an unfinished term.

School board election trends
Year	Candidates per seat	Unopposed seats	Incumbents running for re-election	Incumbent success rate	Seats won by newcomers
Houston Independent School District
2017	3.17	0.00%	50.00%	100.00%	50.00%
2016	4.00	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	100.00%
2015	3.25	0.00%	75.00%	66.67%	50.00%
2013	2.33	0.00%	66.67%	100.00%	33.33%
Texas
2015	1.69	48.62%	77.98%	83.53%	34.40%
2014	1.86	37.61%	75.22%	81.76%	38.05%
United States
2015	1.72	35.95%	70.37%	82.66%	40.81%
2014	1.89	32.57%	75.51%	81.31%	38.24%

About the district

See also: Houston Independent School District, Texas

Houston Independent School District is located in Harris County, Texas.

As of the 2018-2019 school year, HISD was the largest school district in Texas and the seventh-largest school district in the United States, serving 209,772 students in 280 schools with a budget of $2,043,345,624. HISD serves as a community school district for most of the city of Houston and several nearby and insular municipalities. Like most districts in Texas, it is independent of the city of Houston and all other municipal and county jurisdictions. The district has its headquarters in the Hattie Mae White Educational Support Center (HMWESC) in Houston.

Houston is located in Southeast Texas in Harris County. The county was home to an estimated 4,589,928 residents from 2010 to 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.

Demographics

Harris County overperformed in comparison to the rest of Texas in terms of higher education achievement from 2011 to 2015. The United States Census Bureau found that 29.5 percent of county residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 27.6 percent of state residents. The median household income in Harris County was $54,457, while it was $53,207 for Texas. The county poverty rate was 16.6 percent, compared to the state's 15.6 percent.

Racial Demographics, 2010-2016
Race	Harris County (%)	Texas (%)
White	70.0	79.4
Black or African American	19.7	12.6
American Indian and Alaska Native	1.1	1.0
Asian	7.2	4.6
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	0.1	0.1
Two or More Races	1.9	1.9
Hispanic or Latino	42.4	39.1

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

About the city

See also: Houston, Texas

Houston is a city in Texas and the county seat of Harris County. As of 2020, its population was 2,304,580.

City government

See also: Mayor-council government

The city of Houston uses a strong mayor and city council system. In this form of municipal government, the city council serves as the city's primary legislative body while the mayor serves as the city's chief executive.

Demographics

The following table displays demographic data provided by the United States Census Bureau.

Demographic Data for Houston, Texas
	Houston	Texas
Population	2,304,580	29,145,505
Land area (sq mi)	640	261,257
Race and ethnicity**
White	35.5%	53.9%
Black/African American	22.9%	12.2%
Asian	6.9%	5.3%
Native American	0.9%	0.6%
Pacific Islander	0.3%	0.3%
Other (single race)	14.6%	8.6%
Multiple	19.2%	19.2%
Hispanic/Latino	44.1%	39.5%
Education
High school graduation rate	80.3%	85.7%
College graduation rate	36%	33.1%
Income
Median household income	$62,894	$76,292
Persons below poverty level	19.7%	13.8%
Source: population provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "Decennial Census" (2020). Other figures provided by U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2018-2023).
**Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

State profile

See also: Texas and Texas elections, 2019

Partisan data

The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019

Presidential voting pattern

• Texas voted Republican in all seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2018 elections, both U.S. senators from Texas were Republicans.
• Twenty-three of Texas' 36 U.S. representatives were Republicans and 13 were Democrats.

State executives

• Republicans held seven of Texas' nine state executive offices. The other two offices were nonpartisan.
• Texas' governor was Republican Greg Abbott.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled the Texas State Senate with a 19-12 majority.
• Republicans controlled the Texas House of Representatives with a 83-67 majority.

Texas Party Control: 1992-2025
Three years of Democratic trifectas  •  Twenty-three years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
Senate	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Texas quick stats

• Became a state in 1845
• 28th state admitted to the United States
• Texas was an independent republic from 1836 to 1845
• Members of the Texas State Senate: 31
• Members of the Texas House of Representatives: 150
• U.S. senators: 2
• U.S. representatives: 36

More Texas coverage on Ballotpedia:

• Texas elections, 2019
• Presidential voting trends in Texas
• United States congressional delegations from Texas
• Public policy in Texas
• Influencers in Texas
• Almanac of American Politics state profile
• More...

Demographic data for Texas
	Texas	U.S.
Total population:	27,429,639	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	261,232	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	74.9%	73.6%
Black/African American:	11.9%	12.6%
Asian:	4.2%	5.1%
Native American:	0.5%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0.1%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.5%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	38.4%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	81.9%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.6%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,207	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	19.9%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Texas. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

See also

Houston Independent School District	Texas	School Boards
Houston Independent School District elections (2017) List of school districts in Texas	Texas school board elections, 2019 Public education in Texas Local ballot measures, Texas	School board elections, 2019 School board elections, 2018 School board election data analysis, 2019 School board election data analysis, 2018

External links

• Search Google News for this topic
• Houston Independent School District

Footnotes

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