Voters in Harris, Fort Bend counties approve bond propositions

Every bond measure on the ballot in Harris County won voter approval during the Nov. 3 election. Likewise, voters in Fort Bend County overwhelmingly supported all four propositions of a $98.6 million bond initiative with each proposition garnering more than 60 percent of voter support.

The Harris County ballot included a proposal for $700 million in bonds for road construction, $64 million for flood control, $60 million for parks projects and $24 million for a new county animal shelter.

“I think all four of them got the attention of voters, and they overwhelmingly approved them,” Precinct 3 Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack said.

Voter turnout in Harris County was 20.5 percent, according to unofficial election results from the county. There were 420,970 people who voted out of 2,054,717 registered voters.

The road bond referendum was passed by 73.3 percent of voters with 26.7 percent voting against the measure.

“Roads, transportation, go hand in hand with many issues, and one of them is public safety,” Radack said.

The $24 million animal shelter bond item was also approved by 61.7 percent of voters while 38.3 percent voted against it.

“I think the animal shelter is something that is badly needed,” Radack said. “The other one is very old. Now and in the future, we’ll get more animals adopted.”

In Fort Bend County, 69 percent of voters supported Proposition 1 of the bond with 48,366 votes tallied. Proposition 2 received 61 percent support with 48,116 total votes. Seventy percent of voters supported Proposition 3 with a total of 48,323 votes. Proposition 4 also received the support of voters with 60 percent voting in favor and 48,028 votes cast. Of the 373,832 registered voters in the county, 49,947 cast a vote in the election, which puts the voter turnout at 13.36 percent.

The bond funds address needs, such as park improvements, upgrades to the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds, library expansions and new criminal justice facilities.