Houston businessman Bill King to kick off campaign for mayor next month

Houston businessman Bill King is running for mayor again after losing in a close runoff to Sylvester Turner in 2015. Houston businessman Bill King is running for mayor again after losing in a close runoff to Sylvester Turner in 2015. Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Photo: Mark Mulligan, Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Houston businessman Bill King to kick off campaign for mayor next month 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

Houston businessman Bill King will kick off his campaign for mayor next month, marking the official start of his second run for the city's top office after he narrowly lost a 2015 runoff to Mayor Sylvester Turner.

The Feb. 11 kickoff is scheduled to begin at noon at The Wynden, an event venue in the Galleria area.

King already has announced that he plans to lead a spring petition drive to amend the city charter by barring political donors from doing business with the city. When announcing the drive earlier this month, King confirmed his intent to run for mayor.

King and millionaire lawyer Tony Buzbee are Turner's first serious opponents for re-election, and both appear likely to focus on ethics and the issue of "pay-to-play" political contributions.

Buzbee has said he intends to lead a similar petition drive, putting forth his idea in a Houston Chronicle advertisement the day before King announced his own drive.

FOCAL POINT: Buzbee, King call for limits on donor influence at City Hall

Turner, asked Wednesday about Buzbee and King's proposals, questioned his opponents' timing.

"I don't know where they were when Bill White was the mayor, when Annise Parker was the mayor. I can't speak to that," Turner said. "We follow the same rules that have been in place for quite some time in the city of Houston.

In the meantime, Turner said he is focused on his everyday mayoral duties – not Buzbee and King.

"We'll have plenty of time to talk about the other political stuff," Turner said. "But they're not mayor. They're not the CEO and the manager of the city. So, let me stay focused on the people in the city of Houston.

"This is not my first time at the rodeo," he added. "I think I ride a bull real well."

jasper.scherer@chron.com

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