Red-light camera protest goes awry

So here's a helpful hint from Houstonist: If you plan to run a red light to protest the city's red-light camera system, and you let everyone and their grandmother know you're gonna do it, there's a chance the police might find out, too. That's what happened to red-light camera opponent Michael Kubosh yesterday morning: He made a big show out of running a red light, then got pulled over and ticketed by a cop. Which proved ... well ... not a whole lot.

Kubosh, a bail bondsman, has long opposed the legality of red-light camera systems, saying they are against state law because tickets from cameras are civil offenses, whereas running a red light is a criminal offense under state law. "The state constitution says you can't pass any [city] laws in conflict with state laws," Kubosh told the Chronicle. And so he wants to get a ticket from the camera system so he can present that argument in court — but getting the ticket is the hard part, it seems. Kubosh announced last week that he would be running a light Sunday; at 7 a.m., he arrived at the intersection of Milam and Elgin, where family members were staked out on both sides of the road to warn him if cars were coming. When the coast was clear, Kubosh ran the light and a cop who watched the whole thing unfold pulled him over and gave him a ticket, which overrides a citation from the camera system. It means Kubosh won't get to make his argument this time, and now he'll face a maximum $200 fine instead of the $75 from the camera system.

Kubosh, naturally, said he was ticketed because the city is "afraid of the challenge we're going to give them in court." Houstonist can't help but suspect that he's missing the mark there — maybe he was ticketed because he ran a red light in front of a cop? In any case, Kubosh wasn't deterred by Sunday morning's events: He said he plans to run another light at some point, but more discreetly.