Houston Mayor and potential U.S. Senate Candidate Bill White has made a practice to stay pretty neutral in city elections throughout his tenure at City Hall. During the build up to tomorrow's elections, his voice was barely heard at all. He was too busy running the city and running for Kay Bailey Hutchison's office.
But in the past week, as the campaigns finally took a negative turn, he's spoken a couple times in regards to some new political attacks. It seems he wants to clearly communicate to the candidates: Campaign to the finish line with maximum integrity, or I might call you out.
First, Bill White raised his voice after Peter Brown accused Annise Parker of missing some deadlines as Controller. His criticisms made clear the audacity of Brown's attack: The delays were caused by technical changes openly discussed in city council, and the criticism was unfair.
Yesterday, those who follow Bill White on Facebook and/or twitter might have seen him comment on a robo-call he had received from an unknown source. The call attacked City Council Member Ron Green, the only Democrat running for Annise Parker's current job, city controller. White said,
I just got a recorded call urging Democrats to vote against Ron Green for City Controller because he would hurt D's. Who paid for this? I am neutral in the race, but it does seem to me that if another candidate or party paid for it, they should say so upfront.
Still, he is not endorsing another candidate, but he clearly implies that he received a robo-call implementing a silly attack that doesn't make much sense. Rumors state that the Pam Holm camp might be involved, but no one has yet taken responsibility.
I'm glad to see the mayor putting a good word in for integrity. As outgoing mayor, he shouldn't fight for any particular candidate, but he knows the city will be in good hands if the politics are good, and that's what he's advocating in these final days.
(I resurveyed the staff just to check and we unanimously endorse Annise Parker for Mayor of Houston in this Saturday's runoff. The following endorsement is what we printed in her first round of the election. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Burnt Orange Report endorses Annise Parker for Mayor of Houston because she is an experienced candidate and committed grassroots activist we can trust to put the people of Houston first.
When we at Burnt Orange Report write about local city races, we normally focus on Austin -- simply because that's where most of us live. However, the City of Houston -- which is both the fourth largest city in the country, and the third fastest-growing city in the country -- will, in one week, select a new mayor to replace the long and respected tenure of Bill White.
We believe the most qualified candidate to be Houston's next mayor is Annise Parker.
Annise Parker is a strong Democrat who has separated herself from the rest of the field with her positive campaign for progress in Houston. Her twelve years of experience in Houston city politics -- she was on the Houston City Council for six years, and is now at the end of her sixth year as City Controller -- stand out as examples of her delivering results, and not just talking about, the issues that matter to the city of Houston.
Parker came into politics through neighborhood activism, a path of determination and sacrifice that resonates both with our own personal experiences as well as with the values we champion throughout the BOR community. Her recent profile in the Houston Chronicle discussed some of her most impressive grassroots work:
Parker hasn't budged from Houston since returning here in 1974 to attend Rice University. Her involvement in gay politics began in 1979, the year after she graduated, when she helped organize a gay student group at Rice.
After college, Parker went to work using new computer software to do economic modeling in the oil and gas industry. In her free time, she plunged into community involvement, joining the boards of gay and lesbian organizations and riding in Houston's first Pride Parade in 1979.
[...]
Many of her nonworking hours are devoted to community activities. It was a desire for something new, Parker said, that prompted her to move from gay activism to the next chapter in her life.
“I was bored with gay stuff,” she said. “I threw myself just as hard into 10 years of neighborhood activism.”
A rash of arson fires near her home prompted Parker and a neighbor to create the East Montrose Civic Association in 1990. Five years later, she became president of the Neartown Association, a coalition of Montrose-area civic clubs, making connections that would help her in her campaigns for public office.
When we take away all the campaign attacks, and television ads, and look at this Houston mayoral race closely, we find that Annise Parker is one of us, and she is someone we can trust. In times like these, trust counts.
Despite what our current Governor would have everyone believe, Texas -- and especially the city of Houston -- is facing challenging economic times. At a time when the specific policies of the mayoral candidates are, by most accounts, broad and indiscriminate, we find ourselves searching for the candidate we can identify with and trust the most.
Parker is the most experienced candidate for mayor, and as she said in one debate, "I'll always tell you the truth, even if you don't want to hear it." I personally know her to be smart, loyal, and an extremely hard worker. From day one, the City will be run effectively and efficiently.
In a community, you trust your neighbors that work hard and share your values. Burnt Orange Report endorses Annise Parker for Mayor of Houston because she is an experienced candidate and committed grassroots activist we can trust to put the people of Houston first.
Yesterday saw two polls released about the Houston mayoral race. Usefully, we now have something to compare to the earlier Zogby poll.
One of those polls was another from a local media outlet. 11 News and KUHF Houston Public Radio paired together for a poll from Bob Stein and Rice University's Center for Civic Engagement. This survey should have some particular weight as we consider these, because the Center for Civic Engagement is the only polling outlet that is consistently involved in Houston politics. This poll's methodology probably took Houston politics into account more than others. Like the Chronicle/Zogby poll, Peter Brown was shown ahead. 24% of those polls said they would vote for him.
The rest?
Brown's nearest challenger is comptroller Annise Parker, who holds the support of 16 percent of likely voters in the current poll. Former city attorney Gene Locke has 14 percent support, and Harris County Department of Education trustee Roy Morales has 5 percent support. Forty-one percent of likely voters told pollsters that they have not yet settled on a candidate. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.2 percent, which means it is difficult to determine whether Locke or Parker has more support than the other.
Although Parker and Locke were found neck-and-neck with this poll, this poll is the only one to show Controller Parker that behind the front. Actually, Annise Parker released her own poll, conducted by the well-respected Lake Research Partners, that shows her ahead with 27%. Her poll shows Peter Brown with 21% and Gene Locke with 17%. If "leaners" are taken out of the equation, though, everyone sits within the 4.9% Margin of error: Parker, Brown, and Locke would sit at 18%, 12%, and 12%, respectively.
We cannot say with any certainty, now, who leads the mayoral race, but reaching a majority is unlikely for any candidate next Tuesday. I just care about who reaches the top two, and three polls over a week and a half shows a likely runoff between Parker and Brown. Clearly, Gene Locke has a lot of last minute work in order to reach the Finals. He already started: last week, he released the first negative advertisement of the campaign, trying to win back African American votes from the white guy, Peter Brown. That might help (or just show desperation), but he'll need some strong GOTV, too.
The Houston Chronicle paired with Zogby International to release this poll that was held last week.
"It's close, a lot of voters are undecided, and there appear to be three legitimate contenders," said John Zogby, president and CEO of Zogby International, which conducted the poll for the Chronicle. "Brown has spent the most money and has the greater name recognition, and that's been enough to put him in first place. But you could make the argument that he could be a little disappointed in these results, because whatever lead he has is hardly commensurate with what he spent."
According to the poll, Brown leads the field with 23.8 percent of the vote, followed by Parker with 19 percent, Locke with 13.1 percent, and Harris County Board of Education Trustee Roy Morales with 6.7 percent.
The results are drawn from a survey of 601 likely Houston voters. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
That leaves 36% undecided, so any of the three leading Democrats can make a runoff. But with an election so close, the candidates are fighting not only among themselves, but also against "stay behind at home."
Brown was behind in many older polls, but his deep pockets and many paid advertisements seem to be paying off. The poll also asked one-on-one contests between these three leaders. Brown wins against both Parker and Locke, but he finds himself in a statistical tie with Parker, leading only 35.3% to 34%. Parker beats Locke in that match-up.
Nany Sims gives solid analysis. She thinks everything points towards a good future in Houston, as she finishes:
Here's the bottom line: We have a field of outstanding, qualified candidates and people are just not concerned that one is significantly worse than the others. Shouldn't we be celebrating this fact?
In our modern democracy, people tend to be more driven to vote "against" someone than "for" them. When you have a collective of qualified individuals, the voters are stumped.
I say "YEA" for a democracy that is actually working as it should. You may have to work a little harder than normal to pick the candidate you like the best but be happy that you don't have to threaten to leave the city if one of these folks wins.
But the Houston Chronicle thinks one of those three candidates might be worth voting against. And it is the man their poll places as the front-runner, Peter Brown. Their editorial board has co-endorsed Annise Parker and Gene Locke, but Muse tells us what it really intended: "Anybody But Peter Brown." Problematically, though, the Chronicle fails to enumerate their problems with Brown, leaving voters without reason to actually cast that vote against him and for someone else.
Personally, I, too, am shaking my head at that co-endorsement. It makes little sense to me, and it only adds confusion in a race nearing the finish line. I tend to agree with Nancy, too. The reasons to vote for these three candidates supersede reasons to vote against them. Annise Parker probably still has the most inside track to the runoff, but the candidates' combined strength provide the possibility for any combination of these three to battle one-on-one after November 3.
Only three weeks remain until polls open in the city of Houston for voters to choose a man or woman to succeed Bill White as mayor of one of this country's largest cities. Yet, of the voters who even realize Bill White will soon vacate the office, many surely remain undecided still. Sure, many activists are aligned somewhere due to various loyalties, but the general voters have been given little differentiation to work with in order to make a good decision.
It's no wonder, too. Of all the candidates, only three are active with a strong pulse. Annise Parker, Gene Locke, and Peter Brown are all also Democrats whose policies compare closely. If you are an absolute stickler for Democratic credentials, you might back Annise Parker, but all three are just as Democratic as their predecessor. If you particularly care about a certain policy area, you might support someone else.
Really, voters need every available method to distinguish the candidates. So, I thought I would discuss a method I once used to decide between candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama. Each candidate, while similar on policy, probably will be significantly different in their potential styles of governing.
For the task of painting a picture of these candidates' styles, I will look at two different sources. First, I will review basic biographical information for each of the candidates. Then, I will also look at the great Insider's Looks into the Campaigns from Mayoral Musings with Nancy Sims.
Annise Parker:
With Annise Parker, I first noticed that she really cares about Houston government. She ran for City Council twice unsuccesfully before finally winning a seat in 1997, and the current City Controller has served in elected Houston office ever since. She is the only candidate for Mayor who can say she has served constituents in Houston government for more than a decade. Although that might be the most important piece of biographical info, the most known might be that the candidate is openly lesbian. Her activeness in the LGBT community might not show us much regarding how she leads, except she probably ran into a few problems along the way that might translate into toughness. Finally, Parker worked in the oil & gas energy for two decades -- at the very least, she has knowledge of the industry, which could prove helpful in any clean energy initiatives she could attempt as Mayor. She also has a powerful public record of fiscal responsibility, which is probably buffered by that business experience.
And from her journey to get elected to the city's highest office? Nancy Sims gives these thoughts:
So, what does this team and organization tell us about how Parker might manage the city? Volumes. I predict that she will seek expertise where she needs it. She will be loyal and true to the voters that elect her and will likely stand by her promises. She will be a leader and inspire those who work for her to perform to the best of their abilities. She is willing to trust others to accomplish their jobs without telling them what to do every step of the way. If Parker's campaign team is a reflection of her leadership style, Houston will be run as a finely-tuned machine.
Annise Parker's supporters can be confident that city government would be an efficient cog under a Parker administration. She was successful in business, and her campaign is being run like one. So would the city of Houston. I am confident Houston's economy would likely thrive under Parker, but my only concern is how many risks she would take with the city. Will Annise Parker bring the city into another level of prestige, or will she only keep it chugging along at the same level that Bill White has brought it to?
Gene Locke:
Gene Locke's life is also one of challenges. He worked through law school as a steelworker, but after his JD, his rise became quick. He went to Washington, D.C. to work as chief of staff for Congressman Mickey Leland. In 1995 Bob Lanier appointed him as City Attorney. Under the Lanier Administration, Locke led the negotiations for Minute Maid Park, Reliant Park, and the Toyota Center, the three prominent sports arenas for the city's three prominent professional sport teams. He currently practices law with Andrews Kurth LLP, but he has served as Special Counsel to Houston METRO and the Port of Houston Authority. Locke, though, has heard a fair share of criticism for the way he has conducted a lawyerly proceedings.
While a law career tells little about one's management style, a campaign can, and Nancy concludes this about his campaign:
What does this team tell me about how Gene Locke will govern? Lots! He will look for the best and brightest. I can envision Locke picking staff and department leaders that have experience, commitment and heart. He is a listener and will trust the experts to do their jobs well. His staff and department heads will trust him and believe in him. He will set clearly-defined goals for his team and for the city. He and his staff will all be working from the same page to keep Houston running. Based on early campaign changes, I would say Locke is willing to make hard decisions, even when it may not be popular to do so, if it is in the best interest of the city. If Locke's campaign is a reflection of the way he will govern, we can count on smart, dedicated leadership that keeps Houstonians top of mind.
Gene Locke could be a mayor that will get things done by negotiation with different agencies. He has connection with many of them, and he has succeeded with them before. Also, if he sees an opportunity to bring an important event, I suspect he might take it on head-first: that's what habitual leaders willing to take risks tend to do, especially if they have a loyal and intelligent staff. But all of these attempts would also chance the appearance of Locke's slick ways that can always create potential for trouble.
Peter Brown:
Peter Brown's life path to this election may be the one that began the most privileged. He attended the private St. John's School and then spent much time receiving three separate university degrees. Afterwards, he spent six years in the Army's active reserve, though, showing that he has thoughts for his community even if he grew up with amenities that others lack. His first degree was a Bachelor's in French Studies followed by a Master's in Romance Languages, but his preparation for city work really began with his last one. He received a Bachelor of Architecture, Master of Architecture, and Master of City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania. Since, he has worked as an architect and urban planner, doing work in over 20 cities, including many years in Houston. In 2003 he was made a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, the highest designation for the organization. He was actually so good that he has been able to self-finance most of his political career. In two years he would be elected to the city council.
Peter Brown's history tells us a lot about his knowledge of cities - they are high and many. Unfortunately, his career gives little indication to his ability with budgets, his political tact, or any other managerial skill. Apparently his campaign gives us a similarly hazy forecast:
What does this team tell me about how Peter Brown will govern? It's a little tougher assessment than the Parker and Locke campaigns. It's my observation that if Brown will recruit a strong leader and trust them to manage the operations, he will have a well-run City Hall operation. If not, things might be a little chaotic. We will trust that the leader will be able to carry out Peter Brown's vision for Houston. His vision is a solid one and one that is gaining interest from voters. Brown will need to say "this is how I see it" and allow a team to implement the details. It may be a little hard for people who interact with City government to master accessing the Brown administration but we know that it will be well run. There will not be much opportunity for jockeying or schmoozing - it will be a "state your business" type of team and they will follow-through on their commitments. You may rest assured that a Brown administration will have a plan and implement it!
As powerful mayors go, they can be considered the continual designers of their cities. Peter Brown would be a gifted one at Houston's head. But Brown is an architect in training and practice; he is not a builder. If you trust he can get excellent builders, he may be, by far, the best candidate in the field. If you think he will have trouble with that, he may be the decided worst. (Ok, besides from Roy Morales!)
Peter Brown's Third Ad: Community, Focused On Public Safety: Watch
Ah, another Houston ad on "safety". Except this time Pete Brown is Sam Waterston and is going to rig up the Houston Police Department with satellite cameras that are going to track officers on the beat down to the nearest nanometer. I feel like I'm watching a commercial for Law & Order Houston.
There was an opportunity for Parker's ad campaign to get better from the mediocre first entry. That opportunity was not taken. It feels like I'm watching something in which the goal was to insert as many buzzwords that polled well into 30 seconds rather than something with a coherent theme or message.
For 1st class city, these ad campaigns are flying coach.
I'm having a ball following the Houston mayoral candidates and I've been terribly impressed to see from the get go how much each one of them wants it and how hard they are working to earn votes.
When I talk about the frontrunners, I'm talking about Annise Parker, Peter Brown and Gene Locke. Yes, I will avoid mentioning Roy Morales, for the most part. He's lost three times city-wide, twice to Melissa Noriega and once to Peter Brown. He'll get the teabagger vote on November 3rd, as well as some of the other conservative vote, but those voters will have to find another candidate for the runoff.
There are some other terrific bloggers reporting on the mayor's race - too many for one post, so here is Part One:
Greg's Opinion: Greg Wythe asked that all the mayoral campaigns put their mail pieces up on the internet and one campaign responded - Peter Brown. Of course, that may be because Peter's the only one with mail. We'd all love to comment on the many TV ads from the campaigns, but (again) since Brownis the only one on TV, Greg is doing a great job covering whatever freemedia exposure they are all getting. Greg is also going to be a good one to watch anytime you are wondering what the number crunching looks like. When the rest of us (OK, just me) get too lazy to do the math, we ask Greg, and turns out he's already done the work.
David Ortez: There's a new, talented blogger in Houston - yay! David claims he's getting too busy studying for the LSAT to blog much (sad!) but when he does post on the mayor's race, it's always a must read. He's been keeping track of who is running a mobile campaign, and even took this photo of what happens when you sign up for Brown's mobile campaign. I like his analysis of Brown's ads, maybe because we are in agreement! He was the only one evaluating the campaigns' social media strategies early on, where he gave the advantage to Parker. I first took notice of David when he participated in Gene Locke's social media summit. Here's a YouTube of his reaction to that event. Please put down those law books and post more often, David!
DosCentavos: Oh, my. It was this post that caused the Houston Chronicle to take notice of Stace Medellin. Stace, John Cobarruvias and I were at the Latino Mayoral Debate where Gene Locke stated that when he was mayor there would be a Hispanic museum. Stace wasn't impressed, and blogged it. Three paragraphs of that blog post made it into Bradley Olson's Chron blog. I was a little surprised that Locke's senior consultant, Kim Devlin, took this shot at Stace over those three paragraphs:
Medellin is only trying to deflect attention from the candidate he's endorsed trying to buy a grassroots endorsement for herself.
If Locke were to end up in a runoff with Brown, the Locke campaign might want Medellin's support, but I imagine they've pretty much closed that door. Stace has blogged prolifically about the mayor's race including posting the great photos he took at Parker's filing rally, commentary on keeping the candidates accountable for their promises, and analyzing the poll numbers.
Follow these bloggers on Twitter: @gregwythe, @davidortez and @2centavos. Follow me @museblogger. I'll be back with more in Part Two soon.
(We're going to be picking up our Houston Mayoral coverage as we approach the November election. Peter Brown is one of the candidates vying to replace Mayor Bill White there. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
Our campaign is holding a contest and we want Burnt Orange Reporters to enter! Building on our TV ad, "Blueprint" and on Peter's vision for the city of Houston, we're asking regular Houstonians to contribute your vision of Houston. If you do submit, please let us know that you saw this on BOR by including it in the subject or with the drawing. Full contest rules below, the launch video above.
Our campaign is the first in Houston up with TV ads, which you can view below. The reviews are in:
"[I]t hits all the high points of Brown's resume while emphasizing that he has a plan for Houston" - Off The Kuff
"Brown released a dynamic, informative 30-second advert that will appear on broadcast and cable television. The commercial is titled "Next Step" and touts Peter Brown's achievements in City Council and plans for a better Houston." - David Ortez
"Commentary caught H-Town Mayoral candidate Peter Brown's first ad this morning during "The Today Show." It's a nice ad for an intro. Peter now has the airwaves to himself which is always advantageous."- Marc Campos
See the ad and read the full press release below the jump!
(Peter Brown is a candidate for Mayor of Houston this November. - promoted by Karl-Thomas Musselman)
It's been eight years since Tropical Storm Allison, an event no one who experienced it can forget. My family remembers this time not just because of the storm, but also because it was the day of my daughter's wedding. Both the reception site and church were unreachable so we had to hold the ceremony and reception at our house. We were fortunate. Many Houstonians lost their homes, cars, possessions and more than twenty lost their lives. Texas, mostly the Houston area, suffered over $5 billion in losses, including $2 billion in damages at the Texas Medical Center.
After a catastrophe of this magnitude you'd think there would be swift action and a coordinated effort to assure this never happens again. Unfortunately, in the eight years since Allison flood control in Houston has been insufficient, costly, and uncoordinated. Residents, whether in the South Belt area or Spring Branch, continue to fall victim to flash floods causing loss of business, loss of property, and even loss of life. Flood damage costs Houstonians millions every year, and the City spends $50 million a year just trying to correct flooding. But the numbers can't measure the anger and frustration too many of us know of attempting to drive home or pick up a child from school only to find a submerged road in our path.
I've tackled flooding and drainage issues my entire career and I know we can win the fight against flooding. When I'm mayor, we'll get this right. My blueprint has three major suggestions:
