Mayor Bill White's performance during Ike

[Karick42]

I thought about this a couple of times when he was on TV these past couple weeks. What do you guys think about it?

[CandW]

I commute from the Katy area and do not have a say in Houston's Mayoral elections, but from what I have seen from him during Katrina, Rita and now Ike, I'd say he has done a great job in motivating the various agencies on the local, state and federal levels. As a matter of fact, during and interview with a reporter from ch. 11, he all but said there is too much beaurcratic red tape, so he (staff) ran an end and around game plan to keep materials/personell flowing into Houston and the surrounding areas.

I will throw this out there...can you say run for Govenor?

I know he's a democrat...but I would not have to think too hard in voting for him.

[travelguy_73]

I think White being the Democratic front-runner for governor is a slam dunk. He has his share of political issues, but the balance of good/bad decisions since becoming mayor has run decidely positive, IMO.

[Karick42]

I think White being the Democratic front-runner for governor is a slam dunk. He has his share of political issues, but the balance of good/bad decisions since becoming mayor has run decidely positive, IMO.

I agree with both of you. White definitely stepped it up during Hurricane Ike. I think that he was very firm and direct when he needed to be. He was also very thorough with his decisions.

[DJ V Lawrence]

I gotta be real; I think he's done an exceptional job in handling Ike thus far. His warnings prior to the storm were stern, he held FEMA accountable from day one if he didn't think something was right or misunderstood, and so much has already been cleaned up and back to normal in one week after the Category 2.

He did a fine job on his end in terms of preparation, execution, and operating in crisis-mode. There's still work to do, but he's handling it better than most mayors would in other cities IMO

[rsb320]

Both White and Emmett did excellent jobs for their citizens. This was a great showing of true smarts, cool-headedness and bi-partisan cooperation.

Run Bill, Run. Ed, ever thought about being a mayor?

[wernicke]

White has been great for Houston during his time as mayor, not just during Ike. I think the story about him yelling at the FEMA people is kind of funny, and probably necessary to get people moving... although it hurt a few Georgian volunteer's feelings.

Maybe they should look into getting rid of mayoral term limits, like Bloomberg is doing in NYC...

[travelguy_73]

Maybe they should look into getting rid of mayoral term limits, like Bloomberg is doing in NYC...

Yikes no! Even the best politician can lose sight and focus after too many terms in office. Let him run for Guv and give Annise Parker a chance to be mayor .

[cottonmather0]

Sounds like Bill was taking no prisoners last week!

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hurric...ke/6016777.html

He does seem like he could be "salty" when need be.

[BryanS]

Bill White for Governor.

[RedScare]

One huge thumb up each for Bill White and Ed Emmett. Emmett's transportation expertise and White's take-no-prisoners approach have made a catastrophe bearable. I doubt that any city/county combo anywhere in the country compares to these two. I'll be voting for Emmett for County Judge in November, and hopefully White for Governor sometime in the future.

[jayshoota]

Let him run for Guv and give Annise Parker a chance to be mayor .

I second the motion!

[HtownWxBoy]

As far as i can tell he's done a good job... I am a huge fan of Mayor White and this is yet another time I think he's stepped up to the plate and did what needed to be done.

Bill White for Governor.

He would get my vote!

[plumber2]

I commute from the Katy area and do not have a say in Houston's Mayoral elections, but from what I have seen from him during Katrina, Rita and now Ike, I'd say he has done a great job in motivating the various agencies on the local, state and federal levels. As a matter of fact, during and interview with a reporter from ch. 11, he all but said there is too much beaurcratic red tape, so he (staff) ran an end and around game plan to keep materials/personell flowing into Houston and the surrounding areas.

I will throw this out there...can you say run for Govenor?

I know he's a democrat...but I would not have to think too hard in voting for him.

Rick Perry was a democrat a one time, and a lousy one at that. Glad the Republicans own him now.

[desirous]

Bill White is magical, I tell ya. You don't appreciate the idea of a competent, transparent, uncorrupt mayor until you've lived in Chicago.

[cottonmather0]

Lots of talk about how Bill is a Democrat (but unofficially due to state laws about mayoral politics) and Judge Ed is a Republican.

I am usually on the right side of issues and vote Republican, but I wouldn't have any problem voting for Bill over that idiot Rick Perry.

[missmsry]

Mayor White by allowing Houston to remain a sanctuary city and continuing to allow the infrastructure to deteriorate, has negated any goodwill he may have earned from Ike. But I was impressed by Judge Ed.

[capnmcbarnacle]

Mayor White by allowing Houston to remain a sanctuary city and continuing to allow the infrastructure to deteriorate, has negated any goodwill he may have earned from Ike. But I was impressed by Judge Ed.

Sometimes it's fun to think of the alternative. Would you have rather had Lee Brown? Or Orlando Sanchez? Even though I'm still without power, I think the powers that be have done a good job and I applaud the mayor for dropping f-bomb.

[travelguy_73]

Mayor White by allowing Houston to remain a sanctuary city and continuing to allow the infrastructure to deteriorate, has negated any goodwill he may have earned from Ike. But I was impressed by Judge Ed.

What infrastructure is he letting deteriorate, and how much of it is a city issue versus county and federal? And is there money for such improvements?

And that whole sanctuary city line is old, old, old. I wonder how many residents who are morally opposed to illegal immigration are taking advantage of it as their hurricane-ravaged homes are being cleaned up by those same people they would prefer be kicked out of the country. Nothing personal, but I find the whole immigration debate to be rather tired. We have bigger fish to fry, and the quicker we focus on those issues, the better of we as a nation will be.

[musicman]

Nothing personal, but I find the whole immigration debate to be rather tired. We have bigger fish to fry, and the quicker we focus on those issues, the better of we as a nation will be.

LOL talk to the head of the harris county hospital district sometime. i will say that things could have been a lot worse however at the same time some things could have been better. when i drove through pasadena last week. i was surprised that they had orange cones up on the intersections where there was complete traffic signal failure. all including those unfamiliar with the intersection were stopping because of the cones.

[CandW]

Actually, I commute from Katy to the Galleria area and I noticed cones at a majority of the intersections. Not just along TxDot ROW...but on city streets. I think there was an effort being made by the COH streets department to maintain some type of control at the intersections without flashing lights.

Regarding the immigration issue being of smaller consequence to you...I have to disagree with that comment. It is taxing our public infrastructure because the illegal immigrant population are utilizing our ER's in ways they are not supposed to. When you get a caugh, do you go to the ER? No, most call a Dr. and set up an appointment for him to prescribe meds to get me better. I think I heard a statistic that said when an illegal immigrant uses the ER, it costs the taxpayers +/-$1,500.00. To go to a GP, it would have cost THEM around $75.00, plus the cost of meds. And with so many pharmacy's offering $4.00 meds, you do the math. The other issue involved with this issue is the ER's have no way of tracking that person if the tests come back that they pose a serious health risk to their families and or general public they come into contact with. So yes, IMO it's of greater consequence to figure that issue out as quickly and reasonabily as possible. Don't even think about the security risks that are involved with our open boarders....just my $.02.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread....

[travelguy_73]

Regarding the immigration issue being of smaller consequence to you...I have to disagree with that comment. It is taxing our public infrastructure because the illegal immigrant population are utilizing our ER's in ways they are not supposed to. When you get a caugh, do you go to the ER? No, most call a Dr. and set up an appointment for him to prescribe meds to get me better. I think I heard a statistic that said when an illegal immigrant uses the ER, it costs the taxpayers +/-$1,500.00. To go to a GP, it would have cost THEM around $75.00, plus the cost of meds. And with so many pharmacy's offering $4.00 meds, you do the math. The other issue involved with this issue is the ER's have no way of tracking that person if the tests come back that they pose a serious health risk to their families and or general public they come into contact with. So yes, IMO it's of greater consequence to figure that issue out as quickly and reasonabily as possible. Don't even think about the security risks that are involved with our open boarders....just my $.02.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread....

This is not an illegal immigrant issue, it is a health care system issue. Plenty of people, insured and unisured, legal and illegal, use the ER as their primary care physician. Now, once we provide basic universal coverage for all citizens, then IMO we can discuss illegal immigrants using emergency rooms.

[memebag]

Regarding the immigration issue being of smaller consequence to you...I have to disagree with that comment. It is taxing our public infrastructure because the illegal immigrant population are utilizing our ER's in ways they are not supposed to. When you get a caugh, do you go to the ER? No, most call a Dr. and set up an appointment for him to prescribe meds to get me better. I think I heard a statistic that said when an illegal immigrant uses the ER, it costs the taxpayers +/-$1,500.00. To go to a GP, it would have cost THEM around $75.00, plus the cost of meds. And with so many pharmacy's offering $4.00 meds, you do the math. The other issue involved with this issue is the ER's have no way of tracking that person if the tests come back that they pose a serious health risk to their families and or general public they come into contact with. So yes, IMO it's of greater consequence to figure that issue out as quickly and reasonabily as possible. Don't even think about the security risks that are involved with our open boarders....just my $.02.

Do you have any evidence that illegal immigration is a significant drain on our health care spending? All I can find (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1346120320070313) says that only 1% of Medicare is spent on illegal immigrants.

[RedScare]

Actually, I commute from Katy to the Galleria area and I noticed cones at a majority of the intersections. Not just along TxDot ROW...but on city streets. I think there was an effort being made by the COH streets department to maintain some type of control at the intersections without flashing lights.

Regarding the immigration issue being of smaller consequence to you...I have to disagree with that comment. It is taxing our public infrastructure because the illegal immigrant population are utilizing our ER's in ways they are not supposed to. When you get a caugh, do you go to the ER? No, most call a Dr. and set up an appointment for him to prescribe meds to get me better. I think I heard a statistic that said when an illegal immigrant uses the ER, it costs the taxpayers +/-$1,500.00. To go to a GP, it would have cost THEM around $75.00, plus the cost of meds. And with so many pharmacy's offering $4.00 meds, you do the math. The other issue involved with this issue is the ER's have no way of tracking that person if the tests come back that they pose a serious health risk to their families and or general public they come into contact with. So yes, IMO it's of greater consequence to figure that issue out as quickly and reasonabily as possible. Don't even think about the security risks that are involved with our open boarders....just my $.02.

Sorry to hi-jack the thread....

You are not forgiven. However, I urge all immigrant bashers to seize the moment and make a stand while the cameras are on Houston, by refusing to allow ANY immigrants to perform ANY Ike related recovery work. NO tree trimming, NO debris removal, NO roofing, NO drywall work, NO painting, NO WORK OF ANY KIND! This is your chance to put your money where your mouth is!

I realize a Katy resident who probably suffered little if any damage from the storm will likely be the first to take me up on the offer. However, that is the point of my post. When YOU are suffering for YOUR principals, I'll listen. Sitting on the sidelines in your air conditioned home NOT in the City of Houston, taking potshots at working immigrants on a City of Houston thread, is pretty much the norm by partisans on your side of the debate. I suppose it speaks volumes about the job Bill White is doing that the only gripe you have is an unrelated subject not under the Mayor's control.

Back to the Mayor White thread....

[MetroMogul]

Wow, somebody call the medical examiner......

[cottonmather0]

Sitting on the sidelines in your air conditioned home NOT in the City of Houston

So I take it your "I could get used to this not having air conditioning thing" concept is starting to unravel?

[RedScare]

So I take it your "I could get used to this not having air conditioning thing" concept is starting to unravel?

Far from it. Just got off the phone with my brother. He has a spare 6kW genset sitting in his garage, unused (he got power back 12 hours after the storm). I told him it wasn't worth the trouble, since the weather is cooling off again. Besides, I lent my spare room AC unit to my older neighbor, and I do not wish to ask for it back. In fact, I have 2 other brothers who have turned down the offer as well, so it appears to run in the family.

Yes, you read that correctly. I have had access to a FREE generator for 12 days and have not used it. I'll let you decide which smiley should go at the end of my post.

BTW, I notice the humidity in my house is 10% lower today than yesterday. Even though it is still 86 degrees, with the lower humidity it is downright comfortable.

[crunchtastic]

BTW, I notice the humidity in my house is 10% lower today than yesterday. Even though it is still 86 degrees, with the lower humidity it is downright comfortable.

while I could not resist a going-native potshot at you, I have to share that it's nice out, and we just shut off the air and opened the window.

[RedScare]

while I could not resist a going-native potshot at you, I have to share that it's nice out, and we just shut off the air and opened the window.

You know, those leopard skin loin cloths are far more comfortable than I imagined they were when watching Tarzan movies.

[BryanS]

BTW, I notice the humidity in my house is 10% lower today than yesterday. Even though it is still 86 degrees, with the lower humidity it is downright comfortable.

Fall is coming, thank God.