City Council "officially" Nonpartisan

[debmartin]

Feb. 24, 2005, 1:58PM

To the Republicans on City Council: Your party is keeping an eye on you

Local GOP upset they're supporting Democratic mayor

By RON NISSIMOV

Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

The Harris County Republican Party has a warning for Republicans on Houston's City Council: Be careful about supporting Mayor Bill White.

RESOURCES

Graphic: The Party Line and the Council Vote

In recent weeks, as the popular Democratic mayor was taking flak over of his Safe Clear freeway towing ordinance, the local GOP saw two opportunities to humiliate him on the council.

Instead, White garnered enough Republican support to prevail on both issues, maintaining Safe Clear with modifications and spending up to $100,000 for an outside law firm to defend his Proposition 1 spending cap in court.

"There's a lot of disappointment that the mayor was able to get Republican council members to support him," said Jared Woodfill, chairman of the Harris County Republican Party.

The City Council is officially nonpartisan, but eight of its 14 members are Republicans. That's enough to defeat anything the mayor proposes, even with White casting the 15th vote.

"We're not looking for council members who are going to go along and get along," Woodfill said. "We're looking for council members who are going to stand up for conservative values."

On Jan. 19, the council voted 8-4 to hire the outside firm to defend Proposition 1 against a lawsuit filed by backers of Proposition 2, a more restrictive revenue cap White opposed. All the no votes came from Republicans, but three Republicans sided with White. One Republican and one Democrat were absent.

On Feb. 2, six Republicans joined all six Democrats in a 12-2 vote to amend White's Safe Clear ordinance rather than dismantle it. The two Republicans who voted against the ordinance also proposed to repeal it or place it under a moratorium, but the other Republicans joined Democrats in rejecting those measures.

Exact opposite stance

The executive committee of the Harris County Republican Party has voted overwhlemingly to support Proposition 2 and to repeal Safe Clear. The local party's Web site has links to council voting records maintained by the city.

Woodfill said the Harris County Republican Party has a good relationship with Republican council members and is not planning immediate action against them.

But he said the party is keeping a closer eye on them and may take more aggressive stances if they continue to vote for what he called liberal positions.

City Council members don't run as members of a party, but Woodfill said the GOP executive committee could influence their political aspirations through such measures as endorsing an opponent and putting out "score cards" on their votes.

"Our goal is to educate our constituents on how people vote and to hold people accountable," Woodfill said.

But two local political scientists said what really rankles the Republican Party is that White sometimes acts like a Republican, making him one of the few Democrats regarded as a rising political star in conservative Texas.

"Republicans have said they wanted a mayor who runs the government like a business, looks at the bottom line and is consumer-friendly,"said Rice University political scientist Bob Stein.

Stein said the Republican Party is worried because White has often been praised for being such a mayor

[Parrothead]

In my opinion, most of City Council has to be getting some kickbacks. After seeing Michael Berry's smugness on TV about it as if we are all just stupid citizens and don't know anything, I was very happy to see Shelly Sekula-Gibbs and Addie Wiseman stand up and question the entire Safe-Tow program regardless of their party affiliation.

[hydepark]

In my opinion, most of City Council has to be getting some kickbacks. After seeing Michael Berry's smugness on TV about it as if we are all just stupid citizens and don't know anything, I was very happy to see Shelly Sekula-Gibbs and Addie Wiseman stand up and question the entire Safe-Tow program regardless of their party affiliation.

Sekula -Gibbs is still tying to refer homeowners with defective dwellings to TRCC. Obviouldy she knows nothing about the agency. It is under investigation and is a buracracy set up by the builders, owned by the builders and written by the builders. It has helped no one and levied only one fine in it's 800 complaints. I wish she would look in to the agencies she is recommending homeowners go to for help or justice. It is a catch all to deferr the complaints that come before the council. It is an absurd recommendation that the public is going to get any help there. I thought she was smarter than that or was it just an attempt to deferr and get people out of in front of the cameras so she didn't have to deal with them, and looked like she had some answers ....which she clearly did not. TRCC serves no purpose other than to make money for the stae coffersc and cost the consumer time, money and flustration...the process gets consumers nothing except in AAA.... and it has done that. TRCC allows builders to circumvent the laws of this state.