Who Will Be Houston's Next Mayor?

[citykid09]

Who Will Be Houston's Next Mayor?

Is Bill White Guaranteed a Win?

Who else is running?

Do you guys think he has done a good job so far?

http://www.billwhiteforhouston.com/

[texasboy]

I hate to be the bad news in this thread, but what has this mayor done?

[west20th]

Who Will Be Houston's Next Mayor?

Is it Bill White Guaranteed a Win?

Who else is running?

Do you guys think he has done a good job so far?

http://www.billwhiteforhouston.com/

It's a lock. Bill's got it.

[Jeebus]

I hate to be the bad news in this thread, but what has this mayor done?

More or less than what Brown did - depending on how you look at it. Either way, its a good thing.

[sevfiv]

Bill White is up against Gladys House, Luis Ralph Ullrich, Jr., Jack Terence, and Anthony Dutrow.

what are the chances y'all know about any of the candidates besides Bill White (and that socialist guy)

i voted this evening. it was great - no lines, short ballot, and no party affiliations mentioned anywhere...just a heads up: go in educated on the issues and candidates!

[hokieone]

Another day, another thread that will definitely not follow the original thread's question, because its such a ridiculous question.

Its a slam dunk for Bill White, not even going to be close. They are even projecting possible record levels of majority, something in the 92% range possibly. So the question who will be Houston's next mayor would be more much more appropriate if we were asking who it would be after Bill White.

Personally, I think the guy is trying to improve the city. The actual results, well, hard to tell so far, but personally I was happy to see the city pass the smoking ban in restaurants (yes I know this was driven hard by Sekula Gibbs), would love to see a full ban. I don't the SafeClear program ended up being the "socialist" program it was made out to be from the initial outcry. I think his next term will bring the red light cameras. I personally wish it didn't have to come down to red light cameras, but I also think its just gotten ridiculous lately looking at the number of red lights being run. Walking around downtown, you sometimes have to really watch out, even when the crossing sign says you can cross.

I think he's also trying to improve the city's image. Some would really say what does that matter, improve education, budget, property taxes, etc. I think it is really important to keep the city's momentum going in the core of the city. I personally think it will lead to bigger improvement further down the line.

[nmainguy]

Who Will Be Houston's Next Mayor?

Is it Bill White Guaranteed a Win?

Who else is running?

Do you guys think he has done a good job so far?

To address your concerns in order:

The one we have now.

Yes.

No one of consequence as my cat, Jane, pulled out of the race.

Yes.

[citykid? Do you not have a clue about Houston politics?]

[jmancuso]

my cat, sox threw her hat in the race so it's tough to say.

[Dream]

Mayor White Report Card off the top of my head:

1. got a new contract with the firefighters, something that had not been done in the previous 5 years.

2. fired the old police chief and got a new more proactive police chief.

3. refinanced the city debt/bonds, saving millions.

4. filled key city positions with bi-partisian city leaders, creating a real team-work attitude which has enabled this council to be proactive and get things done around the burecracy.

5. created a urban planning position to help kick start urbanization in the city core.

6. the new urban city park being built in front of the grb.

7. positive national recognition on how houston handled the evacuees from katrina.

8. has seized 1400+ tax delinquent properties in the inner city (crack houses) razed them and will be building low income housing during the next term.

9. supportd financially the redevelopment of the jefferson davis hospital into the elder street artist lofts.

10. fixed the street lights downtown.

11. got a handle on the leftover brown administration over spending, limited city exposure to inflated pension plans.

12. got the federal funds for metro to build more rail and bus rapid tranist.

you guys that think white is ineffective must not have been here when brown was around. brown was a chump. i'm really looking forward to watching things get done during white's administration.

dream

[DJ V Lawrence]

Mayor White Report Card off the top of my head:

1. got a new contract with the firefighters, something that had not been done in the previous 5 years.

2. fired the old police chief and got a new more proactive police chief.

3. refinanced the city debt/bonds, saving millions.

4. filled key city positions with bi-partisian city leaders, creating a real team-work attitude which has enabled this council to be proactive and get things done around the burecracy.

5. created a urban planning position to help kick start urbanization in the city core.

6. the new urban city park being built in front of the grb.

7. positive national recognition on how houston handled the evacuees from katrina.

8. has seized 1400+ tax delinquent properties in the inner city (crack houses) razed them and will be building low income housing during the next term.

9. supportd financially the redevelopment of the jefferson davis hospital into the elder street artist lofts.

10. fixed the street lights downtown.

11. got a handle on the leftover brown administration over spending, limited city exposure to inflated pension plans.

12. got the federal funds for metro to build more rail and bus rapid tranist.

you guys that think white is ineffective must not have been here when brown was around. brown was a chump. i'm really looking forward to watching things get done during white's administration.

dream

Does every mayor we have from now on have to have a color as a last name? Like Clint Black, or Tom Green, or Simply Red? Bizzare.

Overall, everything that Dream stated are some of the positive things I can think of. But there is a negative that needs to be addressed. Nightlife. From what I understand, White has been trying to kill it.

1. All the clubs close at 2am because of the stupid drinking laws that prohibit them to sell, because according to da laws, there's no way you can drive drunk if you drink before 2am.

2. Mayor Bill White HIMSELF tried to close down ALL afterhours nightclubs in Houston, because a firefighter died trying to put out a blaze at an afterhours club. Ironicaly, the club wasn't the cause of the blaze. It was ARSONED. Then White was like, "what business do these people have at that time of night, and what are they doing at these afterhours clubs?" Dude, probably GETTING SOBER FROM DRINKING BEFORE 2AM! Where do you want these people to go after they finish partying and drinking at 2am? On the streets, behind the wheel?...

3. Which leads to my next point. There's no public transportation at night in these areas like Richmond Strip and Downtown. I thought the whole idea of this 2am curfew was to get people AWAY from behind the wheels of their cars with alcohol in their system. It's not just White's issue here; this is something that just hasn't been addressed by a public official. HOW DO MOST OF THESE PEOPLE GET TO THE CLUB IN THE FIRST PLACE? Not all these people carpool, and not all these people tow their cars home.

4. Richmond Strip is dead. Things were going crazy and great over there, until the cops were told to basicall get people away from cruising around that area after at first, 2am, then 1 am, then from what I hear, midnight now. Now from what I understand, T-Town 2000 is now closed as a result.

Look, Houston is a car city. And we're always talking about wanting to be a convention destination and wanting to be a city that's looked up to. The most famous convention cities are the ones with a nightlife and/or a tourist attraction. We HAD Astroworld. Lost that. We HAVE the Galleria in the daytime, while the convention goes on, and have NO STRONG NIGHTLIFE, AND NO LIGHTING ON DOWNTOWN'S SKYLINE TO SHOW OFF TO THE WORLD. We wasted all this taxpayer money for these convention centers and stadiums, now let's finish the job before we start losing money.

We need a nightlife. At LEAST 2 or 3 strong clubbing districts.

We need more businesses at night that are non-alcohol related (i.e. large bookstores, cafes, nice restaurants) in the SAME areas as these clubs, so people don't have to drink and drive to have a good time.

We need to encourage people who are NOT drinking to be able to cruise around at night safely without having to worry about not having a place to go, and to be able to enjoy Houston without the sun.

We NEED more public transportation at night, and to encourage people who are drinking to stay OUT of their cars completely.

And we gotta get rid of this 2am club-closing, thing. We can do so much more with Houston if Houston never slept.

Mayor White as a whole hasn't done a bad job. But once he helps Houston nightlife get to where it can be, and the streets are safe in the process without closing them, there's no stopping Houston, Texas.

[ToolMan]

DJ

#1. correct me if I am wrong but I beleive the 2:00am drinking law is a "state law".

#2. How can you blame Houston's nightlife on Bill White? There is a reason the Richmond strip sucks now...it's called thugs.

[Montrose1100]

I hope Micheal Berry runs again. Or maybe Kinky, if he doesn't get to Austin first.

[hokieone]

Yeah I'm not too sure Bill White is the reason the Richmond strip is a joke now or that night life may not be what some want it to be.

That being said, I would personally love it for the bars to be open past 2 AM. I always love it in New York when you go home, because you want to go home, not because someone tells you to go home. That being said, it is true that most people in manhattan either walk or take a cab home, they aren't getting in a car. Still, would love to see at least an extension of an hour and possibly work in some "pay to stay open" to even benefit the city off the extra hour. Bars would pay a fee or tax and in return would get to stay open past the 2 AM cut off.

[RedScare]

"That being said, I would personally love it for the bars to be open past 2 AM."

Write your legislator. Seriously, the only way for statewide alcohol laws to be changed, is for legislation to be passed changing them. I have to say, there is probably not going to be a groundswell of support to change them, but you will not know until you try.

If you write, come up with LEGITIMATE reasons to change the law, such as increased revenue from taxes, incresed viabilty of Texas cities as tourist or convention destinations, etc. Remember, these law changes will be fought by MADD, so you have to give your legislator some ammo to fight back. Getting restaurant associations and beer'liguor sellers on your side won't hurt, either.

Good luck. If you win, I'll buy you a beer at 3:30 am!

[texasboy]

Mayor White Report Card off the top of my head:

1. got a new contract with the firefighters, something that had not been done in the previous 5 years.

2. fired the old police chief and got a new more proactive police chief.

3. refinanced the city debt/bonds, saving millions.

4. filled key city positions with bi-partisian city leaders, creating a real team-work attitude which has enabled this council to be proactive and get things done around the burecracy.

5. created a urban planning position to help kick start urbanization in the city core.

6. the new urban city park being built in front of the grb.

7. positive national recognition on how houston handled the evacuees from katrina.

8. has seized 1400+ tax delinquent properties in the inner city (crack houses) razed them and will be building low income housing during the next term.

9. supportd financially the redevelopment of the jefferson davis hospital into the elder street artist lofts.

10. fixed the street lights downtown.

11. got a handle on the leftover brown administration over spending, limited city exposure to inflated pension plans.

12. got the federal funds for metro to build more rail and bus rapid tranist.

you guys that think white is ineffective must not have been here when brown was around. brown was a chump. i'm really looking forward to watching things get done during white's administration.

dream

I like #5. Pretty good resume I guess. Don't forget who brought rail to town though.

[houstonsemipro]

Bill White haven't done nothing, just fix the lights downtown. Oh wow! The biggest thing he did is taken in the New Orleans people in, that's all. And one more thing I give Bill White is that he stayed in the public eye, while Lee Brown didn't.

Finally, it's no big timers going up against Bill White. They're already mention that Bill White will brake Bob Lanier's record in the relection. So, in other words, Bill White will be relected easily.

[YakuzaIce]

Bill White haven't done nothing, just fix the lights downtown. Oh wow! The biggest thing he did is taken in the New Orleans people in, that's all. And one more thing I give Bill White is that he stayed in the public eye, while Lee Brown didn't.

Finally, it's no big timers going up against Bill White. They're already mention that Bill White will brake Bob Lanier's record in the relection. So, in other words, Bill White will be relected easily.

Seriously semipro, work on fixing those double negatives.

So did you like Brown or not? I can't tell if you see someone staying in the public eye as good or bad.

Also if you want to see Bill Whites accomplishments which you ignored read post #9.

[RedScare]

The biggest thing he did is taken in the New Orleans people in, that's all.

Creating an evacuation center for 30,000 people from scratch in 16 hours? "That's all"?

Damn. Tough crowd.

Lucky for Bill, most people are a bit more impressed.

[Original Timmy Chan's]

My impressions of Bill White is that he's working to improve quality of life for both ends of the economic spectrum.

He's very interested in the quality of life issues that attract and keep the young, bright and talented white collar workers. He wants a more pedestrian-friendly city, more parks, a denser urban environment.

At the same time, he isn't doing all this at the expense of the working class. His Project Houston Hope program is trying to clean up some inner-city neighborhoods to help spur affordable development inside the Loop.

Overall, I think White is trying to bring more accountability to the bureaucrats, make them more responsible to their customers...US!!!

My wife, OTOH, totally disagrees with me. She can't stand Bill White.

[nmainguy]

Bill White haven't done nothing, just fix the lights downtown. Oh wow! The biggest thing he did is taken in the New Orleans people in, that's all. And one more thing I give Bill White is that he stayed in the public eye, while Lee Brown didn't.

Finally, it's no big timers going up against Bill White. They're already mention that Bill White will brake Bob Lanier's record in the relection. So, in other words, Bill White will be relected easily.

Bill White haven't done nothing

I'm assuming you are not voting for White. Which is a good thing. In fact DON'T vote for anyone or anything EVER until you can compose a complete, cohesive sentence. It's just painful to me...IMUO.

Overall, I think White is trying to bring more accountability to the bureaucrats, make them more responsible to their customers...US!!!

My wife, OTOH, totally disagrees with me. She can't stand Bill White.

What are her reasons for not standing White?

[DJ V Lawrence]

DJ

#1. correct me if I am wrong but I beleive the 2:00am drinking law is a "state law".

#2. How can you blame Houston's nightlife on Bill White? There is a reason the Richmond strip sucks now...it's called thugs.

You're right about the drinking law being a state issue (my mistake there). That being said, the clubs close at 2am for that very reason. And Redscare is right when it was pointed out that we can write our legislators about not liking the 2am drinking law. But I really don't think the law would change if one person wrote....unless that one person was the mayor of the largest city in the state of Texas perhaps.

I'm not blaming Richmond Strip's demise totally on Mayor White, but everything he tried to do nightlife-wise seemed to be Anti-Richmond Strip to me (see that prior post list). And thugs will always exist in Houston, as they do in Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York City, Cancun, and even New Orleans. But that never stopped those other cities from being the "City that never Sleeps," or a Mardi Gras, Spring Break place, or a tourist mecca. Houston may not have the best weather in America to most Americans, but it doesn't mean that Houston has to live quietly. We're vibrant people. We deserve to have something to offer ourselves and others 24 hours-a-day. And I hope Mayor White or the next mayor at least makes an attempt on that before their term finishes.

[dbigtex56]

You're right about the drinking law being a state issue (my mistake there). That being said, the clubs close at 2am for that very reason. And Redscare is right when it was pointed out that we can write our legislators about not liking the 2am drinking law. But I really don't think the law would change if one person wrote....unless that one person was the mayor of the largest city in the state of Texas perhaps.

I'm of the impression that state law allows alcohol to be served from 7am - 2am, Monday through Saturdays. On Sundays, alcohol can be served starting at 10am only when accompanied by food. Otherwise, the hours on Sundays are 12pm - 2am.

What Mayor White was trying to change is the practice of 'after-hours' at bars. In other words, no alcohol is being served after 2am, although soda, juice, coffee, etc. can still be sold. So long as all alcoholic drinks are confiscated by 2:15am, bars and nightclubs are free to continue operating.

If bars are forced (by city ordinance) to close their doors at 2am, you'll have people guzzling down that drink they ordered at 1:59am. Further, if someone feels he's had one too many, he can't stay until his liver has had time to do its thing. After hours allows for a 'cooling off' period before someone takes the wheel. Also, people leave in a more staggered pattern (if you'll excuse the expression.) If everyone's kicked out the door promptly at two, expect a mini rush hour.

That's the down side. On the other hand, the sale and use of illegal drugs is rampant after 2am. I think that's his real target.

[MarthaG]

Mayor White has the guts to make tough decissions and the B***s to stick to those decissions.

He will be getting my vote for sure!

[TJones]

Bill's a Democrat, and I still like the guy, I think he will make much more progress in this city that that thieving Mayor Brown ever did, and ten times more than Whitmire. If I still lived in Houston, I'd vote for him. I voted for him in his first election, as I was still living in Houston city limits. The only thing I see wrong is that him being the ex-Secretary of Energy, he'd do something about Reliant Energy !

[MidtownCoog]

The Richmond Strip was voted the #1 place in Houston to get a cap in your helmet.

DJ, did you live here when all the Central Americans were shooting each other up and down the strip?

[TJones]

The Richmond Strip was voted the #1 place in Houston to get a cap in your helmet.

DJ, did you live here when all the Central Americans were shooting each other up and down the strip?

Yeah, really big shame that T-Town closed down, let me pour out a 40 for my homies !

[nmainguy]

If I still lived in Katy, I'd vote for him.

The only thing I see wrong is that him being the ex-Secretary of Energy, he'd do something about Reliant Energy !

If you lived in Katy you could not vote for him.

He was never Sec. of Energy.

Name Term of Office President(s) served under

James R. Schlesinger August 6, 1977 - August 23, 1979 Jimmy Carter

Charles W. Duncan, Jr. August 24, 1979 - January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter

James B. Edwards January 23, 1981 - November 5, 1982 Ronald Reagan

Donald Paul Hodel November 5, 1982 - February 7, 1985 Ronald Reagan

John S. Herrington February 7, 1985 - January 20, 1989 Ronald Reagan

James D. Watkins March 1, 1989 - January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush

Hazel R. O'Leary January 22, 1993 - January 20, 1997 Bill Clinton

Federico Pe

[TJones]

If you lived in Katy you could not vote for him.

He was never Sec. of Energy.

Name Term of Office President(s) served under

James R. Schlesinger August 6, 1977 - August 23, 1979 Jimmy Carter

Charles W. Duncan, Jr. August 24, 1979 - January 20, 1981 Jimmy Carter

James B. Edwards January 23, 1981 - November 5, 1982 Ronald Reagan

Donald Paul Hodel November 5, 1982 - February 7, 1985 Ronald Reagan

John S. Herrington February 7, 1985 - January 20, 1989 Ronald Reagan

James D. Watkins March 1, 1989 - January 20, 1993 George H. W. Bush

Hazel R. O'Leary January 22, 1993 - January 20, 1997 Bill Clinton

Federico Pe

[Original Timmy Chan's]

Yeah, really big shame that T-Town closed down, let me pour out a 40 for my homies !

When I lived over near Westheimer and Hillcroft, I quickly learned to stay away from T-Town on the weekends...on two occasions I saw gunshot victims behind T-Town on Unity, on another occasion I HEARD the gunshots (and of course hauled a$$ through the 4-way stop, traffic laws be damned!)

On a side note...wasn't it under Lee Brown's administration that HPD started cracking down on all the drag racers on Richmond and Westheimer? That probably hurt the Richmond Strip as much as anything.

[dbigtex56]

I think he will make much more progress in this city that that thieving Mayor Brown ever did, and ten times more than Whitmire.

Now, now...don't diss-Miss Kathy. She's the one who got Metro rolling, repaved the downtown streets, shook up the Good Ol' Boys in HPD, supported non-discrimination and brought governmental fiscal responsibility to the forefront. Sure, she burned out after four terms, but she's left a respectable legacy.