Houston mayor's race 2009

[rsb320]

I know. Because I'm watching the Ch13 debate right now.

[RedScare]

I'm watching the UNC-Michigan State game. Can you give us the Cliff Notes version?

[Porchman]

Tonights debate: The one-on-one thing was hilarious. We visited the cat shelter on W 19th last weekend. It was similar...sniff butts and hiss.

[rsb320]

I'm watching the UNC-Michigan State game. Can you give us the Cliff Notes version?

I'm not biased because I'm gay or because she lives down the street, but I don't think he made a good appearance, especially for an attorney. I think there are too many associations that he has ties to and you can't simply turn off that off after you are elected, as he stated. BTW - his headquarters is just around the corner.

Either would be fine with me, but I feel her knowledge of city finances would be an advantage for us, during these troubling economic times.

See you Friday? Hope you can make it. Omelet the voters decide.

[musicman]

I'm not biased because I'm gay or because she lives down the street, but I don't think he made a good appearance, especially for an attorney. I think there are too many associations that he has ties to and you can't simply turn off that off after you are elected, as he stated. BTW - his headquarters is just around the corner.

Either would be fine with me, but I feel her knowledge of city finances would be an advantage for us, during these troubling economic times.

if being in charge of a budget only involves borrowing is a knowledge of finances then there is a problem. Annise continues to insist that she is tough on crime but HPD has lost officers since Bill White has been Mayor.

[musicman]

Tonights debate: The one-on-one thing was hilarious. We visited the cat shelter on W 19th last weekend. It was similar...sniff butts and hiss.

and now annise is admitting that there has been a deficit for "several" years but she is claiming to be a fiscal conservative and overseeing the budget.

[RedScare]

if being in charge of a budget only involves borrowing is a knowledge of finances then there is a problem. Annise continues to insist that she is tough on crime but HPD has lost officers since Bill White has been Mayor.

I've read this several times, but it still makes no sense. Especially the claim that HPD has lost officers while White was mayor. First, it suggests that White ran them off, when in fact, it was the massive hiring boom of the 1980s that caused the massive retirements 20 years later, and second, you leave out the fact that HPD has increased its ranks by about 500 since hitting its low of 4,600. But, most importantly, what does Bill White's term as mayor have to do with Annise Parker? He was the elected mayor, and she was the elected Comptroller. She is not a White appointee, and I haven't seen any endorsement of her by White. Even if HPD has had a net loss of officers under White (I think it is just about the same as in 2004), how does that make Parker not tough on crime?

[musicman]

I've read this several times, but it still makes no sense. Especially the claim that HPD has lost officers while White was mayor. First, it suggests that White ran them off, when in fact, it was the massive hiring boom of the 1980s that caused the massive retirements 20 years later, and second, you leave out the fact that HPD has increased its ranks by about 500 since hitting its low of 4,600.

no, it only suggests more have retired than have been hired. chief hurtt made this statement in 2005 "In the time since I've been here we've lost probably 500 officers. We're hiring them 70 at a time, so it's going to be a long time before we can catch up," Hurtt said. now 3 weeks ago chief hurtt makes this statement " This is a crisis situation,” he said. “We need for people to understand when we have a large number of people leaving this department don't sit back and say why didn't somebody tell us."

Officials with the police union say because of the shortage, investigators are picking and choosing which low-priority crimes they will pursue.

There are 5,000 HPD officers on the streets. According to information released by Hurtt, HPD needs an additional 1,400 to 5,000 officers. That's if we want to compare to like size cities.

Chief Hurtt agrees staffing at the Houston Police Department is an issue. He says out of the 5,000-plus officers on the force, 2,500 could retire today. That would leave the city with just under 3,000 cops.

And the police academy with only two classes planned next year, they're spitting out 130 cops.

[RedScare]

no, it only suggests more have retired than have been hired. chief hurtt made this statement in 2005 "In the time since I've been here we've lost probably 500 officers. We're hiring them 70 at a time, so it's going to be a long time before we can catch up," Hurtt said. now 3 weeks ago chief hurtt makes this statement " This is a crisis situation,” he said. “We need for people to understand when we have a large number of people leaving this department don't sit back and say why didn't somebody tell us."

Officials with the police union say because of the shortage, investigators are picking and choosing which low-priority crimes they will pursue.

There are 5,000 HPD officers on the streets. According to information released by Hurtt, HPD needs an additional 1,400 to 5,000 officers. That's if we want to compare to like size cities.

Chief Hurtt agrees staffing at the Houston Police Department is an issue. He says out of the 5,000-plus officers on the force, 2,500 could retire today. That would leave the city with just under 3,000 cops.

And the police academy with only two classes planned next year, they're spitting out 130 cops.

A police chief painting a desparate picture in order to get more loot in his budget is a far cry from "HPD has lost officers since Bill White has been mayor". HPD hit a high point in 2001 with 5,400 officers. It currently has 5,100 officers. White did not take office until January 2004. I do not know the staff level on that date, but I seem to recall it was 5100 to 5200. If correct, HPD has either lost 0 officers or 100 during White's tenure.

Now, IDEAL staffing levels are a different story. HPD has NEVER been staffed at ideal levels. It has been tolerable at times, but never ideal. With population increases (approx. 2.3 million), HPD's ideal staffing level would be 5,750 to 6,900, depending on which think tank you want to believe. Hurtt appears to be splitting the difference in claiming he wants 6,300 to 6,500 officers.

All this begs the question...what does this have to do with Annise Parker?

[musicman]

All this begs the question...what does this have to do with Annise Parker?

she admitted during the debate that there are not enough officers on the force to respond to current crime levels. she also suggests that standards be altered to fast track (i.e. lower standards) additional officers into the system.

[RedScare]

she admitted during the debate that there are not enough officers on the force to respond to current crime levels. she also suggests that standards be altered to fast track (i.e. lower standards) additional officers into the system.

So, how does agreeing with Chief Hurtt (and Mayor White for that matter) that we need more officers make her soft on crime?

BTW, if the standards still require applicants to never have smoked a joint (or worse, to lie about it), then I would agree that standards should be adjusted.

[musicman]

So, how does agreeing with Chief Hurtt (and Mayor White for that matter) that we need more officers make her soft on crime?

BTW, if the standards still require applicants to never have smoked a joint (or worse, to lie about it), then I would agree that standards should be adjusted.

she has proposed nothing but to continue the current operations scenario, two new police classes. for a candidate to admit manpower problems and not propose new classes is being soft on crime.

the standards referenced involved number of class hrs each cadet needs to complete. she also wants to lower the standards for female firefighters so that more will pass the physicial agility test according to current female firefighters i spoke with over the holiday weekend. someone who really is concerned about safety wouldn't lower standards.

[rsb320]

she has proposed nothing but to continue the current operations scenario, two new police classes. for a candidate to admit manpower problems and not propose new classes is being soft on crime.

the standards referenced involved number of class hrs each cadet needs to complete. she also wants to lower the standards for female firefighters so that more will pass the physicial agility test according to current female firefighters i spoke with over the holiday weekend. someone who really is concerned about safety wouldn't lower standards.

Um, I think she proposed a needed change at the top (ie: Hurtt). Can you give a couple of positive examples of what Locke has proposed in order to combat crime? Yeah, hire more officers... they both agree on the need, but funding would be an obsticle there.

[kylejack]

Locke said at the debate that he's never been a lobbyist, but he registered with Texas as a lobbyist in 1999.

http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/12/gene_locke_the_lobbyist.php

[musicman]

Um, I think she proposed a needed change at the top (ie: Hurtt). Can you give a couple of positive examples of what Locke has proposed in order to combat crime? Yeah, hire more officers... they both agree on the need, but funding would be an obsticle there.

remember i'm the one that doesn't like either of them. if each of them is serious about crime, then each should have no reservations about addressing the issues head on. i'm not seeing either do this.

[skwatra]

remember i'm the one that doesn't like either of them. if each of them is serious about crime, then each should have no reservations about addressing the issues head on. i'm not seeing either do this.

after the debate i'm not a fan of either one. but i do want a dynamo stadium, which is more likely with Locke. doesn't seem like the right reason to vote for him though...

[rsb320]

remember i'm the one that doesn't like either of them. if each of them is serious about crime, then each should have no reservations about addressing the issues head on. i'm not seeing either do this.

I'm going to have to agree with you on that comment - the lesser of two dummies.

[rsb320]

after the debate i'm not a fan of either one. but i do want a dynamo stadium, which is more likely with Locke. doesn't seem like the right reason to vote for him though...

I think they both want a soccer stadium. The city has already made its commitment financially. It's up to Harris County and the Dynamo to finish out their ends.

She will probably gain votes from stating that the COH will not contribute any additional funding. I bet Mayor Bill pushed this through prior to leaving office, knowing that public funding of such venues is not currently a popular thing for a new mayor to take on.

[skwatra]

I think they both want a soccer stadium. The city has already made its commitment financially. It's up to Harris County and the Dynamo to finish out their ends.

She will probably gain votes from stating that the COH will not contribute any additional funding. I bet Mayor Bill pushed this through prior to leaving office, knowing that public funding of such venues is not currently a popular thing for a new mayor to take on.

its not about the city providing funding, but the city pushing Harris County. The Dynamo organization is supporting Locke because of his former involvement in the Sports Authority, and he has committed to the team that he will help push the issue all the way through.

[crunchtastic]

It's Locke's former involvement with the Sports Authority that's one of the specific reasons I won't vote for him. The COH's deal-making on the Dynamo stadium is done. It is not the Mayor's job to spend the County's money.

Same with Locke's former involvement with Metro. I don't trust it. He fancies himself a dealmaker, but what we need is more transparency, not more backroom deal-making. Especially when it come to hugely expensive projects like sports stadia and public transit.

[skwatra]

i made a misstatement in my last post, which i realized. The Dynamo organization did not make any statement endorsing Locke. An individual with the Dynamo stated that Locke would negotiate with the County to get the Stadium deal complete. The Texian Army (Dynamo Support Group) has been endorsing Locke for this reason. I don't know of the details of any discussions between Locke and the Dynamo.

[kylejack]

she has proposed nothing but to continue the current operations scenario, two new police classes. for a candidate to admit manpower problems and not propose new classes is being soft on crime.

Questioner: Police department leaders have said that HPD is short 1400 officers to effectively address crime. Where do you put that number, and how would you substantially increase the number of officers with only two cadet classes slated for 2010?

Annise Parker: Without question we need more cadet classes, and I will do my best to add to the cadet classes, and to add to our overtime budget to keep our police officers on the street. But in order to bring 1500 officers into the force, and that's on the low end of the projections, [we're going to have to do something in the short term]. I have called for a coordinated response strategy where we work with the other law enforcement agencies in the area so that the nearest available officer responds in an emergency. There are some 35 different agencies in the Greater Houston area. We can leverage our police force immediately by working in close cooperation with those other law enforcement agencies while we are building up our force.

Locke proposed more academy classes in the same debate.

[musicman]

will be interesting to see if anything comes to fruition. HPD has a budget that has gone up 40% but with retirements we don't have additional officers. population has increased so we have less officers per capita. should an alarm have been sounded by someone who is tough on crime?

[RedScare]

Parker's response sounds like she has put more thought into the police problem than Locke has. Music, are you sure you didn't just hear what you wanted to hear in deciding that Parker was soft on crime?

[kylejack]

Parker's response sounds like she has put more thought into the police problem than Locke has. Music, are you sure you didn't just hear what you wanted to hear in deciding that Parker was soft on crime?

I didn't feel like typing up Locke's response because there wasn't much substance, but all he substantively said was that we need more classes and more overtime pay. ABC has the responses to each question in the debate on their website. Here's that question, if you want to hear what he said: http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/video?id=7148218

[musicman]

Parker's response sounds like she has put more thought into the police problem than Locke has. Music, are you sure you didn't just hear what you wanted to hear in deciding that Parker was soft on crime?

silence over the years is the issue for me. she has been remarkably silent for someone who is now claiming to be tough on crime. it wasn't even til a few months ago that she would admit the city has been borrowing money to balance the budget since 2004 but has no problem claiming to be fiscally responsible. can't have it both ways.

[kylejack]

silence over the years is the issue for me. she has been remarkably silent for someone who is now claiming to be tough on crime. it wasn't even til a few months ago that she would admit the city has been borrowing money to balance the budget since 2004 but has no problem claiming to be fiscally responsible. can't have it both ways.

The City Controller doesn't exactly get veto power on all spending, so how does it all fall on her that the city has been deficit spending?

[KinkaidAlum]

It's Locke's former involvement with the Sports Authority that's one of the specific reasons I won't vote for him. The COH's deal-making on the Dynamo stadium is done. It is not the Mayor's job to spend the County's money.

Same with Locke's former involvement with Metro. I don't trust it. He fancies himself a dealmaker, but what we need is more transparency, not more backroom deal-making. Especially when it come to hugely expensive projects like sports stadia and public transit.

THIS.

Locke doesn't pass my smell test. He has too many tie-ins to people I don't trust and the flat out lie about not being a lobbyist is disturbing. At the end of the day though, it's his affiliation with Steve Hotze that irks me the most. Dr. Hotze spent millions fighting affirmative action and equal rights in this city and now Locke is willing to use this man's money to slander Parker for being a lesbian? That's downright shameful.

[RedScare]

silence over the years is the issue for me. she has been remarkably silent for someone who is now claiming to be tough on crime.

Did they change the City Charter while I wasn't looking? Since when does the City Controller run the police department? Back in the day, not commenting on things outside your area of responsibility was called minding your own business. I find Parker's not acting like Paul Bettencourt a POSITIVE, not a negative.

When I first asked about Parker's soft on crime stance, I thought I had simply missed something. Your responses (especially the last one) make it clear that you are making up things about Parker. I am not a supporter of either candidate, but if someone is going to criticize either one, I'd like it to at least be supported by fact. Your criticism of Parker is completely made up.

[musicman]

Did they change the City Charter while I wasn't looking? Since when does the City Controller run the police department? Back in the day, not commenting on things outside your area of responsibility was called minding your own business.

I agree. I'm not the one claiming to be tough on crime.