Thread: TX-Houston Chroncle Endorses BILL WHITE For Governor

The Houston Chron forgot that you can thank White for his Sanctuary City Policy and maybe he can extend to a Sanctuary State Policy; Drugs furnished by the ILLEGALS, Drug Wars by the ILLEGALS, United States Citizens murdered by the ILLEGALS but not to worry the Sanctuary City of Houston Texas will continue to furnish Cheap ILLEGAL Labor for the Elitist Political Contributors and Special Interest Groups of course they feel safe in their Gated Communities. If you venture out and you are murdered by an ILLEGAL Drunk Driver or you are a Police Officer murdered by an ILLEGAL during the commission of a crime or a traffic stop or a United States Citizen is in the "wrong" place (Sanctuary City of Houston) and caught in the cross fire just remember Our Elitist Politicians and their Elitist Political Contributors consider these murdered as a SMALL SACRIFICE for THEIR CHEAP LABOR!

Analysis:
Success, unfinished business mark White's legacy
By BRADLEY OLSON
HOUSTON CHRONICLE
Oct. 25, 2010, 1:17AM


For Bill White, the numbers don't quite tell the whole tale of his six years as mayor of Houston.

Some of his most significant moments occurred as he stretched the limits of his authority as the city's chief executive, from using litigation to wrest concessions from companies polluting Houston's air to his regional leadership during Hurricane Katrina.

Under White, Houston often succeeded where other governments foundered. While other cities struggled during the economic downturn, Houston had no layoffs or furloughs. As the federal government became overwhelmed with crises after Hurricane Katrina, Houston absorbed more than 200,000 people from Louisiana.

When he announced he was running for governor against incumbent Rick Perry, White said he didn't have "the polish or fame of career politicians who have been running for office for 30 years. But I do know how to bring people together and how to get things done."

Former Mayor Fred Hofheinz gives him credit for doing just that. "He managed to straddle the political gaps in Houston and he was well respected on both sides," said Hofheinz. "He got along well with his (city) council ... I can't tell you any great monuments that he created or big projects that have his stamp on them, but all in all, he was a good yeoman mayor, well respected by everybody."

Yet, there is no denying that when he left office, plenty was left undone. Not a single new foot of track was laid for light rail, and the Metropolitan Transit Authority would unravel in short order with one piece of bad news after another. City pension systems remained underfunded. Mayor Annise Parker took office and almost immediately passed drastic water rate increases to shore up the city's water and sewer system.

In all, White left behind a legacy with plenty to brag about and a handful of unsolved problems that have come to bedevil his successor.


Crime

The average crime rate during White's tenure was 6,652 total crimes per 100,000 residents, a drop of 7 percent from the previous administration. The crime rate includes 1,124 violent crimes per 100,000, a drop of 4 percent, and 5,528 property crimes per 100,000 residents, a decrease of 7.6 percent.

Even as crime was dropping, White presided over a significant reduction in the ranks of police officers.

In 2004 and 2005, the total number of officers went down by 591, more than 10 percent of the total. Those figures were never built back, with the number reaching 5,225 at the end of fiscal 2009. There were 27 cadet classes, adding a total of 1,151 officers, in White's six years, — double what is planned through 2014.


Finances

The budget of the tax- and fee-supported general fund, which serves as the city's operating account, was about $1.4 billion in 2004 and grew to about $2.1 billion in 2010, an increase of 50 percent in six years.

The overall Houston budget, including spending on infrastructure and the city's three aviation facilities, was about $2.6 billion in 2004 and swelled to $4.05 billion by 2010.

The spending boom White presided over allowed him to put more money into public safety and parks, increasing certain services such as library hours. He also made ample use of private funds, using them to help build Discovery Green park downtown.

Immediately upon taking office, White faced severe budget challenges and acted swiftly. He saved tens of millions of dollars by restructuring the water and sewer system and significantly reduced soaring pension liabilities that threatened to bankrupt the city.

He also passed a spending cap in a referendum and reduced the property tax rate in five of six years.

Yet, White failed to raise water rates as many city officials believed was necessary. He also consistently funded the city's pensions with less than what actuaries thought was needed to keep the systems financially sound. What he did fund often came from pension bonds - that is, the payment of debt with other debt, which was criticized by some financial analysts and critics.


On the margins

For all that could be discerned by the changes in crime, finance, public housing stock or road construction during White's tenure, many of his biggest moments came largely outside those traditional arenas.

He was defined, both locally and nationally, as a leader who excelled in crisis, managing the aftermath of two major hurricanes to widespread praise.

When hundreds of thousands of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina fled to Houston in 2005, White helped nearly a quarter million make the city their permanent home, putting them up in apartments with an innovative voucher program rather than the "FEMA trailers" that predominated elsewhere.

Amid that crisis, he presided over the large-scale evacuation of much of Houston during Hurricane Rita, a process that met with decidedly different results as many faced desperate circumstances on highways that were clogged for days.

Again in 2008, he helped oversee another massive relief and cleanup effort after Hurricane Ike, largely without incident. For his leadership after Katrina, White was recognized in 2007 with a John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.

Throughout his tenure, he also used his experience as a litigator and took on several companies responsible for toxic emissions in Houston's air.

Although he was accused at one point of overreaching and had to back down in an effort to extend his advocacy beyond Houston's city limits, White largely won the concessions he sought.

But several problems have come to light since he left office.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development faulted his housing department's use of federal funds nearly 30 times, issuing findings that could require repayment of millions to HUD on projects worth more than $36 million.

The most severe issues have been at Metro, an agency that before White largely had been run out of City Hall and to which White appointed a majority of the board.

An FTA investigation found that Metro leaders failed to follow federal procurement rules, actions that cost the agency tens of millions and have significantly delayed a $900 million federal grant that was critical to the light rail expansion plan.

White has said he is not responsible for the actions of those Metro officials, noting that he did not meddle in matters of procurement as mayor and would have had no way of knowing they had botched the contracting process.

bradley.olson@chron.com

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http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 62285.html

A liberal rag supporting a liberal candidate, no suprise here.

disgusting!
but i expect nothing less from the houston chronicle.

i wonder how many of those commenting are calling the endorsement Stupid and other choice words