I've always been impressed with Parker, and think she will make a great controller. She's smart, good with finance questions, and pays attention. She works well with others genrally, but can be firm, and knows when to tell people to stuff it. I don't think Tatro would have been bad either, but she's the better choice. White should be good. I look forward to having someone in office with a strong business background, who wants to make a difference. I was impressed with his plans on his website -- he seems to have a good grasp on our city's problems, and has a good plan to attack them. Of course, my favorite thing about White, is that he's not Brown. I'm ready for Brown to go away. I found it interesting that his approval rating has dropped below 30%. (It's that high???) Of course, it's been obvious for several months that he just doesn't care.
I am extremely happy that Bill White was elected Mayor and Annise Parker was elected Comptroller. Both of them were substantially more qualified than their opponents and will do a much better job than their opponents would have. I am also especially pleased that dirt-bag, wife-swapping. get-drunk-at-a-titty-bar-plow-into-a-parked-car-and-leave-the-scene scumbag, family-values-hypocrite Bert Keller has been voted out of office.
Hilarious... I can't wait until Lee "day of recovery" Brown is out the door and Bill White can start getting some things done around here.
comptroller- An officer who audits accounts and supervises the financial affairs of a corporation or of a governmental body. Usage Note: In the 15th century, the word controller developed the alternate spelling comptroller as a result of an association between the first part of the word, cont, and the etymologically unrelated word count and its variant compt. Although the historical pronunciation of comptroller would be the same as for controller, evidence suggests that the spelling pronunciations (kmp-trlr) and (kmptrlr) may now be used by a majority of speakers. In a recent survey, 43 percent of the Usage Panel indicated that they pronounce comptroller like controller, while 57 percent pronounce it with mp, as it is spelled, with stress on either the first or second syllable. And half of those Panelists who pronounce comptroller like controller indicated that they also consider the spelling pronunciations acceptable.
I always thought it was spelled comptroller but pronounced controller, apparently both spellings and pronunciations are accepted. A WIN WIN situation
I'm really happy for a good friend of mine who worked for Ron Green who beat Bert Kellar. It's a bummer Shelly Sekula-Gibbs beat Peter Brown. Brown would've made a PERFECT councilman because his specialty is urban planning. If any city needs it, it's Houston. Sekula-Gibbs is referred to as "airhead" by quite a few local insiders. She has been a highly ineffective concil member, unfortunately. Oh, well.
It's a bummer Shelly Sekula-Gibbs beat Peter Brown. Brown would've made a PERFECT councilman because his specialty is urban planning. If any city needs it, it's Houston. I agree. The only downside to the run off. I saw Brown speak and he was impressive. Maybe next time.
I met Brown also and I was impressed. Plus I like the idea of an architect on city council. We need people who can think in three dimersions.....
I agree with everything you said here. I know Sekula-Gibbs and must say that she is just a waste of a council seat because she brings absolutely nothing to any discussion or debate because she is absolutely clueless on most issues. Brown would have been much better. My only qualm with the results yesterday was that Tatro was not elected. I tend to favor having a Republican in a position like the comptroller's because they tend to be better about being fiscally conscious. That is not to say that Parker won't be, she may just be great, but I think having a Republican comptroller opposite a Democratic mayor would have been more likely to make sure that the least mount of money would be squandered. And let us all pray that Bill White will not be half as corrupt as Lee Brown has been during his pathetic years in office.
i specifically voted against bert keller...and was happy to see that very surprising result. obviously happy that white was elected. i voted for tatro..but i was kinda ambivalent on that one. i thought both candidates were good...and i'm confident annise can do a fine job as controller.
Analysis: New council lineup will help new mayor By JOHN WILLIAMS Copyright 2003 Houston Chronicle Political Writer Bill White won more than a voter mandate Saturday in his runoff rout of Orlando Sanchez. White got a City Council to work with that by early indications will be much more cooperative than the one that feuded with Mayor Lee Brown for six years. A council that once had seven consistently firm votes against the mayor now has five, by the count of District G Councilman Bert Keller, who lost his bid to move to an at-large seat. Gone are two persistent Brown critics -- Keller and Bruce Tatro, who was term-limited in his District A council seat and lost the runoff for city controller to At-large Councilwoman Annise Parker. In their place will be Pam Holm in District G and Toni Lawrence in District A, whose histories and campaigns suggest that they will be more interested in improving city services to neighborhoods and businesses than battling the mayor on ideological issues like taxes. Two other new council members who won runoffs Saturday -- M.J. Khan, who defeated Terry McConn for District F in southwest Houston, and Adrian Garcia, who beat Diana Davila Martinez for District H in north central Houston -- have indicated they will be more supportive of White than their predecessors were of Brown. "We always had seven votes against the mayor, which meant we had to work to get one vote to win," Keller said. "I can only count five votes left. "It looks like neighborhoods will get a lot of attention from this council." If the prediction comes true, it will be a marked difference from the relationship Brown had with council. Before Brown took office after winning a 1997 runoff race against Republican Rob Mosbacher, a self-styled R-7 on council began holding meetings to devise strategies for pushing for tax cuts. The result was increasing partisan tension between Brown and council Democrats on one side and Republican council members on the other. In his victory speech Saturday night, White said that he will take time to develop relationships with individual council members. That would be a marked change from Brown, who often isolated himself from critics. White also fashioned a campaign that took into account tax-conscious Republicans, promising property tax relief for senior citizens and opposing the drainage fee Brown supported. Councilman Michael Berry, a Brown opponent who ran for mayor this year before seeking a second council term on the last day of filing, predicted that White's more inclusive style will go a long way to easing tensions at City Hall. "This general breakdown at City Hall is an embarrassment to everyone," Berry said. "I think we're all ready for a new direction." Holm, a Republican who won by just 30 votes in the west Houston district Keller has held for two terms, said she does not intend to maintain as heated a partisan rivalry on council if her election stands. Her opponent, Jeff Daily, is considering seeking a recount. "I ran because I thought the citizens should come first and foremost, not someone else's political agenda," Holm said. "Our new mayor feels the same way. Taking some of the political posturing away means that we should have a more positive approach. "That's the reason I pledged during my campaign not to run for another office." Lawrence, who won the northwest Houston District A seat in the first round of voting Nov. 4, voiced similar sentiments Sunday as she looked at the new makeup of council. "It's very important that we quit labeling Republicans and Democrats," Lawrence said. "That's what Bill White wants and I agree. I'm real excited when I see who is on council because I think we can all work together." That doesn't mean White will be without scrutiny, especially among conservative Republicans. Harris County GOP Chairman Jared Woodfill, whose operation fought hard to boost Sanchez by labeling White as a liberal Democrat, said White will be given time to prove himself. But the party will be vigilant to make sure White keeps the GOP tax-cut message in mind. "We're going to watch everything he does," Woodfill said Saturday at Sanchez's election night party. "If he does something we don't agree with, we will let him know about it." Rice University political scientist Bob Stein said the coalition White forged to gain his victory may make partisan attacks on him difficult. Though he was chairman of the Texas Democratic Party in the 1990s, White got substantial support from Republicans in the city's officially nonpartisan election. That means the frequent Brown critics remaining on council -- Mark Ellis, Addie Wiseman, Shelley Sekula-Gibbs, Mark Goldberg and Berry -- must think twice before attacking White. "Bill White will be able to go to a Mark Ellis or Addie Wiseman and remind them that a lot of their supporters voted for him," Stein said. "That's a persuasive argument." Parker's support in the controller's race paralleled White's. The controller historically has often become a thorn in the mayor's side, but with a similar constituency, Parker can be expected to work more toward consensus than Tatro would have. As a councilman, he earned the nickname "Councilman No" for his frequent efforts to thwart Brown. Analysis of Saturday's vote indicates that White fared well in Democratic neighborhoods and held his own in Republican neighborhoods where Sanchez was a heavy winner in his narrow 2001 mayoral runoff loss to Brown. In heavily Republican Kingwood, where Sanchez made his strongest showing in 2001 with almost 90 percent of votes cast, he got 66 percent this year. That trend proved true in other Sanchez 2001 strongholds. In the Tanglewood/River Oaks area, Sanchez got 81 percent in 2001 and 46 percent this year. In the area near Westheimer and Texas 6 in far west Houston, Sanchez got 82 percent in 2001 and 56 percent against White. Overall, Sanchez had a slight edge among white voters Saturday, but White took more than 90 percent of African-American voters and 55 percent of Hispanics. Despite not getting the endorsement of state Rep. Sylvester Turner, who was eliminated in the general election, White got 93 percent of the voters in Turner's home neighborhood of Acres Home in north-central Houston. White won endorsements from most other black elected officials. Meanwhile, Sanchez lost substantial ground in Hispanic communities that supported his 2001 effort to become the city's first Hispanic mayor. In 2001, Sanchez got 79 percent of voters in Denver Harbor in east Houston. This year, he got 45 percent. "Bill White took votes from across the city, so it's going to be hard to find a solid constituency against him, at least for a while, until people see how he operates," Stein said. On Sunday, Sanchez, a constant critic of Brown as a council member, said he hopes White gets a chance. "I hope (White) is able to avoid an acrimonious relationship with members of council," Sanchez said. "It should not degrade to public disputes. I hope there is a good collegial spirit on council."
I'm choosing to look at the silver lining to this election. That silver lining being the fact that Lee Brown will be leaving soon. Things can only improve from here.
Hmmm. Interesting wording... Anyway, at least the Brown regime is over. Does that mean we can finally take down that ridiculous portrait at the airport? If we replace it with a portrait of White, hopefully they can airbrush those Dumbo ears.
