McNair's stance on redistricting irks Democrats By ERIC BERGER Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle AUSTIN -- Houston Texans owner Bob McNair stung Democrats last month by signing a partisan letter urging donors to bankroll a Republican war chest to help party efforts during redistricting. Several Houston Democrats, who bucked GOP opposition and carried the 1997 legislation allowing Reliant Stadium to be built, said they were disappointed by the letter. State Sen. John Whitmire, the bill's sponsor and a Democrat, said it was an "ungrateful" thing to do. McNair's Texans will begin play in the $400 million Reliant Stadium, funded largely by public money, in 2002. McNair will keep nearly all revenue from football games there. The letter seeks to raise $2.5 million for a GOP redistricting project to help gain more seats in Congress and the Texas House and Senate. If the effort fails, the letter says, "the alternative is 10 more years of a badly tilted playing field." McNair's political operatives moved to smooth the feathers of ruffled politicians Thursday, including Whitmire and Sen. Mario Gallegos, D-Houston, who was a co-author of the 1997 sports facilities legislation. "Bob McNair is a drop-dead supporter of Whitmire and Gallegos," said consultant Dave Walden. Yet Whitmire said he couldn't help but feel targeted by the letter. He is one of three Democratic senators from Harris County and is widely considered the most vulnerable during the redistricting process. Gallegos and Sen. Rodney Ellis, another Democrat, are somewhat protected by solid minority bases in their districts. "I was disappointed that he would get involved in a partisan matter to that extent, particularly in view of the legislative support he has received," Whitmire said. "Republicans were the major obstacle to creating the venue he plans to use to make money." The sports facilities legislation passed in 1997 allowed voters to create the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, which in turn has built Enron Field, is building Reliant Stadium and will break ground on a downtown arena later this year. When backers of the bill could not find a Republican sponsor in the Senate they turned to Whitmire. The bill eventually passed, with seven senators voting against it -- all Republican. The split in the House was similarly partisan, and political analysts said Thursday there would have been no stadiums in Houston without Democratic leadership on the issue. Gallegos and Whitmire said the letter was frustrating largely because it was so overtly partisan and because minority communities have supported stadium referendums. In the 1996 election to authorize construction of a baseball and football stadium, Hispanics voted 65 percent and African-Americans 68 percent in favor of the measure. The measure passed, 51 to 49 percent. "I respect anyone's view, and their right to an opinion" Gallegos said. "But don't ask for our support and don't let us carry legislation, and have our communities support it, only to have things come to this." McNair did not formally announce his intentions to pursue a football team until after the legislation and referendum were passed, his allies noted. Still, say Democrats who supported the bill, McNair's high public profile and obvious benefit from a publicly subsidized stadium make partisanship a questionable business move on his part. "Partisan politics in the Legislature, clearly at this time, creates some animosity," said Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, who was a co-author of the House version of the sports legislation. McNair declined an interview Thursday. But, in a written statement, he said he was more concerned about congressional redistricting than state-level districts. He said he was pleased with local Texas legislators. He also tried to suggest that the letter was not partisan. "I just wanted to make sure we have a fair redistricting bill," he said. "I'm very interested in good government, and I will continue to support good government." A little bit of silliness here. Just because McNair benefits from a piece of legislation championed by Democrats doesn't mean that McNair can't still be a Republican later. Also, was McNair a big supporter of the bill that allowed Enron Field and Reliant Stadium to be built? I don't recall, but he wasn't exactly on the forefront of the NFL effort when the bill passed (the Oilers weren't even gone yet). The Dems still have Les. ------------------ Houston Sports Board Help Finance My Movie - Buy A T-Shirt or Make a Donation [This message has been edited by mrpaige (edited March 15, 2001).]
Noone is asking McNair to be a Democrat. It is a bit peculiar that Democrats helped him in his ventures and now he has "apparently" turned on them. That's a little cut and dry, but that's the way it appears at face value. ------------------ "norm, would you like to buy an indian scalp ? This deal isn't gonna make or break me Norm, so don't jerk me around." Harry Carey "Norm, if I had a mohawk scalp, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you."
Actually, the Dems helped do something that eventually helped Bob McNair. It's not as if McNair went to these folks and got them all on his side to pass this legislation to get a football stadium built in Houston and then turned around and essentially tried to get them gerrymandered out of office. The stadium legislation was passed without McNair. ------------------ Houston Sports Board Help Finance My Movie - Buy A T-Shirt or Make a Donation
MrPaige well . . .we don't know the particulars but it seems that these Dem Senators had some foreknowledge of his interest in a team . . .. neva know about them closed doors WINK WINK NUDGE NUDGE deals Rocket River ------------------
Then those Dems are very prescient, as they knew before the rest of us that Bud Adams wasn't bluffing and really planned to move the Oilers out of town this time (since the Oilers hadn't yet left when this legislation was passed). And they knew that the NFL would expand to Houston (rather than letting an existing team move to Houston, owner in place, which enearly everyone with ties to the NFL thought would happen up until October of 1999) and that McNair would be the owner of said expansion team instead of the people that were more actively pursuing the team at the time (such as John Moores. Moores was the name mentioned as a potential NFL owner back when this legislation was passed). And because the Dems knew more than even McNair and the NFL did at the time, McNair shouldn't be allowed to express an opinion on redistricting that would potentially harm Democrats. By this new standard, if one of us happens to benefit from something like the American's With Disabilities Act sometime in our future, we then won't be allowed to speak out against Republicans because George Bush signed that bill into law. If we're eventually helped by something one party helps in doing, we can never speak ill of that party again. I'm glad the Dems are finally telling me the rules. Somebody needs to tell Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton how they've betrayed the Republican Party. Here a Republican President ends slavery (something that Sharpton and Jackson eventually benefitted from) yet both men actively oppose the Republican Party. They shouldn't have asked the Republicans to carry their legislation only to later work to throw Republicans out of office. ------------------ Houston Sports Board Help Finance My Movie - Buy A T-Shirt or Make a Donation
