Bill White's Early Activities

I hope this is indicative of his term as mayor.

Early signs of City Hall spring

By RICK CASEY
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER:

Sign 1: After learning Monday morning of an afternoon press conference announcing the Astros' signing of future Hall of Famer Roger Clemens, Mayor Bill White attended the festivities.

"The mayor is the leader of the city, not just the manager of the government," White said. "I was there to thank Roger Clemens and (Astros owner) Drayton McLane for doing something good for the city. Nobody can thank somebody on behalf of the city as well as the mayor can."

Sign 2: During his first council meeting last week, veteran Councilwoman Shelley Sekula-Gibbs announced she wanted to "flag" a contract for a politically connected engineering firm, a move that would delay the vote for a week. She said they had failed to return her phone calls seeking information.

White responded that in the future council members will be expected to seek information on contracts through his administration, not directly with contractors.

"The principal message I wanted to communicate is that good organizations have good lines of communication. It's a matter of good management," he said later.

But longtime observers of local government spotted a subtext: City Hall has traditionally been an emporium where generous campaign contributions and well-connected lobbyists are the key to discretionary contracts for engineers, architects, and the like. If White requires all contacts to be through his office -- which he can enforce through threatening to punish contractors who deal directly with council members -- it will decrease the clout of lobbyists and campaign cash.

At another point in the meeting, he said discretionary contracts would be based first on cost and quality of work, and on encouraging diversity and engagement of the local work force.

"I wouldn't want any elected official or anybody within the administration to suggest to contractors that a political relationship was critical," he said.

Sign 3: Monday evening he showed up at a fund-raiser for U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and took the microphone to introduce her.

As a former Clinton administration official and chairman of the Democratic Party of Texas, White caused worry among some Republicans that he would make partisan use of the mayor's office. A high-profile appearance at Republican Hutchison's fund-raiser was a first step in dispelling such fears. It was also a recognition that she has been a hard worker for Texas cities (including funding for light rail here).

He also met with two Republicans who had opposed light rail, an hour on Monday with U.S. Rep. Tom DeLay and an hour and a half Tuesday with Rep. John Culberson.

Sign 4: He quietly contacted principals of the Lionstone Group, a real estate investment firm headed by former executives of the estimable Gerald Hines land development company.

"There are various community-based organizations who have acquired real estate in some blighted parts of the city, but their core competence is not real estate development," he said. "I asked Tom Bacon and his partner Glenn Lowenstein to help on a volunteer basis. They'll try to help them use the land in ways that are consistent with the needs of the community."

White indicated this is just one such match he hopes to make.

Sign 5: The Metropolitan Organization, a church-based community action organization, had obtained a commitment from White and other mayoral candidates during the campaign to meet regularly with them if elected. A staffer planned to call White's office one day last week to set up the first meeting, but White's office called TMO first.

"I made that commitment during the campaign," said White. "We want to take the initiative to keep our commitments, not for people to have to badger us."

 

Actually, he HAS. I read that in a story about him last week. That was taken down and another with a photo of the mayor on it will NOT be erected, thankfully.