Mayor White Moves Houston Forward...
I can't say I've agreed with every single decision he has made, but overall, Mayor Bill White has been one of the most effective administrators this city has had. Mayor White gave his State of the City address today and offered several goals pertaining to economic development, environment, crime, and other issues facing our city. He also took the time to give a left-hook to skeptics who question his effectiveness:
Now, I know there will be skeptics who understand the need to make more efficient use of our resources but who doubt we can obtain these goals. To those skeptics I want to remind you of what all has been accomplished in the last three years in Houston, overcoming barriers that frustrated progress for decades. Today Houston acts when others talk. Consider what we've done.
They told us governments, like many older corporations, could not reform pensions to cut unfunded future liabilities. We tackled the problem with a referendum, and became the first state or local government to both cut future benefits and bolster the assets, cutting unfunded liabilities by over a billion dollars and making future pensions both more affordable and more secure.
They told us we couldn't do anything to reduce freeway congestion or improve driver safety because wrecks, towing chaos, and rubbernecking were simply a way of life. But with Safe Clear we decreased freeway crashes by almost 18%—over 2,500 a year—from the levels, which existed before the program.
They told us pollution was part of economic progress, even though it hurt our ability to attract new employees and firms. So we told emitters of the most hazardous pollutant—butadiene—that they must cut emissions or we would sue to shut them down. New management made the needed changes, and butadiene levels have been cut by 58% in just two years according to the continuous, real time monitors.
They told us the City's typical public-sector personnel practices would not allow us to increase employee productivity, by rewarding performance and eliminating unneeded jobs or poor performers. But we did so with annual performance evaluations, with consequences for all municipal employees.
They told us it was too late to create a giant park downtown, that the cost of land and operations would be prohibitive. But with the leadership of the Park Conservancy we shall open Discovery Green next door in 14 months, a $90 million project funded mostly with private contributions.
They told us we could not revitalize our most neglected neighborhoods, close to employment centers, with undersized infrastructure, and that attempts to do so would displace existing residents. But for three years we have foreclosed on 2,500 vacant lots and have transferred title to over 900 so far, where new owner-occupied housing for our workforce is being built at an accelerating rate.
They told us we couldn't improve public health by opening more neighborhood primary care clinics and reducing exposure to second-hand smoke. The special interests, they said, had frustrated those initiatives for decades. Now Houston has one of the 2 or 3 most comprehensive smoke-free ordinances, and the number of neighborhood non-profit clinics with city support has gone from 0 to 5 in three years.
They explained that a divisive debate over rapid transit spanning decades in this City had created a political gridlock preventing new rail lines with federal funding. But, with the support of a unified U.S. House and Senate delegation, METRO will commence construction this year of three new rail lines and a new intermodal transit center, which will allow our city to grow with reduced risk of traffic gridlock.
They told us high dropout rates could not be cut. But last year, with our school partners, our program Expectation Graduation brought back over 1,300 dropouts and over 95% finished the school year.
They told us it would be too expensive for Houston to attract someone to build a citywide network allowing wireless internet access, since we are far bigger geographically than all other cities that have begun this process combined . But we expect to recommend a vendor this month, approve a contract in February, and have a built out network financed by private investment in 24 months.
They told us it would be impossible to handle an influx of over 200,000 of our neighborhoods by putting shelter over their heads, making room for students, and requiring that the able-bodied find jobs here or wherever else they could get on with their lives. Well, I don't need to tell you how hundreds of thousands of Houstonians responded, with unified public and faith-based leadership. At various times we housed most Louisiana evacuees at 5% of the total federal cost that FEMA spent for trailers housing fewer.
Finally, voices on the right and left told us that we had to choose between tax discipline and the need for more services. By treating citizens as consumers and running city government on a businesslike basis, we have significantly expanded city services, reduced delays, and lowered our property tax rates and increased the senior exemption by almost 50%. And, in contrast to other levels of government, we have done so without increasing city debt as a share of our citizens' incomes.
Mayor White steered clear of a continued effort to turn HPD into La Migra by way of a referendum. But he also did not attempt to appease right-wingers who would not even consider his own efforts at changing HPD policies administratively, instead of politicizing the issue (as much). Perhaps the Mayor has heard of the continued referendum effort that is so racist, that this activist received numerous reports from fellow Latinos who went up to canvassers as if to sign the petition only to be told that it could only be signed by "Whites Only." Yes, this targeted effort is very much alive and I expect it to become an issue again during the City Council races. I expect my Mayor and those I support for City Council to take on these bigots and not simply avoid the issue when its presented to them by these, for lack of a better word, people.
Still, the Mayor gave us a good picture of where we stand as a city and where he wants to lead us. Frankly, even with those little things that sometimes irk me (changing HPD policies on immigration; a public sweep against the homeless and their belongings, etc.), he's still managed to keep me as a supporter.
Now, I know there will be skeptics who understand the need to make more efficient use of our resources but who doubt we can obtain these goals. To those skeptics I want to remind you of what all has been accomplished in the last three years in Houston, overcoming barriers that frustrated progress for decades. Today Houston acts when others talk. Consider what we've done.
They told us governments, like many older corporations, could not reform pensions to cut unfunded future liabilities. We tackled the problem with a referendum, and became the first state or local government to both cut future benefits and bolster the assets, cutting unfunded liabilities by over a billion dollars and making future pensions both more affordable and more secure.
They told us we couldn't do anything to reduce freeway congestion or improve driver safety because wrecks, towing chaos, and rubbernecking were simply a way of life. But with Safe Clear we decreased freeway crashes by almost 18%—over 2,500 a year—from the levels, which existed before the program.
They told us pollution was part of economic progress, even though it hurt our ability to attract new employees and firms. So we told emitters of the most hazardous pollutant—butadiene—that they must cut emissions or we would sue to shut them down. New management made the needed changes, and butadiene levels have been cut by 58% in just two years according to the continuous, real time monitors.
They told us the City's typical public-sector personnel practices would not allow us to increase employee productivity, by rewarding performance and eliminating unneeded jobs or poor performers. But we did so with annual performance evaluations, with consequences for all municipal employees.
They told us it was too late to create a giant park downtown, that the cost of land and operations would be prohibitive. But with the leadership of the Park Conservancy we shall open Discovery Green next door in 14 months, a $90 million project funded mostly with private contributions.
They told us we could not revitalize our most neglected neighborhoods, close to employment centers, with undersized infrastructure, and that attempts to do so would displace existing residents. But for three years we have foreclosed on 2,500 vacant lots and have transferred title to over 900 so far, where new owner-occupied housing for our workforce is being built at an accelerating rate.
They told us we couldn't improve public health by opening more neighborhood primary care clinics and reducing exposure to second-hand smoke. The special interests, they said, had frustrated those initiatives for decades. Now Houston has one of the 2 or 3 most comprehensive smoke-free ordinances, and the number of neighborhood non-profit clinics with city support has gone from 0 to 5 in three years.
They explained that a divisive debate over rapid transit spanning decades in this City had created a political gridlock preventing new rail lines with federal funding. But, with the support of a unified U.S. House and Senate delegation, METRO will commence construction this year of three new rail lines and a new intermodal transit center, which will allow our city to grow with reduced risk of traffic gridlock.
They told us high dropout rates could not be cut. But last year, with our school partners, our program Expectation Graduation brought back over 1,300 dropouts and over 95% finished the school year.
They told us it would be too expensive for Houston to attract someone to build a citywide network allowing wireless internet access, since we are far bigger geographically than all other cities that have begun this process combined . But we expect to recommend a vendor this month, approve a contract in February, and have a built out network financed by private investment in 24 months.
They told us it would be impossible to handle an influx of over 200,000 of our neighborhoods by putting shelter over their heads, making room for students, and requiring that the able-bodied find jobs here or wherever else they could get on with their lives. Well, I don't need to tell you how hundreds of thousands of Houstonians responded, with unified public and faith-based leadership. At various times we housed most Louisiana evacuees at 5% of the total federal cost that FEMA spent for trailers housing fewer.
Finally, voices on the right and left told us that we had to choose between tax discipline and the need for more services. By treating citizens as consumers and running city government on a businesslike basis, we have significantly expanded city services, reduced delays, and lowered our property tax rates and increased the senior exemption by almost 50%. And, in contrast to other levels of government, we have done so without increasing city debt as a share of our citizens' incomes.
Mayor White steered clear of a continued effort to turn HPD into La Migra by way of a referendum. But he also did not attempt to appease right-wingers who would not even consider his own efforts at changing HPD policies administratively, instead of politicizing the issue (as much). Perhaps the Mayor has heard of the continued referendum effort that is so racist, that this activist received numerous reports from fellow Latinos who went up to canvassers as if to sign the petition only to be told that it could only be signed by "Whites Only." Yes, this targeted effort is very much alive and I expect it to become an issue again during the City Council races. I expect my Mayor and those I support for City Council to take on these bigots and not simply avoid the issue when its presented to them by these, for lack of a better word, people.
Still, the Mayor gave us a good picture of where we stand as a city and where he wants to lead us. Frankly, even with those little things that sometimes irk me (changing HPD policies on immigration; a public sweep against the homeless and their belongings, etc.), he's still managed to keep me as a supporter.
posted by Dos Centavos at 7:31 PM
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