Elyse Lanier, the city's former first lady and an unabashed booster of Houston, was appointed today as a commissioner on the Port Authority of Houston.Lanier replaces Cheryl Thompson-Draper, who resigned last month after being accused of uttering a racial slur while on port business in Shanghai last year. Thompson-Draper has denied making the slur.
Harris County Commissioners Court appointed Lanier on a unanimous vote. But it came after County Judge Robert Eckels made a motion to appoint Leroy Hermes, a local architect and chair of the University of Houston board of Regents. That motion failed.
Commissioner Sylvia Garcia sponsored Lanier's nomination to the seven-member commission.
"She brings a wealth of experience in representing our area,"Garcia said. "When she was first lady of the city for six years, she met people from all over the world."
Point of curiosity: Is it, like, a normal thing for one of Judge Eckels' motions to fail like that? And did it fail because no one seconded it (which would be really weird) or just because he got outvoted? Maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but that strikes me as odd.
Posted by Charles Kuffner on February 22, 2006 to Elsewhere in Houston | TrackBackFlowers. Lots of flowers.
Posted by: Laurence Simon on February 22, 2006 8:29 AMWhy did you give this more attention than Alvarado's screw-ups?
Posted by: Dalicious on February 22, 2006 9:56 AMThere's an article in the most recent National Geographic about the "high society" types in River Oaks that has picture of Ms. Lanier, our own Martha Stewart of the Port. The article makes Houston seem shallow and materialistic . . . which, to a great extent (at least, "white" Houston), it is.
Posted by: Big House on February 22, 2006 10:17 AMTexas must hire
James Lee Witt
expert
in emergency civil defense
from natural disasters.
Louisianna hired him to help post Katrina, and Rita.
He is an expert I would like to see hired for consultation with our own real experts, to review again an action plan, time-tables to give to Perry so he will do it right. And, to give to us Texans so that we do it right--what best to do and what to expect from best case and worst case scenarios. And the care to save people and pets.
EXPERTS ARE NEEDED.
With regard to your last paragraph: It's recorded, but I believe there was a second to the half-hearted motion and it failed 2 to 3 via pre-determined outcome. It's normal procedure to settle political debts this way if it serves a combination of purposes.
In Commissioners Court, this practice is more significant to the citizen when it is used for a controversial county issue. The challenged incumbent(s) can vociferously oppose a controversial measure to preserve their constituent majority and still be out-voted by the other commissioners in the pre-determined outcome. It costs: the more vociferous the objection, the bigger the price. The payment is generally trading off the favor after the General Election is over and the incumbent is safely in office.
Posted by: Charles Hixon on February 22, 2006 12:16 PM