Campaigns elsewhere are getting off the ground today, but for obvious reasons Houston's Mayor Bill White cancelled his campaign launch today. As the Chron notes, he probably won't need to do much politicking anyway.
As expected, White drew no well-funded opposition in his bid for a second term as filing for the Nov. 8 election ended at 5 p.m. Wednesday.Running against him are community activist Gladys Marie House, who previously has run for City Council, and 2003 mayoral candidates Anthony Dutrow, Luis Ullrich and Jack Terence. The three combined took less than 1 percent of that year's mayoral vote.
White has other reasons to feel good about his reelection chances, even before his stellar performance in response to Katrina.
White raised $2.2 million during the first six months of this year. And he continues to take in cash, with a $500-per-person reception scheduled later this month.Having that much money on hand makes a statement about his political potency, discouraging opposition, and sets the stage for potential political promotions.
White, the former chairman of the state Democratic Party, has raised money across party lines. Among the notable Republicans who have contributed are lawyer Daryl Bristow; engineer Jim Dannenbaum; key Bush fund-raisers Rich and Nancy Kinder; Houston Texans owner Bob McNair; homebuilder Bob Perry; Randy DeLay, brother of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, R-Sugar Land; lawyer John O'Neill; and homebuilders Dick and David Weekly.
Bill White has sided with the Republican party on Rail, on flooding, street maintenance, tax policy, and city fees. In fact the reason most Democrats voted for him is what hasn't been happening. The reason Republicans voted for Sanchez is what they are getting from White. Doesn't surprise me at all that DeLay and Perry are investing in this backstabber. Too bad he's running unopposed.
Posted by: Elias on September 8, 2005 8:30 PM"Someday, like 2010 or 2012, when Bill White runs for a statewide office, I'll be very interested to see what those guys do with their money. Will they be in favor of Bill White before they oppose him? Or will their current warm fuzzies win out over partisan preference? File this away for later and see."
File under "Kirk, Ron" ...
Posted by: Greg Wythe on September 8, 2005 9:13 PMWow, if being State Chair of the Democratic Party when Dems still controlled the Legislature (and kept it that way) doesn't make you a Democrat, does working in Bill Clinton's administration? I'm sure he's totally taken the GOP side in the Katrina response. . . . oh wait, he's actually responded: quickly, effectively, and not overly politically.
Sided with Republicans on rail? Last time I checked, the Mayor was bringing more rail, faster. If you think he "sold out" to Delay to get this done, I'd say $2 billion is a good price at which to sell. Do we expect the City of Houston to fully fund METRO's light rail? If so, I guess we really don't need police or firefighters. . . .
Mayor White has got things done for Houston, period. That's why he has no opposition.
Posted by: Red Dog on September 8, 2005 11:06 PMJohn O'Neil is NOT a Republican. He insists wherever he speaks that he is a Democrat that did not want John Kerry to be president.
Posted by: Burt Levine on September 9, 2005 5:01 PMJohn O'Neil is NOT a Republican. He insists wherever he speaks that he is a Democrat that did not want John Kerry to be president.
And the reason anyone should believe anything he syas is...?
Posted by: Charles Kuffner on September 11, 2005 4:57 PM