Good.
Fort Bend County Judge KP George said Thursday the county will not consider becoming a member of the Greater Houston Partnership following the group’s silence on bills in the state Legislature that he called “suppressive pieces of legislation reminiscent of Jim Crow era tactics prior to the Civil Rights era.”
George’s statement came a day after Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced they no longer plan to hold their annual state of the city and county addresses with the Greater Houston Partnership due to the group’s silence. George said he supported the pair’s rebuke; all three are Democrats.
“The implications of silence on this issue are too consequential and that Hidalgo and Turner have decided to make that clear is admirable,” George said. “Our County had been considering joining the Greater Houston Partnership for some time now, but following their silence on this, we will no longer consider becoming a member organization. Now is the time to take a stand, the eyes of history are indeed upon us now.”
In his statement, George noted the changes that the county made to make voting more accessible ahead of the 2020 election, including the extension of voting hours, making the Smart Financial Centre in Sugar Land a mega-voting site and creating drive-thru voting for individuals unable to walk into a center.
See here, here, and here for some background. The GHP had a simple test before it, to affirm the basic principle that our democracy works best when voting is easy and accessible to all and that the bills being pushed in the Legislature are antithetical to that, as well as based on a lie. It failed. There should be consequences for that, and there are. Any diminution of their stature is on them.
Don’t worry Kuff, there will be another Astros Championship, another Super Bowl hosted here, or how about the PGA level golf course and tournaments tax payers are paying for (not to mention sacrificing the only green area Houston has. These events will be like taking your soma, and all these issues will be forgotten about and the GHP will make themselves look like a rose and everyone will believe it again.
Don’t get all mad when what has happened to the Houston Firefighters over the last few years happens to issues you care about to. Because, it was bound to happen. If the Mayor wants to go against the GHP, he can do it in City Council, denying contracts, changing laws that affect them, etc. IS he going to do that? No, he will give a lot of talk and hot air and grant them another contract next week.