Fiscal Conservatives for Annise Parker

I'm hearing Gene Locke is going on right wing radio - KSEV - today to tear apart Peter Brown. That is probably because Locke looked down last week and noticed Brown had wrenched the pincers from his hand and was beating him with both African Americans and Republicans (according to the Houston Chronicle Zogby poll). I'm sure that poll gave some of the business organizations who endorsed Locke pause for thought as they had been promised by the Locke campaign that he was a sure thing with his winning strategy of getting 80% of the African American vote along with the Republican vote. My sources tell me, some of those lobbyists are now panicked that they are backing a guy that may not even make it into the runoff.

Who is the Best Candidate to Lead Houston Through Tough Economic Times?

This got me to thinking. Earlier this year, a group of political insider friends and I started watching the mayoral race with an eye as to who would be the best person to guide Houston through the coming tough financial times. This was before the budget situation was revealed to be as bad as we later found out it was, but we knew it was headed in that direction. We all knew Annise Parker's track record - smart, competent, calm, hard working, consistent - but what about this Gene Locke guy, with his business connections? Did he have the right experience, skill set and connections to be the smart choice? As time went on we became concerned about pay for play from Locke - and too many promises made to too many insiders behind closed doors that got leaked out - promises that would line the pockets of his insider buddies, but would not be good for taxpaying citizens.

So, I decided to round up the facts about Parker that make her the choice for mayor for fiscal conservatives - the only candidate who is ready to lead the city through tough economic times.

Parker Has a Proven Track Record of Saving Taxpayer Dollars:

• Parker implemented city audits that uncovered millions of dollars of waste and fraud.
• Parker renegotiated the interest rates on bond debt, saving the city $80 million dollars.
• Parker cut her own city department budget by 2% when she first got in office.
• Parker recaptured charges for non-city of Houston waste disposal in the city landfill, saving the city $2 million.
• Parker implemented an automated interactive voice response to handle 10-digit police calls, saving the city $1.2 million.
• Parker eliminated paper paychecks for 21,000 city employees, saving the city $1 million.
• Parker consolidated motor vehicle reports into one office, saving the city $300,000.

When Parker makes promises on the campaign trail about being fiscally conservative with taxpayer dollars, it's because she has already walked the talk - she has a proven track record at City Hall doing what she's promised to do more of when she is mayor.

Brown and Locke Won't Show You the Money

Her opponents, on the other hand, are making empty promises. I thought it was very telling in Locke's Off the Kuff interview, that when Kuffner asked Locke that while his promises of putting more police on the street and giving them more advanced technology sounded great, how did he intend to pay for those initiatives, Locke answered, "I think we are still working on various models." That's not a good enough answer for a mayoral candidate in the fourth largest city in the country six weeks before election day. If you are going to make promises, tell how you are going to pay for them in these tough economic times.

Peter Brown is promising more police on the street, as well, without telling how he will pay for them. And, he's promising a beefed up Real Time Crime Center, which sounds good but looks like it will cost millions if it looks anything like what he has in his ad. And, he's got a blueprint that will involve doing more with less. He's very consistent with that message, but what does it mean exactly?

Annise Parker the Best Choice for Saving Your Tax Dollars

I'll have more in a followup post on Parker's policies and how they are the fiscally responsible ones in these tough economic times. Clearly, Parker has a track record of saving taxpayer dollars, finding efficiencies and eliminating waste. She is not the candidate whose records show he is charging the city (your tax dollars) $640/hour to represent Metro, the Sports Authority and the Port of Houston. She is not the candidate who is using his wife's personal fortune to finance his campaign to the tune of a $1.7 million loan.

While Locke and Brown are squabbling over who deserves the Republican vote, Annise Parker is rising above that fray, looking good as the fiscally conservative choice for mayor of Houston for both Democrats and Republicans.