The former chair of the Harris County Republican Party, Gary Polland, gives Houston mayor Annise Parker a B for her performance over 19 months in office. This is shocking to see.
Mr. Polland ignores the fact that for a year Parker could not find any money in a $4 billion budget to test 14 year old rape kits that were lost and then recently found in the police department, nor fix ongoing problems in the police lab so that county prosecutors can take current cases to trial. Meanwhile she is stuffing money into the pockets of the billionaire owner of the soccer team by committing the city to help fund a soccer stadium (a project opposed by his party), and Parker has committed to helping Metro pay for the rail extensions with city property taxes, construction of which the HCRP wants stopped until the higher cost and other changes are approved in a referendum.
Regarding Metro, The agency is hiding the cost of its rail plans, estimated by some as a $6 billion dollar plan, and the disgraced agency turns a blind eye to its own data showing it has been losing ridership since 2007, though it had seen ridership rise over several years as a bus-only system until it began rail construction in 2001.
Mr. Polland admits he endorsed the dedicated "infrastructure fee", which actually is a fund with four revenue streams and includes the notorious drainage fee, and that he wants to keep the red light cameras. The Houston electorate voted on both matters in November 2010, voting YES on the former and NO on the latter. Since that time the public has been informed of many hidden aspects of the infrastructure fee, and passage today would be quite unlikely.
Conservative readers of Mr. Polland's newsletter should wonder about the rating criteria he uses to reach his conclusions.
— Barry Klein
Don Hooper says
Mr. Polland does not live in the City of Houston he lives in Bellaire. Secondly, and more importanly, after the Mayor admitted all the calculations were incorrect on Prop1 did you see Gary Polland correcting his support of the these bozos. He was paid thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars for his endorement for Prop1/ Renew Houston. All the issues and candidates he supports should only be considered after and immediately following you write your Prop1 check to the City of Houston. You can bet Annise Parker plans to raise taxes immediately after the election let's see if Gary ask her this question when she appears on his show, which she is sure to do.
Joe Ablaza says
How sad to see a former leader in the Republican party is just another paid spokesman. It's no wonder there is little difference between the parties today.
Dan Comstock says
The idfferences in the Democratic and Republican parties do not lie in certain individuals who do not have the vision of the principles of their respective parties. At least in the case of the Republican Party the grassroot members are the principle authors of the platform and are the true champions of the principles therein.
tom zakes says
At least he's consistent. Backed KBH for governor. Not sure exactly what his definition of "conservative" is, however.