Good Friday
If you live in H-Town City Council District C, don’t forget to vote tomorrow in the District C Special Election. I voted for Nick Hellyar by mail. See the featured photo.
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The Chron E-Board today says we ought to hold off on deciding on abolishing the Harris County Treasurer Office until after the November election. See how their take ends:
By moving to abolish the county treasurer’s office before voters make their choice, county commissioners have put themselves in a potentially awkward position. If, for instance, (MAGA candidate Marc) Cowart defeats (Incumbent Treasurer Carla) Wyatt in the general election, suddenly the majority-Democratic Commissioners Court’s decision to do away with the county treasurer would smack of partisanship.
We urge county commissioners to delay moving to abolish the county office until after the election. It gives voters a chance to solve the main problem that has plagued the office in recent years: an incompetent officeholder.
Here is the entire E-Board take: Harris County voters should have final say on keeping county treasurer.
I don’t think the MAGA candidate will win in November. It is a lengthy process to get rid of the Harris County Treasurer Office. The Texas Legislature must approve with at least two-third votes in both legislative bodies. Then it must go to the voters in Texas and Harris County for approval. Let’s move forward.
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Pan Bondi is out. I am not surprised and you are not surprised. Donald Trump worshippers will never learn.
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Commentary has been in the political business longer than most. I get why folks love to hate. I get why there are H-Town Mayor John Whitmire haters. Even the Mayor Whitmire haters won’t acknowledge his accomplishments. See this story from Chron business writer Erica Grieder on the George R. Brown Convention Center expansion:
The first phase of a massive expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center is fully funded and on pace to open in May 2028, city leaders announced Wednesday.
The city of Houston and the Houston First Corporation, the local government corporation that operates Houston’s convention venues, on Wednesday announced they sold $1.38 billion of Hotel Occupancy Tax and Special Revenue Bonds in sales that closed March 25 and April 1. This will cover the construction of GRB South, a new 700,000-square-foot building connected to the existing convention center, as well as a new pedestrian plaza linking both buildings to the Toyota Center.
Michael Heckman, Houston First president and CEO, said in an interview the bond sales reflect “the strength and resiliency of the Houston economy”— as well as the city’s ability to deliver projects of this scale.
“It’s a really big deal, on a development of this size and magnitude, to be able to have it fully funded, and in a way that gives us flexibility, is affordable for us, and also retains the pathway in the future for additional funding,” Heckman said, adding: “Massive projects of this scale in other parts of the country are not delivered on time.”
The expansion of the George R. Brown Convention Center has been a priority for Houston Mayor John Whitmire since he was elected to that post in December 2023, and is tied to legislation he authored earlier that year, as a member of the Texas Senate.
The measure in question allows the city and and Houston First to receive an incremental portion of downtown hotel taxes, collected over the course of a 30 year period beginning in 2023, to be dedicated to the downtown project.
Here is the entire Grieder read: Houston secures $1.4 billion in funds for GRB expansion project.
The haters are going to hate. The haters don’t have room for not hating.
This expansion does not happen without Mayor Whitmire’s legislation. I have said it before, then Sen. Whitmire sponsored the legislation in 1997 to help create the sports authority that built what is now Daikin Park. The ballpark was the impetus for all the development in that area of Downtown H-Town since 2000. Whitmire told H-Town leaders back then that he would not carry the legislation unless the ballpark was built Downtown.
Mayor Whitmire does not get credit for the role he has played in the development of East Downtown. The haters won’t give him credit for passing legislation that allows for expansion of the GRB. That is how haters run, I guess.
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I hope you have a nice Good Friday and a safe and happy Easter Weekend.