Tag Archives: Mayor Annise Parker

Houston Politics

Houston City Council PASSES Chapter 42

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Ready or not, here we come…

After six years of vigorous debate, the Houston City Council has voted to further increase the city’s density. Chapter 42 passed Council on a vote of 14 to 3. The ordinance changes development rules in the hopes of making the city more competitive with the suburbs. And given the extreme interest by area developers, it will likely be successful in that regard. This was far from an easy vote, as virtually every Council Member had qualms with the ordinance. As the Mayor said, this vote ends the separation between inner loop and outer loop areas. “The city of Houston now has one development code.” And it has been updated to reflect a much more ‘urban’ reality.

Council Member Melissa Noriega voiced resident concerns that Chapter 42 does not address a legacy of draining issues (currently covered under Chapter 9 of the development code), and that will only put a greater strain on an already aging drainage system. Even with this concern, Noriega voted in favor of the ordinance.

Council Member Helena Brown even proposed an Amendment to exclude her entire district (District A) from the Chapter 42 changes. It failed, and Brown voted against the whole measure. Of course to most Houstonians ‘Council Member Brown voting no’ shouldn’t be a surprise.

But even with all of the added drama, anxiety and resistance, this grand bargain is an important next step for the city of Houston. The Mayor and her office worked tirelessly on the issue, and to strike an agreement between the neighborhoods and builders was a win in itself. But now that agreement is law, and Houston can pave the way to a more dense development future.

From a purely political standpoint, the passing of Chapter 42 is a very big win for Houston Mayor Annise Parker. It is yet another major legacy issue that she has tackled as Mayor. If any other elected offices lie in her future, she can point to Chapter 42 as one of the big things that she accomplished. Hopefully, the continuing issues with drainage, complete streets and buried powerlines will be tackled in the not-too-distant future. But Chapter 42 is officially DONE.

For previous coverage on chapter 42, you can check here and here.

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Houston’s Mayor reminds us what REALLY makes a family

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By design, politicians are public figures. They are used to cameras, the press, and definitely get used to the sound of hearing themselves talk. But as public as people like Houston Annise Parker can be, it is rare that she has been so candid about her personal life. The nation probably knows that she is openly gay, and they know that she won an historic victory as the first openly gay person elected mayor of large American city. And that’s probably about it.

But in a rare speech to the Coalition for the Homeless, Mayor Parker opens up about her family experience with the struggles of homelessnesses, and about the story of her wonderful family. All three of the mayor’s children are adopted (though only two legally) and all are African-American. In this speech, she shares the story of how she and partner Kathy Hubbard (THE First Lady of Houston) came to know their son. He’s not legally adopted, but they consider him family just the same.

As the Mayor reminds us in this speech, genetics are not the only factor that determine a family. Like her and her partner, many same-sex couples are providing homes for children that may otherwise be homeless. They open their life and their family to them. It’s one of the most loving and noble acts one could ask to be done. It’s speeches like this one that make me truly proud to be a Houstonian.

Houston Politics

PPP Power: Houston Wins the Bloomberg Challenge

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As if the Art Car parade wasn’t sufficient evidence, Houstonians have proven once again that they really know how to turn today’s trash into tomorrow’s treasure. Per Mayor Annise Parker’s announcement, Houston was one of 5 cities selected (out of 305 submissions) that won the Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Mayoral Challenge. The city will receive a $1 million dollar prize to get the ‘One Bin For All’ concept rolling, along with lots of high-profile publicity from the Huffington Post. Houston was also chosen as the Fan Favorite selection (presumably for having the most number of votes from the Huffington Post website poll), and will receive another $50,000 dollar prize for that. The top prize of $5 million went to Providence, and Houston is one of 5 winners at the $1 million dollar level. Here’s more information directly from the City of Houston Press Release…

“I am thrilled that Houston has been selected as a Mayors Challenge winner,” said Mayor Parker. “One Bin for All is a first-of-its kind innovation that will revolutionize the way we handle trash, achieving high-volume recycling and waste diversion, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and lower operating costs. I am anxious to begin implementation because I know this cutting-edge technology has the potential to improve health and quality of life not only in Houston, but around the world.”

“Recycling has often been treated as an individual responsibility, like paying taxes. But Mayor Parker’s innovative One Bin For All idea turns that notion on its head,” said Michael R. Bloomberg, philanthropist and Mayor of New York City. “Achieving a 75% recycling recovery rate in Houston would represent a huge leap forward in urban sustainability practices.”

One Bin for All utilizes game-changing technology to separate trash from recyclables, allowing residents to discard all materials in one bin. The anticipated end result is a dramatic increase in the amount of waste diverted from our landfills. Implementation will be achieved through a public/private partnership.

This got me thinking about just what makes Houston a great city. Definitely at the top of the list, is the willingness of our local government to reach out to area businesses and create ground-breaking Public/Private Partnerships. One Bin For All is just the latest, high-profile example, but Houston has been an international leader in innovative “P3s”… whether they be Discovery Green Park, the Bayou Greenways Initiative, or even vital services like Houston Transtar have been achieved through P3s. It’s one reason that Houston, and so many local governments are able to make things happen. The Public/Private Partnership model spurs innovation and leads to the creation of new industries. It makes life better and more interesting for us all.

Maybe our federal leaders should come down, spend some time in Houston, and help Washington work better!!

Houston Politics

Mayor Annise Parker on the Colbert Report!

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According to Chis Moran of the Houston Chronicle, Houston Mayor Annise Parker will be on tonight’s episode of the Colbert Report. She’s slated to talk about Houston, and about being one of the nation’s most prominent openly gay politicians.

Though not at the national level, Houston Mayor Annise Parker presently serves the largest single electorate of any openly gay US politician. Though US House Representatives like Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank and Jared Polis are on the national stage, their electorate is much smaller… approximately 700,000 people. The city of Houston is over 2 million people, and has now elected mayor Parker twice. That’s a huge share of the population, especially when you consider that her electorate is in the Conservative “stronghold” of Texas.

Mayor Parker’s record could be broken this fall, as Rep. Baldwin is running for a Senate seat in Wisconsin. It’s already hotly-contested by anti-gay forces in the GOP.

But for tonight, I will definitely be watching Stephen Colbert give the fair mayor a few good laughs. I wonder if he’ll ask her about running for the US House or Senate?

(Annise Parker and her Partner Kathy Hubbard. David J. Phillip/AP)