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Old 09-01-2009, 01:57 PM
 
Location: San Antonio-Westover Hills
6,884 posts, read 20,402,237 times
Reputation: 5176

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So let me see if I have this right. The City Controller, who is in charge of the budget, who just announced that the City will soon be in debt in what looks to be the "millions of dollars" range...is running for Mayor?


Help me with this.

Please.
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Old 09-01-2009, 06:03 PM
 
344 posts, read 1,186,970 times
Reputation: 280
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs View Post
So let me see if I have this right. The City Controller, who is in charge of the budget, who just announced that the City will soon be in debt in what looks to be the "millions of dollars" range...is running for Mayor?


Help me with this.

Please.
The comptroller is in charge of the budget in the same way a CPA is in charge of a company's budget. She certifies if funds are available, oversees audits to make sure that expenditures comply with governing legislation, etc. But she has no vote on what's in the budget. Since she has no role in deciding what the city spends money on, only that when it makes those purchases it does them legally and ethically, she is in the perfect position to play "protector of the treasury". It looks really good when you have lots of audits and find waste all over the place. Why, if you can find it, then you must certainly be smart enough to run the city and eliminate all waste! At least that's the logic that is used in this scenario.

This is a political play that has been staged before. In the late 70's and early 80's, Kathy Whitmire was the controller and she became mayor by running on her record as controller and against Jim McConn's not-so-strictly business-like way of running the city. She was all about "running the city like a business" and became mayor for ten years as a result. Personally, I think Whitmire did a good job of devastating many city departments and functions.

The Controller to Mayor path is not a sure one. It can be screwed up. Lloyd Kelley somehow managed to get elected to council and kept his mouth shut long enough to switch over to Controller in the 90's. He was lining up to make a shot for mayor when he finally outwitted himself. He managed to shoot himself in the foot several times, came out looking pretty much like an ass, and then was the new chew toy of the month for the media. His political career went down in flames before he could get control over anything really important. Thank God for that miracle.

If this one runs out like the 80's, and all the other elections with similar issues, and if Anise Parker gets elected; it will be on the "I'm the broom that will sweep out the rascals who are wasting your tax-dollars" campaign scheme. And, if it continues to play out, we will come to find out that Anise Parker is just another politician, as was Whitmire. Just like all of them.

If we ran all the politicians out of town, and randomly selected people to hold political office, I think we would probably save ourselves a lot of money and heartache. There could be like a Devil's Island for politicians and they could spend the rest of their days arguing, making mountains out of molehills, backstabbing and telling lies. The good part is they wouldn't be playing games with our tax dollars.

And if you don't like the Devil's Island idea, I guess we just kick them out of office and they can sink to whatever level they can attain in the real world. Last I heard, Kathy Whitmire is living with some real estate con-artist in Hawaii. Lloyd Kelley is an attorney, was a mover in the "Clarence Bradford for D.A." campaign, and was the guy who threw the poo in the fan that wound up all over Chuck Rosenthal. Amazing coincidence that he's one of Bradford's best friends and he managed to light the fuse of the blast that kicked Rosenthal out of what appeared to be an unassailable office just in time for Clarence to start his campaign.

Edit to add: I don't have anything against Anise Parker, she might be the second coming of our Lord for all I know. But I'm willing to bet a round of drinks that she's just another politician - better than some and worse than others but a politician all the same.

I prefer Absolut and tonic with a twist please.

Last edited by DrLizardo; 09-01-2009 at 06:54 PM..
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Old 09-01-2009, 06:21 PM
 
Location: Houston, Texas
1,668 posts, read 4,706,115 times
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I always wondered where Kathy Whitmire went. She kind of vanished.
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Old 09-01-2009, 08:16 PM
 
Location: ✶✶✶✶
15,216 posts, read 30,549,686 times
Reputation: 10851
I'm now officially running for mayor. Get the vote out.
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Old 09-01-2009, 08:34 PM
 
Location: Katy, TX
1,288 posts, read 4,936,309 times
Reputation: 631
Quote:
Originally Posted by jfre81 View Post
I'm now officially running for mayor. Get the vote out.
I'll vote for ya. Oh wait, I don't live in Houston technically, so I can't. *whew*
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Old 09-01-2009, 08:39 PM
 
Location: San Antonio-Westover Hills
6,884 posts, read 20,402,237 times
Reputation: 5176
So we got an offer we couldn't refuse. We close Sept 30 and are officially moving to SA that very night.

*sniff* and *yay*!
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Old 09-01-2009, 08:45 PM
 
Location: Charleston Sc and Western NC
9,273 posts, read 26,489,277 times
Reputation: 4741
COngrats M2F!!! So are you moving to old SA or to an MPC? LOL.
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Old 09-02-2009, 05:23 AM
 
Location: California
10,090 posts, read 42,410,939 times
Reputation: 22175
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mom2Feebs View Post
So we got an offer we couldn't refuse. We close Sept 30 and are officially moving to SA that very night.

*sniff* and *yay*!
Congrats on the offer! Sorry to see you go...but hey, you can come back and "visit" anytime!
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Old 09-02-2009, 07:00 AM
 
Location: San Antonio-Westover Hills
6,884 posts, read 20,402,237 times
Reputation: 5176
Quote:
Originally Posted by EasilyAmused View Post
COngrats M2F!!! So are you moving to old SA or to an MPC? LOL.

We're going with NISD, so the northwest/west side is where we're looking. Still within 1604 and SA city limits, LOL! Braun Heights, Braun Hollow, Westover Forest, Legacy Trails. I'm excited...but what is really awesome is the Farmer's Market at the old Pearl Brewery! I cannot WAIT to see that...I will miss Rice Epicurean so much though!
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Old 09-02-2009, 07:30 AM
 
Location: Charleston Sc and Western NC
9,273 posts, read 26,489,277 times
Reputation: 4741
I love that Brewery Place. Neat area with the old oaks all around.
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