The other day the Chron had a big piece on how state senators and state representatives spend their campaign funds on non-campaign activity. Today the Chron E-Board gets into the act and they call The Dean a “wily Houston Democrat.” Oh, well!
Everybody knows that the ‘Stros played their last regular season game at the Dome on Sunday, October 3, 1999 against the Dodgers. Who won that game?
Let me fix a Commentary omission. There are three HCC runoffs not two – sorry.
For those that are wondering about a Dave Wilson and HCC Trustee Herlinda Garcia connection, go the HCC website, to the Board of Trustees page, then to the campaign reports link, then search Garcia and link to her 30 day report. He gave her $1,000.
Kuffer has a good take on the runoffs and I urge you to go check him out.
Lisa Falkenberg has a column today on Dave Wilson and Wilson does his best to make himself look likable. I don’t know about that.
Today the Chron E-Board lays out their endorsements again for HCC. Here it is:
Voters in three Houston Community College districts have choices to make in the Dec. 7 runoff elections that will have an impact far beyond their district lines.
Their votes will essentially chart the course going forward for this vitally important educational and economic engine.
Will it be more of the same old, same old – an insider’s game favoring family, friends and political supporters over progress?
Or will it be a commitment to make the HCC system the jobs engine that will ensure Houston’s continuing economic vitality?
Voters in Districts 1, 3 and 5 will have a large say about the make-up of the nine-member Board of Trustees, which is facing vital decisions including the choice of a new chancellor and a second-in-command to oversee the disposition of $425 million in improvements funded by HCC’s successful 2012 bond election.
We recommend a vote for the following candidates:
Zeph Capo is the clear choice for voters in District 1, the northside district that has been extended to include the impoverished Gulfton neighborhood in southwest Houston. For far too long, this district has been harmed by the old-style, pay-to-play politics of the incumbent. Capo has pledged to make ethics and board transparency priorities in his board service. We also like his understanding of the central role of HCC in providing a path to well-paying employment in our high-growth sectors.
Adriana Tamez is our choice to finish an unexpired term in District 3. As with District 1, the incumbent chosen by the board as a placeholder plays old-style politics that harm prospects for constituents in this majority-minority area. Tamez, a Denver Harbor native, holds graduate degrees in educational administration from the University of Houston and the University of Texas at Austin. Her involvement as an elementary teacher and principal, and as a founding member of the Raul Yzaguirre Charter School give her an on-the-ground perspective that will prove invaluable at the board level.
Robert Glaser is our choice to fill an open seat in District 5, which is in the Rice/Southampton/West University area. As the owner of a small business, Glaser would bring a keen understanding of the needs of businesses for disciplined, well-trained employees. There may be no more compelling mission for HCC than providing workers for good-paying technical and mechanical jobs in our energy and medical sectors. Glaser gets it.
The runoff results assume even greater significance following the unexpected loss of veteran board member and current chairman Bruce Austin in the November election to David Wilson, a maverick Democrat and perennial candidate whose bizarre campaign tactics we will discuss in a future editorial. Suffice to say, the loss of Austin creates a gap in institutional memory going back three decades, as well as a much-needed tone of seriousness about the institution’s direction and goals.
It is not overstatement to suggest that the Houston Community College System stands at a turning point. The leadership choices will have an impact across the region and reaching far into the future.
I don’t want to say much about the much ballyhooed signing of Ed Reed earlier this year.
The ‘Stros beat the Dodgers 9-4 in the last regular season game played at the Dome back in 1999.
The ‘Stros better not even think about trading Jason Castro.
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