The Do-Something City Council
New council lineup will help new mayor
Sure, they've not been sworn in yet, and yes ... John Williams is hardly a muckraker when it comes to journalists. But the point remains that this new version of city council could and should be a bit more cooperative than was teh case during the Brown years.
With Toni Lawrence in place of Bruce Tatro, Pam Holm in place of Bert Keller, M Khan in place of Mark Ellis, and Adrian Garcia in place of Gabe Vasquez, the tendency will be to favor cooperation. Battle lines may evolve over time, but White's own win has something to say about that. You'll recall he won with over 60%. That means a lot of support that voted for the aforementioned newcomers also voted for Bill White, as Rice Prof. Bob Stein points out. Williams gives a hefty rundown on areas where Sanchez's erosion of support was most notable, also:
Kingwood: 90% in 2001 - 66% in 2003
Tanglewood/River Oaks: 81% in 2001 - 46% in 2003
Westheimer/Hiway 6: 82% in 2001 - 56% in 2003
Denver Harbor: 79% in 2001 - 45% in 2003
Also noted: Anglo vote split somewhat evenly, favoring Sanchez, yet Hispanic voters went for White to the tune of 55%
PILE-ON: (Via Kuff) The Chronicle has two Op/Ed peices offering their advice, also:
OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS: And Mayor-elect White holds the door key
Much to do, so little time, Mr. White