Part One: Sylvester Turner, a long-time politician with a penchant for consolidating power and resources to himself.
Sylvester Turner has been a member of the Texas House of Representatives for over 25 years, a point that he makes repeatedly on his campaign website, at debates and in his stump speeches. This is viewed, by many, to be his primary qualification for Mayor of Houston, whether or not legislative membership as a member of the minority party (Texas Democrats have a minimal presence in the Texas House) qualifies one for executive office is up for debate, but it's his calling card and he's smart enough to run with it.
On almost every issue on his campaign site, Turner references his "fighting" in the Texas Legislature for something similar over the years, in other cases he offers what appear to be massive spending increases without a clearly identified funding mechanism....
Road to the Future: (his signature plan)
"One of the key lessons I have learned during my years of legislative service is just how well transparent, accountable business incentive funding can work to grow jobs in a community. I have consistently advocated for well-crafted incentive programs at the state level"24 Hour Road Repairs:
The ReBuild Houston infrastructure initiative is projected to generate at least $125 million annually for the city, with available revenues increasing as existing debt is paid off. Though the prospects for the continuation of ReBuild Houston are now in question, it is clear that Houstonians have reached a consensus that we must have a secure, stable and adequate source of funding for infrastructure. Within that infrastructure funding mechanism – whether it is ReBuild Houston or a replacement – we must allocate adequate funding to our short-term repair needs.
Partners in Safety:
Increase the number of HPD officers to 6,000 by 2020. Our police department is severely understaffed, with personnel numbers close to what they were a decade ago, despite Houston’s substantial population growth. I will fight to ensure we have enough officers to meet the needs of today’s Houston.
Partners in Learning:
As a state legislator, I have consistently fought for the full amount of funding that our schools need and are owed. For the past several years, hundreds of Texas school districts — including Houston-area districts Clear Creek ISD, Crosby ISD, Cypress-Fairbanks ISD, Fort Bend ISD, Houston ISD, Huffman ISD, Humble ISD, Katy ISD, Klein ISD, New Caney ISD, Pasadena ISD, Sheldon ISD and Spring Branch ISD — have been in court seeking the basic funding support that the State of Texas owes our students.
Economic Opportunity:
That’s why Sylvester has proposed his Road to the Future initiative to provide job training, employment matching and small-business assistance through investments in roads and infrastructure. Making an investment in our people will uphold the highest values of our city — and better position us for future economic success. Click here to read the plan.
And so on....
It's pretty clear that, if elected Mayor, Turner is going to do some things almost immediately.
Push for a vote regarding an appeal of the voter-approved revenue cap. For Turner's plans to be funded he HAS to push for this. There's no way, under the existing revenue limitations (as pillow-soft as they are) he's going to be able to implement all of his plans.
Immediately propose property tax increases on certain groups: Not groups that make up his core constituency mind you, but businesses and the "wealthier" parts of town. Turner needs to markedly increase the city's revenue stream if any of his plans are going to come to fruition.
Increase the city's lobbying presence in the Texas Legislature: As a creature of the Texas Lege, Turner understands the power that it holds over certain things that he wishes to do. Many of his policies (education, road funding, etc.) will not move forward if the city does not receive additional funding from the State. Turner has stated, on Twitter and in forums, that this will be key to his Mayoral agenda.
Governing Style: It is not clear that Turner, as a legislature, possesses the leadership qualities necessary to thrive in a strong-mayor form of government. If anything the guess is that he's going to have to grow into the job over time. Because of this I expect there will be fits and starts in his first term. He will make missteps and will be forced to back-track on several of his initiatives because he doesn't seem to have the political chops to force them through.
Also of concern is the rather monochromatic theme of his campaign site, and campaign materials. For over 25 years now Turner has catered to, and courted, a single demographic. While he bemoans the fact that Houstonians appear to vote along racial lines (something that we see in most of the country) he doesn't appear to be branching out beyond his own target demographic except for in rhetoric. Can he broaden his scope? That is unclear based on his history to this point.
What is clear is that Turner would govern as a progressive, although probably not a Progressive. The lower case "p" is important. Turner supports ReBuild Houston because he understands the value of having a large slush-fund to dole out to winning parties in a strong-mayor form of government. He is not unique in this. He will push for increased public-private partnerships, tax abatements and other items such as increased minimum wage to forward progressive economic goals. He is a staunch supporter of HER Ordinance, and will work to pass a new ordinance should the original one be voted down. However, Turner's long experience in the Legislature has taught him at least where the boundaries lie. I don't see him overreaching until his last term, if elected to such, then all bets are off.
Of biggest concern should be Turner's political patronage to State. Senator John Whitmire. The latter is highly vested in the pension negotiations that Turner is expected to oversee. Turner and Whitmire are increasingly tied at the political hip so it will bear watching what, if any, impact this relationship have on Turner's policy proposals.
On transportation issues Turner has not shown a propensity to lead. His rhetoric basically mimics the New Urbanist orthodoxy that already controls the debate. He is a proponent of so-called "multi-modal" transportation, complete streets and an increased reliance on hike and bike paths. While he tries to walk the fine-line between fixing pot-holes and building more at-grade rail, his comments are largely in favor of the latter. Expect his Metro appointments to be roughly the same as Mayor Parkers.
In tone Turner will represent a marked change from the current Mayor. He is much more polished a public figure, although not an especially gifted orator. As a member of the Legislature he was forced to co-exist with a large majority that possessed a different political make-up. It's unclear whether or not he is a talented enough, and humble enough, politician to treat the minority with respect in Houston. Parker, due in part to her generally elevated sense of self, has not mastered this skill and often speaks to those in opposition with her in dismissive tones.
If he is going to succeed, Turner will have to be better than that. It's unclear, at this point, whether or not he will succeed.
