This is the offending billboard in question:
It's a doozy, and hardly a "safety" message when you consider the main focus is Turner, with the actual "alerthouston.org" site being hidden at the bottom in tiny text.
But that's becoming the norm for Dear Leader, an old-style boss of the machine type ruler who has taken to resorting to threats when challenged and whose communication staff plays out more like a compliance brigade who doesn't want to have to associate with the little people (Too good to fly coach Ms. Benton, seriously?) or a SWAT team out to punch down to citizens on any out of official lock-step statement. When they're not swooning over how great a leader *snicker* they find Turner to be.
Meanwhile, Dear Leader (Boss) Sylvester Turner is crying poor on one hand while gifting $400 Million in unreviewed contracts to his patronage.
Nothing to see here, move along, nothing to see.That's right, pay your taxes, go about your business. And if Dear Leader (Boss) Turner has anything to say about it you'll be paying a LOT more in taxes as the years go forward. After a lifetime in politics, he's got a lot of political patrons who are starting to wonder when they'll get their space in the Houston taxpayer trough.
Here's the thing. He's going to be re-elected, although probably by a slim margin, he will probably even have to go to a run-off against either Bill King or Tony Buzbee, possibly current Council member Dwight Boykins should he decided to run. Given his delusions of grandeur he's going to take that narrow victory and he, and his courtiers, are going to claim a mandate to basically increase taxes on homeowners and business until their eyes start bleeding.
He's not going to do this for public safety (although he'll frame it as such) and he's not going to do it to improve Houston. He's going to do it because he's got a LOT of political chits that need to be paid. He'll then go back to the law firm that he worked for prior to his obtaining the Mayoral seat (You know, the one he's currently paying Millions to in excess of prior Mayors?) and live comfortably for the rest of his life on the largesse that he's provided himself.
His hope will be that the next Mayor is a member of the machine, and that they will continue the status quo that he started. To ensure this he'll engage the media, "activists" and any unions still loyal to him to ensure the "correct" person is elected as his successor.
That's how machine politics work, and we're seeing an example of a new Houston Political Machine rising as we speak. The creepy part about this one is the Dear Leader treatment of the current Boss.
In some ways that could portend worse things to come.
The leadership vacuum grows.
