I have been privileged to be accepted into this year’s class of the American Leadership Forum. One of the adventures I will be sharing with 25 other Houston leaders is a wilderness trip to Colorado. So, I’ll be completely unplugged – savoring nature with hikes and mountain climbs. Look forward to more blogging when I […]
Continue reading →When we established Term Limits for the Houston City Council, we had Council Members who had been serving in office for decades. It seemed like the only way we could move them would be to limit their terms. There was much enthusiasm about the idea. When a person has been serving on Council for 30 […]
Continue reading →As promised, we’ll continue to assess term limits this week. The last post focused on the conjunction of term limits and city budgets. Today, let’s discuss rapid administration changes. Prior to term limits, Mayors would definitely replace officials from the previous administration – both staff and appointed – with their own choices. They would frequently […]
Continue reading →In 1991, Houston voters adopted Term Limits. It took another election cycle to truly remove the long-term Council Members due to a loophole that grandfathered them. However, by the 1993 cycle we began to see new blood on City Council. The first group of term-limited Council Members was very outspoken, engaged and active. Some of […]
Continue reading →Alas, the Texas Legislature has tackled redistricting this Session with the same approach they have used on the budget and school finance – with little regard for the consequences. Redistricting has been a favorite topic of this blogger for some time. Last year, I published a series on redistricting that explained the process and the […]
Continue reading →Just when you thought it was safe again, the Texas Legislature reconvenes. They didn’t even take a day off from their tireless end of Session rush. The reason – School Finance. Now the rhetoric moves to a whole new level of noise. The decibels are increasing by the moment. Some claim that the reason they […]
Continue reading →Really? Why would Ponderings write about Oprah? I know that is what you are thinking. Allow me to explain. Let’s not forget that the author of this Blog teaches Women in Politics and is extremely dedicated to the empowerment of women. Oprah took this cause to all new levels. First, she empowered herself. She overcame […]
Continue reading →Most of us believe that government is failing to govern well. At the federal level, we blame “partisan gridlock” and with good reason. A Democratic President strives to build consensus with a Republican House and a narrowly Democratic Senate. They constantly bog down in conflict and struggle to govern together. What is our excuse in […]
Continue reading →Dearest Children: We truly do have your best interests at heart. We know you are the future of Texas and we want the very best for you. Part of growing up is learning how to survive in tough times. Many of your families have faced economic challenges over the last few years. We know that […]
Continue reading →The City and County have been steadily handing out “pink slips” for the last few months. Each have been laying off employees, eliminating positions through attrition, and overall trimming their staffs to balance budgets. Government jobs are not as easy to eliminate as in the private sector. Due to the lower pay of most of […]
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