A glimpse inside Houston's mayoral race
With a little more than a month until election day, four mayoral candidates debated with each other at the Rice Memorial Center Wednesday night.
The hour-long mayoral debate, entitled "The Latino Voice," was hosted by the Houston Association of Hispanic Media Professionals and the Office of Multicultural and Community Relations within the Office of Public Affairs. Candidates Peter Brown, Gene Locke, Roy Morales and Annise Parker (Jones '78) fielded questions from a media panel made up of members of the local Hispanic press and moderator Art Rascon, from ABC-KTRK television station.
Candidates had 30 seconds to two minutes to answer each question from the panel as well as a question posed by another candidate.
Among the dozen students in attendance was Myles Bugbee, president of Rice Young Democrats, who said the debate was a great opportunity for students to meet the candidates.
"We really think Rice students are challenging the stereotype of political apathy on campus," Bugbee, a Hanszen College sophomore, said.
Kevin Bush, vice president of Rice Young Democrats, said the candidates could have touched on issues that would affect the Rice campus, such as the expansion of Houston's METRO light-rail system and job creation.
"It's difficult for Rice students to get engaged in a Houston-specific political race because I think a lot of them aren't registered to vote here," he said. "Nonetheless, it's still important for Rice students to at least learn about Houston politics."
 | Peter BrownHouston City CouncilMember On whether law enforcement should be involved in enforcing immigration: There will be no racial profiling and no discriminatory policing. The Houston Police Department has its hands full in enforcing the law and fighting and preventing crime. However, we need to cooperate with other agencies and law enforcement like the Harris County Sheriff 's office and ICE to deal with criminal activity. On tax increases during his term as mayor: No. I believe we can do more with less. In the solid waste department, we cut their budget 4 percent, and they're actually doing more. |
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| Roy MoralesHarris County Dept.of Education Trustee On whether law enforcement should be involved in enforcing immigration: I will not allow any police officer to profile a hard-working, law-abiding citizen, but I will allow HPD to enforce the immigration law under the 287 G program. On tax increases during his term as mayor: No. I will not raise taxes; in fact, I am going to lower your taxes. We're going to do that by effective audits in every department. I am also going to lead by example and take a pay cut, and am also going to make sure every senior executive level in the departments takes a pay cut as well. |
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| Gene LockePartner, Andrews Kurth LLPOn whether law enforcement should be involved in enforcing immigration: I don't believe it is appropriate for our police department to make inquires of immigration status at a stop. I do believe that once the person is arrested and in custody you would run a check on citizenship just as you would run a check on outstanding warrants. On tax increases during his term as mayor: No. |
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| Annise ParkerCity of HoustonComptroller On whether law enforcement should be involved in enforcing immigration: I would not authorize any police officer to ask anyone on the street on their normal course of their duty [about] their immigration status. If, however, you are arrested and taken into custody, you should expect to have that question asked and have your immigration status fully investigated. On tax increases during her term as mayor: No. I don't think there will be a tax increase, and the city of Houston has just done a 1-percent, across-the-board cut. We are also delaying hirings and big-ticket purchases, including the purchases of three helicopters for the police department. |
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