Run Bill, Run!

Bill White, current three-term mayor of Houston, announced last week that he has scrapped plans to run for Kay Bailey Hutchison's yet-to-be-vacated Senate seat, and has decided instead to run for governor of Texas. As a newcomer to Texas, I have only recently become familiar with Bill White. I read a fascinating and impressive profile of him in Texas Monthly that turned me into an instant fan.

Bill White posted a video on line in which he lays out the issues he plans to focus on in the campaign:



What a breath of fresh air versus the politics as usual that we've seen recently from the other serious candidates running for governor. White refrains from attacking other candidates, directly or indirectly. The only allusion he makes to other candidates or the race itself is when he predicts that negative ads will be forthcoming from his opponents.

Rather than attacks or political posturing, White gets right down to some substantial issues in this short announcement video. His overall point is that he wants Texas to be a leader in innovation and opportunity for the rest of the nation. He mentions several obstacles to achieving this, that presumably he would address as governor: Texas' high dropout rates, increasing insurance and utility costs for Texas families, lack of health insurance for kids, and higher-education tuition increases. I'm left wondering, however, how much of this White can address if he is elected to the position of one of the weakest governors in the nation. I wonder also whether White can successfully make the adjustment from his current position as a strong mayor, to that of weak governor.

As neither a Republican nor a Democrat, I tend to vote based on the merits of an individual candidate. Bill White's record as mayor of Houston is more impressive to me than anything I've seen from the other candidates for governor. Considering the dismal record of Democrats vying for statewide office in Texas over the last 15 years, White's chances don't look very good. Bill White has my vote, and if he can win over enough of the non-affiliated voters like me, who now make up the majority of the Texas electorate, maybe he'll have a shot after all.