2005 Race for Houston Mayor: Bill White (i) speaks to Houston Business Connections publisher Aubrey R. Taylor Bill White,
Candidate for City Of Houston Mayor TAYLOR: Tell us in 200 words or less why Houstonians should vote for your candidacy? MAYOR WHITE: Over the last two years, we've worked hard together to make our city even better. Thousands of new jobs and significant corporate relocations have come to Houston. A detailed and comprehensive plan for ending our flooding and drainage problems has been put into place. Traffic congestion has been drastically curtailed, with commute times being reduced as much as 20%. Our government is now more efficient, while funding for important services like our Police and Fire Departments has been increased. I want to continue to fight hard for what's important to our city, including revitalizing some of our most blighted neighborhoods with Project Houston Hope. Project Houston Hope is aimed at cleaning neighborhoods and combating urban blight. Abandoned properties will no longer serve as magnets for crime and life threatening accidents. We want the community to know we are serious about protecting neighborhoods from these conditions. Overall, the quality of life in Houston is improving with more parks and libraries, fewer accidents, and less flooding. I look forward to having the opportunity to work with you to improve Houston even more. TAYLOR: Tell us in 100 words or less about your greatest strength? MAYOR WHITE: Probably my greatest strength is the strength and depth of resources of this incredible city. Through building active partnerships with community leaders, other governments and corporate citizens utilizing these resources, I can effectively address the problems facing our great city. TAYLOR: In your opinion how important is good leadership in times of crisis? Is there anything you would have done differently in responding to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita? MAYOR WHITE: The strong working relationship I share with Judge Eckels and county government officials and leaders in government from surrounding jurisdictions was imperative to successful implementation of safety procedures. Our duty is to work together to address the dangers our city faces, setting aside political differences and exerting our leadership to protect and serve the citizens who elected us. The unfortunate occurrences of Katrina and Rita have given us the opportunity to realistically evaluate the emergency response procedures our city has in place. I have appointed a task force and we are meeting with leaders in the region to assess the current emergency procedures and make recommendations for change based on these recent experiences. We are going to address the problems head-on and come up with viable solutions. TAYLOR: On a scale of (1 to 10) how would you rate our city's response to the recent national disaster? MAYOR WHITE: Our city responded appropriately to Katrina and Rita both in safety precautions taken and in aid rendered to our neighbors after these devastating events. The evacuation that occurred in response to hurricane Rita reduced the risk of loss of thousands of lives. While many things went well, a number of things did not. The state's procedures to facilitate the increase flow of traffic outside our city as well as ensuring sufficient fuel along evacuation routes were not successful. Consequently, too many people evacuating were caught in gridlock. The resolution of these problems, which aren't within the control of local officials, will be the focus of the task force that the Governor, Judge Eckels and I have appointed. | 
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