InsideOut at City Hall Surprises, Socializing, and Solidarity Some observations on life at City Hall by a bemused three-term council member by Annise D. Parker Houston City Council at-large

Editor’s note: This article is the debut of a monthly column by Annise Parker, who is just beginning her third term in City Council, and was Houston’s first openly gay city councilperson. We were delighted when Parker came to OutSmart and offered to share her insights into the intriguing jumble that we call city politics.

I was asked to "let my hair down" for this column. Those who know me know that’s physically impossible, but I’ll give it a metaphoric try and describe what council feels like from my perspective. In future columns, I’ll try to give an insider’s take on current events.

I remember my first impressions four years ago –the mayor’s incredible power (granted by city charter), the number of decisions we have to make in a very short time, and conversely, the slowness of the process. Another surprise was that council members almost never interacted with one another away from the council table. And the council table, in council or in committee meetings, is a very public place. Every utterance is videotaped and broadcast, often live, on the Municipal Channel. (Careful what you’re doing when the camera pans the room!) The press is usually there as well, alert for controversy or stupid comments.

Our city charter has the most restrictive public meetings statute in the state. We can’t have executive sessions (private meetings) of council, even to consult with the city attorney on pending lawsuits. They must be conducted one-on-one. And, according to state law, individual council members are even not supposed to meet privately to discuss agenda items with each other!

We are allowed to socialize with each other; however, at the beginning of my first term, no one did except at official functions. On our officially non-partisan council, the seven Republicans decided to address this by having breakfast meetings as the "R7." Public backlash against this partisan caucusing was so strong that the idea was dropped.

The three women on council (Martha Wong, Jean Kelly, and I) got together with City Controller Sylvia Garcia for lunch a couple of times. But we weren’t consistent about it.

State legislators are notorious for their socializing. U.S. representatives spend a dozen hours a week attending the same banquets and a dozen more hours ironing out the details of members’ bills in committees and private meetings.

For better or worse, Houston City Council is not a true legislative body. We’re policymakers in a strong mayoral system. The mayor has all the administrative authority. Unlike Congress, we don’t have attorneys at our disposal to draft legislation with our name on it. We have 10 council committees, but ordinances are written by the Legal Department at the request of the mayor, a department head or a committee with the mayor’s consent. We joke about LOL (Lost in Legal). Our negotiations are with the administration.

Council members do get an overwhelming number of public socializing opportunities. In a city of two million constituents, every major or minor group wants to meet the new council member. The good news is that we are invited to everything. The bad news is that we are expected to attend. Not much time for a personal life. There is an old joke that politicians will attend the opening of an envelope. The truth is that there are groups that would invite us for that! One learns to distinguish the "must attends" from the "maybes," the "oh, my Gods," and the "want to attends."

My second term began with only one other female council member, Carol Galloway. Several of my new male colleagues had been hunting buddies whose adventures won them the nickname "Brat Pack." They had great camaraderie and often joined together on votes in a show of support. Unfortunately, too many nights out drinking led to a DWI for one and a highly publicized sex sandal involving his wife and one of his colleagues. The Brat Pack broke up.

As the term ended, two council members challenged the mayor for the top post. Cirque du Soleil would have had trouble balancing term-limit politics, partisanship, personal conflicts, and professional civility. Let me just say that we fell off the high wire occasionally.

Fortunately, the 2001 election changed the atmosphere. Now we have a new council and new dynamics. In early January, council member Galloway and I hosted a welcome lunch for our four new female colleagues at Brennan’s. (Apologies to council member Michael Berry, my only new male colleague.) It definitely took two council members to pay this tab. Ask me some other time what happened when CM Galloway and I accidentally got each other’s American Express cards and didn’t know it for several days. My new colleagues were excited, prepared, and genuinely cordial to one another. Yes! Six of 15 council votes. Not just a handful among hundreds of legislators, but almost half of council. We won’t vote as one, but we will work together and continue to meet.

Council member Addie Wiseman can handle any crowd. The former stand-up comic (and Robb Todd aide) is quiet but assertive. And levelheaded. Her first act on council was to give all the female members a gold flyswatter to use on the "boys."

Council member Dr. Shelley Sekula-Rodriguez is eager to apply her expertise to improving the Health Department, perhaps the city’s most under-funded department. We definitely need a Health Department to Standard program, much like the Parks and Neighborhoods to Standard initiatives.

Carol Alvarado, former executive mayoral aide, now represents District I. Her experience gives her a head start. Add her energy and thoroughness, and her East End district is well-served.

Many of you may have already met new District D council member Ada Edwards. She began her term calmly and deliberatively with her usual can-do attitude. She immediately convened civic club presidents from all across the district, which includes Montrose, in an effort to unite the sometimes combative ends of the diverse district and improve district services.

I’m enjoying the new dynamics at council meetings. During the heated debate over the naming rights study, council member Wiseman asked how the city could consider selling advertising or naming rights for city facilities when we try to teach our children that name brands are not that important, not worth hurting someone over a fancy pair of celebrity tennis shoes. Wiseman and I both ended up on the losing side of that vote (8 to 7). The city will go ahead and spend $40,000 to study selling ads and naming rights. But throughout the discussion council members conducted themselves as if their children were indeed watching.

I begin my final council term chairing two major council committees: Fiscal Affairs, and Neighborhood Protection and Quality of Life. For the next few months, Fiscal Affairs will spend much of its time on the budget process and city finances so that council members, especially new colleagues, will be ready to tackle the mayor’s $2.5 billion budget when it’s presented in May. We are also expected to debate the naming rights study when it’s finished. Neighborhood Protection will discuss ordinances pertaining to trees and shrubs, historic preservation, dumpsters, and valet parking.

Please e-mail (annise.parker@cityofhouston.net) or call my office (713/247-2014) if you have a problem with city services or would like to receive a committee agenda or e-mail newsletter. My city council website is www.ci.houston.tx.us/citygovt/council/1/. (Note to OutSmart readers: I tried to let my hair down a bit in the Neighborhood Network section.)