RE: http://www.itemonline.com/local/local_story_114005917.html

(For those of you that don't want to read the whole thing, vote for Williams, Baggett, and Lanny Ray.)

Thanks for the riveting blow-by-blow on the dress code discussion. For those of you not in attendance, be advised, more substantive issues were discussed. For instance:

• Teacher retention
  
• Student retention
  
• HISD performance on standardized tests
  
• Teacher attendance and job satisfaction
  
• Teacher pay and benefits
  
• Working atmosphere for teachers and staff
  
• Transportation plans
  
• Quality of life issues for the community (environmental issues)
  
• TIRZ and other corporate welfare
  
• proposed water plant expenditures
  
• City employee retirement insurance and benefits
  
• candidates vision for Huntsville and Walker County
  
• lack of open government in Huntsville
  
• the need for youth activities
  
• City debt and revenue
  
• and more

Here's my take on the candidates (none of whom I'd met before):
School Board
Position 4

Fisher - He's a jailer and sounds like a strict one. It's all about discipline and authority. I guess that's good when working with inmates, but maybe not so good for the kiddies. I did like him though.

Williams - Articulate. Smart. Kind. Open. Thought about what the citizens had expressed when she voted against the dress code. Listens to the people. Understands that much more than a dress code will be needed to create a good environment for teachers and students.

Position 5

Keeler - Another discipline bent, top-down style manager. He's only been here two years. He said if he doesn't win, he might be a substitute teacher here. I think he should do that and learn more about us before he sits on the board.

Green - He's not interested in representative government. It's about what he wants and thinks and what others can convince him to believe. He wants teachers to be enforcers. As he said "It's part of their job."
None of the teachers I know want to be "enforcers" they want to be teachers. HISD is not TDCJ. Parenthetically, he doesn't do his own laundry which may indicate classic and perhaps inflexible gender role stereotypes.

Baggett - Logical and smart. Discipline with a soft edge and practical approach. I can't exactly put my finger on it, but she was very impressive. A natural leader. Knowledgeable and thorough.

It was clear that Baggett and Williams knew that the dress code was not going to fix what ails HISD. Teachers and students are fleeing the less than fulfilling environment there. Both Baggett and Williams expressed a concern for the morale of our teachers/staff. They both felt that employee compensation packages were just one factor in increasing job satisfaction, quality teacher recruitment and high retention rates for HISD.

City council
Zender and Templeton-Mahaffey didn't show up.
Generally, the city council candidates agreed with everything every other candidate said. Sweet and congenial, all of them.

Position 3

Forbus - Unopposed, but still showed up. Extra points for him. Had some great ideas about the water plant. Namely let TDCJ pay for it. Pointed out the TRA owns the water plant and will continue to even if we sink millions into it. Retired from AT&T. Was he spying on us?

Position 4

Lanny Ray - Great speaker. Funny. Smart. Not sure we need more water right now. Wants open government and judicious use of TIRZ and 380. Disagreed with using tax breaks to develop what was our most marketable property. Good point. That property would have been developed without tax breaks. He was for the Weatherford welfare.
Not totally against it myself, but with the dismal state of HISD can we afford to prop up pipe making jobs at the cost of teacher's salaries? I'd like to know if the completed Phase II at Weatherford actually created the 10-20 jobs with average salaries of $40,000/year as projected. Does anyone go back and check?

Ray Martin - Nice guy, but unimpressive. Thinks because his water is brown when he first turns it on, the city water is bad. I think his own pipes are bad. Concerned about getting more housing in the area for all income brackets.

None of the candidates in attendance knew about the Gulf Coast Strategic Highway or that the city and county have been dumping tens of thousands of dollars into lobbing efforts for it. They weren't asked specifically, but in response to a different question, I think all the candidates mumbled something about being against the Trans-Texas Corridor. Fisher was the first and loudest voice of opposition to the TTC with the others chiming in after him all at the same time. On that count alone, Fisher would be a good school board member.

So to sum up, I'd go with the two ladies, Williams and Baggett, on the school board, but Fisher might not be bad. For city council position 4 it's Lanny Ray. His opponent has "Ray" in his name, too. So I suggest you "Look for Lanny."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Oh Really?,