This is what you call a poorly kept secret.
State Rep. Sylvester Turner
Just three months after Annise Parker captured a final term as mayor, a major contender has declared his desire to succeed her in the City of Houston’s top job.
“You know I’ve had my challenges. I’ve come through them,” said State Representative Sylvester Turner.
In what can only be viewed as a warning shot aimed at other potential candidates Turner has let his intentions be known. The well regarded 25 year veteran of the Texas Legislature believes his key role writing and balancing state budgets equips him well to tackle Houston’s financial challenges.
At age 60, Turner stands ready to make his case.
“They have to believe that you will be there for this city, not for any one group, not for any one class of individuals, but you will be there for your love of this city. If you can’t convince them that what drives you most of all is your love for the city and your ability to move this city forward in a positive direction. Than you failed the test,” said Turner in an interview with Fox 26.
Barring a reversal of course this will be Turner’s third run for the Mayor’s office having narrowly lost to Bob Lanier in 1991 and later to Bill White in 2003. Having recently played a critical role in securing more than $300 million in additional funding for the state’s mentally challenged Turner believes it’s time to bring his consensus building back to the Bayou City.
Those of us that pay too much attention to this sort of thing have been hearing Turner’s name for awhile now. Makes sense for him to try again now if he’s still got a desire to be Mayor, as there’s no clear frontrunner to inherit the job from Mayor Parker. I’m sure he’ll make a strong contender, and I’m also sure no one who thinks he or she would make a strong contender themselves will concede the field to him. I have no doubt it will make for a great race next year once it gets going, but I’m with Texpatriate: it’s too damn early to start thinking about it. We haven’t even begun early voting for the primaries, for crying out loud. I’ll make note of it when someone makes an announcement, even if it’s just an “I’m thinking about it” announcement, but I have no interest in speculating or in reporting on any of the ridiculously early “polls” that have been floating around. Let’s get through 2014 before we spend too much time worrying about 2015. Greg has more.