It’s what we’ve all been waiting for, and now it’s on its way to a mailbox near you, as local hatemeister Steven Hotze has endorsed candidates in all six City of Houston runoffs and sent a mail piece out touting his preferred slate. Martha has all of the scans of the mailers. Pay particular attention to these two images, which capture the case Hotze makes for and against each candidate. He uses the phrase “radical liberal” six times – interestingly, the one candidate he doesn’t affix that label to is Annise Parker, though he does say she’s “supported by liberal Chicago labor union interests”, whatever that means – and he makes a point of noting that all seven candidates he opposes have been endorsed by the “Gay Lesbian political action committee”. I don’t think you need an advanced degree in literature to be able to read the subtext here.
The question now is whether Gene Locke will live up to his previous statement that he “rejects any association” with this style of campaigning and repudiates Hotze’s endorsement. If he does, he’ll follow the example set by At Large #1 candidate Steven Costello, who to his great credit sent out the following statement:
Today, some people received a mail piece from Steven Hotze with his endorsements in the upcoming city runoff elections. I did not seek this endorsement and I specifically asked not be endorsed by Mr. Hotze. I am running to represent all Houstonians and my door at City Hall will be open to everyone.
Now that’s how you do it. Note that Costello is a member of the Republican Leadership Council, according to the local GOP. Rejecting Hotze like this, when he’s sending mail to people who would have been inclined to support Costello anyway, took real courage, and I salute him for that. Of course, the problem for Locke is that he did in fact seek out Hotze’s endorsement, so this mailer represents him getting what he wanted. This is why Democrats – and that includes Andrew Burks – need to stay the hell away from Steven Hotze and all that he represents. No good can come from associating with him. So what are you going to do about it now, Gene?
There isn’t a story about this in the Chron yet; hopefully, they will fill in some blanks, such as how many pieces Hotze intends to mail. I don’t know if he’s required to fill out a finance report for a city election – I see some SPAC filings among the city campaign finance reports of recent years, but I’m not sure if he falls under that rubric or not. We may not know for sure what he’s up to unless he brags to a newsie about it. If you receive this mailer, please leave a comment and let me know. Thanks very much.
Reality is most really don’t like Locke or Parker and usually you can choose the lesser of two evils. Not this time.
The interesting thing about the Hotze endorsement and the obvious homophobia is the fact that Locke has stated he will use the mayor’s office to further the “gay rights” Hotze believes is the downfall of society while Parker has stated she will not and so logically you would think Hotze would have endorsed Parker instead of Locke.
Neither has offered any real solution to problems facing all Houstonians other than the usual “won’t raise taxes/will cut budgets and reduce taxes/will work hard to find the solution” political rhetoric. In the end, both serve the same master. And it is not the people but the special interests. And they are the same special interests and anyone who really looks at their record, particularly with regard to Houston Renaissance and Fourth Ward, knows that.
What was really telling about both of them was their lack of response to the lawsuit filed against Christ Church Cathedral. Apparently they share the “out of sight, out of mind” solution to the growing problem of poverty and homelessness in our city. The poor and the homeless in the end are just nuisances. The problem is we are all, really, just nuisances to both of them in the end.
Stephen Costello has also given to the Democratic party at the same level as the donation to the Republican party. Its expensive being independent
Meanwhile, the all things to all voters route usually ends in a loss.
Costello independent? Not really. He tried to buy him some Dem clubs but got shot down. The one thing he does do that is not lock in step with Hotze is propose new taxes. Check out his interview on this blog. His deal with the Bridge to NOWHERE, shady deal of 1.7 million from the City on October 21 and his endorsement from the Harris County Republicans make it very clear he is a Republican. Period . Own it. It is complicated and expensive to change your message when you change the group of people you are talking to and trying to get their support.
The fact is he is on Hotze’s mailer. He is trying to have it both ways. Best buds with Raddick at the Raddick’s early vote BBQ then dancing with Sue Lovell.
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