Another day, another Mayoral hopeful.
Private equity executive Marty McVey said Thursday he would reinvigorate Houston’s international business ties if voters elected him mayor this fall.
McVey said at the formal launch of his campaign he would usher in a new era of international investment in Houston, which he pledged to make a “visionary city.”
“We have to take Houston to the world. The world has always come to Houston,” McVey said at Mr. Peeples, a restaurant in Midtown. “It is now time that we take our place on the international stage.”
The White House in 2011 appointed McVey, who has donated to many Democratic political campaigns, to an advisory board for the United States Agency for International Development.
McVey said that economic development stimulated by international trade would bring in the dollars to allow the city to address its most pressing problems.
“We don’t have the ability to fix the potholes and fix the pensions because the city doesn’t have the revenue to do so,” McVey said.
McVey said he would bolster the city’s economic development office and recruit international businesses to Houston, adding that he drew policy inspiration from former Gov. Rick Perry.
I had the opportunity to meet McVey yesterday, and I look forward to hearing more from him. His campaign webpage isn’t up yet, but his Facebook page is here and his Twitter feed is here. As far as recruiting businesses to Houston goes, I doubt anyone objects to that, but it’s my opinion that the best way to do that is to make progress on some of those problems we need to solve, like mobility and quality of life. McVey will have a challenge getting his message out in a crowded field of experienced candidates, but if that message is good enough I for one will be listening.