Houston recall effort points to mayor’s lack of leadership

In the past year or more, Houston Mayor Roger Purcell has been accused of a long and varied list of unwise decisions.

He hasn’t been arrested or convicted of anything.

However, he has drawn the ire of many people he represents as he goes about his mayoral duties.

Most recently, video tapes surfaced that show him driving a Houston Police Department cruiser to Fairbanks to deliver some papers that apparently couldn’t be faxed or e-mailed.

Along the way, an onboard sensor card that records certain aspects of what the cruiser is doing is showing him using overhead emergency lights to go around other people driving on the road.

Along these same lines, he issued a ticket to a Valley driver, even though Purcell did not have the authority to do so. He had emergency lights installed on his own BMW when he pulled the driver over. The driver fought the ticket and it was tossed because Purcell didn’t show up like real cops should.

He’s been accused of holding secret meetings, a real no-no for public officials.

A recall application lists many more allegations.

This latest incident with the shooting of eight animals at the city’s animal shelter has brought national attention to Houston and the result is embarrassment for the good residents of that town. Several have said so in meetings and other venues.

The he-said, he-said smackdown between Purcell and Sgt. Charlie Seidl of the Houston Police Department shows somebody is lying, and they both hold important positions that shouldn’t condone deception of any kind.

From this standpoint, it is difficult to believe the sergeant who shot the dogs would do such a thing without some kind of authorization.

The city council — with a slim 4-3 vote — agreed to let Sgt. Seidl to keep his job.

We’ve since learned, though, through Purcell that Seidl is suspended with pay until legal issues are resolved. Those issues haven’t been revealed publicly.

There’s a theme here that indicates Purcell is a loose cannon, or at the least, a poor leader and communicator.