Not much change after city elections

HOUSTON — After the same faces were re-elected to the Houston City Council, the same sometimes-polarizing figure was reappointed to the city’s top job.

“When I’m talking to people on the street, they like the fact that the roads are getting plowed. The like us showing up with rescue rigs to emergency calls. We want good solid police officer here,” Mayor Roger Purcell said.

As a second-class city, the council appoints the mayor and deputy mayor after each election.

Natasha Schachle won her re-election bid to the city council against Joshua Hanford and Kathleen Barney. Lance Wilson was re-elected after running unopposed. Mayor Roger Purcell and Deputy Mayor Lance Wilson were both reappointed after none of the other five members volunteered for the posts.

Amid the personal attacks made against him by Internet bloggers, Purcell said he had second thoughts about the job. But, he said, “I think all of us do.”

“Any mayor has their people coming after them, and I’m only human. I’m going to make mistakes,” Purcell said. “But it does get frustrating. … There’s something wrong when people go to that extreme.”

Not deterred, Purcell said his critics are a vocal minority of the community. The majority are happy their streets are plowed and happy with the police and fire service in Houston.

The police department has been an especially controversial topic under Purcell’s first term, first when he pulled a car over on the Parks Highway with the lights attached to his BMW, and more recently with the departure of yet another Houston police officer.

The city just recently hired a new police officer, Purcell said, and he is trying to get the council to lower the requirements for a police chief.

“The last council prior to me made the restrictions so high, … we had no one apply that met those qualifications,” Purcell said. “I would love to have a police chief. It would get all these rumors that aren’t true off my back.”

In retrospect, he said, perhaps he should not have pulled the car over and would not do so again. However, the circumstances were different then. The roads were iced over, and the police department was under-staffed, he said.

“What if he had killed someone?” Purcell said.

Now, with the police department properly staffed, $83,000 rolled over from last year’s budget, and code compliance and planning powers, Houston needs to plan for the growth it is starting to experience, he said.

Purcell said he is working with the various organizations to secure more state and federal funding, develop new roads and extend natural gas service to Houston. What’s important, he said, is to control growth to maintain the quality of life in the city.

“We don’t want to look like Wasilla. We don’t want the dust bowl of Meadow Lakes. We have the opportunity to make sure we don’t make those same mistakes,” Purcell said.

Through the growth, his priorities remain the same, he said: maintain and plow the roads and decrease homeowner’s insurance rates inside the city.

Purcell’s post is only secure for one year, as the proposition on this year’s ballot asking the council to apply for first-class city status was shot down. Instead of electing the mayor by popular vote, the council will continue to appoint the position after every annual election.

The one change coming to Houston is the sales tax on fireworks will be increased from the city-wide 2 percent to 4 percent. Money raised by the increased rate will go toward police and fire services in the city.

The hike will take place Jan. 1, 2010 and continue for no more than four years.

In Wasilla, Taffina Katkus held on to her Election Day lead to defeat incumbent Ron Cox and Steve Menard for City Council Seat A. Doug Holler won Seat B unopposed.

Kenneth Erbey and Richard Best have been officially re-elected after neither faced opposition for the Palmer City Council.

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.