Former Houston Mayor Trying To Whitewash His Record
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, February 05, 2010
Former Houston Mayor Trying To Whitewash His Record
Bill White Uses TV Commercial to Write Revisionist History
AUSTIN—Former Houston mayor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill White released his second television ad today—“Meet Bill White,” which will air statewide in both English and Spanish starting Friday evening.
One thing the ad doesn’t do is tell the truth about Bill White’s record as Houston’s mayor. “White is trying to whitewash his record. They are using a television ad to craft a revisionist history of his term as mayor,” said Kelly Love Johnson, Communications Director for Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Farouk Shami.
White claims he cut taxes and improved the lives of people in the city of Houston. The reality, however, is that the amount Houston residents paid in Taxes increased and that the poorest and most vulnerable Houstonians did not see their lives improve under White’s tenure as mayor of that city. In addition, Houston remains one of the most polluted cities in the nation.
“Is he claiming he made people’s lives better before or after the unemployment rate increased during his time as mayor,” asked Shami. “His claims fall short of the truth,” Shami said.
FACT CHECKING BILL WHITE’S WHITEWASH
WHITE CLAIMS: As Mayor of Houston, cut the tax rate 5 times
REALITY: Although the tax rate was cut, the amount people actually paid increased. [HOUSTON CHRONICLE]
REALITY: White has previously denied playing a role in the tax cut:
“Ultimately, there will be some people whose taxes go up and some people whose taxes go down, because of the actions of the appraisal district, not the city,” Mayor Bill White said. [HOUSTON CHRONICLE]
WHITE CLAIMS: He improved lives of families in Houston
REALITY: During Bill White’s tenure as Mayor of Houston, the percentage of the population living in poverty remained relatively the same; it didn’t decrease:
Houston's poverty rate last year was 20.7 percent, the bureau said, statistically unchanged from 2006. For children, the poverty rate last year was 3.13 percent, also unchanged from the previous year. [HOUSTON CHRONICLE]
REALITY: The unemployment rate and number of unemployed in Harris County higher when he left office than when he entered office.
Unemployment in the greater Houston area increased by nearly 42,000 people during the mayor's tenure. Harris County's unemployment rate went from 6.8 percent in January of 2004 when White took office to 8.3 percent when he left office in December of 2009.
REALITY: While Bill White talks about how he worked to clean up Houston, the city was ranked in 2009 as one of Forbes Magazine’s “Most Toxic Cities.” Every ranking on pollution levels has Houston in the top 5 cities in the country.
REALITY: One of four children in Harris County live at or below the poverty level. [HOUSTON CHRONICLE; 6/10/09]
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