I'd love to write about other matters, but I spent most of my day cleaning the condo, writing emails, and paying bills. Still, I have a lot on my mind and am regaining my enthusiasm for writing. Look for me to start belting out a lot of stuff on my blog in the upcoming weeks and months.
The news came this past week that Houston Mayor Bill White is looking to cut down on benzene emissions from plants along the Ship Channel and in east Houston. Some members of City Council have raised voices about this, but it looks as though the Mayor is going to get what he wants in round one in this contest.
What is amusing about the matter is the phrasing the Chronicle used in describing what is going on. The Mayor is in "discussions" to get "voluntary" agreements from the polluting plant owners. Readers do need to understand that this is government. Yes, this sounds nice and polite, but never forget that one of the two parties (Council vs. the plant owners) in this matter legally has guns at its disposal. Guess which side is that? This tends to skew how the "discussions" are being conducted, doesn't it? Still, this is a very interesting thing going on. Clearly Mayor White has become a much more activist Mayor in his second term and is not merely a technocratic managerial "good government" politician who would be worshipped by progressives. This could be seen through the lenses of a politician aiming in the future for higher office.
Probably the most interesting aspect of this matter is the fact that Mayor White and his supporters on Council are effectively stepping out of the City of Houston's physical boundaries on this matter. Our federalist political system has irked activists since the founding of the American Republic and endless waves of activists have sought ways around the political and legal barriers which our Founders put in the way.
Cities have been legally recognized via municipal charters since Roman and medieval times. In our American political system, cities are under the thumb of state governments since at the federal level, our Constitution only recognizes the state and federal levels of government.
Now traditionally states exercised their authority through the county government. Harris County is the local arm of the great State of Texas and basically cannot do much that the powers that be in Austin won't allow them to. Cities were granted charters, including home rule powers, if it were deemed to be a good thing. In general this arrangement proved workable as states and their constituent counties were large places and cities were small ones. Cities could take care of their own affairs, while the State ruled the countryside. By the way, here is an interesting read on the City of Chicago and its city charter.
This cozy framework of government began to change by the beginning of the 20th century. The main issue was that as mankind progressed economically, cities everywhere began to grow far larger in size, both population wise and geographically, than they ever had before in the history of humanity. The inventions of telegraphy, followed by railroads and later the automobile, meant that cities which once were at most a few square miles in size were now capable of growing to hundreds of square miles in some cases and we could actually make such cities viable. Municipalities which were once miles away from each other now had shared or blurred boundaries. We saw situations where larger cities surrounded or annexed smaller municipalities and so on. Eventually we saw that county figures started seeing big city mayors as rivals, which is partly what we see in Harris County verses the City of Houston.
This state of affairs often presents some real problems from a political science perspective. Some problems are local or city related, while others affect broader urban areas. If you were to ask political science professors about the state of government in the United States, they would most likely tell you that there are more government entities in America today than are probably needed to govern effectively. Nonetheless, we are stuck with the baggage we have so onward we go.
Clearly pollution by local plants is a regional problem, but Mayor White seems to think that he is going to tackle the problem even though he is not the duly elected representative of the entire area. Councilwoman Addie Wiseman voiced the opinion that this is a state matter and not one for the City of Houston, while Carol Alvarado asked where was the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality? Good point Carol. Did you ask or lobby them to enforce or tighten air quality standards? By the way, if anyone wants to see what real pollution looks like, I will be more than happy to take them to where I lived in China.
A number of days ago, Tory Gattis over at Houston Strategies covered the State of the City address given by the Mayor. I wrote that it was clear to me that the two main parts of our pollution problems were from the petrochemical plants and from autos. Ergo, we should concentrate on pollution at the tailpipe and at the plants. Building a mass transit empire would have a very small effect, comparatively, in dealing with pollution when compared with those two issues. When I wrote that statement, I wasn't aware that Mayor White was going to get ambitious and go after plants through the entire region.
Moreover, there are further political stakes here. The Texas Legislature is still in Republican hands. Mayor White may get kudos for attempting to step over the geographical boundaries, but the City might get hit with backlashes from several directions for doing this. The State might enjoin the Mayor and City Council to stop the proceedings, however these actions in turn might kickstart efforts by the State to enforce or tighten air quality standards. Other government entities in the area may join in the suits, or might tell Mayor White and Council to mind their own business. It is quite difficult to tell where all of this is going.
Meanwhile a related story was carried by the Chronicle about catfish being caught in Upper Galveston Bay. After going through a long article, the story ends with the following:
But convincing longtime area fishermen that they should not consume too much of their catch may be difficult. The article goes on to quote Terry Gray, a fisherman, who says:
I see these fish every day. They're fine," he said. "I feed a lot of people with these fish. That sign is political. The officials just wanted to get their names in the paper.
Maybe that statement could also refer to the actions of Houston City Council? Why is the Mayor trying to go after plants outside Houston boundaries? Because he can. Unless someone decides to stop him.
Until next time.
Wizard