M ay o r a l F o r u m
T
TONY BUZBEE
ony was born and raised in Atlanta, a small town with a population of 2,000 in East Texas. His mother was a bus driver and worked in the school cafeteria; his father was a union meat-cutter. He came from very humble beginnings. His parents did not have a lot of money, but they were rich in the things that matter. Tony has 3 siblings: Laura, Tim, and Jennifer. His older sister, Laura, still lives in Atlanta, along with his parents, where she owns a children’s boutique. His younger brother, Tim, lives in Australia where he is a professional musician with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. His younger sister, Jennifer, lives in Houston and runs Tony’s life - literally. Growing up, Tony worked multiple jobs in order to help out at home. He will never forget overhearing his parents’ quiet discussions at night over which bills they could afford to pay that month. It made him more determined to succeed.
What character traits and experience do you possess that you feel will make you an effective mayor? I have been a leader for over 20 years, starting in the Marines and then opening my own law practice. I have also opened and run restaurants, purchased, renovated and managed hotels, and owned and managed apartment buildings. My law firm is one of the most successful in Texas and I have tried cases before juries all over the United States. I have fought in court for working people for more than 20 years, attempting to restore families that were injured on the job. I served as the Galveston Party Democratic Party Chair and spent six years on the Board of Regents, Texas A&M University System managing 11 universities and 7 state agencies, with a budget of $4 billion. I am an independent thinker and a strong leader who will not be beholden to anyone other than the residents of Houston. What are the two or three most important issues facing the city today? 1. Public Safety: We need to change the way we police to a proactive method as opposed to reactionary. In addition, we need to put 2,000 more police on the streets over the next 8 years. 2. Government Spending: We need a full, independent, third party audit of monies. Not just the general fund, but all monies including the enterprise funds. 3. Corruption: Our city is broken. We have to stop the money that is corrupting our government and end the pay-to-play system that is rampant at City Hall.
18 | HEIGHTS | September + October 2019
What changes if any do you recommend for the city’s budget? Please refer to #2 above. We also need to focus on zero based budgeting, which ties into why I believe a third-party audit is necessary. We need to analyze every department for its needs and costs and cut out all the excess. We shouldn’t be spending money we don’t have. How do you propose to make our city safer? One of the problems is we have too many officers on desk duty and not enough out on our streets. Houston has almost 5,200 police officers; only 2,300 patrol the streets. At any one time, if we are fortunate, we will have approximately 500 officers on patrol. That is far too few to adequately patrol the city of Houston. Houston is a horizontal city, 664 square miles. In Houston, we have 2.2 police officers per 1,000 citizens. We need even more officers. We must grow the force, but in the right way–with patrol officers on the streets providing deterrence, building relationships, and learning the communities. We must switch from reactive policing to proactive policing. As mayor, I know that I cannot solve all our problems alone. I have sought out experts to assist me in solving our most critical problems. With regard to crime, I have already put together a group of individuals who have dedicated their lives to dealing with crime issues. These individuals are not and will not be on the city payroll, and none will ever do business with the city. The most important change the Houston Police Department can make is to adopt the proactive Crime Control or Compstat
(Computer Statistics/Comparable Statistics) style of policing. Books have been written on this completely different way of policing because of the dramatic reduction in all types of crime experienced when the Compstat model is fully implemented. Compstat contains four principles: 1. Accurate and timely information, clearly communicated to all, with a breakdown of those barriers that make it difficult to share information within the department and with other law enforcement entities; 2. Rapid deployment of forces that are coordinated, controlled, and trained; 3. Tactics that are moral, legal, and firm, but effective; 4. Relentless assessment and follow up, holding all persons accountable. What does this mean with regard to “boots on the ground?” It means that we use real-time, accessible data to know where crimes are likely to occur, and we rapidly respond and predict, thus deterring crime before it ever occurs. And, we need to consider a zero-tolerance policy with regard to “small crimes,” because we know from studies that those who commit lesser offenses will likely commit ones that are more serious in the future. The Compstat approach is a paradigm shift. It will take active and aggressive leadership from a mayor and a police chief who understand the successes it has had in other cities. I believe it is an approach we have to implement if we are going to be serious about making ALL areas of this city safe again. We must do better. The most important role of government is to keep our citizens safe and the current mayor is failing. Houston’s safety will be my top priority.
