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Mayor Sylvester Turner's last address: What was left unsaid?
Mayor Turner's farewell "State of the City Address" praised his leadership accomplishments, but critics point out concerns like firefighter compensation, budget gaps, water rate hikes, and road conditions went unaddressed.
Houston - Outgoing mayor Sylvester Turner, lauding his leadership over the last 2,830 days.
This past Wednesday Turner transformed his final "State of the City" address into a retrospective on his time in office - highlighting among other things his reform of troubled city pensions and decision-making during multiple natural disasters.
He also made this boast, "Instead of $160 million in the hole, we will give you a surplus of nearly $420 million."
No mention of the hundreds of millions likely owed firefighters... Or the loss of massive federal COVID subsidies used to plug the soon-to-be-gaping holes in the budget...or the enormous water rate hikes Houstonians are enduring...or the shabby condition of city roads despite the billion-plus- dollars sucked in so far by the dedicated "street and drainage fee"
I could go on, but I'd rather hear from you.