Beware of Fraudulent Conservatives

I received a City of Houston 2011 Voters Guide in the mail this week from "Texas Conservative Review". The editor of the publication is former Harris County Republican Chairman Gary Polland. After browsing through Mr. Polland's editorial, candidate grades, and endorsements; I now understand the sorry state of the Republican Party in Harris County and Greater Houston. Despite a bio that portrays him as the ultimate conservative advocate, Polland's commentary on the local elections indicate that he's closer to a Clinton Democrat than a Reagan Republican.

• In grading the Mayoral Candidates on the "conservatism", Polland gives Deputy Fire Chief Fernando Herrera a "B" and current Mayor Annise Parker (caution you might want to sit down for this) an "A-". Mr. Polland, how long have you been smoking crack? Annise Parker's name should not even be mentioned when grading conservatives. 
• Parker is praised as a fiscal conservative for "balancing the budget in hard economic times"; and the mayor has cut spending, but where? Of the $ 71 million in departmental spending cuts for the proposed 2012 budget, $ 60 million were to public safety; the Police and Fire Departments, while continuing to fund liberal/progressive social programs.
• $ 12 million is appropriated for The Recreation and Wellness and Community Center programs which, as the city website boasts, "Enhance the quality of life and wellness of Houstonians" In reality, these programs provide child and senior daycare to a select few citizens, who happen to form the base of the Democratic Party.
• $ 1 million dollars went to "Historic Preservation" which has imposed drastic restrictions of private property rights against the wishes of property owners, such as the residents of Glenbrook Valley.
• $ 7.3 million of taxpayer money will be spent on Planning and Development, which is Parkers attempt to force "environmental justice" down the throats of Houstonians. This includes $ 1.9 million for her newly formed "Community Sustainability Commission". To lead the effort, Parker hired Laura Spanjian, an environmental activist from San Francisco, as the "Director of Sustainability", at a reported salary of $ 100,000. Parker and Spanjian are strong proponents of the types of "open space" "restricted land use" policies that lead to the skyrocketing housing prices and cost of living in California.
• Parker has repeatedly defied the will of the voters on the red light camera issue; turning the off most recently when it appeared that her plummeting approval rating my endanger her re-election. If she wins, you can bet they're coming back on. This despite the fact that all statistics show an increase in accidents when the cameras were on.
• Just last week Parker and city council voted to reimburse Kroger $ 2.5 million plus interest for infrastructure improvements needed for a new store they want to build in the Heights; which Kroger would have almost certainly paid for themselves.
• Parker and City Councilman Stephen Costello deliberately mislead voters in supporting last years "Drainage Tax" claiming it would cost residents about $5 a month and would only be spent on drainage and flood control. When the bills started arriving, the actual cost was almost double ($9) and, just last week we learned that $ 857,000 from the "lock boxed" fund would be spent on bike trails.

This is a record that would make Barack Obama truly proud. I don't know anything about Gary Polland, but to assert that Annise Parker is in any way conservative, leads me to believe he is either a complete fraud and liar, an idiot, or that he's been bought and paid for. He also gives his endorsement to Councilman Costello in "At Large Position 1". Costello has been a rubber stamp for Parker on everyone of the issues mentioned here and lead the effort to pass the drainage tax. Fraudulent conservatives like Gary Polland are the reason for the sorry state of the Republican Party. They are the reason we end up with candidates like John McCain and Mitt Romney. I would advise anyone who receives a copy of his propaganda to burn it. I wouldn't use it for toilet paper. As for Fernando Herrera, he opposes Parker on all of the above. He's an A+ conservative and he's got my vote.