One of Governor Perry's supporters came up with this song and video. Check it out:

A vote for Bill White is a vote to reward Barack Obama's Chicago-style politics, and make his overreaching liberal agenda easier to pass. A vote for Bill White is a vote for fiscal mismanagement and someone who is out of touch with Texans.

Get to the polls today, and vote for Texas Values, and Proven Leadership. Vote for Rick Perry!

Of the many videos made out there by supporters, this is one of the better ones:

A vote for Bill White is a vote to reward Barack Obama's Chicago-style politics, and make his overreaching liberal agenda easier to pass. A vote for Bill White is a vote for fiscal mismanagement and someone who is out of touch with Texans.

Get to the polls today, and vote for Texas Values, and Proven Leadership. Vote for Rick Perry!

October 21, 2010

When liberal trial lawyer Bill White ran for Houston mayor in 2003, he was asked, “Which city in the world could best serve as a role model for a future Houston?”

Bill White answer? “Chicago.” [1]

The video “Bill White’s Chicago Way” is available at www.YouTube.com:

“Liberal Bill White’s admiration for the Chicago Way was evident when he steered a contract following Hurricane Rita to a company he had a financial relationship with, then profited from a private investment in the company,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “While Houston mayor, Bill White met with two other followers of the Chicago Way, then-Senator Barack Obama and his future chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.”

The Associated Press has reported, “Barack Obama, before he became president, leads a list of luminaries who met with White in Houston during his six years leading the nation's fourth largest city, according to mayoral calendar records provided to The Associated Press by Perry's campaign. Former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and former Democratic presidential candidates Bill Richardson, John Edwards and Wesley Clark also made the list. There is a phone call with Caroline Kennedy and a meeting with Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, who later became White House chief of staff.” [2]

SOURCING

[1] “Campaign notebook,” Houston Chronicle, 11/2/03

[2] “White's schedule included politics, too,” Associated Press, 10/9/10, http://www.statesman.com/news/texas-politics/whites-schedule-included-po...

October 20, 2010

Liberal trial lawyer Bill White could not even rate President Barack Obama’s job performance on Tuesday, delivering a “windy, Harvard-lawyer explanation” rather than denounce policies that would be harmful to Texas.

From the Fort Worth Star-Telegram: “But in a moment that might be a metaphor for White's campaign, viewers also saw him called out by moderator Christy Hoppe of The Dallas Morning News for turning a simple ‘lightning round’ question into a windy, Harvard-lawyer explanation of why he wouldn't rate President Barack Obama on a scale of 1 to 10. ‘Mayor White,’ Hoppe interrupted, ‘this is a lightning round.’” (SOURCE: “White may be lucky debate wasn't better watched,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10/20/10, http://www.star-telegram.com/2010/10/19/2560594/white-may-be-lucky-debat...)

“It’s not surprising that Bill White has chosen not to criticize President Obama considering he shares his liberal values and supports his policies,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Bill White met with then-Senator Obama in the Houston’s mayor’s office, advised his campaign on energy policy, wrote a memo explaining how to sell cap-and-trade to the public, traveled to the White House to promote the $787 billion stimulus, and said he supported the goals of Obamacare. Bill White’s support for President Obama and his liberal policies is completely out of touch with Texas values.”

October 19, 2010

Liberal Bill White left behind a disastrous fiscal legacy in Houston, where his contributor-appointees nearly ran Houston Metro into the ground and the city’s expenses exceeded its revenues every year he was mayor, resulting in $1.7 billion in operating losses for the city under Bill White.

“In the final days of this campaign, Bill White continues to hide from his disastrous fiscal mismanagement of Houston and the fact that his political donors nearly ran Houston Metro into the ground,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Bill White is clearly in a state of denial.”

Every Bill White appointee to the Houston Metro board contributed to his campaigns, as WFAA-TV has reported. “Campaign finance records show that since 2003 — when he first ran for mayor — White's five appointees to the Houston Metro transit board and their spouses gave him about $85,000 in campaign money. Some $50,000 came from real estate developer David Wolff and his wife. White picked Wolff to be Metro chairman.” [1]

Metro’s illegal actions have jeopardized a $900 million grant and will cost the city at least $40 million. [2, 3]

Every year Bill White was mayor, Houston’s expenses exceeded its revenues. [4]

As a result, Houston suffered $1.7 billion in operating losses under Bill White. [5]

The city of Houston’s annual financial report explains: “The statement of net assets presents information on all of the City of Houston’s assets and liabilities, with the difference between the assets and liabilities reported as net assets. Over time, increase and decreases in net assets may serve as a useful indicator of whether the financial position of the City of Houston is improving or deteriorating.” [6]

October 15, 2010

When liberal trial lawyer Bill White sits down with the Texas Tribune’s Evan Smith for an interview this afternoon, it will be the second time he has done so during this campaign.

His first Texas Tribune interview, on March 9, 2010, was a disaster.

Evan Smith asked, “Will you commit to this audience that as governor you would not raise taxes?”

Bill White responded, “No, I mean, I won’t.”

Video of this exchange is available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVtz3s1pliM.

“Voters have a clear choice between Gov. Perry, who opposes new taxes and whose fiscal responsibility has made Texas’ economy the envy of the nation, and Bill White, who refuses to rule out raising taxes and whose ‘unbusinesslike approach’ and overspending left behind a fiscal crisis for his successor as Houston mayor,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner.

One day after Bill White’s first Texas Tribune interview, Houston Mayor Annise Parker said, “For years now, we have spent more money than we have taken in. You can't spend more than you earn. It is a very unbusinesslike approach to running things.” (“City's budget woes may mean furloughs, layoffs,” Houston Chronicle, 3/11/10, http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/6907348.html)

October 12, 2010

With his failing campaign quickly running out of money, liberal trial lawyer Bill White has pulled his advertising from 22 television stations in seven different Texas markets: Abilene, Amarillo, Beaumont, Harlingen, Midland-Odessa, Shreveport, and Waco. [1]

In an attempt to distract from this evidence of Bill White’s imploding campaign, Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine is now attacking Gov. Perry on Bill White’s behalf. [2]

“Once again Bill White is enlisting the Obama attack machine in an effort to breathe life into a campaign on life support,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “With no ideas, reduced advertising and limited resources, Bill White is running on empty with three weeks to go until election day.”

October 8, 2010

Following the Houston Police Officers' Union endorsement of Gov. Rick Perry over liberal trial lawyer Bill White, KPRC-TV Houston reporter Mary Benton detailed the significance of this endorsement in her report, “Houston Police Endorse Gov. Rick Perry Over Bill White.” (Report below and available online at http://2onthebeat.wordpress.com/2010/10/07/houston-police-endorse-gov-ri...)

“For years, liberal Bill White refused to listen to police officers who begged him to lift Houston’s sanctuary city policy,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Bill White’s support for sanctuary cities is clearly out of touch with the beliefs and values of law enforcement and the people of Texas.”

“Houston Police Endorse Gov. Rick Perry Over Bill White”
By Mary Benton, KPRC-TV Houston

Sanctuary City. Police Officer Shortage. A Police Chief from outside of HPD.

Leaders of the Houston Police Officers’ Union said those were the main issues that cost former Houston Mayor Bill White the organization’s endorsement.

On Thursday, HPOU announced that it would back Republican Incumbent Governor Rick Perry.

As he accepted the groups’ endorsement, Perry was surrounded by several HPD officers, including Joslyn Johnson. Her husband, Officer Rodney Johnson, was killed by an illegal immigrant during a traffic stop.

Governor Perry vowed to ask the legislature in January to take “emergency action to abolish sanctuary cities.”

Losing the endorsement of the 5-thousand member organization is a blow to White’s campaign.

He was also snubbed by the Houston Professional Firefighters Association.

All candidates want to appear strong on public safety issues.

Some voters around the state will also wonder why Houston’s former Mayor isn’t being endorsed by police officers and firefighters who served under him.

September 30, 2010

Houston Mayor Annise Parker is defending criticizing liberal trial lawyer Bill White for his “unbusinesslike approach” of spending more than Houston took in during the years he was mayor.

In March, the Houston Chronicle quoted Mayor Parker as saying, “For years now, we have spent more money than we have taken in. You can't spend more than you earn. It is a very unbusinesslike approach to running things.” [1]

On Wednesday, the Houston Chronicle reported that Mayor Parker is defending her statement: “I said it. Funny thing is, I said it week after week after week as controller.” She added, “My relationship with Bill White's a little tense right now.”
[2]

Before being elected mayor, Parker served three terms as Houston’s controller, from 2004-2010.

In 2009, then-Controller Parker told the Houston Chronicle, “We have used borrowed money to meet some of our current obligations, which is, I think, fiscally unwise,” and, “Part of the reason we have healthy fund balances is that we borrowed the money instead of tapping the fund balance. We used pension obligation bonds to meet current (pension) obligations.” [3]

Last week, when it was revealed that Houston may have to return up to $45 million in federal housing funds because of misuse by Bill White’s administration, Mayor Parker said, “If previous administrations have done stupid things, we're going to have to fix them.” [4]

“Liberal Bill White left behind a financial crisis for his successor as Houston mayor,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “After Bill White’s years of fiscal irresponsibility and mismanagement, his successor continues to have her hands full cleaning up the mess he created.”

Every year Bill White was mayor, Houston’s expenses exceeded revenues. [5]

Houston suffered $1.7 billion in operating losses under Bill White, according to a report from a bipartisan group of Houston accountants titled, “The City of Houston Is Teetering On The Edge Of A Fiscal Abyss.” [6]

September 29, 2010

Having already written a memo to the Obama Administration detailing how to sell cap and trade to the public, liberal trial lawyer Bill White has now proposed an energy policy full of mandates that would cost Texans $4 billion per year and increase the average residential electric bill by $160 annually.

“Bill White has proposed an energy policy full of mandates that would cost Texans $4 billion a year without offering any way to pay for it,” said Texans for Rick Perry spokesman Mark Miner. “Texas cannot afford Bill White’s fiscally irresponsible policies of higher taxes, increased regulations on businesses, and mandates costing billions.”

Bill White’s mandates are nearly identical to mandates included in an August 2010 report sponsored by the Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation. [1]

In addition to contributing his energy policy, Cynthia and George Mitchell have contributed $52,000 to Bill White's political campaigns. [2]

What Bill White did not lift from the Mitchell Foundation report was the cost of these mandates. According to the Mitchell Foundation, the mandates that Bill White is promoting would increase the cost per kilowatt hour by 1.17 cents and increase each residential average monthly bill by $13.27. [3]

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration shows Texas had 347,059,227 in total retail sales (megawatt hours) in 2008 – or 347,059,227,000 kilowatt hours. [4]

Increasing each kilowatt hour by 1.17 cents would cost $4,060,592,955.90.