Robert Kane is not a politician, and he’s not just any Houstonian, either. Robert is a well-traveled hotel management professional who is proud to have made Houston his home. He is so proud of becoming a Houstonian that he wants to serve our great city and District F on the Houston City Council.
Says Kane, “traveling around the world and the United States has opened my eyes and mind to a different way of viewing the issues that we face everyday in Houston,” adding, “Frequently when I speak to someone and we discuss a problem, or an “area of opportunity” as I call it, I get the same response: ‘well, this is Houston’. I believe this does not need to be the way nor should Houstonians accept it.”
With a commitment to changing City Council from a reactive to a proactive political body, Kane states that members of the Council have a responsibility to seek out those areas of opportunity in order to better serve District F and Houston. ”As things are, City Council reacts to problems and only after much needless red-tape and politics-as-usual delays do we get to a partial solution,” said Kane, adding, “I want to provide some leadership on the Council so that we may finally take on these challenges proactively by creating solutions that do more than just fix a problem, but that also work toward meeting our future needs.”
Like the other candidates, Kane also has a slate of issues on which he is running, but he states, “I will not only outline what I think are the solutions, but I also commit to partnering with my constituents and community leaders to develop the best solutions.” Among Kane’s issues are:
- Increased and Better Police Protection: There are only two (2) cadet classes scheduled for 2010 and we stand to lose more of our current staffing through retirements. I want to improve our HPD hiring standards so that we may widen the pool of applicants. Meanwhile, we can also enhance our cadet training and improve our hiring and merit incentives so that we can produce the best trained police force, and keep them.
- Fix Flooding & Drainage: This is an expensive budget item that we will inevitably need to face. The usual fix has been the proverbial band-aid, but we must plan for the future. Nearly 60% of Houston’s underground pipe and drain system is at or approaching its life expectancy of 50 years. There are also grading issues around the City which must be addressed so that we can improve drainage during the storm season. Houston has an opportunity to reach out to our federal government for stimulus funds that could help pay for our infrastructure redevelopment. As the soon-to-be third largest city in America, we invest heavily in our governmental entities, and we deserve our fair share in return.
- Community Recycling: Houston has the worst recycling rate of any major city. Kane will provide the leadership to re-commit Houston to a community-wide recycling effort which includes our businesses, industries, and apartment complexes. We will begin the effort by standardizing “trash day,” to avoid any confusion as to which days serve trash, compost/trees, and recycling. Our effort must include a city-wide recycling education effort to increase participation, we must help citizens participate by providing larger recycling bins and access to other tools, and we must develop an incentive program by partnering with the business community so that we continually enlarge the effort. This is an investment in a cleaner, better Houston.
- More Issues: Kane is committed to solving challenges that directly affect District F.
- The City budget must be tightened through an effective audit system that finds the waste and ends the cycle where taxpayers are paying more, while receiving less.
- METRO has continually ignored the needs of District F–the current planned rail lines reach up to Hillcroft, but as a district with close-knit housing and business centers, the district could thrive with rail improvements.
- A large portion of District F taxpayers live in our apartment communities, but many of these communities are left to fend for themselves when major repairs and maintenance are needed. The City must increase inspections and enforcement to better protect these citizens and to better protect our public safety resources from dangerous dwellings and buildings.
- Finally, Sharptown Mall has been a major contributor to various community concerns in District F. Kane supports a redevelopment effort which would turn this area into a prime shopping and entertainment area, such as those that have successfully turned around (Town & Country, Meyerland, Gulf Gate, and Memorial City).
Robert Kane is ready to be the leader District F needs.
A blog-post from Andrew at NeoHouston.
