mayor Resources

Binder, J. (1998, December). The enforcer: Houston mayor Lee Brown. Continental (Airlines) Magazine, pp. 44-49.

OVERVIEW

Lee Patrick Brown became mayor of Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S., on January 2, 1998. It is a tough job, but he has a strong background and a solid record. After earning a BA in criminology from Fresno State (California), he went on to a master’s degree, and then earned a Ph.D. from the University of California at Berkeley. Brown began as a patrolman of San Jose in 1960 and went on to become a sheriff in Oregon and a commissioner of public safety in Atlanta. Consider his over-all and recent experience:

• 40 Years of public service.
• Stints as Houston’s chief of police from 1982 to 1990.
• New York City chief of police from 1990 to 1992.
• Director of the President’s national drug control policy from 1993 to 1995.

Some highlights from his inaugural address include:

(a call for a ) "neighborhood-oriented government..."

I am pleased to dedicate my administration to the children of Houston.

It is a good time for the city of Houston. Previous mayor, Bob Lanier, who served the maximum six years, has left with a strong economy, a declining crime rate, downtown revitalization, and generally positive residents. Brown’s first year has brought some conflict with certain city officials but an opinion poll after six months showed him with a 71% approval rating. There is good reason for such approval. And it builds upon what he did as police chief in Houston.

Policing in Houston in the early 1980s meant officers in patrol cars cruising the streets, much as the U.S. Navy’s Sixth Fleet wander the Mediterranean, responding to calls of trouble. Left out of the equation were the citizens and their daily needs. Brown restructured the department by assigning officers to specific neighborhoods and holding them accountable for what happened there.

‘Lee basically came in, kicked the doors down and said, "Let’s air this place out," says Tom Koby, his second in command and later chief of police in Boulder, Colo. He pulled apart the entire department and put it back together again. It helped that he has about as much integrity as you can cram into a human being, and as much empathy for others as you’ll ever find.’

Brown evaluated his officers not by their arrest record but by the absence of crime in their neighborhoods. By the time he left for New York City, Houston’s police department had become a model for the nation.

As mayor, Brown attempted to translate his neighborhood-oriented police policies into city government. He divided the 600-square-mile city into 88 sectors and created neighborhood councils from existing community organizations like civic clubs and homeowners’ associations. Even neighborhoods going through tough transitions have confidence in his leadership.

Has Mayor Brown remembered his campaign and inaugural commitments to children? Again his record can speak for itself:

• The Mayor’s Summer Youth Enrichment Program provides structured activities when school is not in session.
• Lee Brown Kids is a monthly outing in which he personally takes kids to places like the zoo, a museum, or a Houston Astros game.
• Stop the Violence Summit is a unique "speak out" in which hundreds of students participate in workshops and then speak directly to the mayor.
• The mayor has strengthened the city’s Office of Youth Programs and Development.

Of course Mayor Brown is doing more than working with kids. He has the economic life of the city in mind and wants continued business opportunities, revitalized neighborhoods—and to see a new football franchise replace the departed Oilers. "We are a can-do city," he says proudly, "that will accomplish much during my tenure."

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. What impresses you most about Lee Patrick Brown? Would you consider him a positive role model or even a local hero?
2. What does it take to turn a community around?
3. What lessons could your neighborhood, town, or city learn from Houston’s example?

IMPLICATIONS

• There are some great examples of a new philosophy of policing a city (Houston), defeating juvenile violence (Boston from 1995 to 1997), and innovative programs (Minneapolis) and elsewhere. It is too bad more is not learned from communities who are doing something right.
• There is much to be learned from the idea of city sectors or neighborhoods. Another important lesson here is neighborhood initiatives combined with municipal support. Private and public sectors, grass-roots and governmental hierarchy, need each other.
• Whether we are talking about an individual, a family, a neighborhood, a large city or a nation, things can be turned around if people set their mind to it and keep the right lessons in mind.
• And leadership is still needed.