Land Commissioner Buckingham, A Dangerous Extremist, Offers Houston Our Own Tax Dollars To Address Disaster

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Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham visited Houston City Council this past week. 

(Above is a picture of Commissioner Buckingham and Mayor Whitmire from a press conference.)      

The City of Houston and the Texas General Land Office have long been at odds over Hurricane Harvey housing disaster relief funds and other policy issues. Many of these disputes involved former Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and former Land Commissioner George P. Bush.   

Mayor John Whitmire campaigned on better relations with State of Texas officials. He won the election.

Commissioner Buckingham addressed Houston City Council in open session and took questions from Mayor and Council. She promised better cooperation and resources for Houston. She referenced the serious hurricane forecast for 2024. Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex-Tatum said Commissioner Buckingham's staff had been meeting with Councilmembers.  

That's all fine. But is also important to remember that Commissioner Buckingham supports authoritarians and election deniers. There is no reason to believe that she herself is not herself an authoritarian and election denier. She was endorsed by Donald Trump in 2022. Her Twitter feed is in part a toxic stream of false attacks on Joe Biden and extremist talking points. Commissioner Buckingham everyday has the opportunity to distance herself from Trump and all the hate & to be a better person. She does not avail herself of the chance.           

I watch Houston City Council and I made a point to see all of the Commissioner's testimony to Council and the press conference she held with Mayor Whitmire, County Commissioner Leslie Briones and community leaders. I want to understand what is being said and offered. People do need help with housing and Hurricane Harvey still impacts Houstonians.

I recently posted here about my letter to Houston City Council, about the Republican Chair and Republican majority on Council's Public Safety Committee. We don't need people comfortable with the extreme right supervising the police and fire departments.              

Bipartisanship is essential to democracy. At the same time, Republicans are as serious as can be about election denial, overturning elections, mass round-ups of migrants, shooting migrants, "bloodbaths", gutting the civil service & on and on.  
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People need help. Cooperation across the political aisle can bring results. Yet public officials and the people of Houston and Harris County can't just look the other way at authoritarian political figures and the danger they represent. The money Commissioner Buckingham has at her disposal is our tax money in a state sitting on a $32 billion surplus in the treasury.

We should not have to sacrifice our rights and safety to get a fair share of the state's wealth after a disaster like Hurricane Harvey. There may well be a point sooner rather than later, where cooperation with the extreme right is not worth the price or the risks.  
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