Bob Lanier (politician)

Bob Lanier
58th Mayor of Houston
In office January 2, 1992 – January 2, 1998
Preceded by	Kathryn Whitmire
Succeeded by	Lee Brown
Personal details
Born	March 10, 1925 Baytown, Texas
Died	December 20, 2014 (aged 89) Houston, Texas
Resting place	Memorial Oaks Cemetery Houston, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Elyse Lanier
Children	7
Alma mater	University of Texas
Profession	Banker, Attorney, Real Estate Developer
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Navy
Battles/wars	World War II

Robert Clayton Lanier (March 10, 1925 – December 20, 2014) was an American businessman and politician. He served as mayor of the city of Houston, Texas from 1992 to 1998. At the time of his death, he was Houston's oldest living mayor.

Background

Lanier was elected mayor of Houston in 1991, 1993, and 1995, until term limits, enacted in 1991 and reinforced in 1994 by a grass-roots citizen initiative spearheaded by the conservative political activist Clymer Wright, prevented his candidacy in 1997. Lanier averaged 88 percent in his re-election races, with strong support in each political party and ethnic group. As mayor, he was affectionately referred to as "Mayor Bob."^[1]

Born to working class parents in the refinery town of Baytown, Texas in 1925, Lanier was a child of the Great Depression who was greatly influenced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s policies. Lanier worked while attending college and started his career as a suma cum laude graduate from the University of Texas Law School in 1949. Initially employed by Baker & Botts law firm, Lanier practiced for a decade before switching gears to pursue a business career.

During that business career he worked in banking and eventually established himself as a major Houston real estate developer, focusing mostly on subdivisions and apartments.

In the 1991 Houston Mayoral election, most white voters of all economic levels voted for Lanier. His strongest tallies came from affluent neighborhoods like River Oaks, Meyerland, Uptown, Memorial and Sharpstown; in those areas he won with 60 to 65 percent or more of the vote. Lanier won 75 percent of the votes in his home Houston precinct. In racially mixed areas such as Westbury and Alief, Lanier had the majority of votes with his main opponent, Sylvester Turner, having finished in a close second place. Lanier did not win in Montrose and many African-American neighborhoods.^[2][3]

The Bob Lanier Public Works Building in Houston is named after him.

Political career

Before seeking his first and only elective office as Houston’s mayor in 1991, he was a gubernatorial appointee to the Texas Highway Commission, which he chaired, and chairman of METRO, Houston’s transit authority. Lanier also was a founding member of Houston Community College, which he continued to support until the end of his life.^[4]

As mayor, Lanier’s actions were guided by three core values:

• That Houston should capitalize on its diversity
• That his administration had to improve the city’s infrastructure, particularly the inner city, and bring it to the level of the more affluent suburbs.
• That public safety should be improved.

Achievements

Lanier's core values were translated into specific programs once he had taken office. By the time he had left office in 1997, he had achieved the following:

• 1,244 Police officers or their equivalents added.
• Crime reduced by 246,323 major felonies compared to 1991 rate.
• 5,226 units of single-family housing assistance with down payment and closing costs . rehabilitated or repaired.
• 5,986 units of multi-family housing completed or approved by city council.
• 5,287 units of public housing completed or approved by city council.
• 1,600 homeless beds completed or approved by city council (not including units provided by Harris County in FY 1993 and FY 1994.
• 20,536 homeless persons and individuals with AIDS assisted.
• 950 miles (1,530 km) of sidewalks constructed or initiated.
• 367.2 miles (591.0 km) of hike and bike trails under design and planned.
• 110 miles (180 km) of water and sewer lines to serve families without city water and sewer service.
• 3,359 miles (5,406 km) of street overlay accomplished or initiated.
• 41,322 streetlights installed, 2,512 streetlights authorized for installation.
• 25,290 streetlights upgraded to higher quality lighting.
• 312,648 traffic control signs installed and maintained.
• 935 traffic signals and controllers upgraded.
• 2,673,348 potholes filled with 48-hour maximum response time.
• 104,692 miles (168,485 km) of right-of-way mowed.
• 11,810 abandoned dangerous building units demolished by the city and an additional 3,714 buildings voluntarily demolished by property owners.
• 2,532 abandoned dangerous building units were secured by the city.
• 2,399 miles (3,861 km) of roadside ditches cleaned and regraded.
• 50,918 lots mowed.
• 464,578 cubic yards of trash removed by the city.
• 78.3 miles (126.0 km) of rehabilitated sewer lines completed or initiated.
• 188.21 miles (302.89 km) of new sewer lines completed or initiated.
• 390.8 miles (628.9 km) of water mains replaced or initiated.

The Texas NAACP presented him its Texas Hero award and he also received the Hubert Humphrey Civil Rights Award. His work in transportation earned him the National Auto Dealers' Award. His work in finance brought a Bond Market Association Award.

In 2000, he received the Leadership Houston Distinguished Service Award and the Urban Beautification Award from the American Horticultural Society. In 2002 he was inducted into the Texas Transportation Institute's Hall of Honor at Texas A&M University. In August 2007 he was also inducted into the Houston Hall of Fame.

Mayor Lanier also headed the corporation that oversaw construction of the city's new Hilton Americas – Houston, the city’s first convention center hotel – a project that started during his administration.

Lanier continues to manage his real estate properties, lectures several times a year, oversees the Lanier Public Policy Conferences at the University of Houston and participates in various civic, academic and political activities.

Personal life

Lanier and his wife Elyse lived in Houston, as do their seven children and 11 grandchildren.

On December 20, 2014, Lanier died at the age of 89 in Houston, Texas from natural causes.^[5]

References

2. Rodriguez, Lori. "Saying goodbye, with no regrets." Houston Chronicle. Saturday November 9, 1991. A31.
3. Bernstein, Alan and Jim Simmon. "Black vote went solidly for Turner/Whitmire failed to produce split." Houston Chronicle. Thursday November 7, 1991. A21.
4. Chronology of Metro's attempts to develop a rail system FRI March 29, 1991 Houston Chronicle, Section A, Page 24, 2 STAR Edition
5. "Former Houston mayor Bob Lanier dies at 89". Jacksonville Progress.com. December 20, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2014.

External links

• Lanier, Robert "Bob" and Jim Barlow. Mayor Bob Lanier Oral History, Houston Oral History Project, January 8, 2008.