South Texas welcomes Bill White in his first day as full-time candidate

BROWNSVILLE, TEXAS - Former Houston Mayor Bill White's first day as a full-time candidate for Governor began with a breakfast at a local Mexican restaurant in McAllen and ended with a crowded meet and greet in Brownsville.

At stops in McAllen, Edinburg, Weslaco, Edcouch and Brownsville, White called for new leadership in the state, leadership to represent all the people of Texas.

"Now more than ever we've broken down glass ceilings in our state and the laws of segregation and discrimination that held back our potential," White said at a lunch in Weslaco. "Imagine if we had leadership as good as the people of this state, leadership committed to educating the next generation of Texans."

White emphasized his executive experience in the public and private sector. On Monday, White completed his six-year service as mayor of the largest city in Texas. As Houston's mayor he was twice re-elected with an average of 88 percent of the vote. Before serving as mayor, White helped build successful businesses.

Congressman Ruben Hinojosa and State Senators Eddie Lucio Jr. and Juan Chuy Hinojosa hosted the breakfast in McAllen for state representatives, city mayors, judges and community members.

However, White said Sergeant Sam Medrano was the guest of honor. After returning from two tours in Iraq, Sgt. Medrano immediately signed up to work on White's campaign and made calls to get residents out to the breakfast.

"I am honored by those elected officials who are here today, who support me, who endorse me, but I am even more honored that Sergeant Medrano, who has just come back from fighting for our country, told me that he wanted to work on my campaign."

Congressman Hinojosa introduced the mayor at the breakfast. "Bill White's someone we have known since the early 1990s when he came down here in the company of his friend Bill Clinton," he said. "We remember the work he did in this region, which now has over a quarter million people. We assure you this area will turn out because of those who are supporting him."

In Edcouch, White spoke to geography and history classes at Edcouch-Elsa High School. White said Texas' rank behind all other states in the percentage of our adults who have high school diplomas is unacceptable. He said students, teachers and the governor should all be held accountable.

"We cannot be prepared for the future of the global economy with drop out rates of 40 and 50 percent in some areas of this state," he said to the students.

White vowed to focus on improving education achievement in K-12 grade levels, improving high school graduation rates and reducing the costs of college.

White also pledged to work with local leaders to address the needs of South Texans including building a full-service veterans hospital and allocating more funding to infrastructure.

White said, "Too often the Valley gets the short end of the stick when it comes to the allocation of state funds for infrastructure. This is the largest population center in the country that is not linked by the interstate highway to the commerce of the United States of America. I will tell you that I will listen to the priorities of your local leadership here. We want leadership in this state which is inclusive."

The son of San Antonio school teachers, White helped build a law firm and managed a successful business before being elected Houston's mayor in 2003. Since then, he's been re-elected twice with 86% and 91% of the vote. During White's administration, Houston led the nation's cities in job growth, adding more jobs than sixteen states combined. At the same time, he cut property tax rates five years in a row and helped seniors with tax relief. White also started a special initiative that gives returning veterans the welcome they deserve with coordinated social services, reductions in red tape, and employment opportunities. After Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Ike, Bill White mobilized effective disaster response including first responders, businesses and churches. For his compassionate, hands-on leadership after Katrina, White received the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 2007. Previously, he served as Deputy Secretary of Energy of the United States.