From http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/topstory2/1153749
Dec. 2, 2001, 9:34AM

Brown wins mayoral nail-biter

Sanchez challenge falls short

By JOHN WILLIAMS
Copyright 2001 Houston Chronicle Political Writer

Houston Mayor Lee Brown narrowly won re-election to a third term Saturday, beating back a strong bid by City Councilman Orlando Sanchez.

Brown had 158,874 votes, or 50.7 percent, to defeat Sanchez's 154,491, or 49.3 percent. More voters participated in the runoff than the 288,000 who voted in the Nov. 6 general election.

Shortly after midnight, before the vote was final, Brown walked before a cheering collection of supporters and campaign workers at a victory party at the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Brown, Houston's first black mayor, reached out to his opponents in what has been a particularly divisive race that was fought along racial and partisan lines.

Brown said that Sanchez waged a tough campaign, and "like all of us, he loves Houston."

Sanchez, standing before an adoring crowd at the Hotel Derek a few minutes later, was gracious as he conceded defeat. He would have been Houston's first Hispanic mayor.

"We want to congratulate Mayor Brown for a well-run, hard-fought campaign," Sanchez said. "And tomorrow, we wake up and we're all Houstonians. We're working together."

Sanchez elicited a loud cry of "Viva Sanchez," when he said one of the most important parts of his campaign was that "We are empowering a whole new group of (Hispanic) Houstonians."

"For that, we are all winners," Sanchez said.

Brown said that Houston is made of diverse neighborhoods from "Meyerland to the Fifth Ward to River Oaks to Clear Lake to Kingwood to Montrose," linking areas that voted for and against him.

"It is a marvel to be eyewitness to such a diverse population and to know that we are all Houstonians," he said. "We may differ in some superficial ways. But when it is all said and done, we are united by the same goal to make Houston a great city."

Brown, 64, said the victory will allow him to continue with projects such as a 7.5-mile light rail line, a convention center hotel and efforts to win the host bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics that started under his watch. The two-year term starting in January would be his last under city term limits.

"In the next two years, we will work hard, we will work smart, but most importantly, we will work together," he said.

Sanchez, 44, had pledged if elected to try to convince City Council to reduce property taxes, increase Fire Department staffing and begin what could be major budget cuts.

Sanchez's strong showing, regardless of the final outcome, was encouraging for Republicans and Hispanics, who formed a coalition that served as Sanchez's base. Sanchez got about 60 percent of the Hispanic vote in the first round Nov. 6.

A Sanchez victory would have marked several firsts, including;

· Houston would have become the country's only major city to have elected black and Hispanic mayors.

· It would have been the first time a candidate who openly campaigned as a Republican in modern times has been elected mayor of Houston, though local city races are nonpartisan.

· It would have been the first time a sitting council member has defeated an incumbent mayor in at least 100 years in Houston.

Either way, Saturday marked the first time in the city's history that an Anglo was not on the ballot on the final election date.

That should not come as much of a surprise in the nation's ethnically diverse fourth-largest city.

Hispanics account for 37 percent of the city's 1.95 million population, whites for 31 percent and blacks for 25 percent, the 2000 Census indicated.

Four years ago, Brown won his first election with strong support from black voters, who mostly vote Democratic, and from Democratic white voters.

This year, Sanchez cobbled together the same coalition of conservative whites and Hispanics that put Bob Lanier in office in 1991.

Though Brown had support of most Hispanic elected officials, Sanchez looked like he might get two of every three Hispanic votes in the runoff as the city's Hispanic population came out in likely historic levels to support its candidate.

Racial division was an undercurrent throughout the campaigns.

Brown complained that the Sanchez campaign tried to intimidate black voters from going to the polls, and threatened to challenge the results of Brown loses.

Sanchez countered that Brown was trying to divide Houston's Hispanic community by pointing out that Sanchez's Cuban heritage was much different than that of Mexican-Americans.

Poll watchers from the Secretary of State's office came to Houston to monitor the vote, at the request of unidentified voters.

Brown got what he wanted when he and Sanchez eliminated moderate Councilman Chris Bell and three others from the ballot on Nov. 6.

Believing he matched up better against a Republican than a moderate, Brown, a Democrat, launched a broadside against Sanchez at the start of the runoff.

Brown constantly harped on Sanchez's lack of managerial skills, noting that he had never run a business and quit a prior job as probation officer amid poor job evaluations.

Facing intense anybody-but-Brown sentiment that grew during his second term, Brown labeled Sanchez as a right-wing extremist in attempts to lure middle-of-the-road Bell supporters.

Sanchez tried to deflect the criticism, accusing Brown of negative campaigning. He stuck to his message that Houston needed a new mayor.

Sensitive to the questions about his managerial experience, Sanchez appointed task forces of experienced business people and experts, like financier Charles Miller and developer Michael Stevens, to help him evaluate City Hall issues.

While Sanchez flinched at being called extremist, he rarely strayed from the conservative principles of the Republican party, where he has been a long-time player.

For at least four years, Republicans have worked hard to get one of their own elected mayor.

Four years ago, Brown used Democratic help to defeat Republican businessman Rob Mosbacher in a runoff.

But even before Brown took office in January 1998, Republicans on City Council formed what became an effective bloc that worked against many of the mayor's objectives.

Brown usually won the battles, with last year's one-cent property tax reduction a high-profile exception, but not without controversy almost every week at the council table.

Brown, who won his first election with help from then-President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore, often exacerbated that schism with his Democratic leanings. Last year, Brown supported Gore for president even as Gore ran commercials highly critical of Houston, and Brown did not publicly defend his city, which rankled many conservatives.

Sanchez openly campaigned as a Republican and sought help from Republicans around the country, who helped finance what became a better-funded campaign than Brown's in the final week.

In recent weeks, he got the endorsements of President Bush, his parents, former President and first lady George and Barbara Bush, and New York Mayor Rudolph Guiliani.

And he also got help from Christian conservative Christian rights activist Steven Hotze of Houston, and Vision America, which has the Rev. Jerry Falwell on its advisory board, mailed fliers and letters to conservative Houstonians supporting Sanchez.

Brown got less support from Democrats nationally, though Clinton and Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe endorsed him.

For a mayor who has gained a reputation for a tin political ear, Brown's biggest mistake may have occurred two years ago, when he helped remove Houston lawyer Jack Rains as chairman of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority.

It could be the biggest Houston mayoral misstep since former Mayor Kathy Whitmire removed developer Bob Lanier as chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1989. Lanier then ran against her in 1991, winning a runoff after he and state Rep. Sylvester Turner squeezed Whitmire from a runoff.

Late this summer, Rains became campaign chairman for Sanchez and provided new energy and organizational skills that seemed to energize that campaign.

Chronicle reporters Rachel Graves, Mary Vuong and Dale Lezon contributed to this story.