Bob Lanier (politician)

Infobox Mayor
name = Bob Lanier


caption =
office = 58^th Mayor of Houston
term_start = January 2 1992
term_end = January 2 1998
predecessor = Kathryn Whitmire
successor = Lee Brown
birth_date = birth date and age|1925|03|10
birth_place = Baytown, Texas
death_date =
death_place =
nationality =
party = Democrat
spouse = Elyse Lanier
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession = Banker, Attorney, Real Estate Developer


website =
footnotes =

Bob Lanier (born March 10, 1925) is a businessman in the real estate industry (Landar) who served as mayor of the city of Houston, Texas from 1992 to 1998.

Background

Bob Lanier was elected three times in the 1990s before term limits forced him from office in 1998. Lanier averaged 88 percent in his re-election races, with strong support in each political party and ethnic group.

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 he established himself as a major Houston real estate developer, focusing mostly on subdivisions and apartments.

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 continues to support.

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 of sidewalks constructed or initiated.

*367.2 miles of hike and bike trails under design and planned.

*110 miles of water and sewer lines to serve families without city water and sewer service.

*3,359 miles 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 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 of roadside ditches cleaned and regraded.

*50,918 lots mowed.

*464,578 cubic yards of trash removed by the city.

*78.3 miles of rehabilitated sewer lines completed or initiated.

*188.21 miles of new sewer lines completed or initiated.

*390.8 miles 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 live in Houston, as do their seven children and 11 grandchildren.