Mayor Annise Parker’s Transition Team—As Transparent As A Wall

New Houston Mayor Annise Parker has announced a transition team to help her address important issues facing our city.

Here is a story about this team with a list of the names from the Houston Chronicle.

There are 27 names on this list.

Who are these people?

For the most part, I don’t know.

I read the newspaper every day. I read local political bloggers. I’m reasonably informed.

How many people in Houston are going to have clear sense of who these 27 people are?

Not many.

(Above—Keeping things behind walls is a practice that goes back many years in history.)

The Annise Parker campaign web home has a transition page that says nothing. (Click the link. You’ll get a chuckle out if it.)

There is no information I can find on the City of Houston web home.

The Mayor’s Facebook page says nothing about this team

It would be helpful to know where these people work.

It would be good to know what local boards these team members serve on.

It would be useful to know what experience transition team members have, that is relevant to what Mayor Parker is asking them to report on.

(Below–You can offer a distraction like a mural or a press release, but who knows what is taking place behind a wall? )

I’m hopeful that most folks on Mayor Parker’s transition team are looking to make Houston a better place.

Yet I should not have to take this on faith.

Maybe the Mayor has issued a comprehensive press release detailing who these people are and what connections they have.

However, if Mayor Parker has offered up these facts, she has not made it simple for the people of Houston to find this information.

There are easy ways for Mayor Parker to convey important information to the people of Houston.

Mayor Parker should make more effective use of these avenues of communication.

(Below–Not only is there a wall, but maybe things are being swept under the rug as well.)