No more ‘Mayor Moore’ in Richmond
The last time someone not named Moore occupied the mayor’s post in the city of Richmond, Harry Truman was president.
Hilmar Moore served for 63 years as the city’s mayor, starting in 1949. When he died at age 92 in 2012, his wife, Evalyn Wendt Moore, served out the remainder of his term, then won election in 2014 and 2017.
This year, the coronavirus pandemic prompted officials to push back theMay election toNov. 3, coinciding with the general election. Four times as many people turned out as in the 2017 mayoral race, and Moore was defeated by local businesswoman BeckyHaas, 1,420 votes to 1,334.
Haas was sworn in Monday, ending a remarkable 71-year stretch in which “Mayor Moore” was the onlymayormost residents knew.
Moore, 76, said in a phone interviewthat she believes the rescheduling of the election to the fall contributed to the close race, in part by increasing turnout. In 2017, Moorewon with nearly 70 percent
of the vote.
“I understand that a lot of people had Moore fatigue,” she said. “Theywere tired of the Moores. So they saw my name and just voted against me.”
Family legacy
Moore’s observation recalled Barbara Bush’s blunt 2013 observation about her son Jeb’s potential presidential run: “We’ve had enough Bushes in the White House.”
As with the Bushes, politics was a passion for the Moores of Richmond, a city of about12,000 in Fort Bend County.
A descendant of the Old ThreeHundred settlers who established a colony through land grants from Stephen F. Austin, Hilmar Moore was a decorated World War II veteran who saw the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, aswell as a sixthgeneration cattle rancher, the Chronicle reported in 2012.
Appointed mayor in September 1949, he won election every time starting in 1950. Moore was believed to have been the longest-serving mayor in thenation’s history when he died in December 2012.
“He met six presidents, many governors, and an astounding assortment of scoundrels, characters, gentlemen and ladies of all races, creeds, religions and political affiliations,” stated an obituary released by the family.
A bronze statue of the fifth-generation Texan in
shirtsleeves, his thumbs resting on his belt, stands near City Hall.
When Evalyn was sworn in to serve out her husband’s term, she became the city’s first female mayor. She rested her hand on the Bible of her husband of 28 years, the Fort Bend Herald reported. “I feel honored,” she said at the time. “We’re going to continue to make Richmond a nice place to live, raise a family, workand retire.”
The 1962 graduate of Lamar Consolidated High School also drew on her family’s history, as her parents, Billie and Jack Wendt, had been civic leaders known across the state, and her grandfather had served as county judge in Fort Bend. ‘Mayor Becky’ takes over Haas— or “Mayor Becky,” as the city’s website now refers to her — is also ades cendant of the Old Three Hundred.
A Rich-mond resident for more than 50 years and a downtown business owner, she has been involved in community organizations such as the Fort Bend County Historical Commission, the Black Cowboy Museum and the Historic Richmond Association.
She lives with her husband of 40 years, Robert, who was a fire marshal in the city. They have two daughters, Amanda and Kelly.
Haas recently touted her plan to revitalize downtown
Richmond.
“Richmond needs more business,” Haas, 62, told
Houston Community News-
papers. “We needmore tax revenue coming in. Weneed to build our downtown back up.”
Haas envisions a downtown with more people shopping, dining out and appreciating Richmond’s rich history.
“The economy hasn’t been friendly to a lot of cities, and we’re one of them,” she said. “But we’re too close to Houston not to be a destination place, with all
the history that Richmond has.”
In a phone interview with the Chronicle, Haas stressed that she hopes Richmond will become a destination for tourists on weekends.
She also wants to see greater participation in city government.
“We needmore people to attend the meetings. We need more people to volunteer to be on the different commissions,” Haas said. “Wen eed more ideas. Iwant people to feel like City Hall is a place where they can come, sit down, and somebody will listen to them.”
Brandon Rottinghaus, a political scientist at the University of Houston, said Haas’ focus on economic issues may have attracted voters.
“That’s something that I think appealed to a lot of voters because this was an election where the economy was really front and center,” Rottinghaus said.
As Fort Bend County continues to change and become more diverse, some residents may not hold the same connection with longtime candidates, he observed.
“These areas are changing rapidly. With new voters, it’s hard to keep ties to the past, especially with legacy candidates,” Rottinghaus said. “So it could be that with enough new people and enough turnover that there wasn’t the same connection to the Moore dy-nasty of old
Smooth handoff
At Moore’s last City Commission meeting, they declared Monday, Nov. 16, to be “Mayor Evalyn Moore Day.” She was presented with a key to the city.
“Mayor Evalyn Moore’s passion for Richmond and loyalty to the residents of this great city she loves kept her focused on the vision of providing a good quality of life for all residents of Richmond, while protecting our historical assets that provide the charm and slow pace of life she references as the Richmond State of Mind,” the city said in a statement.
Officials noted that Moore played important roles in developing a comprehensive master plan; annexing 117 acres; and completing sidewalk, street widening and drainage projects along Collins Road north to George Park. Moore said she is particularly proud that thecity built a new water plant on her watch. Her tenure also saw a planning and zoning commission established, and the city was recognized with awards for Community of the Year and Outstanding Public Drinking Water System. This year, Moore appointed a panel to look at relocating the controversial Jaybird Monument from its spot near Richmond City Hall amid petition drives calling for its removal. The obelisk honors three members of a whites-only political group who died during an 1889 clash with members of a group, the Woodpeckers, that had worked to get former slaves elected to office during Reconstruction. The city and county agreed last month tomove it to a ceme-tery. “Frankly, I didn’t like it for a long time,” Moore said this week of the statue. “I didn’t think the wording on therewas a very good image for the city of Richmond to have. I was ready to move it.” Moore said she still plans to stay involved with local nonprofits and is excited to go fishing in her down time. She said she wishes Haas “the very best.” “My husband was dedicated to the city of Richmond,” Moore said. “He loved the city of Richmond, and I love the city of Richmond. I want to see it do well.”