Mayoral hopeful looks to capitalize on experience
This is the first in a series of profiles on the top candidates running for mayor in Houston.
Almost a decade ago, mayoral hopeful Chris Bell had a brush with the sort of political turnaround that, though fleeting, to this day he describes as magical.
It was 2006 and the one term- congressman had set his sights on the governor’s office. Bell, a Democrat, was trailing in the polls and low on funds when he entered the sole televised debate that fall, facing off against incumbent Rick Perry and Independents Kinky Friedman and Carole Keeton Strayhorn. By most accounts, Bell performed very well that night, landing at least one direct jab at the sitting governor.
Overnight, trial lawyer John O’Quinn pledged $1 million to Bell, unleashing a lastminute surge in his campaign and a bump in the polls as election day neared. Bell would garner just shy of 30 percent of the vote to Perry’s 39 percent.
Bell said the suddenly viable campaign was “incredible, and I would not give up those 30 days for anything in the world.”
“I don’t see any shame in running and not winning,” Bell said. “The shame should be in not caring and not trying.”
Friends and colleagues said it’s Bell’s belief in good government and that streak of political ambi-
tion, even in the face of sometimes daunting odds, that have fueled his 10 runs for various local, state and Congressional offices. And so, despite a seven-year break from the political circuit, it came as little surprise when Bell was the first candidate to publicly announce his campaign for mayor, an office he ran for in 2001 but lost to Lee Brown, who bested Republican Orlando Sanchez in the runoff.
In this year’s crowded race for term-limited Annise Parker’s seat, Bell’s first campaign finance report this summer put him behind other major mayoral contenders, which political scientists said didn’t rule him out but would make his path to City Hall tougher. Bell and his team said they aren’t concerned, pointing to his name ID in Houston and a record of showing well at forums and debates thanks to his ease with public speaking. ‘Born to run’
Bell’s campaign is centered around a promise to “modernize” Houston. He’s focused on mobility issues, pledging to synchronize traffic lights and build 200 miles of sidewalks in his first term as well as education, proposing to work with school districts and use library space for classrooms. Bell has also billed his experience at the local and national level as a boon to the city, dismissing suggestions that his recent campaign losses will be a vulnerability — he’s lost three races in a row.
Bell, 55, has been ambitious in picking races, often seeking election in districts that skew Republican or, as a young lawyer, running as a relative unknown. Bell has also drawn some criticism from colleagues for being quick to go on the offensive and deploying a sharp wit that doesn’t always translate well with constituents.
At his campaign launch on a blustery January day at Sam Houston Park, Bell was careful to fend off perceived attacks from opponents about his election record; “if it’s necessary, I’ll talk about the races they’ve run and lost” he said.
Brett Shipp, a friend of Bell’s since high school in Dallas’ swanky Highland Park neighborhood, said Bell has been running for office ever since there was an office to run for, “a perpetual candidate for student council.”
“Hewas like this Bruce Springsteen — born to run,” said Shipp, now a broadcast reporter in Dallas. “I think it’s this innate leadership quality that he knows is part of his DNA. Andhe’s always been kind of a political junkie, a political savant, and he loves politics, and it really kind of fuels his fire.”
Bell grew up in what he said was a middle-class household. His high school was attended almost exclusively by white students, something that became more jarring to Bell when he left for the University of Texas in Austin. It’s there that Bell, who headed the Interfraternity Council and pushed to form a student government, began to truly shift across the political spectrum away from his conservative upbringing.
“I’ve talked about this campaign more than I really probably ever have because I think I’ve sort of reached a comfort level,” Bell said. “When you grow up in a middle-class home in one of the wealthiest areas in the entire state it’s obviously going to have an impact on you. I think it gives you sort of a sense of unfairness in certain instances and kind of more of a desire to stand up for folks who may not be as well connected or as powerful.”
After graduation, Bell went on to pursue a career in journalism, first with a stint at a TV station in Ardmore, Okla. Bell’s reporting then took him to Amarillo, where he eventually launched his first official campaign and took on Charles J. “Chip” Staniswa- lis in the 1984 race for the Texas House of Representatives. Bell lost, badly.
Undaunted, Bell moved to Houston where he picked up a reporting job covering Harris County courts for KTRH Radio during the day, freeing up his evenings for class at the South Texas College of Law. When he graduated, he took his first job as an attorney at a civil litigation firm, Alexander & McEvily.
Bell’s first legal secretary, Roberta Sealy, knew that Bell had bigger political ambitions and gave him a copy of the book “Reinventing Government” for Christmas. The book enumerates 10 principles to make government more entrepreneurial. It stuck with Bell, who still draws on the text to shape his “customer service” platform.
“It was clear to me from the get-go that guy had all the ability to make a political career happen for himself and benefit the public as well,” Sealy said. ‘Formidable foe’
In 1995, Bell launched his first bid for a City Council seat and lost. Two years later, he won an at-large position in a special election and held onto the seat in the next race. Bell curried favor with Mayor Bob Lanier who appointed him as chair of the powerful Budget and Fiscal Affairs committee. On council, Bell made his mark working on new ethics rules, and his humor stood out, too.
Fellow City Councilman Rob Todd grew to know Bell well. Todd, a Republican, frequently disagreed with Bell in chambers but would gamely socialize with him later. The two attended law school together, though they barely knew one another at the time.
“We didn’t always see eye to eye on things,” Todd said. “But he always made sure things between us were good personally. That’s the kind of guy he is.”
Todd recalled once when he
“We didn’t always see eye to eye on things, but he always made sure things between us were good personally. That’s the kind of guy he is.” Rob Todd, former city councilman, a Republican
had lost a tough vote, failing to garner the eight votes needed on City Council at the time because two council members flipped at the last minute. The next day, during a literacy presentation, the council members were all given children’s books. Bell peeled back the cover of “The Cat in the Hat” by Dr. Seuss, wrote a note and slid it down the horseshoe to Todd.
“This might help you count to eight next time,” it said.
Other times, however, Bell led conflict on council that cost him his fiscal affairs chair. Under Mayor Lee Brown in 1999, Bell staged a walkout over a parking contract dispute to deprive Brown of a quorum. It was one of the more public chapters in Bell’s at-times tumultuous relationship with Brown.
Bert Keller, another Republican on City Council, said Bell aligned himself with some of the conservatives to “punch a hole in the bow of Brown’s boat, and we were happy to have him.” Bell voted along with Republicans on council for a property tax rollback.
Keller said Bell is a sharp critical thinker and passionate advocate for good government. But he was a “formidable foe,” too, who was unlikely to change his mind once it had been set.
“Chris does hold a grudge,” Keller said. “Somebody better measure their shot when they do that. It’s not gonna be like ‘oh, well shucks.’ You didn’t just burn down the bridge, you would blow it up.”
Then-assistant agenda director Marty Stein said Bell was indeed quick on his feet, a skill that could also be used to take aim at those with whom he disagreed.
“He didn’t speak a lot,” Stein said. “But when he did speak it was usually to lighten the moment or else to really shoot somebody down in a very direct way that sometimes was acerbic.”
To Bell, his time on City Council was formative, but he said his approach to the mayor’s office today would be slightly different.
“I’ve grown a lot,” Bell said. “I think I’ve learned a lot. I think I would bring a different mindset and a different personality.” ‘The sake of running’
Bell’s win in the 25th Congressional District marked a new chapter in his political career, though a path to re-election was blocked when then-Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay led a redistricting effort that remade Bell’s constituency.
After his failed gubernatorial run in 2006, Bell launched one more campaign, taking on Republican Joan Huffmanin 2008 in a heated special election for state Senate District 17 that he lost. It’s the only race Bell said he regrets because he was “running for the sake of running” at the urging of some local Democrats.
After the loss, Bell threw himself back into work as a lobbyist and attorney. When friends broached a 2015 mayoral run, he was intrigued but knew he would need the backing of his wife, Alison Ayres Bell. After seven years away from politics, they both agreed it was time.
“It was more of a process than a moment,” Bell said of his decision. “I think it would’ve been foolish to let it come down to some type of epiphany. ... I started to really think about what I bring to the table and how I’ve handled myself in public service before really lends itself to that kind of leadership.”