HOUSTON, Nov. 7 -- Houston Mayor Bob Lanier was overwhelmingly re-elected Tuesday to his third and last two-year term in the nation's fourth largest city. With 76 percent of the precincts reporting, Lanier had 83 percent, or 81,343 votes, compared with his closest opponent, businessman Dave Wilson, who had 8 percent, or 9,311 votes.
Former Houston school trustee Elizabeth Spates also was running in the race. Returns for Spates were not immediately available. 'Thank you, Houston, for making a guy like me look good,' Lanier, 70, said in his victory speech at a downtown hotel. 'The way the vote came in is really nice...the city pretty much thinks the goal is on track.' Houston mayors currently are limited to serving six years. Wilson, a sign company owner with no political experience, spearheaded a petition drive to dismantle the city's affirmative action contracting program. Lanier has defended affirmative action, saying it ensures fairness and opportunity. A millionaire real estate developer and former chairman of the Texas Highway Commission, Lanier collected 91 percent of the vote in his 1993 race against three low-profile candidates. In his first race in 1991, Lanier beat state Sen. Sylvester Turner after the two men emerged from a primary that defeated 10-year incumbent Kathy Whitmire, Houston's first woman mayor. Lanier has been a popular mayor because he has increased the size of the Police Department while Houston's crime figures have fallen and continue to drop.
