| Bob Lanier | |
|---|---|
| 58th Mayor of Houston | |
| In office January 2, 1992 – January 2, 1998 |
|
| Preceded by | Kathryn Whitmire |
| Succeeded by | Lee Brown |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 10, 1925 Baytown, Texas |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Elyse Lanier |
| Profession | Banker, Attorney, Real Estate Developer |
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. He is currently Houston's oldest living mayor.
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Lanier was elected mayor in 1991, 1993, and 1995, until term limits, enacted in 1991 and reinforced in 1994 by a grass-roots citizen initiative spearheaded by the conservative political activist Clymer Wright, prevented his candidacy in 1997. Lanier averaged 88 percent in his re-election races, with strong support in each political party and ethnic group. As mayor, he was affectionately called "Mayor Bob."[1]
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.
In the 1991 Mayor of Houston election, most white voters of all economic levels voted for Lanier. His strongest tallies came from affluent neighborhoods like River Oaks, Meyerland, Uptown, Memorial, and Sharpstown; in those areas he won with 60 to 65 percent or more of the vote. Lanier won 75 percent of the votes in his home Houston precinct. In racially-mixed areas such as Westbury and Alief, Lanier had the majority of votes with his main opponent, Sylvester Turner, having finished in a close second place. Lanier did not win in Montrose and many African-American neighborhoods.[2][3]
The Bob Lanier Public Works Building in Houston is named after him.
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.[4]
As mayor, Lanier’s actions were guided by three core values:
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:
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.
Lanier and his wife Elyse live in Houston, as do their seven children and 11 grandchildren.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Kathryn Whitmire |
Mayor of Houston, Texas 1992–1998 |
Succeeded by Lee Brown |
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