AUSTIN – Today, August 12, 2017, Representative Garnet F. Coleman (D-Houston) released the following statement:

"Last Friday, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick made disparaging remarks about our cities and the local governments that run them. A nationwide 2016 Gallup Poll found similar results to polls taken since 2013, 71% of Americans polled say they have a ‘great deal’ or a ‘fair amount’ of trust in local government to handle problems, compared with 62% who say the same for their state government.

As a 55-year resident of the city of Houston, I take offense to the statements by Lt. Gov. Patrick who has done everything he can to cripple the city of Houston and other cities throughout the state while discriminating against the LGBT community and others. The roll back tax bill by Lt. Gov. Patrick and Senator Paul Bettencourt threatens the financial strength of our cities and counties.

Lt. Gov. Patrick’s war on cities began in Houston. He wants to do to the rest of the state what he did to Houston in 2004 with the revenue cap. The revenue cap adopted through a charter amendment championed by Lt. Gov. Patrick, Sen. Bettencourt, and Steve Hotze resulted in more than $221.7 million in lost revenue over the last three years starting in 2014 in Houston.

Lt. Gov. Patrick’s partisan condemnation of local government is political dog-whistling at best. As he continues to show his true colors, it’s very clear that Lt. Gov. Patrick is a divider, not a uniter, who is determined to create a system of us versus them. I guess that’s the hallmark of a ‘statesman’ today. I can’t imagine him as Governor.”