HOUSTON – Donald Trump is President-Elect. More than 50 percent of American voters don't like that outcome but the electoral vote is clear. What's the next step to repair the deep divisions created by the now finished bitter political campaign?
"Donald Trump now needs to go from the campaigner, and at some point agitator as a campaigner, to a statesman," said Gary Polland, the former Chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. "Can he make that transition so that the American people all believe that they have a stake in this presidency?"
Polland is one of several political experts on this week's Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall who have strong opinions about what should happen next.
Dallas Jones is a political consultant and analyst with Elite Change Consultants, and says the protests and negative reactions to Trump's election is not a good signal to the rest of the world.
"The number one priority of this administration going in is to heal this country," he said. "There are protests going on in major cities across the country. The peaceful transition of power that we value is not what's being reflected to the rest of the world."
Jay Aiyer is Assistant Professor in the Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern University. He says normalcy will take time. How well the nation is able to settle into a sense of well being and progress will depend on the specifics that come out of the new administration.
"The President-Elect tends to speak in sort of broad brushes and I think when you drill down into detail is where it's historically been it's been an issue we have talked about before related to his lack of specificity on policies," Aiyer said.
In-depth discussion about the election, the reaction to it and to the shocking defeat in Harris County of Republican candidates on this week's Houston Newsmakers.
ALSO
The city of Sugar Land is preparing to formally annex the communities of New Territory and Greatwood, which will add more than 30,000 people to the city's population. Annexation has been a rough time for many of the communities that went through that process with the city of Houston. Sugar Land Mayor Joe Zimmerman says that is not the case in Sugar Land where it is a win-win proposition for everyone. He says the growing city is a test of what his city government is supposed to do.
"That's our job as a city management to make sure we provide the same high quality level of services in all aspects," he said. "In police and fire and EMS, safety is the number one objective for not only this city council but city councils going all the way back."
Much more with Zimmerman about the plan for future growth in what is considered the most diverse city in the United States on Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall.
Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall, every Sunday Morning at 10 a.m. right after Meet the Press on KPRC Channel 2.
More Information:
- Gary Polland, Former Harris County GOP Chair, Publisher,Texas Conservative Review 713-621-6335 www.texasconservativereview.com www.garypollandlaw.com
- Dallas Jones, Political Consultant/Analyst, 832-426-477, www.elitechange.com @elitechange
- Jay Aiyer, Asst. Professor, Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, 713-313-4804, http://bjmlspa.tsu.edu/faculty/jay-aiyer-esq/ @profJKAiyer
- Joe Zimmerman, Mayor-Sugarland, 281-275-2700 www.sugarlandtx.gov @Sugarlandtxgov