The Insider

If Rangel does fall victim to a Senate blackball, the backup list of candidates includes three Houstonians: U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gillmore, federal Magistrate Calvin Botley and Murry Cohen of the state First Court of Appeals.

Free Money at the Track
The city of Houston and other Harris County municipalities could be collecting a state-authorized tax of up to 15 cents per attendee from the Charles Hurwitz-controlled Sam Houston Race Park, and all they've got to do is ask the county to collect it. In fact, County Judge Robert Eckels has been sitting on a request from the city to do so for more than a year.

Richard Lewis, the city's director of finance and administration, wrote Eckels in January 1996 asking that he take steps to begin collecting the tax, which would be in addition to the 15 cents per head already collected by the county for itself. Curiously, Eckels did not respond to the request until queried by CPA Andrew Kreston, who has been campaigning since 1995 to get the city to collect its rightful tax from the horse track. Eckels had initially informed Kreston that the city was not interested in collecting the tax. According to a more recent letter from Eckels to Kreston, Lewis's letter did not prompt any action because, according to the judge, it was not an "official request" from "the governing body of the city." A majority of the 34 municipalities in Harris County must request the fee imposition in order for the county to be legally empowered to collect it.

Kreston has now asked the City Council to vote on the matter, but has received no response. You'd think somebody on the Council would be interested in voting to pick up some of that Hurwitz spare change, estimated at $44,000 a year, for the taxpayers.

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