Political Splashes and Splats

The triumph of Bob and Sheila; the tragicomedy of Craig and Lloyd

Comments (0) By Tim Fleck Thursday, May 6 1999

...continued from page 1

Not that mayor was grand enough for Kelley. He signaled his megalomaniacal political aspirations by spending time away from his office to campaign for Bob Dole in the New Hampshire presidential primary.

In the year that followed, the Press's cover lampooned Kelley as a floppy-eared pooch; the Houston Chronicle skewered him for giving a crony a fat contract; and Channel 13's undercover man Wayne Dolcefino captured footage of Kelley cavorting with his kids and a blond aide at Splashtown, walking his dog down Heights streets and sightseeing across Texas -- all on office time.

Naturally, he lost the election to challenger Sylvia Garcia. When her troops took over the office in 1998, they found a media setup worthy of a national campaign: three TV sets, complete with VCRs, presumably to monitor all the favorable stories that never came. Kelley, now out of politics, reportedly plans to move to another city.

Tim Fleck wrote the cover story for the Houston Press's first issue ("Fire Sale of the Inanities," November 9, 1989) and continues to spread political terror as the Insider.