HOUSTON — City of Houston mayoral candidate Tony Buzbee vows to give his salary as mayor away if he wins the seat.
Running on the platform of eliminating corruption and greed within city politics, Buzbee says he’ll do his part by not accepting any campaign donations or even a salary.
In what felt more like a victory speech, Buzbee energized hundreds in attendance at Cadillac Bar for his official campaign kickoff party Monday night.
“When I’m your mayor, I am going to be loyal to the citizens. I’m not going to be loyal to anyone who gave me a campaign donation, because I’m not taking any,” Buzbee said.
The crowd erupted in cheers as Buzbee went on to criticize Mayor Sylvester Turner, saying there’s no place for the “pay to play” and the greed that comes along with offering city contracts to people you know.
Buzbee spent even more time talking about the Turner’s struggle to act on Proposition B, which Buzbee says should have been addressed without lawsuits creating even more division.
For the man with million-dollar checks lining his office, Buzbee says he wants to take money out of the equation completely in an effort to better allocate funding to where it should be going: the people.
In one of his first campaign promises before November, Buzbee says his salary as mayor would be signed away to a “new, random Houston voter” every year he is in office.
Mayor Sylvester Turner reportedly rakes in about $236,000 a year, which is third-most in the country behind only Los Angeles and San Francisco.
Far be it for me to challenge an attorney on legalities, but we couldn’t help but wonder if it was even legal? We asked Rice University political professor Mark Jones for his thoughts.
“Certainly if he gets the money from the City of Houston and gives the money to a random person, anybody who is wealthy can do that,” Jones said.
Jones explains how as long as Buzbee isn’t giving the money only to people who voted for him and he’s not paying people from the city’s wallet, technically he’s in the clear.
All he has to do is deposit the check in his own account, before writing a Houston voter their check.
“So it’s a gimmick, but it’s one that’s a smart one. It’s a good way of differentiating himself saying the mayor takes a salary, I’m not going to take a salary,” Jones said.
Buzbee is a candidate who clearly isn’t in it for a paycheck, but says he understands what it’s like for the people who do have to live paycheck to paycheck, often referring back to days on the farm with his family, living modest lives.
If he’s elected mayor, Buzbee says the people of Houston can rest easy knowing money will not motivate his decisions.