Hurricane Beryle exposed how Texas Reublicans are incompetent

Dan Patrick failed his Beryl test in the big-boy chair | Thumbs Down❗ Echo editorial opinion published in the Houston Chronicle.

Flooding is seen surrounding a restaurant in the Houston neighborhood of the East End days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall on Thursday, July 11, 2024 in Houston.

Perhaps the worst kept secret in Texas politics is that Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants to have the big job someday. 

Well, with Governor Greg Abbott out on a business jaunt to Asia — great timing there, guv! — Patrick got the keys to the castle for a few days. He then proceeded to botch his first and most important test as acting governor: to throw a lifeline to his state’s largest city as a hurricane approached. 

Calimitous! A pair of skeletons along with a sign that reads “waiting on Centerpoint” is seen on the front yard of Rex Mackall Jr.’s home as his family and neighborhood still remain without power four days after Hurricane Beryl made landfall, Thursday, July 11, 2024, in Spring.

Anyone with a weather app knew, days before Hurricane Beryl made landfall, that it would affect Texas, and it’s not unusual for states to ask ahead of a big storm for the feds to get supplies ready. (Abbott, for instance, requested federal aid well before hurricanes Harvey and Hanna battered the state.) But Patrick apparently dragged his feet. 

In a dramatic phone call to the Chronicle, President Joe Biden said he had to reach out personally to Patrick to ask that Texas request the aid. Patrick defended himself, saying he wanted to assess the damage before reaching out to the feds. Of course, this political kerfuffle was a convenient and rather annoying distraction from the very real suffering that many Houstonians without power are going through now. But it at least gave Texans a preview of how a Patrick administration might function under pressure — and he sure didn’t look ready for prime time. 

Stick to the Legislature, Dan, and maybe hold Houston’s largest electric provider accountable for its calamitous post-Beryl performance while you’re at it.

Thumbs down: As too many of us continue to swelter, without electricity, how ticked off are everyday Houstonians at CenterPoint? Consider this: Graffiti artists have taken up the cause. On Wednesday, commuters beheld a new “CenterPointLe$$” graffiti tag on an I-10 West underpass. And it didn’t improve the public mood when, during CenterPoint CEO Jason Wells' interview with the Chronicle, a photographer captured the thermostat on the CenterPoint office wall displaying a cool 70 degrees. “I understand how frustrating it is to be without power, especially in this heat,” Wells said. Do you though, Jason? During the same interview, he noted that while his own home lost power for two days, he didn’t notice it much because of his backup generator. Must be nice!

Thumbs up: Most of the photos coming out of Hurricane Beryl’s devastation are heartbreaking: a family waiting for food at a church, homes split open by downed trees, an anxious-looking dog peering at its owners as yet another tempest rolls through the storm-exhausted city. Some of the photos are inspiring: linemen working through sweltering conditions, Houstonians clearing a neighborhood drain with a rake, volunteers at food and water distributions popping up across the region. Then there are the ones that make us laugh, even when they shouldn’t: a couple of skeletons in a front yard behind a spray-painted “Waiting for CenterPoint” sign. Or a scene from outside El Tiempo restaurant where, even days after Beryl made landfall, floodwaters make Navigation Boulevard looks for all the world like the San Antonio River Walk. 

As Houston sweats its way through another disaster recovery, tarping roofs and clearing trees, looking at that photo is like a much-needed mental vacation. Envision lolling beneath the colorful umbrellas, taking in bright teal iron work outside the terra cotta-roofed restaurant. Imagine the breeze of plentiful fans, the salty bite of a margarita, followed by a shaded stroll along a perfectly delightful tourist trap. Cheers to that.