Houston is considered to be a politically divided city whose balance of power often sways between Republicans and Democrats Much of the city's wealthier areas vote Republican while the city's working class and minority areas vote Democratic According to the 2005 Houston Area Survey 68 percent of non-Hispanic whites in Harris County are declared or favor Republicans while 89 percent of non-Hispanic blacks in the area are declared or favor Democrats About 62 percent of Hispanics (of any race) in the area are declared or favor Democrats the city has often been known to be the most politically diverse city in Texas a state known for being generally conservative. As a result the city is often a contested area in statewide elections in 2009 Houston became the first U.S city with a population over 1 million citizens to elect a gay mayor by electing Annise Parker, During 1942 Allied officials debated on the appropriate grand strategy to pursue All agreed that defeating Germany was the primary objective the Americans favoured a straightforward large-scale attack on Germany through France the Soviets were also demanding a second front the British on the other hand argued that military operations should target peripheral areas to wear out German strength leading to increasing demoralisation and bolster resistance forces Germany itself would be subject to a heavy bombing campaign an offensive against Germany would then be launched primarily by Allied armour without using large-scale armies. Eventually the British persuaded the Americans that a landing in France was infeasible in 1942 and they should instead focus on driving the Axis out of North Africa. Texans also enjoy the rodeo the world's first rodeo was hosted in Pecos Texas the annual Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is the largest rodeo in the world it begins with trail rides that begin from several points throughout the state that convene at Reliant Park the Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show in Fort Worth is the oldest continuously running rodeo incorporating many of the state's most historic traditions into its annual events Dallas hosts the State Fair of Texas each year at Fair Park. The city of Houston has a strong mayoral form of municipal government. Houston is a home rule city and all municipal elections in the Texas are nonpartisan the city's elected officials are the mayor city controller and 16 members of the Houston City Council the current mayor of Houston is Sylvester Turner a Democrat elected on a nonpartisan ballot Houston's mayor serves as the city's chief administrator executive officer and official representative and is responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced. . William Henry Huddle: Surrender of Santa Anna (1886; Texas State Capitol Austin). In 2004 Houston unveiled the first Mahatma Gandhi statue in the state of Texas at Hermann Park Houston's Indian American Community were cheerful after 10 years in 2010 when the Hillcroft and Harwin area were renamed Mahatma Gandhi District in honor of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi as that area is the center of Indian commerce. Houston Texas Business Directory Contents 11.3 Equipment and animals Historically the East Texas economy has been led by lumber cotton cattle and oil Prior to the discovery of the East Texas Oil Field cotton lumber and cattle were the predominant source of economic gains and stability Needs of local farmers contributed greatly to the establishment of local towns and trading posts As with many parts of the nation the chosen paths of railroads often determined the continuation of many towns At the beginning of the 20th century the oil fields were discovered and oil became accessible which changed the future of the region.
; . Two historically important routes cross the Big Thicket: to the north lies the old cattle route or Beef Trail that ran from Tyler County to Louisiana; to the south is the Spanish Trail or the Atascosito Road that parallels modern Highway 90 and Interstate 10 from Liberty to Orange. The Texas constitution defines the responsibilities of county governments which serve as agents of the state What are called commissioners court and court judges are elected to serve as the administrative arm Most cities in the state those over 5,000 in population have home-rule governments the vast majority of these have charters for council-manager forms of government by which voters elect council members who hire a professional city manager as operating officer. The eight-county Greater Houston metropolitan area contains over 25,000 miles (40,000 km) of roadway of which 10% or approximately 2,500 miles (4,000 km) is limited-access highway the Houston region's extensive freeway system handles over 40% of the regional daily vehicle miles traveled (VMT). Arterial roads handle an additional 40% of daily VMT while toll roads of which Greater Houston has 180 miles (290 km) handle nearly 10%. Houston contains few naturally-formed lakes Lake Houston an 11,854-acre (4,797-hectare) reservoir located approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Downtown was created by damming the San Jacinto River in the 1950s to create a dependable long-term supply of drinking water the lake is owned and operated by the City of Houston. Besides supplying water to the city the lake is also a central feature of the Kingwood community and serves as a recreational destination.
Fox J L Inc General Contractors