Know Your Mayors (18 of 21) - Tom Leppert of Dallas, Texas

We are continuing our public service series "Know Your Mayors," which seems as popular as classroom biology films from the '70s, with a profile of Tom Lepppert, the mayor of Dallas, Texas, the city hosting this weekend's NBA All-Star Game (the game is actually being played in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, TX). The Dallas Mavericks have been struggling, but they remain in playoff contention.

Leppert, born on June 15, 1954, was elected mayor in June, 2007. He won a run-off election with city councilman Ed Oakley. Leppert condemned anti-gay robocalls aimed at the openly gay Oakley which were run by the the Heritage Alliance PAC. Leppert got 58 percent of the vote in the election.

Even though the mayor's office is non-paritsan, Leppert is believed to be a Republican, according to Wikipedia, but he has emphasized a growth in city government and supported indoor smoking ordinances which have been opposed by traditional conservatives in Dallas. Leppert is also considered moderate to liberal in the areas of education and homelessness.

In the web site for the mayor's office, Leppert said that he has worked to improve the quality of life in Dallas by reducing the crime rate and luring big companies, like AT & T, to the downtown area.

Leppert has also lead trade delegations to China, Taiwan and Mexico.

Before entering civic life, Leppert was the CEO of Turner Construction where he helped the company earn more profits in seven years than it had in the previous 97 years combined.

During his tenure, Dallas has made friendship city pacts with two Chinese cities.

He was preceded in office by former mayor Laura Miller.

Leppert also has college degrees from Claremont McKenna College and Harvard University.

SIDEBAR_ The Washington, DC, area was hit with yet another major snowstorm yesterday. As a result, the City of Rockville, Md., has postponed its Town Hall meeting scheduled for 8:00 p.m. tonight. The city is also asking residents to stay home while road crews clean up the freaking mess....well, that wasn't exactly how they worded it on their web page!

Silly Picture to Fill Space- Groundhog Day

Whatever Mr. Groundhog says today, yet another %$#&*@ winter storm is headed for North Carolina and Virginia. This would mark the third time we get slammed. The last storm for those of you living in sunny Fargo, ND, was last weekend.

Although I shouldn't complain because a few years ago, I was offered a job in Rockville, Md., a Washington, DC suburb, but it didn't pay well enough to live in the area. I've always whinned that I would have been happier there (I live in rural NC, and I'm a city boy who likes his Woody Allen movies!), but hey, well they get the same snow we get- in fact, even more of it!

So, for the second weekend in a row, my major plans might be thwarted.

I was hoping to either see the North Carolina State women's gymnastics team, which is off to a good start this season and ranked #22 in the country, host SEC power Florida (ranked #3) in Raleigh, or see the experimental band Toubab Krewe from Asheville, NC, perform at the Cat's Cradled in Carrboro, NC, or go to my alma mater Radford University's homecoming festival in Radford, Va. The school is celebrating its 100th anniversary, and we have a pretty good men's basketball team which is supposed to host High Point University on Saturday.

Instead, I may have to watch talking heads discuss political issues which will resolve themselves when I'm old enough to collect social security on PBS' "Washington Weekin Review" (but, I love host Gwen Ifill!) or the Sunday talk shows (I guess one can always see if George F. Will is wearing a bow-tie or a regular neck tie).

And, of course, there should be an unholy amount of college basketball games to watch on ESPN and the networks. But, by time the Super Bowl comes on, I might have fallen asleep from watching the infommercials between "Meet the Press" and the pre-game show.

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