<\/p>\n
Councilwoman Eleanor Tinsley with her turtle collection at her office, July 21, 1995.<\/p>\n
D. Fahleson\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Honor<\/p>\n
Regarding \u201cHouston mural will honor Barbara Jordan, Ima Hogg and four other influential women<\/a>,\u201d (Aug. 26): I think the project is a wonderful idea, and the women selected are deserving. But I was surprised by the omission of two women whose impact on modern Houston is hard to overstate: Kathy Whitmire and Eleanor Tinsley.<\/p>\n Whitmire was much more than Houston\u2019s first woman mayor. During ten years in office, she helped modernize City Hall. Under Whitmire, Houston established its first formal five-year Capital Improvement Plan, creating a more systematic approach to long-range infrastructure planning. She pushed for mass transit, broadened opportunities for women and minorities in city government and led Houston through the devastating 1980s oil bust. Her judicial appointments included Sylvia Garcia and Sheila Jackson Lee, both future Houston leaders in their own right.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Tinsley\u2019s record is just as remarkable. As a member and later president of the HISD board, she played an important role during school desegregation and helped establish the Houston Community College System. She later served sixteen years on City Council, championing Houston\u2019s 911 system, billboard regulation, gay rights, parks and the SPARK School Park Program.<\/p>\n No six-person mural can include everyone deserving recognition. But few women better fit the description of those who opened doors, built institutions and created opportunities for future generations than Whitmire and Tinsley.<\/p>\n Their stories are Houston\u2019s story, too.<\/p>\n Terence A. O\u2019Neill, Houston<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The smile comes easily to the face of a winner. That was Kathy Whitmire as she won city elections as Houston’s first woman mayor.<\/p>\n Steve Ueckert\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n Higher ed<\/p>\n<\/p>\n