Roof’s posturing isn’t leadership

Before dawn last Saturday, I went for a run and couldn’t help noticing scores, maybe hundreds, of RVs lining the south side of Seawall Boulevard.

A few people were out before daylight, stoking fires and beginning their Mardi Gras party. The mood was light, and I wondered, “Would these people be willing to contribute a few dollars to the good of Galveston?”

I think they would pay and pay gladly, but we may never know.

Greg Roof has decreed it. Because of Roof’s talent, ego and ambition, Galveston may never be able to charge for seawall parking.

As one result, Galvestonians must pay the full cost of government on their own through property and sales taxes about which they have no choice. Tourists, who line Seawall Boulevard on every sunny day, contribute little to Galveston’s upkeep. It also means that the community’s No. 1 tourism resource, its beach front, remains undeveloped and unimproved.

It’s a stalemate that damages us all.

Roof nearly created the same impasse over paid parking in downtown Galveston a few weeks ago. But in that case, people — mainly merchants fighting for their economic lives — responded quickly, angrily and effectively. The city will proceed with the paid parking plan but agreed not to charge on Sunday, allowing Roof to claim another phony populist victory.

Roof admits he made a political miscalculation in the downtown parking fight, but apparently does not think it will damage his run for mayor, something he’s now considering.

“I think I was economically right but politically wrong,” Roof said afterward.

Roof has done a good job couching these parking debates in exactly the wrong question. He asks: Would you rather pay to park or park free? Of course, most people would rather not pay.

But the real question is this: Would you rather be taxed in ways you can choose to avoid — like parking on Seawall Boulevard — or in ways that are unavoidable, like property taxes and sales taxes. You can call it free parking if you want, but like the proverbial free lunch, there’s no such thing.

Roof lives in Galveston, is 40, single and articulate. He is a Galveston College regent and an economics professor at Alvin Community College.

That’s why some find it ironic that he understands so little about the economics of small businesses.

Roof says he took up the fight against paid parking downtown because of his interest in serving “the people” — downtown residents and employees, who dislike paying to park. Of course, the end result might have been to cost many of those downtown workers their jobs, but never mind.

Roof gave no consideration to the merchants whose customers could not patronize their stores because downtown parking is unavailable, jammed continually by contractors, clerks and residents who park free all day.

“We’ve had a year of free parking since Ike,” one desperate merchant said, “and it’s killing us.”

Critics believe Roof took up the fight to create a populist buzz to launch his campaign for mayor in this May’s elections. Now he seems to be making the same kind of play, backing an overly broad and poorly thought-out petition opposing public housing. Roof denies his motives are political; he’s just a public-spirited citizen.

He concedes he’s still thinking about running, however.

“I’m still thinking about it because, frankly, I just don’t know if I want to make the personal commitment of that much time,” Roof said.

Roof has refused several times to meet with those he feels might differ with him, groups like the Galveston Chamber of Commerce’s advocacy committee. He works mainly through petitions and in short, spoken set pieces such speeches at city council, but he avoids thoughtful dialogue.

So it’s easy to know what Greg Roof is against but much harder to know what he is for. Based on the record so far, what he seems to be is an opportunist who’ll do almost anything to put himself in a position to win.

That’s not leadership. Not even close.

Dolph Tillotson is publisher of The Daily News.