I had worked with groups from across the board, from neighborhood activists to business leaders. Granger's record as mayor of Fort Worth is part agressive economic development, part crime fighter and part activist politician. She first worked in Austin to pass the legislation than worked in Fort Worth to pass the tax. Many of her advisors at the time questioned the wisdom of the proposal. When she came up with the tax increase to fund more police, I thought it wouldn t fly.
Nobody proposes new taxes.
Granger said the success of the tax plan could be attributed to the city s approach to the problem, rather than her political savvy. That was a lot more convincing than simply saying this is the way to go. Granger became mayor in 1991, following the retirement of Bob Bolen, who served as mayor for nine years. She didn t talk about running, she went out and did it. The same thing happened with the Congressional seat.