Republicans to Be Dogged by Days of Houston’s August : Campaign: The city that Bush calls home has cleaned, planted and painted for convention, but there’s nothing they can do about that weather.

As happens most days here in the heat of August, thunderclouds roll in from the north. Lightning flashes. Rain pummels the ground. Then heat shimmers from the earth.

The feeling here in late summer--the heart of hurricane season--is a mixture of sluggishness and unease. It is an unsettling time of year.

Now come the Republicans to renominate George Bush, and they may have unwittingly picked the perfect town to reflect their own mood going into the national convention.

This is, of course, Bush country, where he has established his official voting residency by keeping a suite at the Houstonian Hotel as an address (the hotel, incidentally, is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy).

Bush made a lot of money here, began his political life as a House member here and has always counted Houston as a source of support. When it came time for him to formally announce his presidential candidacy in 1987, he did so here. And this city got the nod for the GOP convention in early January, 1991, when Bush’s popularity was soaring as the Gulf War approached.

But now the polls are showing some worrisome numbers for a faltering Bush: Democratic candidate Bill Clinton is leading the President by a wide margin in his adopted state and, more shocking, by five percentage points in Houston’s Harris County.

Gone is that kind of joie de vivre that characterized the Bush nomination four years ago in New Orleans. In its place is the worry and tension of needing to put on a good show in Houston to give Bush a jump-start that will carry him through November.

“The convention has a lot of downside potential,” said Houston political analyst Richard Murray. “It will inevitably be compared to the Democratic Convention (in New York last month), where everything went right. The cameras are going to find a lot of (Republicans) who are willing to gripe . . . I would not like to be the manager of this convention.”

Although Houston is America’s fourth-largest city, there has not been a national political convention here since Democrats convened in 1928 to nominate New York Gov. Al Smith, who in the fall lost to Republican Herbert Hoover.

There is reason enough to understand why. Unlike New Orleans, it is not a party town. It lacks the sophistication of a San Francisco (site of the 1984 Democratic Convention) and the nonstop rhythm of a New York. Houston is a sprawling behemoth, an oil industry capital with a glittering downtown that bustles during the day but closes up at night.

The Astrodome, where the convention will be held, is in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by apartments, low-rise businesses and a scattering of hotels.

The heat in mid-August is such that British diplomats at one time received hardship pay for living here before the advent of air conditioning. Houston was originally built on a swamp 50 miles inland and it was only later dredging that made it a huge port. What it still lacks, though, is sea breezes.

“Houston in August is like living in a sauna,” said noted columnist Molly Ivins, who grew up here.

Still, the Republicans and Houston’s civic leaders are doing their best to spruce up and promote the city, though not in such a frenetic manner as two years ago for the international Economic Summit, which was touted by a then-desperate business community as a source of economic salvation.

A source book put out by the Houston Host Committee compares the weather here to Washington, D.C., and Orlando, Fla., calling Houston’s August “perfect weather for lounging by the pool.” Verdant plant life is described rather than hot-house humidity.

More than 800 street blocks have been cleaned and more than 1,000 tons of trash collected. Six unsightly homes near the Astrodome have been razed and 335 illegal dumps have been cleared. According to Clean Houston, which beautified the city for the convention, more than 17,000 bushes and flowers have been planted.

How Houston is viewed during the convention is a major concern to the city’s business community, which wants to present the image of a modern city that has put the oil bust of the ‘80s behind it, diversified and moved on to other things. Toby Stark, a spokeswoman for the Greater Houston Partnership, said the idea was to dispel the notion that the city is nothing more than an unpolished cow town.

“People here may go to the rodeo, but they probably also have season tickets to the symphony,” she said.

The question of Houston’s identity caused a tiff over the “official” convention poster, which depicts a flailing bull rider framed by the city skyline. The image raised hackles among some Houstonians, who see their community as a sleek, cosmopolitan place more comfortable with pate de fois gras than barbecue.

Meanwhile, Rep. Craig Washington, a Houston Democrat, offered a more somber view of the city in a speech to Congress last Tuesday. In a sarcastic advance welcome to the Republicans, Washington described Houston as a place that is the “home of 331,000 working people who have no health care, home of 260,000 high school dropouts since 1980, home of crumbling infrastructure, home of environmental disaster . . . home of higher infant mortality than most Third World countries.”

Washington’s comments notwithstanding, Houston’s leaders have closed ranks in hailing the convention, given the $79 million it is expected to pour into the city. Mayor Bob Lanier, who usually leans more toward the Democratic camp (Houston mayoral races are nonpartisan), will address the convention and host several events.

Meanwhile, at the Astrodome, work has gone on day and night to ready the air-conditioned stadium for the GOP gathering. The 3 1/2-ton curtain is in place, as is the elaborate lighting system and gigantic podium. Stadium seats that aren’t being used have been covered with insulation to improve the acoustics. A company has been hired to drop 225,000 balloons during the proceedings, a mere 165,000 more than were used at the Democratic Convention.

And Rocky Carroll, Bush’s boot maker, has finished the pair of $4,500 black alligator beauties that he will give to the President. The inscription on them reads: “Home Town Boy.”

Snapshot of the City

Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, wants to present the image of a modern city that has put the oil bust of the ‘80s behind it. Here are some figures on the city that will host the GOP convention 1990 Population Top 10 most populous U.S. cities (in thousands): New York: 7,323 Los Angeles: 3,485 Chicago: 2,784 Houston: 1,631 Philadelphia: 1,586 San Diego: 1,111 Detroit: 1,028 Dallas: 1,007 Phoenix: 983 San Antonio: 936

1989 Crime rate Violent crimes per 100,000 people in nation’s largest cities: Detroit: 2,401 New York: 2,300 Los Angeles: 2,246 Dallas: 1,631 Houston: 1,140 Philadelphia: 1,093 San Diego: 922 Phoenix: 900 San Antonio: 553

Note: Figures for Chicago are not reported under the same guidelines as other major U.S. cities.

Unemployment: Houston: 7.9% Los Angeles: 9.8% U.S. average: 7.8%

Office vacancy: Houston: 21.9% Los Angeles: 29.2% U.S. average: 19.8%

Note: Jobless rates are for June. Nation’s rate for July was 7.7% and 11.2% for L.A. County. Houston’s July rate is not yet available.

Sources: Commerce Department, Census Bureau, Greater Houston Partnership, Cushman & Wakefield