TxDOT chairman remembered

01/02/2008

Ken Allard, San Antonio Express-News

The sudden death this week of Texas Transportation Commission Chairman Ric Williamson was a nasty shock no matter where you stand on TxDOT or toll roads.

An independent businessman and state legislator before being appointed to the powerful commission in 2001, Williamson received high marks for his leadership in commerce and politics. As Terri Hall, one of his most prominent opponents, noted, he was also the "big dog" as TxDOT in 2007 took positions that made the agency a continuing center of controversy.

I became an unwitting participant in those controversies last year as well, but Williamson understood politics far too well to expect apologies thinly disguised as eulogies. Recognizing the stakes behind those disagreements, he instead left behind a final effort toward outreach and conciliation that some will surely find surprising. His final legacy is something that Texans might well consider carefully before bidding him farewell and resuming our now-familiar positions on either side of the barricades.

My occasional columns about TxDOT — as previously admitted — provided comic relief while playing hooky from my assigned focus on the often grim news of national security and terrorism. Instead, everyday commutes around San Antonio invited humorous comparisons between TxDOT's heroic sky-ramps and thrill-rides out at Seaworld or the pyramids of Apolcalypto. I still believe in my heart of hearts that Rev. John Hagee cut a secret deal with the agency forcing commuters desperately trying to turn onto Loop 1604 from U.S. 281 to detour through the Cornerstone church parking lot.

Problem was, thanks to the surge, things in Iraq were looking up while TxDOT's troubles were growing more serious every day.

Every column about road issues drew strong reader responses, but rising gas prices, declining home values and key decisions about toll roads were elevating tempers, making difficult issues even harder.

Shortly after one particularly tough column appeared in October, there was a surprising inquiry from TxDOT: Would I accept a call from Ric Williamson?

There was no reason not to, even though a defensive reaction from him would have been natural. That last column had raised basic questions about the agency's lack of transparency, reputation for arrogance, even its technical competence. Williamson could hardly have agreed, but he didn't argue.

Instead, we calmly discussed what steps were needed. He was particularly interested in starting a dialogue, drawing upon the strengths of the academic community. We agreed to meet when he gave a speech here just after Thanksgiving.

When the day arrived, I regretted not obtaining a safe-conduct pass because the meeting was packed with leading toll road advocates and TxDOT employees. Instinctive efforts at camouflage were frustrated when Williamson began his speech by directly quoting my words from that wretched column: "We are quickly losing much of San Antonio's special character to chaos: unbridled expansion, hi-density housing, and utterly unplanned growth with TxDOT acting as an obliging accomplice... "

As the crowd visibly bristled, I calculated the odds of making a dash for the exits. But then Williamson made an astonishing statement: The agency needed to start listening to its critics even when the criticism was tough.

The twin problems of population explosion and under-funded road construction were real — in fact, worsening every day. But Texans had no hope of dealing with them if we failed to listen and come together as a community facing common issues even though our perspectives might be different.

After his speech, we discussed the specifics of what might be done, Williamson being especially interested in "the best minds at UTSA." I promised to help, but later remembered that those best minds certainly included my MBA students who were about to undergo finals. Their exam last month included an essay question about TxDOT's future. Williamson would have loved their fresh ideas, including the Chinese student who wrote about planning that embraced mass transit as well as a hi-lo technology mix that even included bicycles.

No stranger to controversy, Ric Williamson's legacy will include his refined appreciation for the art of the possible. But also a surprising ability to reach beyond the usual limits (and the usual suspects) in order to achieve it.