By BJ Austin, KERA Reporter
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kera/local-kera-767425.mp3
Dallas, TX – The Mayor of Dallas is scolding Congress for failure to pass a bailout bill. KERA's BJ Austin says the Mayor is also calling for investment in Dallas during the financial crisis.
Mayor Tom Leppert says Congress put politics over people with defeat of the financial bailout bill.
Leppert: What I think was disappointing was the inability of Washington to come together for the benefit of the nation.
Mayor Leppert told the Dallas Regional chamber the local economy is stronger than most. Standard and Poor's Case-Shiller Index shows home prices are down about 2.5 percent in Dallas, 30 percent in Las Vegas, and nearly as bad in Los Angeles and Miami. Mayor Leppert believes the Dallas area will weather the financial turmoil in relatively good shape.
Leppert: If, and only if, we transcend politics. All of us. And address real problems in peoples' lives.
Mayor Leppert says equally important is investment in Dallas during rocky financial times. He reiterated his support for a city-financed Convention Center Hotel. A small group of hotel owners is working to put the proposed $500 million hotel on the May ballot for a vote.