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Photos by Sam MertenHouston Mayor Bill White's speech Saturday afternoon in Plano was, initially, as insipid as the front of the brochures handed out at the door touting his experience as a Sunday school teacher. "I'm here to work for you, and that's about it," White said at the Baker Bros American Deli on West Parker Road. After apologizing for arriving an hour late and introducing himself to the dozen local Democrats on hand, White -- one of several candidates lining up to battle in a potential special election for U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's seat should she resign, as she's indicated, to focus on winning the Republican gubernatorial primary against Rick Perry -- said he'd fight for better education and reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil as senator. He briefly discussed his experience as U.S. Deputy Secretary of Energy and subsequent tenure as the chair of the Texas Democratic Party, stressed that he "knows how to win" and didn't hesitate to reinforce negative stereotypes associated with the Republican Party. "I'm frustrated with people that stand up at town hall meetings and try to out shout their neighbors. Aren't you? I mean, really," White said. "I'm embarrassed as an American by people who get up and shout liar at the commander and chief of the United States in the House of Representatives of our country. We need leadership in this country who want our national leadership to succeed, not people who are wanting them to fail to satisfy their right-wing agenda."

Sam Merten​When we cornered Houston Mayor Bill White in late October after his campaign speech in Plano, he said he can appeal to conservatives and moderates as a Democrat because he knows how to make government run efficiently. He added that he's "honest and straightforward," which had been tested when we posed a hypothetical about the possibly of him running for governor if Kay Bailey Hutchison hadn't resigned from her Senate seat by the filing deadline. "Honestly, it's not something I think about at all," he told Unfair Park. "I just think about how we win this race. That's an honest answer." Although we thought otherwise, White stressed his commitment to running for the Senate, and his spokesperson followed up with us just in case his inability to give us a direct answer about the governor's race left us confused about White's intentions. "I see that folks are picking up your slant on 'Will Bill White run for gov?'" Katy Bacon wrote in an e-mail. "The answer is no. Bill's running for Senate, period." At least one person has taken issue with White's flip-floppery now that he's formally filed to run in the Democratic primary for governor: Hank Gilbert, who just pulled out of the gubernatorial race and switched to run for agriculture commissioner for a second time. Gilbert told reporters that he's endorsing Farouk Shami for governor because White violated his trust by repeatedly saying he was committed to the Senate race.