Larry White

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Larry White

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

November 3, 2020

Education

Bachelor's

Louisiana Tech University

Graduate

Louisiana Tech University, Memphis State University

Military

Service / branch

U.S. Coast Guard Reserve

Years of service

1968 - 1974

Personal

Profession

Chemical engineer

Contact

Personal website

Larry White ran for election for an at-large seat of the Corpus Christi City Council in Texas. White lost in the general election on November 3, 2020.

White was a candidate for mayor of Corpus Christi, Texas. He was defeated in the special election on May 6, 2017. Click here to read White's response to Ballotpedia's 2017 municipal candidate survey.

White has served as a member of the Corpus Christi Ethics Commission. He also ran for a seat on the Del Mar Board of Regents in 2012, placing second out of four candidates.

Biography

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

White earned his B.S. and M.S. in chemical engineering from Louisiana Tech University and his M.S. in environmental (civil) engineering from Memphis State University.

White's professional experience includes work as an engineer for DuPont, a visiting professor of engineering for Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, a technical writing instructor for Del Mar College, and an adjunct professor of chemical engineering for Texas A&M-Kingsville. He is a veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard Reserves and has served as a president and director of the Nueces chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers and a member of the Harbor Bridge Citizen's Advisory Committee, the Desalination Citizen's Advisory Committee, and the Texas A&M-Kingsville Engineering Advisory Council.

Elections

2020

See also: City elections in Corpus Christi, Texas (2020)

General election

General election for Corpus Christi City Council At-large (3 seats)

The following candidates ran in the general election for Corpus Christi City Council At-large on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Submit photo	Michael Hunter (Nonpartisan)	20.3	34,020
✔	Submit photo	Mike Pusley (Nonpartisan)	20.3	34,012
✔	Submit photo	John Martinez (Nonpartisan)	13.4	22,416
	Submit photo	Liz Perez (Nonpartisan)	11.9	19,865
	Submit photo	Efrain Arriaga Jr. (Nonpartisan)	6.8	11,334
	Submit photo	Patricia Pena-Noyola (Nonpartisan)	6.0	10,028
		Larry White (Nonpartisan)	5.4	9,007
	Submit photo	Deanna Michelle King (Nonpartisan)	4.3	7,204
		John Garcia (Nonpartisan)	3.3	5,492
	Submit photo	Myron Grossman (Nonpartisan)	3.0	5,089
		Brian Rosas (Nonpartisan)	2.4	4,039
	Submit photo	Ricardo Hankerson (Nonpartisan)	1.5	2,570
	Submit photo	Richard Diaz (Nonpartisan)	1.4	2,280

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 167,356
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
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2017

See also: Municipal elections in Corpus Christi, Texas (2017)

Corpus Christi, Texas held a special election for mayor on May 6, 2017. Former Mayor Dan McQueen, who won election to the position on November 8, 2016, and was sworn in on December 13, 2016, resigned from office in January 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in the special election was March 27, 2017. The following candidates ran in the special election for mayor of Corpus Christi.

Mayor of Corpus Christi, Special Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Joe McComb	52.22%	11,112
Nelda Martinez	30.29%	6,445
Larry White	7.13%	1,518
Mark Di Carlo	3.47%	738
Jonathan Garison	2.99%	636
James Hernandez	1.81%	385
Ray Madrigal	1.59%	339
Margareta Fratila	0.50%	107
Total Votes		21,280
Source: Ballotpedia staff, Email correspondence with Nueces County Elections Department, July 17, 2017

Campaign themes

2020

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Larry White did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

2017

See also: Ballotpedia's municipal government candidate survey

White participated in Ballotpedia's 2017 survey of municipal government candidates. The following sections display his responses to the survey questions. When asked what his top priority would be if elected, the candidate made the following statement:

“

Stop the political games at City Hall and get our infrastructure maintenance headed in the right direction.

”

When asked what he would most like to change about the city, the candidate made the following statement:

“

Get the City focused on what needs to be done rather than what looks good.

”

When asked what he is most proud of about the city, the candidate made the following statement:

“

The Veterans Band of Corpus Christi.

”

Ranking the issues

The candidate opted not to provide a ranking of general municipal issues.

Positions on the issues

The candidate was asked to answer three questions from Ballotpedia regarding issues facing cities across America. The questions are in the left column and the candidate's responses are in the right column:

Question	Response
Is it important for the city’s budget to be balanced?	Important
Which level of government do you feel should set a minimum wage?	State
What do you think is the best way to improve a city’s public safety?	Increased economic opportunities
How do you think your city should emphasize economic development?	Having a skilled and competent labor force

The candidate was asked to answer three questions from Ballotpedia regarding specific issues facing Corpus Christi in 2017. This section displays the questions and the candidate's responses.

Q1: Corpus Christi has experienced some problems with its water supply. Do you think more needs to be done to fix the water supply issues? If so, what do you think the city should do?

“

I'm running because I am a Chemical Engineer who understands the water problem. The City needs to do a better job on maintenance and complete several upgrades to the water system.

”

Q2: According to KRIS-TV, Corpus Christi voters list infrastructure as a major issue facing the city. Other than water system issues, what do you think are the most pressing infrastructure needs in Corpus Christi? How should the city fund infrastructure improvements?

“

Streets are the most visible and I agree a lot of work needs is needed. However as an engineer I am more concerned with the City's aging sewer system. The smell of this problem hasn't yet reached everyone. Bonds are not the answer to fixing our infrastructure problem. An on-going maintenance program is needed with on-going and reliable funding (user fees and/or taxes). My priority will be to find other sources of funds to get the needed maintenance going before considering user fees and/or taxes.

”

Q3: What other challenges do you think Corpus Christi faces? How do you think the city should address them?

“

The other challenge is to end the 'political games' at City Hall. I was on the City's Ethics Commission for 5 years and these games are one reason Corpus Chrisiti has bad streets, problems with drinking water, and the sewers are starting to show it's smelly problem.

”

Additional themes

White's campaign website presented a number of thoughts and observations about the city. He identified the following as specific attitudes, approaches, or positions he took on city issues:

“	Fixing our infrastructure My first step to fix our infrastructure is to divert some money from development to infrastructure. Development must slow down to give our infrastructure time to catch up. As an Engineer, I'll look at how City projects are done compared to what industry does for efficiency and productivity. Next I'll look at diverting funds from low priority items to infrastructure. I will also direct City Staff to look for State/Federal grants that may be of help. My last step will be to look at taxes and user fees. I know people don't like this last step, but I can't mislead people on how expensive fixing our infrastructure will be. Tomorrow I'll explain why Bonds are not the solution to our infrastructure problem. Political Campaigns, Part II In my campaign I have small yard signs. A political sign at a home shows personal support for a particular candidate. This is better than a large political sign in a vacant field. Political Campaigns Political campaigns rely too much on money. Politicians pay lots of money for large street signs that say nothing about who they are. This is winning by name recognition. I urge everyone to investigate the candidates. Voters should know more about the candidates than just their name. If we don't change the system then money will continue to run our City. High Paying Jobs The new Harbor Bridge, deepening the channel for bigger ships, good roads, and a reliable water supply are what will bring high paying jobs to Corpus Christi. A quality work force (Craft Training Center, Del Mar, etc.) is also needed. I also want to attract high tech companies (aviation, drone technology, electronics, information systems, medical equipment manufacturers, etc.) to Corpus Christi. Having a Mayor who is an Engineer should get the attention of these high tech industries. Animal Control The City needs to encourage the spaying and neutering of pets. The City also needs to look into a back up veterinarian when the one veterinarian is not available for adoptions. All money (tags, fees, etc.) collected by Animal Control is to go to that Department, not to the City's general fund. The City needs to be proactive in code enforcement on the care of animals. The best way to educate those who do not take care of their pets is with their wallet. Unfortunately, other efforts on this issue are limited because of the City's $1.6 Billion dollar debt and infrastructure problems. Infrastructure Corpus Christi has neglected it's infrastructure. The best way to avoid future neglect is to set up each Utility with a “capital maintenance” budget item. Funding must be accrued (accounting method) for “capital maintenance” instead of using Bonds. Capital Maintenance funding must be consistent and reliable, like part of a user fee. This money would only be used for major repairs per what the Department Head decides, not what the City Council decides. Reduced development The City's reduced development effort should focus on the re-development of downtown in response to the new Harbor Bridge. New development needs to be towards the Calallen area to minimize the impact on traffic, like Crosstown and SPID at 6 pm. Development on the South Side needs to wait till after streets like Everhart are repaired. To fix streets after traffic increases from new Development is a mistake. Development Development must slow down (not stop) to give our infrastructure time to catch up. Some of the City money going to development should go to infrastructure.	”
—Larry White's campaign website, (2017)

In response to a question from KRIS-TV about his campaign priorities, White said, "What I want to work on, as an engineer, is our infrastructure. But really, due to some of the questions you and the news media presented [that] got me thinking, the real priority is trying to change the culture at City Hall. There's too much of what I'm going to call political games being played, and that's creating problems for our city and I want to bring that to an end if I can."

See also

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