SILENCE

Texas Governor Abbott Says He Hasn’t Yet Spoken to Houston Mayor Turner

He said he has tried calling the mayor’s phone “several times.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said at an Austin news conference Sunday that he hasn’t yet spoken with Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner since Hurricane Harvey hit the city on Friday, the AP reported. The governor said he has tried calling Turner’s cellphone “several times” to “let him know that, whatever he needs, the state of Texas will provide,” but has not yet heard back. The two politicians clashed before the storm made landfall over whether Houston should evacuate. Abbott suggested an evacuation, but Turner said unnecessary fleeing would cause highway gridlock and endanger those trying to leave areas facing bigger threats, a problem the city faced when residents tried to leave before Hurricane Rita in 2005.