Mr. Mellow

These days, Price talks about the Trinity River Plan as though it were a no-brainer. "Sixty-two percent of that bond package was south of the Trinity," he says. "We were on our last leg in terms of transportation."

He says he now believes the opposition was misguided. "My position was, we got caught up in an emotional cavalcade about what was happening at Cadillac Heights," he says, calling these concerns "the emotionalism of a few people." About his constituents in that poor black neighborhood, Price says, "I felt as though those people there were used." It will be interesting to find out, he adds, whether the anti-river forces show any concern for that neighborhood in the future.

By the way he asks the question, you can tell Price believes he'll be the one who's still around to extend a helping hand--as he always has been.

Hearing all the theories about Price's political accommodations and slow mellowing process, Cheryl Wattley, Price's onetime defense lawyer and longtime ally, says, "I'll just toss out another theory. Maybe Price hasn't changed. Maybe the city has changed. Maybe the city now knows how to see John Wiley Price and sees the substance. Now that people are looking, the antics are no longer necessary.