Republican government? State, city, or national represenation?
It is doubtful this city will ever see a Republican mayor anytime soon. Not sure what the balance of power is on City Council although I do know some names/etc.
I do agree that Houston would probably not go into total lawlessness but the flap over the K-Mart parking lot raid (where minors were violating curfew and older young adults were meeting up to go racing up Westheimer) show that police in this town will cut and run rather than face more national attention.
Also I know 5 people who have been carjacked in the past year. The two women I know who had this happen in the past month have been unsuccessful to get the police interested in following up on their cases even though the cars were recovered and evidence (phone calls, ID badges, fingerprints) was left in the cars.
Houston is the biggest small town there is. The citizen don't riot when we win or lose a major sports championship. Then again, the more new citizens we get from other cities (be it their job or bad weather that brings them to town), the less they are familiar with the way things are around here. It only takes a small number of people going wild to have a "riot".
"With several highways, 2 major and other smaller airports, a Republican government and 6 million generally decent people in the greater area, Houston would not be lawless for long (if at all)"
If there was looting and violence in huricane Alicia, or TS Allison, I didn't hear about it. I'm sure it happened in a city that size, but it wasn't rampant. I lived in Houston in 83, after Alicia there was price gouging but looters just didn't have the guts to try. Wherever you are, know your neighbors and look out for each other