District G
As your City Council Member, I will work hard to ensure that your money is spent on your priorities, like public safety, basic services, and improved roadways and flood prevention infrastructure. It is very important to me to keep our tax dollars in District G.
What needs to stay: Continuing the TIRZ (Tax Increment Reinvestment Zones) within District G is necessary to finance infrastructure improvement and ensure District G remains a desirable place to live, work and invest private capital.
What needs to change: Capital Improvement Project (CIP) has been historically unfair to District G. I want to change the way city projects are funded so that District G receives the full weight of its taxpayer dollars.
Flooding and Drainage
The residents of District G know all about flooding. Our home was flooded for two weeks in Hurricane Harvey and my family was forced out of our home for over a year as we rebuilt. Houston needs to stop putting band-aids on its flooding problems and focus on permanent long-term solutions. This will require collaborating with neighboring municipalities in the greater Houston area and advocating effectively to receive county, state and federal resources to fix our flooding problems. The City of Houston cannot fix flooding on its own.
I am the only candidate whose endorsements demonstrate strong relationships with elected officials at the local, county, and state levels, along with strong support from private and business communities. Bringing all these stakeholders together is the only way to achieve truly meaningful improvements to flood protection.
What needs to stay: There are smaller projects currently in progress that I plan to continue. I support common sense solutions like digging out bar ditches and clearing drains to make sure runoff water flows more efficiently. When we tear up roads to rebuild them, we need to take advantage of those opportunities to increase the floodwater detention and drainage below the streets. City Council must work closely with Super Neighborhoods and Homeowner Associations to understand and address the unique needs of each individual neighborhood.
What needs to change: We need to take a hard look at the existing stormwater pipes underground and make some common-sense changes to the design. Almost anyone can understand how two (2) eighty-inch (80”) diameter stormwater pipes cannot drain their full volume into one (1) single, thirty-inch (30”) diameter drainpipe. Yet – absurd bottlenecks like this still exist in Houston and homes and businesses flood as a result.
I know that strong neighborhoods make strong cities. I have small children and I want to District G to be a place they will want to raise their own families. I will work with neighborhoods, not just on flooding, but help address problems affecting different areas.
Corruption
Turner, who has near unilateral authority to award city contracts as Houston mayor, apparently went against staff recommendations when awarding the multi-million-dollar contract for senior housing, approving it instead of four other contracts costing $16.2 million that would build over 350 affordable family units. Once Turner was confronted about the issue, he discontinued the project but denied wrongdoing. No one person should have that much power. We have a council for a reason.
Recently, we have seen corruption at the expense of both Houston taxpayers and (more importantly) – the close to 200,000 students who attend the state’s largest school district.
Federal prosecutors allege former Houston ISD Chief Operating Officer Brian Busby steered millions of dollars worth of contracts to vendor Anthony Hutchison in exchange for bribe money.
As a prosecutor I fought for justice and fairness. I will use my skills as a former district attorney to help put an end to corruption in Houston and provide transparency to the people.
This is why I support the amendment on the 2023 ballot allowing 3 councilmen to place items on the agenda allowing more of a collaborative approach. The mayor should not be the only one to decide what goes on the agenda. With our current strong mayoral form of government, council members do not get enough say in what happens in the City.
I want to see a more systematic approach to the audits with mandatory briefings before City Council. Every single department and program should be audited regularly with input from citizens. If the program is not working or it is no longer a core service, it should be dissolved. I will work to reduce wasteful spending.
First Responders
As an attorney for the Houston Police Officers’ Union, I know how important it is for first responders to have the resources they need to do an incredibly difficult job. I will support first responders because when a citizen needs them, it can be the difference between life and death. I will support more academy classes to get us the number of police officers we need.
The Houston Fire Department also needs new equipment. I have spoken with the President of the Houston Fire Union and understand what they need to be successful. In 2016 HFD needed 5 more fire stations and 35 more full time ambulances. As your new councilmember, I will work with HFD to identify where they need funding.