PRIORITIES
Public Safety
Keep violent criminals off the streets. Violence has no place in our city. After a welcome period of decline, violent crime is on the rise again. We need effective law enforcement and effective prevention strategies, including proven public health strategies to reduce gun violence – now the number one cause of death in children in America.
Keep people who just need mental health treatment out of our criminal justice system. It’s unconscionable that our county jail is the largest provider of mental health services in Texas. Diversion programs like the city’s Sobering Center and Crisis Call Diversion Program are good models to expand upon.
Protect our neighborhoods from illegal dumping, after-hours noise, trash, and car break-ins. When neighborhoods like those near Emancipation Avenue and Washington Avenue are overrun by drunken bar patrons, or like Acres Homes and Sunnyside are targeted by illegal dumpers, it hurts our entire city. While reducing violent crime is the priority, we must maintain a clear focus on lower-level non-violent crimes.
Affordable & Reliable City Services
Get the basics right. If we want to make big things happen in our city, we have to start by getting the small things right – like picking up the garbage and recycling on time, fixing water leaks and potholes promptly, timing the traffic lights, or getting a permit to remodel your house or small business.
Bring transparency to the performance of city services. Voters cannot hold their elected officials accountable without transparency. Elected officials cannot credibly ask voters for more resources unless they can show good management of the resources they already have. Houston could benefit from a public, real-time, report-card style ranking system for basic city services.
Get real with taxpayers and get fiscally responsible with our limited tax dollars. Houston families are watching their budgets with concern – unsure about inflation, job security, secure retirements, healthcare and more. Our city is facing the same economic uncertainty – driven in part by the chaos in Washington DC and a hostile state government. Now more than ever, city leaders should level with voters and make financial decisions that are transparent and sound for the long-term health of the city.
Infrastructure
Prepare for extreme weather and flooding. We can’t stop the rain, but we can be smart about flood prevention. With investments in common sense storm preparation – increased ditch maintenance, expanded Stormwater Action Teams to fix drainage hotspots, and more reliance on green infrastructure solutions such as detention ponds that serve as greenspace in drier periods – we can help keep water out of our homes and cars.
Keep Houston Moving. Houston is a diverse, dynamic city that requires diverse, dynamic transportation infrastructure. New funds flowing into Build Houston Forward, our streets and drainage program, will help improve road conditions. We must also recommit to mass transit, pedestrian, and bicycle infrastructure. In Houston, one size never fits all.
Advocate for and invest in long-term solutions. Construction of the Houston Ship Channel was a transformational event in Houston history. Given accelerated climate change, it’s time for another. Whether the Ike Dike, the Galveston Bay Park Plan, or the massive tunnel project, the city should be intentional about pursuing the massive funding needed to move one or more of these projects forward.
A Fair Shot for Working Houstonians
Advocate for local control over minimum wages and working conditions. The costs and challenges of living and working in urban areas like Houston are much higher and distinct than in rural areas of Texas and demand local solutions. Houston should be able to regulate local working conditions and, with voter approval, to set its own minimum wage.
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Protect employee benefits. Public employees have previously accepted lower wages in exchange for the promise of good benefits. We should honor our promises.
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Protect workers at risk of losing their jobs from AI and automation. AI is here to stay, and Houston must harness its benefits while guarding against its risks. At a minimum, we should ensure that city workers are trained not only on how to use new technologies, but also for new jobs the technology creates.
Water
Protect and expand our water supplies. Houston region's water needs are expected to outstrip existing supplies by 2030. Climate change is threatening our water supplies while exponential population growth is increasing demand and competition for water between Texas cities. Houston must be proactive when it comes to protecting our water supply.
Address our aging water infrastructure. Houston's water pipes leak nearly 32 billion gallons each year – enough to supply the entire population of Fort Worth for one year. Pipe replacement standards call for 20% of a system's pipes to be replaced every 10 years, yet over the last 10 years, the city has replaced only 6% of its pipes. Lack of water is an existential threat to our city that cannot be ignored.
Equity
Keep the American Dream alive – for all of us. My mother’s father began life picking cotton and became a colonel in the United States Air Force. My father’s grandfather came to this country with nothing and became a successful businessman, community leader, and philanthropist. These American success stories are possible only when our economy works for everyone, not just a privileged few. That means investing in every neighborhood and every community equitably. No one should be disadvantaged because of who they are, what part of town they live in, what they look like, or whom they love.
Democracy
Defend Democracy. Defending and nurturing democracy has been a guiding force in both my career and my public service – from protecting Harris County elections from partisan interference, to challenging political gerrymandering, to leading the College Democrats of America, and more. Between the chaos coming out of Washington, DC and the attacks by state government on Texas cities with Democratic majorities, defending democracy is rapidly becoming a priority for local government in Houston.