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The saying that all politics is local came true at a forum in northeast Houston Thursday night where candidates for city office were asked about drainage, shoddy construction work and looming budget woes.

A packed audience of civic leaders, activists and residents at the Bethany Baptist Church asked candidates for City Council, mayor and controller about how they would solve the problems facing an area that sometimes feels neglected by City Hall.

From mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson down the line, the candidates promised to devote more attention to City Council District B. City government can start solving the area’s challenges by talking to its residents, Jackson Lee said.

“You will be my listening ears,” she said. “You will be able to provide direct response of a project and begin to put standards, where nothing is done in this neighborhood that is not done in west side.”

The forum was co-hosted by the Houston Landing and District B United, a coalition of neighborhood groups from across the sprawling council district, which includes Fifth Ward, Acres Homes, Kashmere Gardens and George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

Voters in the district overwhelmingly favored Jackson Lee in the first round of this year’s mayor’s election. The campaign for her opponent, state Sen. John Whitmire, said he did not attend because of a scheduling conflict.

Orlando Sanchez and Chris Hollins, who are locked in a spirited runoff for city controller, joined the forum along with three at-large candidates for City Council.

Dwelling on drains

The first question from an audience member centered on an issue that has vexed the area in recent years: drainage. A construction project in Walter Mallett’s neighborhood left one side of the street with an open ditch and the other side covered, he said.

“For us in these challenged communities, we still have flooding, and we still have problems with illegal dumping,” Mallett said. “Why not cover both sides of the ditch instead of just one?” 

Councilmember Letitia Plummer, who is in a runoff against challenger Roy Morales for at-large position 4, said she fought during this year’s budget cycle to have the city’s Department of Public Works use drainage funds based on a citywide needs assessment.

“If we can do that, this community would be the first on the list,” Plummer said.

Other candidates, including Jackson Lee and Richard Cantu, promised to work more closely with the Harris County Flood Control District.

“The city can dig the ditches all day long, or even put pipes in, and if it’s not in coordination with Harris County Flood Control, the water’s not going to go anywhere,” said Cantu, who is running for at-large position 3 against Twila Carter.

A forgotten neighborhood?

Jackson Lee promised to make sure city projects in northeast Houston are done to the same high standards as those in west Houston in response to a question from Vicky Martin, vice president of Super Neighborhoods 49 and 50, East Houston and Settegast.

Martin proposed a “civic review board” to ensure all areas of the city are getting equal services. She said the esplanades in her neighborhood are poorly maintained and the city allows some property owners to put up sheet metal as fencing.

“What we hear from the residents in our area is about being disrespected and disregarded,” Martin said.

Rain Eatmon, of Acres Home, said subcontractors on drainage projects in her neighborhood often do shoddy work.

“Unfortunately, these construction companies aren’t reliable in actually getting the job done, which requires the city to spend more dollars to rectify issues,” Eatmon said.

A swath of candidates promised to put renewed attention on who is receiving city contracts and what kind of work they are doing. Willie Davis, a pastor who is running for at-large City Council position 2 against real estate agent Nick Hellyar, cited a burgeoning scandal around emergency contracts for water line repair work.

Amid an investigation into whether an employee was directing multi-million-dollar contracts to family members, one staffer has been relieved of duty and an executive-level official has resigned.

“We cannot just hand out these contracts to people without vetting them,” Davis said. “We don’t need any more rubber-stamping people. We’ve got to look at these things sincerely.”

Money problems

While promising to beef up services in northeast Houston, the candidates also were asked about a problem facing the entire city. Moderator Paul Cobler, a politics reporter for the Houston Landing, asked the candidates what they would do about the city’s looming budget crisis when federal pandemic relief funds run out.

Noting that the next mayor will have six months of a balanced budget to start figuring out a solution, Jackson Lee said she would seek out more public-private partnerships. She also made a promise about what she would not cut.

“We will not cut city services. We will not cut city workers. That is not the position of my opponent,” she said.

Meanwhile, the city controller candidates offered sharply different answers. Sanchez said he would create a “public safety district” in Houston to shift the burden of police officers’ retirement benefits from local taxpayers.

“We could triple the police force, and move them into the Texas County and District Retirement System,” Sanchez said.

Hollins promised to use his skills as a management consultant to make sure the city is getting what it pays for.

“My opponent didn’t say anything about how to balance the budget, which was the question,” Hollins said. “We have to figure out ways to be more efficient across the city.”

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