Affordability and Economic Growth

Let’s strengthen the pipeline of non-college high-paying high-growth career pathways so that folks who want to work can go from training to employment. We have industries and trades that really need workers. Electricians, welders, and healthcare workers, for example, are in strong demand. Let’s make sure that the limited federal dollars the City of Houston spends on workforce – and the much larger pool of funds that the Workforce Board spends locally – are invested in programs that train people for the jobs Houston needs, and that those programs actually help people get hired on job sites.
More than half of Houston’s households participating in the federal SNAP (food stamp) program have children. Relatedly, more than half of the Texans who have been removed from the SNAP safety net since changes in work and other requirements were instituted in summer 2025 have been children. Local leadership has a role to play assuring that parents and others receiving SNAP benefits are fully aware of the work and other requirements now associated with SNAP eligibility, and in reducing barriers to Houstonians plugging into workforce training and hiring opportunities. For those who are struggling to put food on the table and are not eligible for federal SNAP benefits, or those benefits just are not enough (e.g. the elderly – average monthly SNAP benefit per person in ‘23 was $177), local leadership has a role to play in convening private funds to help bridge the gap. Even great senior programs like Meals on Wheels, implemented by organizations like Interfaith Ministries and the Evelyn Rubenstein Jewish Community Center, must court charitable giving to match funds provided by the State for this critical lifeline for the elderly.
Homeowners insurance costs have risen, and continue to rise. This impacts the cost of owning a home, but also rent. A strategy I heard from an apartment complex developer that I think could yield significant positive results: let’s bring together insurers who have left the region, and pitch to them the significant investments in flood mitigation we’ve made, coupled with energy infrastructure hardening, and bring them back to the market by illustrating their reduced risks now. In addition, let’s explore how to replicate and expand a promising model that’s been used by homeowners’ associations, apartment complexes, and commercial properties. If properties come together and make arrangements with repair companies in advance of disasters, insurance companies understand that risk reduction due to high-quality repair companies being engaged before a disaster, and respond accordingly with improved pricing.
In my time at City Hall as a Chief of Staff, I advocated for local businesses to be able to get a piece of the pie in subcontracting work on a big City water plant contract, and personally connected many contractors with the prime on that project. I have also shared information about, and connected potential local businesses with, opportunities to pitch Houston-area primes on projects such as new manufacturing plants. This is critical for local jobs and our local small business network. I’ve reached out to get to know many local chambers of commerce, and will continue this work.
A quarter of Houston’s homeowners and half of renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, which can be a significant struggle. The City can work on a number of initiatives to help increase and protect good quality housing supply (including Permitting and Housing insurance). Some of these initiatives include more flexibility in parking requirements for new housing developments, reviewing other regulatory cost drivers; establishing a “Housing Trust Fund” that can act like a revolving investment fund to improve existing affordable housing that needs repair and refurbishment; utilizing a “land trust” model as an option for some of the lowest-income residents who otherwise would not be able to own a home – in this model, the land is held in a “trust” but the building itself is owned by the family; seeking to partner with METRO to build housing on land METRO owns around transit centers; and other strategies.
The city’s processing time for permits is critical; the longer projects languish unable to get built because they are waiting for the City’s approval, the more costs rise. In the case of new housing, this means increased costs and rents. In the case of businesses, this means delays of new jobs, and, as business owners have pointed out to me – delays in tax revenue to the City! In the last few years, the City has contracted with consultant Alvarez and Marsal to improve permit processing times, and, from what I’ve seen of the tracking dashboards subsequently developed, things are moving in the right direction, especially for homebuilding. However, there can never be enough attention paid to this issue, and we still have a long ways to go to get to where we need to be across industries.

Public Safety

Most violence is committed by the same, small number of people who engage repeatedly in acts of violence. Identifying who these individuals are is critical therefore not only to preventing future violence, but also for victims and families of victims. It’s important to hold ourselves accountable for this task of improving the “clearance rate,” the rates of solving crimes. This is dependent not only on HPD but also on our crime lab. I have advocated for strategies to support reducing the backlog at the crime lab, such as acquiring rapid DNA machines and working to reduce wait times for lab techs in the court for testimony. I’ve also advocated for faster intake at the Joint Processing Center, so that HPD officers can more quickly return to patrol.
As a Chief of Staff at City Council, I successfully co-led the effort to fully fund the Crisis Call Diversion Center, a collaboration between HPD, 911, and the Harris Center for Mental Health. Calls are screened, and those eligible (without weapons) are coded for intervention by Harris Center staff, saving police and fire time to focus on responding to other calls, and connecting those in mental health crisis with resources better suited to support health and safety. For those mental health crisis situations where weapons are present and a team must go out in person, the CIRT program, pairing an officer with a mental health clinician, is an important option. The City’s “sobering center” is another important option, as is the Harris Center’s Judge Ed Emmett Mental Health Diversion Center. Having worked in a case management-based youth diversion partnership with the Harris County District Attorney’s office, I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t when it comes to intervention. Not every program is successful at reducing at reoffense; those that are should absolutely be strengthened. These programs are made stronger through data-driven decisions and stakeholder dialogue with all involved.
A community’s trust in its police force is critical to victims and witnesses coming forward. We shouldn’t be detaining alleged victims and witnesses for immigration authorities. In addition, reinstating at least some of the community liaisons can go a long way toward building trust. One example that supports both officers and members of the public is that the sooner that body cam footage can be processed and released, the better. I want to work with HPD on strengthening transparency.

Protecting Taxpayer Money

Given that we don’t have unlimited funds, let’s spend money on programs that really work. I’ve repeatedly requested performance data for contracts from workforce training to homelessness services and Flock cameras. Are we actually helping people get jobs and increase their wages? Are we helping people get off the street, or creating revolving doors? Are we significantly solving crimes using license plate -reading cameras, and if so, where? No department should be exempt from goal-setting and reporting.
In large organizations, the endeavor to root out corruption doesn’t end. I have personally lifted up the allegations of whistleblowers in four separate instances. I have strongly advocated for the Office of Inspector General to be made independent from the City bureaucracy, NOT linked to City Legal or expected to provide legal guidance to the City in addition to conducting investigations, and created by firm ordinance as opposed to mere Executive Order (which could be rescinded by future city executive leadership at any time).
The more detailed the information that the public, and Council, receives on spending items, the more likely we are to be able to make decisions in line with our values. I’ve repeatedly advocated that clear tabulations of expenditures and contracts under Housing Fund 2409 and federal HUD CDBG funds, for example, be made easily accessible to the public so we can have a comprehensive discussion about spending priorities. I’ve requested copies of program budgets for some of our “public service” passthrough contracts that had to be submitted to the federal government in order to receive grants, but that neither Council nor the public regularly sees. I’ve advocated that TIRZ budgets come before committee before coming to City Council for a vote, so that there can be time to learn and ask questions about the nuances of these budgets before making decisions.
Too frequently we hand out various kinds of tax breaks without thorough analysis of the public benefit. In my first year working as a staff member at City Council, I successfully advocated that the City should take a closer look at our PFC (Public Facility Corporation) handouts. This tax break tool can be important to subsidize new apartment complexes for really low-income Houstonians, but had been misused at times in the past. Through our advocacy, the Housing department developed a tool with outside national firm consultant HR&A, to give a more clear accounting of which projects deserve this tax break, and which don’t. I have similarly advocated that the City’s economic development team conduct thorough research to determine whether or not companies seeking tax abatements were really NOT going to come to Houston unless they received those tax breaks; in 2026, staff from that department agreed to take those research questions into account. I have also raised questions about the effectiveness of writing large downpayment assistance checks to a small number of families, especially when those homes are not utilizing the land bank (which is a tool to prevent dramatic rises in property taxes - the families own the houses but the land bank owns the land).

Infrastructure

Houston’s infrastructure is the backbone for our economy, and necessary for health and quality of life. Houston’s infrastructure is aging, and requires big dollar amounts to repair, maintain, and improve. A quick and stark example is the current East Water Purification Plant project, estimated to require $4.2 billion dollars in funds. Houston’s infrastructure needs are not limited to drinking water, waste water, and drainage infrastructure, but also include roads, sidewalks, parks, trails, signal infrastructure, lighting, and so much more. Expected in spring 2027 City Council will make the hard decision of approving multi-year increases to water rates. While a city can never be finished rooting out corruption and inefficiencies, the size of Houston’s infrastructure needs massively outpace our current spending. In my role as a Chief of Staff at City Council, my team has submitted numerous “letters of support” for grant requests to the federal government and other agencies. More revenue, smartly applied, is required.
One area where we can save money, and where the City’s Strategic Procurement Division has been working with our Public Works department, is in hastening our contract processing times. The longer it takes for companies to be selected for a project, awarded the contract, and paid (and everything in between), the more our costs rise. This continues to need attention and work.
Different parts of town want different things. We all want to be safe! It’s important to engage neighborhoods in deciding how local money should be spent. We can partner with the State and with the Feds both to invest in big dollar projects like making SH225, a critical artery for Port freight, safer and less congested, as well as partnering with them and local entities on comprehensive strategies to strengthen our walking and biking trails, parks, and enhance intersection safety. It’s critical to take into account high-injury intersections and parts of roadways, among other factors, when investing in road projects.
One area fertile for partnership with local funding entities like the Houston Parks Board, special districts (e.g. TIRZs and Management Distrits), and philanthropies, is the utility right-of-way for pedestrian and bike trails; these spaces are opportunities for neighborhood connectivity, connecting Houstonians with places to play, exercise, and work.