Unsolicited Testimony

It’s difficult to describe what it means to be without representation. In the City of Houston, you have a district council member, the mayor, and five at-large council members who represent the whole city. On paper, that’s a lot of people speaking for you.

I’m pretty sure my district council member doesn’t like me.

Why? I couldn’t really tell you. I can only speculate, and speculation does no good.

Here’s the thing, though: I’m willing to work with him even when we don’t see eye to eye. That’s just how this works. I work with plenty of representatives and elected officials I don’t agree with on everything. I’ve tried. I’ve shared information, texted, offered invitations to meet, sat down for coffee with him. Nothing seems to move the needle.

Residents shouldn’t have to work this hard.

For a while I thought — maybe it’s me. Maybe it’s all in my head. Then I met others with similar stories.

I go to a lot of civic meetings and other super neighborhood meetings, because it matters to me that we work together and support our neighbors. You build relationships and trust before you need them. And honestly, I enjoy it, hearing how other neighborhoods are finding wins, how they’re getting things done. I like learning from others. I certainly don’t know everything.

Through those conversations, I realized our district council member wasn’t responding to anyone. Then the emails and messages started coming in from residents all over the district, asking for help, all with the same story: we tried our council member and got no response.

That got me reflecting on what was happening in the neighborhood, and on something I keep coming back to: it’s more important to walk the walk than talk the talk. Anyone can talk. Anyone can promise. Can you actually do it?

Polk Street

Residents learned there was a push to close Polk Street, a big deal, because Polk was the last east–west street across downtown. At first, our council member was on our side; he said he didn’t like it. Then, suddenly, his message became “it’s a done deal,” and he closed the book.

Residents sat through meeting after meeting asking a reasonable question: if we’re losing a major street, how do we get concessions? Nothing. He said he wouldn’t advocate. Eventually, after residents pushed for a community benefits agreement, something other parts of town have secured, he was pressured into an MOU. Even then, it was minimal, and he told residents they should be grateful.

In an eight-minute speech at council, he said not everyone is “the community.” He doubled down in later conversations, saying civic clubs are the same ten people showing up to the same meetings. I scratched my head. Our meetings have been growing; we see 40 to 50 people a month, which is a lot for civic meetings, and there are always new faces.

Telephone Road

We worked with the TIRZ to create a community-backed redesign of Telephone Road, along with a federal grant to fund it. The new administration came in, and the project was redesigned into something genuinely unsafe. His response? That we should be grateful he got us wide sidewalks.

At an infrastructure town hall, where we asked for updates on all of the district’s projects, a resident sitting behind him overheard him tell his chief of staff: “They are fucking ungrateful.”

The Pattern

When we need something, he doesn’t answer the call. When we ask him to advocate, he stays silent unless he’s pressured into speaking. On numerous occasions, we’ve heard he talks poorly of residents. Word from people who work with him is that no one enjoys it.

Yesterday, I got a call from a candidate running for an at-large seat in the next election. He told me he goes to a lot of meetings because he wants people’s votes, so he listens to everyone’s needs. Then he said something that stuck with me: no other district has problem after problem stacking up with no solutions and no advocacy.

That doesn’t surprise me.