21-year-old is Prairie View City Council’s youngest member
Xante Wallace, 21, is a lot of things. He is a poet, a basketball player and a graduate student at Prairie View A&M University. As of June 5, he’s also the Prairie View City Council’s newest — and youngest — member.
Wallace was elected to the council’s Position 5 in early May. He’ll serve a two-year term alongside four other council members.
“I felt at peace when Election Day came, because at the end of the day I knew whether or not I won, I would still do work for the city,” Wallace said.
Wallace captured 58 percent of the vote in defeating incumbent Paulette Matthews-Barnett. Voters also re-elected Mayor David Allen and elected Wendy Williams as the council member from Position 4.
A 2014 graduate of Cypress Lakes High School in the CypressFairbanks ISD, Wallace received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Prairie View A&M in May.
Some community members were speculative about his motives for running for the council given his youth, Wallace said.
“I expected to get those questions about my age, but I’m here for the community. If you don’t believe me, watch my actions and what I do for the community,” Wallace said. “I plan to be in the Prairie View community for a while. I want to finish what I start.”
Candidate Wallace focused on economic development, infrastructure and bridging the gap between the city and the historically black university.
“Prairie View is a small community, and the university is a big factor,” Wallace said. “They need to work together to push things forward.”
Wallace said he became interested in running for the council while he was an undergraduate student at Prairie View A&M, where he was vice president of the student government associa-
tion.
Yet, he isn’t the first to get involved both on-campus and in the city of about 6,500, which is located in Waller County.
Students, who last year made up almost 18 percent of the county’s population, have long fought for more say in the political process, sometimes over resistance from local officials.
In 1971, some officials said that to be eligible to vote, students or their families had to own county property. After 19 students were arrested and charged with improperly voting, students organized protests. In recent years, students have objected to the lack and accessibility of early polling places on campus.
As vice president of the student government, Wallace has worked closely with its president, Kendric Jones, 22, who is also a member of the city council. Now they will work together as elected city leaders.
Jones was elected to the council in 2017, less than two years after the death of Sandra Bland, whose death in a Waller County jail cell contributed to the national debate about law enforcement’s treatment of minorities. Bland had returned to the community from Chicago to work for her alma mater, Prairie View A&M. But after being pulled over for an illegal lane change, she became involved in a heated exchange with a state trooper, which led to her arrest and jailing. Three days later, she was found dead in her jail cell, a death that was ruled a suicide.
At the time of his election, Jones also held the title of Texas’ youngest city councilman. Jones said Wallace will help represent different voices.
“He’s genuine to his heart, and he always puts his best foot forward. He’ll help look at the deeper side of things and how to move forward strategically,” Jones said.
Wallace plans to continue his studies at Prairie View A&M, where he’s seeking a master’s degree in educational administration. His long-term goal is to become a high school principal and ultimately a superintendent.
“I’m passionate about education. I want to help deconstruct systems that put minorities at a disadvantage, and I want to holistically provide the best educational experience possible,” Wallace said.
His mother, Katina Politte, is also passionate about education. She works as a Cypress Lakes digital credit recovery instructor.
“He’s a big advocate for the community, for change and for doing positive things,” she said. “As a teacher and a mother, I am overwhelmingly thankful for what he’s doing.”
Politte said that while her son was campaigning, he had a network of friends and family to help him create signs and buttons and to help get the word out on social media.
Wallace said that he is excited to move the community forward by helping to attract businesses to the area and making sure the community has the necessary resources, such as wastewater treatment and Internet service.
Wallace now joins the ranks of several other young people who’ve decided to seek change by winning seats on local governing boards.
Earlier this year, Joel Castro, 18, earned a seat on the Alvin City Council in Brazoria County and became one of the youngest candidates to be elected in Texas.
Castro said he was inspired when 18-year-old Mike Floyd was elected to Pearland ISD’s board of trustees last year before he even graduated from the school district.
“I always believe that if there’s an issue, you don’t just ignore it,” Wallace said. “You use your mind and your hands and your feet to fix it.