We back Plummer for council’s At-Large 4
Hopeful has insight into minority communities
In many ways, Letitia Plummer embodies the diversity of Houston.
She hails from ground-breakers in the African American community. Her grandfather was one of the first African American judges in Texas, her grandmother a longtime educator at Wheatley High School, and her mother is an immigrant from Yemen, reflecting the demographics of a city where one in four residents is foreign-born.
That gives the Houston native and candidate for City Council At-Large Position 4 valuable insight into the needs of Houston communities that often lack a voice at the table.
Plummer’s 20 years as a private-practice dentist also helps her understand the challenges facing Houston’s small business owners and the role entrepreneurs play in the city’s economy.
Plummer, 49, has also worked on political campaigns and successfully lobbied the Texas Legislature regarding adoption and surrogacy rights and was on the small business task force of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Her experience and her connections to the community give her a considerable edge over opponent Anthony Dolcefino, a 22-year-old college student and the son of former TV investigative reporter Wayne Dolcefino. Her candidacy promises to give Houston’s diverse communities a representative on City Council.
That was apparent when Plummer spoke to the editorial board before the general election. She said she opposed the proposed I-45 expansion because it would “destroy black and brown communities.”
“Freeways are like walls,” she explained. “They divide up communities. Culturally our homes are our investments, that’s what we have and how we thrive.”
She said making sure the I-45 project does as little harm as possible is “going to take someone who really understands minority communities.”
That should be a prerequisite for an at-large Council member in a city where non-white residents are 40 percent of the population.
Dolcefino is right to emphasize ethics, transparency and trimming wasteful spending. He’s also been too quick, in our view, to toss out charges of corruption in City Hall with little proof.
Still, he’s right that a focus on reducing wasteful spending and boosting ethics and transparency should be a priority for anyone seated on City Council. We were encouraged to hear that echoed by Plummer, who said she’ll insist that revenue such as drainage fees must be spent for their dedicated purposes and pledged to examine how the city budget is being used.
We urge voters to choose Plummer.