Stardig for Precinct 3 in GOP primary
It’s been 30 years since Republican voters in Harris County Precinct 3 faced a field of commissioner candidates that didn’t include Steve Radack. The powerful eight-term commissioner’s late announcement that he wouldn’t seek reelection presents a rare opportunityand a difficult challenge, for Republicans seeking to replace him in an increasingly Democratic county.
Radack and the other Republican commissioner, Jack Cagle, have endorsed Spring Valley Village Mayor Tom Ramsey. The 67-year-old civil engineer, whose former firm Klotz Associates won numerous government contracts during his tenure, is the clear establishment candidate, enjoying influential GOP endorsements and money from engineers and consultant firms. He knows his stuff on drainage and would surely bring an engineer’s eye for detail.
But we’ve grown weary of the status quo on Commissioners Court, historically a closeted club of insiders who from their lofty perches can lose touch with the concerns of everyday people in their sprawling fiefdoms.
That’s why voters should choose Brenda Stardig in the Republican primary.
While Ramsey is mayor of a town of 5,000, Stardig represented 288,000 people spanning 100 square miles in her two terms as a Houston city councilwoman in District A.
The 58-year-old real estate broker is a hard worker passionate about flooding, infrastructure and public safety. She’s no wallflower. While her unfiltered style can raise eyebrows, it’s refreshing when it means greater transparency.
Stardig has a reputation for connecting with constituents on the ground level and fighting for their needs. On council, she touts her work on flood mitigation programs, her role as chair of the committee on public safety and homeland security and vice chair of budget and fiscal affairs, along with tearing down six crime-ridden apartment complexes, one replaced with green space.
She’s a conservative with a pragmatic approach and a track record of working with colleagues with varying ideologies, which could make her an effective minority voice on a court dominated by liberals. She seems to keep an open mind to the facts and apparently prefers nurturing talent rather than nursing grudges. When critic Amy Peck ran against her for the second time in 2013, Stardig had the good sense to hire Peck to run her office.
Stardig told the Editorial Board she planned to “take the politics out, stop the bickering and get the work done” if elected.
Sounds good to us. Last we checked, Addicks Reservoir and Cypress Creek don’t have a party affiliation.
Another bright contender in this race is Susan Sample, an accountant, lawyer and former mayor of West University Place during Hurricane Harvey. She touts drainage improvements in the area, good stewardship of taxpayer dollars and her plans to end the “Democrat circus” on Commissioners Court.