Richmond debates expanding council to include more diversity
In fast-growing Fort Bend, one local election illustrates a concern common across Texas
Every time Tres Davis drives over the cracks in the streets of North Richmond, he remembers why he’s fighting for change.
There are few sidewalks or streetlights in the historically black neighborhood. Residents live in crumbling, piecemeal homes or aging trailers.
The Brazos River encloses North Richmond on three sides. On the fourth side is a railroad track. When a train comes by — as one does every 18 minutes — there isn’t a convenient way out of the neighborhood.
Davis’ campaign for an open city commissioner’s seat — and to expand the local elected board and change how members are elected — illustrates a broader quest across Texas for greater minority representation in once-rural towns that are now fast-growing suburbs, where whites are now in the minority but continue their hold on political power.
At 55 percent Hispanic, 25 percent white and 17 percent African- American, Richmond not only fits that mold, but serves as the seat of government in Fort Bend County, one of the fastest-growing and most-diverse counties in the United States.
“The fact that Fort Bend County and Richmond in particular are diversifying so quickly demonstrates the need for racial inclusion for groups who historically haven’t had as much say,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston.
Davis, who is African-American, figures his election to an open city commissioner’s seat would immediately increase minority representation. He is seeking to fill the seat vacated by a white commissioner who recently died. That would give Richmond an African-American and a Hispanic on its two-member council, along with a white mayor and city manager.
Davis also is backing two prop- ositions that aim to make the city’s elected board more inclusive and responsive to the needs of lowincome minority residents.
Proposition 1 would increase the number of city commissioners from two to four. Proposition 2 would have city commissioners elected from single-member districts, instead of at large.
Davis, an elementary school teacher in the Alvin Independent School District, has lived in Richmond for a decade, in a development about 3 miles away from North Richmond.
He said he spends time in North Richmond because it reminds him of his hometown outside Austin. He also worked at an elementary school in the community for several years.
When Davis moved in, he was shocked by how provincial the city’s government was, despite being about 30 miles from downtown Houston.
Hilmar Moore, who was mayor from 1949 until his death in 2012, kept the government small.
Richmond’s form of government — with a strong city manager who conducts the daily operations of the city, under the watch of its elected officials — is common. But it is likely the only city with its own charter that has just two commissioners, said Bennett Sandlin, executive director of the Texas Municipal League.
Most cities of Richmond’s size have four to six commissioners, Sandlin added.
Voters in nearby Fulshear, which is nearing 8,000 residents, are weighing a proposed charter calling for seven city council members, five of whom would be elected by single-member districts.
A citizens’ committee responsible for writing Richmond’s charter, which was implemented in 2013, purposely didn’t increase the number of elected officials. The consensus was that the mayor and city commissioners wouldn’t approve a charter if they did, said Barry Beard, a member of that committee who is now running for commissioner.
Seeking representation
Evalyn Moore, who succeeded her husband as mayor after his death and then was elected in 2014, said he strived to ensure minority representation in city government. But with only two commissioners, there were limited opportunities.
In its history, Richmond has had only one AfricanAmerican commissioner and three Hispanic commissioners. They include Jesse Torres, a sitting com- missioner from North Richmond.
After a recent city council meeting, Torres acknowledged that he struggles to represent the interests of North Richmond residents on the deadlocked council, given that he and the mayor don’t always see eye to eye.
The open seat was created by the death of Commissioner Glen Gilmore, who lived across the street from the Moores in an upscale neighborhood. As Richmond’s city manager for 20 years prior to his election, Gilmore worked closely with Hilmar Moore.
Trying to get either Moore or Gilmore to vote with him on issues he cared about was a challenge, Torres said.
Moore and Torres were unable to agree on a replacement for Gilmore despite a city-charter requirement that they do so within 30 days of a vacancy. So voters likely will decide on Saturday
Torres faces legal troubles of his own. The former Lamar CISD trustee was indicted in March on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and other offenses arising from a corruption scandal involving the Lamar CISD. Torres’ attorney has denied any wrongdoing. His term runs through 2018.
Increasing the number of commissioners would pro- vide more opportunities for people from different communities to be elected, said Rottinghaus. Single-member districts also increase minority representation.
Beard said he opposes single-member districts at this time, saying they can lead to more squabbling over resources.
Davis got both propositions on the ballot through petitions.
Moore won’t say publicly what she thinks of Davis’ proposed propositions. Beard and the other commissioner candidate, Carlos Garcia, back expanding the board’s size. Garcia is in favor of single-member districts.
Davis, however, has gotten pushback for what some consider the haphazard way in which he’s tried to change Richmond.
He unsuccessfully ran for city commissioner against Torres in 2015.
Too many petitions?
Davis got another petition signed that had an early-voting location open during the weekend in Richmond, costing the city an estimated $800, despite a county location just a few miles away, City Manager Terri Vela said.
Davis submitted four other petitions to the city to review. He didn’t circulate any others for signatures, but his tactic prompted a citizen committee tasked with reviewing Richmond’s charter to recommend two other propositions that are on the ballot Saturday. The measures would likely increase the number of signatures required for petitions like Davis’ to get on the ballot.
“It just appeared ... some individuals were trying to run the city through the petition process,” said committee chair Michael Scherer.
Evalyn Moore, the mayor, insisted that the city has not ignored North Richmond.
An interlocal agreement with the county is in the works to build an overpass over the railroad tracks as part of a road project that would make it easier to leave the neighborhood, said Vela, the city manager.
The city spends about $250,000 of grant money every year on North Richmond’s infrastructure. The city’s Building and Standards Commission has been identifying dangerous homes that must be improved or removed, Vela added.
Still, North Richmond residents continue to live in a neighborhood without a major grocery store and along streets where broken furniture and chipped porcelain toilets sit outside houses overrun with bougainvillea, where the sound of a train whistle signals further isolation.