Alcorn for council
Having spent 10 years at City Hall, she is the best candidate for At-Large Position 5.
These are a few of Sallie Alcorn’s favorite things: the nuts and bolts of city government. Reading ordinances and figuring out how to make them better. The budget process. Helping constituents.
Not exactly a catchy rendition of the iconic tune from “Sound of Music.” But it is a good formula for an effective City Council member.
Alcorn, who is running for At-Large Position 5, has spent the past 10 years at City Hall — serving as chief of staff for three council members and as senior staff analyst for the city’s flood recovery officer. She has also worked in the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development.
In that time, Alcorn was instrumental in getting the city’s Adopt-A-Drain program launched, helped develop a publicprivate partnership that brought a Pyburn’s grocery store into the Sunnyside neighborhood and managed a task force focused on redevelopment and flooding policies.
“I have learned what works what doesn’t, when local government can help and when it should stay out of the way,” Alcorn, 57, told the editorial board.
Alcorn’s familiarity with the inner workings of city government and the needs of constituents showed when she listed the issues facing the next council. She ticked off the big ones — flood mitigation, infrastructure, transportation, making the city more green and walkable, shoring up city finances — but also noted the kinds of services that most impact residents’ lives: reliable and effective public safety, trash and recycling, quality librariesand a faster permitting process .
“I know who to call to get things done, if your trash needs picked up, if you’ve got a pothole problem, if you’ve got a permitting issue,” Alcorn said. “That’s the meat of City Council, and there’s nothing more satisfying than helping a constituent make their way to resolve an issue in the community.”
Alcorn faces seven challengers, including Eric Dick, an attorney and trustee on the Harris County Department of Education board, Marvin McNeese Jr., chair for the general education department at the College of Biblical Studies in Houston, and Catherine Garcia Flowers, the CEO of Bread of Life, a Houston-based nonprofit social services organization. Flowers also brings a strong record of government experience, having served as founding director of the Houston Department of Neighborhoods under Annise Parker and as director of governmental and community affairs for the state of Louisiana from 2003-2007.
Houston Black Lives Matter co-founder Ashton P. Woods, who has gotten several key endorsements, did not meet with the editorial board. Another candidate, charter school founder Michelle Bonton,is not eligible to run because of residency requirements, but her name will still appear on the ballot.
Alcorn has in-the-trenches training that will help her succeed . We recommend Alcorn for At-Large Position 5.