Jackson for District B
Economic development would be her priority.
It’s a sign of the character of City Council District B that voters will have a number of good candidates to choose from to succeed Jerry Davis, who after seven years representing the north Houston district that includes the Fifth Ward, Acres Homes, Greenspoint, Leland Woods and George Bush Intercontinental Airport is ineligible to run for another term.
The notable competitors to replace Davis include medical spa owner Renee Jefferson Smith, who worked so hard to help Hurricane Harvey victims that the city named a day in her honor; community activist Huey German-Wilson, who first became active politically 15 years ago in the fight to keep Kashmere High School open; Alvin D. Byrd, a former sanitation worker who climbed the ladder to later become chief of staff to two council members, Jarvis Johnson and Richard Nguyen; and Broderick F. Butler, a public policy analyst who at different times was chief of staff for both Rodney Ellis and Sylvester Turner when they served in the Legislature.
The candidate whose background seems best suited to make an immediate impact, however, is Tarsha Jackson. She’s not a City Hall insider, but as the Harris County director for the Texas Organizing Project, she knows how the legislative process works and can use skills she learned as a lobbyist on behalf of District B residents.
Jackson, 48, who grew up in Acres Homes, told the editorial board that economic development would be a priority if she is elected. “The lack of businesses bothers me the most,” she said. “Greenspoint Mall has only a few open stores. It’s important that we create opportunities for people to make livable wages. I want to fight for the changes my district deserves.”
Among those changes, she said, is getting the city to work harder to reduce flooding by keeping ditches free of trash and unclogging drainage pipes.
“We need someone in District B who is going to stand up and make sure we get our fair share of disaster recovery dollars to fix the infrastructure,” she said.
Jackson became an activist 18 years ago after her 10-year old son, Marquieth, was taken from school in handcuffs by police for kicking a teacher. She helped form Texas Families of Incarcerated Youth, which was instrumental in getting the Legislature to pass a juvenile justice reform bill in 2007 that stipulates youths won’t be sent to jail for committing a misdemeanor.
Now, she wants to address crime as a City Council member. “When you have police taking people downtown for a traffic ticket, fees and fines they are not in our neighborhoods responding to grandma’s call about someone busting her window open,” said Jackson.
“It would strengthen the police’s relationship with the community if they’re not over-policing them on traffic tickets, fees and fines.”
The other District B candidates are Karen Kossie-Chernyshev, Robin J. Anderson, Alice Kirkmon, Kenneth Perkins, Alyson Quintana, Ben White Jr., Cynthia Bailey, Prince E.W. Bryant II, and Karisma D. Gillam.
Jackson is better equipped to be the difference maker District B needs on City Council.
The Chronicle recommends her to voters.