Flood reaction dominates At-Large 5 council runoff
Note: This is the ninth in a series of stories about Houston City Council runoff elections.
Sallie Alcorn is a proud nerd who sweats the small stuff.
“I like looking at ordinances and trying to figure out how to make them better,” said Alcorn, a longtime City Hall staffer. “I like the budget stuff. I like helping people. It’s the mundane stuff of city government that I like.”
In the race for Houston City Council’s fifth at-large position, Alcorn is touting her decades of public sector experience, and has been endorsed by a host of local and state leaders.
Her opponent, attorney Eric Dick, said his experience representing vulnerable people is the key difference between the two candidates.
Both have eschewed negative campaigning in favor of issues such as flooding.
The two received the most votes in last month’s general election to replace Councilman Jack Christie, who is term-limited. Atlarge council members are elected by — and represent — the entire city, and all five seats will be decided in the Dec. 14 runoff. Early voting starts Wednesday.
Six other council races will also be on the ballot.
After an unsuccessful run for mayor in 2015, Dick won a seat on Harris County Department of Education’s board of trustees in 2016. A supporter of Tony Buzbee for mayor — both are largely self-funding their campaigns — Dick is often billed as a Republican.
He disagrees with the classification, however, citing his views on climate change and criminal justice, views he calls out of step with many traditional Republicans.
“I probably agree with one-third of their platform,” he said.
As a longtime plaintiffs attorney, he said, he’s worked closely with many people who “don’t have money” and thus “don’t have a voice.”
That work has also included representing thousands of people affected by Hurricane Harvey, which has sensitized Dick to complaints about the time it’s taken to disperse federal disaster recovery money.
“I’ve personally seen countless lives completely destroyed as a result of Hurricane Harvey,” he said earlier this year. “Personally, I’m livid.”
More than anything, he said, he wants to focus his campaign on ways to make Houston “more kind” and equitable.
His proposals include decriminalizing drug possession and emphasizing addiction recovery resources; ending the city ordinance regulating the feeding of homeless people; and punishing corporations and oil companies when they do things that would put “actual human beings in jail for a long time.”
“All I want to do is be an advocate for human beings and issues, whether they’re Democrat or Republican,” he said.
Alcorn voiced similar desires. Though she supports Mayor Sylvester Turner’s reelection campaign, she said she does not want to let partisanship get in the way of the city’s biggest issues, particularly flooding and infrastructure.
She’s been a staffer for three city council members, worked at the Department of Housing and Community Development and assisted Houston’s flood recovery czar. She’s a former council chief of staff.
For years, she said, she mulled running for elected office. Then Hurricane Harvey hit.
“Seeing the emotional and financial toll if took on families, it was pretty overwhelming,” she said. “Harvey was really the catalyst.”
She said that flood mitigation is the “defining issue of our city” and, as a council member, she’d like to be a “watchdog” of Houston’s ongoing recovery efforts.
“Council really needs somebody to bird-dog that,” Alcorn said. “To really know the right questions to ask, to make sure that money is getting out as effectively and as fast as it can.”
Alcorn also wants to make Houston a greener, more walkable city, and believes more partnerships with county agencies could streamline some processes and ease pressures on Houston’s shoestring budget.
The idea was one of many recommendations in a 2017 analysis of Houston’s financial condition, but was overshadowed by controversial proposals to cut firefighter jobs and health benefits for active and retired city workers.
Brandon Rottinghaus, a University of Houston political science professor, said city and county leaders have sometimes been reticent to collaborate and, thus, relinquish some of their control.
That may change due to ongoing budget issues, he said, and because Turner and County Judge Line Hidalgo are more “ideologically aligned” than previous administrations.
Rottinghaus said Alcorn likely has an edge in the runoff race because of her support among woman voters, who have increasingly turned out in recent election cycles. But he didn’t rule out Dick’s chances, citing his name recognition and appeal to those who feel left out of the political process.
“It is definitely a race about core concerns that voters have,” Rottinghaus said. “And I think there are a lot of people who are frustrated because they don’t feel their voices are being heard.”