Turner lays out goals for final term
Mayor plans to focus on flooding, street repairs and homelessness
Freshly sworn in Thursday morning, Mayor Sylvester Turner promised to make significant strides in street repairs and flood control while boosting services for the city’s homeless in his second term.
He also called on private businesses and nonprofits to be more generous in their giving, saying they are crucial to helping the cash-strapped city fund his signature initiatives, including the Complete Communities neighborhood program.
“We ask financial institutions, businesses, developers, nonprofits and endowments to leverage their resources with the city and with one another to share the risks and expedite the transformation,” Turner said in his inaugural speech at the Wortham Center. “Though many have stepped forward to assist, we are still missing that level of support, the investments that will serve as game-changers for those underserved communities in our city.”
Turner easily prevailed in the Dec. 14 runoff election over second-place finisher Tony Buzbee. In a post-election interview with the Chronicle, Turner promised to make transformational changes in his final term, including restructuring the fire department, accelerating the city’s permitting process and repairing streets as top priorities.
Houston’s mayors are limited to two four-year terms, leaving Turner until the end of 2023 to enact his agenda. Outside funding could be especially important under a state-imposed cap that limits annual revenue growth for cities and counties to 3.5 percent, above which requires voter approval. Houston already had been operating under a 4.5 percent revenue cap imposed by voters in 2004.
The mayor said his second term will focus on improving the quality of life for residents across the city, with a particular emphasis on ensuring poor residents have opportunities just like their wealthier neighbors. He said the Complete Communities program has benefited neighborhoods like Sunnyside and the Third Ward, and said private investment would help the city attract quality grocery stores to other low-income areas.
Turner directed the public works department to, within 60 days, develop a comprehensive plan that identifies which city streets are in need of serious repairs and a funding source to complete them.
“You should see a noticeable improvement by the end of this term,” he said.
He also praised the passage in November of the $3.5 billion Metro bond, which will fund dozens of improvements, with an emphasis on bus transit.
Turner also said the city must do more to address homelessness. He asked private firms and nonprofits to contribute an additional $50 million to The
Way Home program, which he said is needed to achieve his goal of decreasing the city’s 4,000 homeless population by a quarter by the end of 2021.
In addition, the mayor reiterated his desire to build a new AstroWorld theme park. The original park, located across Loop 610 from the Astrodome, closed in 2005.
Also sworn in were seven new members of City Council: Amy Peck, District
A; Abbie Kamin, District C; Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, District D; Tiffany Thomas, District F; Edward Pollard, District J; Letitia Plummer, At-Large 4; and Sallie Alcorn, At-Large 5.
District B Jerry Davis, though term-limited, retook the oath of office because an election dispute has so far prevented a runoff contest in that race. City Controller Chris B. Brown, who won re-election without a runoff, was also sworn in to a second term.
The new council has a record nine women at the horseshoe, though just one Hispanic member, District I Councilman Robert Gallegos. Houston is about 45 percent Hispanic, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The shift in representation, which has invited calls to abolish at-large districts, comes just a year after Hispanic politicians secured powerful posts in
Harris County government.
The new council will also have more youth; Kamin, Pollard, Peck and Thomas are 38 or younger. It also will have new leadership. Turner this week nominated District E Councilman Dave Martin as mayor pro-tem and District K Councilwoman Martha Castex-Tatum as vice mayor pro-tem. The council unanimously approved Castex-Taxum, while Gallegos was the lone no vote on Martin.
Gallegos said Martin’s opposition to the city’s anti-discrimination ordinance and support for legislation requiring local governments to assist in enforcing federal immigration law disqualified the councilman from the position.
“In an increasingly diverse city, Councilman Martin has consistently opposed policies and efforts aimed at helping and protecting all Houstonians including the vulnerable and underrepresented,” Gallegos said in a statement.
Turner’s turbulent first term included the passing of a landmark pension reform bill in 2017, aimed at addressing the city’s top fiscal challenge. His first two years were hampered by the Tax Day Flood in 2016 and Hurricane Harvey a year later, from which the city is still recovering.
Left unmentioned in Turner’s 23-minute address was his protracted dispute with the Houston firefighters union over pay that left the mayor bruised and created an opening for challengers. The spat, which included other labor groups siding with the firefighters, may have influenced the Democratic National Committee’s decision to select Milwaukee over Houston for its 2020 convention.
Turner told the Chronicle he wants to move from four firefighter shifts to three, which he said would be more efficient and save money.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa D. Gilmore administered the oath to Turner and Brown, while the mayor swore in the council members. The ceremony featured performances by the Houston Grand Opera chorus and orchestra, St. John’s Downtown Ensemble and Mariachi Pumas.
At a brief, mostly ceremonial council session after the inauguration, the new members thanked their families, constituents and God for the opportunity to serve.