Markle in Democratic primary for HD 128
Motivated by ITC chemical blazes, newcomer ready to demand changes.
District 128 borders and straddles the Houston Ship Channel. In the last election, the Democratic Party did not run a candidate against the incumbent Rep. Briscoe Cain. This year, both candidates in the Democratic primary, Josh Markle and Mary Williams, want voters to at least have a choice even if they face long-shot odds. That’s smart, as no seat should be so safe that incumbents aren’t even challenged.
Our pick for the seat is Markle, 36, a Deer Park resident who gave such a direct and clear answer to why he is running that we offer it here in full:
“We had the ITC fire, that had a black cloud of smoke right over my backyard, just a couple of miles from where I live. That’s what pushed me over the edge and I said you’ve got to do this. My focus is going to be on working with the industry, environmental organizations and citizens to ensure that, despite living next door to the industry and chemical plants, we are safe, protected and informed. During the ITC fire we were all clueless and had to wait for them to bring in air monitors that should have automatically been in place, and been monitoring constantly. That’s the main reason I ran, to make sure we are safe where we live,” he said.
“I do want to make sure we have air quality monitors that are permanent and throughout the area so any citizen can log into a website and make sure everything is within regulation.”
Markle was a staff sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, and besides environmental issues, his platform includes the full gamut of core Democratic issues — health care, education, jobs and criminal justice reform. He’ll give voters in the Republican-leaning district a promising alternative to consider in the fall.
Williams served the Houston Police Department as a civilian for more than 23 years. We applaud her spirit of service and dedication to her community. But we believe Markle will give voters ready for a change in the district a better option.