It’s only six months away and we’ve barely heard a peep about the Houston mayoral election.
The competitors: So far, three major candidates have entered the race, including Mayor Sylvester Turner who is seeking a second term.Turner’s top challenger most likely will be Bill King, a Houston-area businessman who ran as a Republican against Turner in 2015.
Another contender, Tony Buzbee is a flamboyant Houston-area lawyer who donated $500,000 to Trump in 2016. More than $20 million in belongings, including a Picasso, were stolen from Buzbee’s River Oaks mansion earlier this year.
With three years at the helm, Turner is hedging his re-election on his performance as mayor so far.
“If you want to know what kind of mayor I will be, just take a look at what kind of mayor I have been — a mayor for all of Houston,” Turner said in a video announcing his bid for re-election last month.
Turner’s accomplishments have included:
- Leadership during crisis. He issued a smart evacuation of thousands of people during Hurricane Harvey, provided first responders what they needed to save people, and preserved city’s drinking water.
- Potholes. Established a pothole repair initiative that led to same-day repairs of many potholes reported to the city. More than 165,000 potholes have been filled on the mayor’s watch.
- Crime. Violent and non-violent crime has declined in his three years in office.
- Jobs. He helped create more than 100,000 new jobs in the last year, with a focus on startups, technology and innovation, A.KA. “Silicon Bayou.”
The vote for Houston’s mayoral election will take place on Nov. 5, 2019.
You can read the latest on Houston politics here.
