The Chron makes their recommendation for the City Council At Large #4 special election.
Jordan Thomas
Voters should try to find someone among the current crop of candidates who has the vision and knowledge to actually make something productive out of a largely undefined role — a Houstonian who can use their position at City Hall to drive the change our city needs even as just one vote out of 16.
That is why we endorse Jordan Thomas for At Large 4.
More than any other candidate, Thomas has a real sense of how our municipal government can make Houston a better, more resilient place to live.
“I almost feel like we’re directionless, and someone out of the 17 voices that sit on City Council needs to be painting a positive vision of the future,” he said during the endorsement meeting. “For me, in a word, that is urbanism. We need a more dense city to combat our sprawl. We need a city that attracts the workforce of the future, not the jobs of yesterday.”
Thomas combines a youthful passion — he’s 36 — with a wonky knowledge about urbanism and road safety. At a time when more Houstonians die in car crashes than homicides, we need someone who will be an unabashed advocate for smarter road design, better sidewalks, and cutting the red tape that forces developers to build suburban-style construction in our urban core.
Houston is testing the limits of how sprawl can deliver growth and affordability, and Thomas is one of the few local politicos plugged into the national movement pursuing bipartisan policies to lower the cost of housing and help cities deliver services in an efficient, effective manner. His campaign website might as well be a think tank in miniature, filled with whip-smart ideas for tackling housing, infrastructure and flooding. Incumbents at City Hall should give it a read.
[…]
Finally, we endorse Thomas because he has the unique ability to fill a much-needed role at City Hall — dedicated opposition.
Since the election of John Whitmire, we have watched as the City Council has been cowed by our strong mayor system. With 50 years of political experience, Whitmire has had little difficulty using his power to steamroll his opponents and force his allies to fall in line. Behind the scenes and off the record we hear elected officials and civic leaders muttering about how the mayor has gone astray, but few are brave enough to speak up out of fear that they’ll earn his ire and political punishment.
The city is worse off as a result. Political silence means the mayor has little incentive to stop unilaterally altering infrastructure projects, or substituting anecdotes and personal opinion for data and community input. He has not been challenged to explain his many surprise decisions about road projects, or lay out plans to solve the city’s financial woes in a way that doesn’t cut services to the bone.
Meeting with the editorial board, Thomas said he wants to be the “tip of the spear” — someone who can give voice to community concerns about the Whitmire administration, rally much-needed effective opposition, and use Council’s new powers from Proposition A to force votes on key policies. Iron sharpens iron, and having Thomas at City Hall would help make Whitmire a better mayor.
But Thomas is no mere obstructionist. He demonstrates a depth of knowledge about municipal policy that eclipses many longtime elected officials, and a real sense about how Houston can and should navigate a changing energy landscape that threatens to undermine our economic success and civic well-being.
We don’t have any illusions about the uphill battle Thomas faces to win this race. He has done little fundraising and has a dearth of serious endorsements. But Thomas is a candidate for this moment. He is the sort of candidate this City Council needs today — someone with policy chops, much-needed courage of conviction, and an optimistic vision for Houston’s future.
That’s an interesting rationale, to say the least. Might raise an eyebrow or two in the Mayor’s office, if any of them are reading the Chronicle. Can’t say I’m unhappy with it, that’s for sure.
The Chron used its star rating system in this endorsement, giving Thomas four stars, Alejandra Salinas three and a half, Dwight Boykins two and a half, Al Lloyd and Martina Lemond Dixon two stars each. I wonder how many of the other candidates were in for the interview.
Anyway. Speaking of interviews, here are the interviews I did with AL4 candidates:
Alejandra Salinas
Jordan Thomas
Dwight Boykins
Al Lloyd
I’ve got a post in the works for the thirty day finance reports, which I will have up in the next day or two.