'We have a full council': Houston council fills seats, selects Mayor and Deputy Mayor in special council meeting

After 4 hours and 13 candidates for two council seats, the city of Houston now has a full council and a brand new Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

After a chaotic few weeks which saw a record number of voters turn out and make their voices heard, the former Mayor and Deputy Mayor both exited without explanation, followed by the City Treasurer. Their departures left the city and more importantly, the residents without leadership and answers.

After certifying and swearing in the newly elected and appointed officials, the council has set about replacing the vacancies left from the previous Mayor and Deputy Mayor. In an overwhelming turnout, 13 residents tossed their hats into the ring, with different levels of experience and skillsets but all with a shared passion and commitment to move the city forward.

“This is why we’re here,” said candidate Tammy Cook, who went on to say that her priorities were to improve a lack of communication between the council and the community, along with public safety as a priority.

Most candidates were new to public office but expressed that this was the time to step up and add their voices to the relatively new council.

One candidate not new to public service in Houston was former Deputy Mayor James Johansen, who had previously been on city council during a previous time of turbulence for Houston and wanted to get the city’s positive reputation back

“I take the role of city councilman seriously and consider it my civic duty and an honor,” he told the council.

When he was asked what the new council could learn from the past when they faced similar issues, Johansen said, “You’re doing it right now. You’re listening to the people and that’s the most important thing.”

He then went on to share a lesson he learned about people coming to the council meetings, “Some days, there are council meetings with 3 people here, and we go on about our business taking care of the city. If you’re running the city well, we don’t need to come, we think you’re doing OK. But when you screw up and we don’t like what’s going on, people show up.”

After hearing from the seven candidates for the first seat, the council found themselves in a 3-2 decision, which according to Municipal Code, required a 4-vote majority. The council could have flipped a coin or ask for a re-vote. After a re-vote, Jay Lowenstein was appointed into the council.

The second go-round saw six candidates vying for the remaining 1-year term on the council. Again, candidates campaigned for transparency, smart economic growth, roads, and safety. There were also repeated calls for leadership.

“I believe under the right leadership, the city of Houston can thrive,” said candidate Shanie Heger, who also owns a small business in Houston.

“You can’t lead until you learn how to follow,” stated candidate David Duren as he gave a statement about why he decided to run for council. Duren ultimately won the second council seat.

After administering the oath of office, Councilman Mike Adams declared, “We have a full council,” a statement that was met with rousing applause from the residents in attendance.

With a full council in place, the agenda moved to the most important events of the evening; electing a new mayor and deputy mayor.

Councilman Adams had been nominated for the top spot with support from the gallery, but after declining, he gladly accepted and was unanimously voted as Deputy Mayor. The council elected as the new Mayor Carter Cole.

“We don’t know what we don’t know, and as soon as we know something, we will pass that along.” Mayor Cole said during Council comments, going on to say that now with a full council and Mayoral seats filled, some ability to know the status of some accounts are restored. He said that he would like to have an accounting firm conduct a full forensic audit and would be taking steps to get that done within the next 30 days.

“Because all three officers that resigned had all the knowledge of the finances and were unwilling to transfer power normally, I cannot ask this council to take an unknown liability or make an assumption that everything is fine. I will call for a full forensic audit and return that service agreement for approval.”

Mayor Cole also said that the Public Works Director has been working on a lease agreement for a road grader which will then be sent to the council for review and possible agreement as soon as possible. Road conditions and maintenance has been cited as a major reason for anger and frustration from the residents.

He also wanted to see that councilmembers come to meetings fully prepared and having reviewed agendas and packets, ready to ask questions and also have patience if answers aren’t readily available.

“I want to make sure you’re utilizing the (information) packets and get the questions to us so we can get them answered. I prefer the council is well-educated by the time the meetings come up and they will tell you (the public) why they voted up or down.”

While there were moments of much-needed brevity throughout the meeting, there was a tense exchange during the public comments after the rules for commenting were suspended, resulting in an extended conversation between council members and a candidate who was not selected.

“I ask each of you what you plan to do before the next meeting,” asked resident Tony Kuse, who wanted specifics from each member. When a work session was suggested in order for all of the new councilmen to get together and strategize priorities, Kuse voiced displeasure at the bureaucracy, to which Councilwoman Sandy McDonald answered that a work session is needed as an opportunity for the council to put together an agenda to bring forward to the public before reiterating that no voting is done in such a session.

“We do need to prioritize and if we’re going to continually bicker, we’re not going to get anything accomplished. We do need to be sure we have finances and at this point none of us know anything about that. We need to find out where the money is and find out why it hasn’t been applied to the roads,” she said.

“We don’t vote in work sessions, though it may seem like it’s not accomplishing anything, but I believe it does.”

“There are a lot of great things coming into this community-we’ve got the new (expanded) highway, a new career-tech high school coming in, the largest solar farm in the state being built right now,” said resident Adam Rein before adding, “there are some problems that need to be fixed, just don’t go in thinking small, look to the future,” he encouraged the council.

“Welcome to the new council, I really look forward to working with you all. I feel like we have some traction going and we can start having conversations, calibrate ourselves to what needs to be done, prioritize as we’ve asked these people to do, and we’ll get there,” said Councilman David Childs.

The next regularly scheduled Houston Council meeting is Nov. 10 at 6 p.m. in Houston City Hall.