We have a strong contender for the most interesting local primary.
Rep. Garnet Coleman
At least four candidates have announced they are running for state Rep. Garnet Coleman’s seat, less than two weeks after the longtime Houston Democrat announced he would not seek re-election next year.
The field, made up entirely of Democrats so far, includes Jolanda Jones, a former Houston ISD trustee and at-large city council member, and Reagan Flowers, a Houston Community College trustee. Jones announced her candidacy Monday morning, days after Flowers’ announcement last week.
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In a statement announcing her candidacy, Jones said she would be “a champion for affordable health care, better jobs, safer streets and stronger schools” if elected to the seat. She rolled out an initial list of endorsements from elected officials and community leaders, including state Sen. Royce West of Dallas.
“Representative Garnet Coleman raised the bar for public servants in Texas,” Jones said. “He cannot be replaced, but I will do my best to carry the torch for the residents of District 147.”
Following a stint on Houston City Council from 2008 to 2012, Jones served on the Houston ISD board from 2016 to 2020, where she was known to openly criticize state education officials and her fellow trustees. She opted not to seek re-election, and mounted an unsuccessful challenge to Harris County Tax Assessor-Collector Ann Harris Bennett in last year’s Democratic primary.
Flowers, an education nonprofit executive and former science teacher at Jack Yates High School, ran for Jones’ open seat on the HISD board in 2019, narrowly missing a runoff. She was appointed to the HCC board the following year, replacing Carolyn Evans-Shabazz, who was elected to Houston City Council.
In a video announcing her candidacy, Flowers called herself a “proven, progressive Democrat” and said she had a “proven track record of working collaboratively with the numerous institutions within House District 147.” She also bashed Republican state leaders for their approach to health care and education funding.
“Texas schools and colleges should be the best in the world, but state leadership has failed to provide the funding to achieve that goal,” Flowers said.
Also running for Coleman’s seat are Houston realtor Danielle Keys Bess and 23-year-old high school math teacher Namrata “Nam” Subramanian. The only candidate to file before Coleman announced his retirement, Subramanian says on her campaign website that “every person deserves human rights and to be treated equitably in our society.”
See here and here for the background. I know people here will have Feelings about Jolanda Jones. You’re entitled to them, but I will say this: the Lege is a good fit for her. There’s just a lot more room there for her style. No guarantees about anything, but she enters this race as the best known and highest-profile candidate, and that makes her the favorite.
But she still has to make her case to the voters, and Reagan Flowers is a strong candidate as well. I don’t know anything more about Nam Subramanian than what I learned for the last post, and I know nothing about Danielle Bess. Here’s Jolanda Jones’ website. You can expect me to do interviews for this one. Like I said, this will be – already is – an interesting race.
I think Jolanda Jones is great.
Jolanda sure did a jammed-up-and-jelly-tight job while sitting on the HISD Trustee Board ! …in fact, she did such a good job for four years, the State wants in on that action !
If you can’t stay on ‘Survivor’ more than three days before being voted off, you’re gonna have a helluva time in Austin.
Jolanda Jones? Oh hell no. One of the worst politicians in the State.
“Jolanda sure did a jammed-up-and-jelly-tight job while sitting on the HISD Trustee Board ! …in fact, she did such a good job for four years, the State wants in on that action !”
I don’t know what any of this means, but i like it.
Disclaimer: I went to high school with Jones. Same school, same grade. But all I know about her is that she was a star athlete.
@Joel, when Jones was on the HISD Board, the conflict between her and Diana Davila drove many of the issues that made TEA want to take over the district.