Two more Council endorsements from the Chron. First up, they recommend Martha Castex-Tatum for a full term in District K:
CM Martha Castex Tatum
District K Councilwoman Martha Castex-Tatum has a hard time leaving her work at the office.
“Trash keeps me up at night,” she told the editorial board, referring to the illegal dumping that has plagued parts of her district. “It is one of those things that if we don’t clean up our district, or maintain a clean district, it’s hard to attract economic development.”
That kind of 24/7 responsibility to her constituents is born from the deep personal relationship she has with the district she grew up in and which she has represented for the last 17 months. She was elected in May 2018 to succeed the late councilman Larry Green, for whom she served as director of constituent services.
“There is a special level of accountability when you represent your parents and the people who raised you,” she said. “I’m honored to do it and want to continue serving.”
Voters should allow her to do so.
Here’s the interview I did with then-candidate Castex-Tatum during the 2018 special election, which she won in the first round. You can see the summary of her June finance report here; neither of the two opponents who eventually filed were in the race at that time. I’ll have a loom at the 30 day reports soon. Beyond that, this is a good call by the Chron.
In District G, they go with Greg Travis.
CM Greg Travis
“I have the unenviable position of advocating for people who others think are affluent,” Councilman Greg Travis told the editorial board, explaining that his district has both pockets of extreme wealth and of poverty. That means advocating for resources, just like the other council members, while representing a population that often doesn’t get much sympathy.
When elected in 2015, Travis promised to be a conservative voice focused on fiscal issues, road conditions, flood mitigation efforts and public safety. On all those issues he has represented his constituents well and deserves another term on the council.
In his four years at City Hall, Travis, 56, has sometimes found himself at odds with Mayor Sylvester Turner and a majority on the council. While he refuses to be a contrarian who votes against whatever Turner is for, he is not the mayor’s “lapdog,” either.
“I like the mayor; he and I get along personally. I don’t agree with his policies, many of the times; I don’t agree with his approaches,” Travis said. “I think when two people agree all the time, one of them becomes unnecessary.”
Under a strong-mayor system, that clash comes at a cost. While other council members spoke about direct communication with Turner, the incumbent complained that he struggled to get a meeting. Regardless of who wins the mayoral race, Travis should consider softening his approach to the chief executive — or find other ways to make himself relevant to the mayor’s deliberations.
My interview with Greg Travis as a candidate in 2015 is here, and the summary of his June finance report is at that same link above. I feel like he’s gone to Crazy Town a few times in his first term, but off the top of my head I can’t think of any particularly egregious examples. Like Castex-Tatum, Travis now has two opponents, including a progressive named Crystal Pletka, whom I did not have the opportunity to interview.