Houstonians may choose to restructure government this fall

Houston’s structure of governance could change this November if a coalition aimed at winnowing down the mayor’s power is successful. 

Houston has what is traditionally known as a “strong mayor” form of government, simply meaning that most power resides within the Office of the Mayor. But Houston goes even further by giving near dictatorial power to the mayor. This imbalance means that council members cannot directly bring issues that their residents and communities are dealing with to the weekly agenda for consideration, only the mayor can.

Every other level of government enables members of its legislative body, independently and collectively, to bring forward items for consideration, rather than allowing the chief executive to dictate what issues can be discussed.

Last fall, the Houston Charter Amendment Petition Coalition (HCAP), a collective of politically divergent groups, came together to change the structure of Houston’s government. While the groups disagree on political matters, they agreed that each deserves to have their issues discussed, debated, and considered before council, if they can find council members willing to bring them forward.

HCAP launched a petition stating that any three sitting Houston City Council members should have the authority to place an item on the city’s weekly agenda. Budgetary matters come through the agenda, so being able to impact the agenda is one of the few true ways to bring about reform in the city. 

The group collected nearly 40,000 signatures from October through April and the Houston City Secretary certified more than 20,000 of them in July. The final hurdle is for council to vote to place it on the ballot. 

Houston City Council has until Aug. 16 to call for the November election and while Mayor Sylvester Turner says he will, indeed, bring the item before council, the date of the election is up for debate.

According to the mayor, his interpretation of state law leads him to believe that council can place the item on the upcoming November 2021 election date or wait until the next municipal election, November 2023. At least one council member, Michael Kubosh, thinks that delaying the vote is akin to suppressing it saying, “a vote delayed is a vote denied.” Kubosh has repeatedly urged the mayor and council to place it on the earliest ballot date.

While the reform might seem small, it carries a lot of weight in terms of ushering in a new level of accountability and transparency in Houston’s government. 

Charles Blain is the president of Urban Reform and the Urban Reform Institute.