No Provocation From Austin Or Washington Will Cause City Of Houston To Place Rights & Freedom First-We Are On Our Own

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There was lengthy discussion at Houston City Council yesterday, 10/15, about two subjects that are a result of Donald Trump and Greg Abbott telling us what to do. 

(What I'm referring to is from the one hour mark to the 2 hour 15 minute point of the HTV Council broadcast.)

One subject was the Pride Crosswalk in Montrose at Westheimer and Taft. The other subject was ICE. 

Mayor Whitmire said that the Pride Crosswalk must be removed because we will lose state and federal funding if we do not. Above you see the Mayor talking about cuts and referencing the Health Department.

If I recall it right from discussion of the city budget earlier this year, something like 90% of the Health Department budget comes from sources external to the city. Many Houstonians rely on services provided by the health department. 

Here is a report on the debate on the crosswalk yesterday from NPR KUHF.

From that report: 

"I got a call from a highway commissioner last week saying not Abbott but the Secretary of Transportation [Sean Duffy] had notified transport that if we didn’t remove the rainbow crosswalks that we would lose our federal funding," Whitmire said. "METRO is going to get over a billion (dollars) in the next five years. We have ongoing projects."

The story with ICE is the same as with the crosswalk.

From the Houston Chronicle about yesterday’s discussion that involved ICE:

"Whitmire said on Wednesday that immigration enforcement isn’t HPD’s priority, but added that police do encounter immigrants during enforcement activities. The mayor said the city is bound by certain laws…..“Now, let me quickly say we have to be smart — even having this conversation — because it cannot appear that we're not following best policies,” Whitmire said."

I can only then wager that these reasonings will continue to prevail if habeas corpus is suspended, ICE commits an atrocity in the city or if our 2026 Harris County elections are not allowed by Republicans to be free and fair. There is simply nothing regarding our basic civil liberties and rights that the city will offer a meaningful response to if it comes from the state of the federal government. 

We are on our own. 

A frustrating aspect of this is that the police and fire unions often endorse the elected officials who are bringing about the authoritarianism and the brutality of ICE. Police then rack up the overtime when freedom-loving Houstonians peacefully protest the terrible people our own city employees helped elect. Politico reported on October 8, 2024, that some firefighter union officials from Houston had had a hand in the national union remaining neutral in the Presidential race instead of endorsing Kamala Harris.  

There is an ongoing race for the Houston City Council seat being vacated by Letitia Plummer who is running for County Judge.

Democratic candidate Alejandra Salinas says this on her campaign website:

"Between the chaos coming out of Washington, DC and the attacks by state government on Texas cities with Democratic majorities, defending democracy is rapidly becoming a priority for local government in Houston." 

Democratic candidate Jordan Thomas has specific policy suggestions on his campaign website that limit HPD's cooperation with ICE. 
 
They say the right things, but would either be allowed to get anywhere with these views once on Council? Would they stand up to Mayor Whitmire? 

Mayor Whitmire is fully comfortable with the crosswalk and I don't think he has very much for Trump. He is in fact a Democrat. It is quite possible he believes what he is saying. There are no easy solutions. The city does need money for the most basic services and all our rights at stake. I don't want to over-simplify the issue. (The overly-generous police and fire contracts were irresponsible.)

What I do know for certain, is that the demands and attacks from Washington and Austin will only get worse. Houstonians need to grasp that no level of government will fight for our basic civil rights and freedom. Protest will often be over-policed on our own Houston taxpayer dime. When we oppose Trump, we'll be called Antifa and terrorists and the elected officials in our Democratic-voting, diverse city will mostly be MIA. Nothing ICE does will be so bad that the city stands up for people. No attack on the political representation of Black people will spur the city to act. 

The October 18 No Kings Protestsin Houston, across the Houston region and all over the nation offer hope. These large-scale protests are being organized by people just like you and I. They are decentralized, under-resourced and have little meaningful support from elected officials.

I believe it will be the largest day of protest in American history. We have the power to organize and act. 

The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. Your existence is the only credential required. You don't need to feel self-confident--Just proceed. 

We are on our own. Let's get to the task before us and save ourselves. 

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM with the exception of the last Friday of each month when it is at 5:30 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and the most recent session is available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 

Here is contact information for Mayor Whitmire & Council. 

Mayor Whitmire—713-837-0311 [email protected] 

Democrats: 
At-Large-Letitia Plummer 832-393-3012  [email protected]
At-Large-Sallie Alcorn 832-393-3017  [email protected]
District B-Tarsha Jackson 832-393-3009  [email protected]
District C-Abbie Kamin 832-393-3004  [email protected]
District D-Carolyn Evans-Shabazz 832-393-3001 [email protected]
District F-Tiffany Thomas 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District H-Mario Castillo 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District I-Joaquin Martinez 832-393-3011 [email protected]
District J-Edward Pollard 832-393-3015  [email protected]
District K-Martha Castex-Tatum 832-393-3016  [email protected]

Republicans: 
At-Large-Julian Ramirez 832-393-3014 [email protected]
At-Large-Willie Davis 832-393-3013 [email protected] 
At-Large-Twila Carter 832-393-3005 [email protected]
District A-Amy Peck 832-393-3010 [email protected]
District E-Fred Flickinger 832-393-3008 [email protected] 
District G-Mary Nan Huffman 832-393-3007 [email protected] ​​

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​

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