Trump-Supporting Councilmember Carter Seems Wrong Choice For Resilience Chair-Letter To Council

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Today I e-mailed the letter below to each member of Houston City Council calling for an evaluation of Republican At-Large #3 Councilmember Twila Carter's suitability to serve as Chair of Council's Resilience Committee. Council's Resilience Committee is charged with addressing the City of Houston's response to climate change & the response to the many storms and endless heat that impacts Houston. Councilmember Carter does not seem the right member of Council to confront these big issues with urgency. In addition, Councilmember Carter spoke at a Mattress Mack political rally this past October. Above is a picture of her at the rally. How on Earth can a supporter of Trump/Musk be someone we can trust as Chair of such an important committee? 

​Here is the letter: 

The Trump/Musk Administration has stated its intent to dismantle the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and to substantially reduce funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service. 

As Houston faces climate change-storm after storm and heat waves-and a budget crisis compounded by the recent high-dollar firefighters contract, the loss of federal scientific, weather forecasting and financial resources are all a direct threat to our city. 

These are matters that must be urgently be addressed by Houston City Council's Resilience Committee and Committee Chair Twila Carter. 

The City of Houston web page for the Resilience Committee describes the purpose of the committee like this: Will review but not limited to: "All items, actions or policies related to the existing City of Houston Resiliency Plan and Climate Action Plan."

Trump/Musk's planned demolition of the federal partnerships Houstonians rely on to manage and survive our most difficult challenges, are clearly a matter for the Resilience Committee. 

Chair Carter appears poorly-suited for the leadership now required. 

The most recent session of the committee scheduled for February 6th was canceled. This meeting was time that could have been used to acknowledge the threats coming from Washington, and to begin local conversation on how Houston will address the crisis. 

This past October, Councilmember Carter attended and spoke at a political rally sponsored by Mattress Mack. Houstonians have a right to know if the Chair of the committee charged with responding to climate change and help to guide Houston's response to devastating storms, is in fact an ideological and political associate of those willing to do so much damage to our great city. 

Councilmembers have an obligation be certain Councilmember Carter is the right person for the job of leading the Resilience Committee. If she is not, then given the stakes of today's politics and impact of severe weather on Houston, it would be right to ask Mayor Whitmire to remove her as Chair. If Mayor Whitmire will not do so, Council then has the opportunity to use Proposition A to bypass Mayor Whitmire and Councilmember Carter and hold hearings of its own.

Business-as-usual has elevated systems that have messed up the weather and left us at the doorstep of authoritarianism. People who acquiesce to or boost these failed systems don't need to be in positions of high-responsibility in Houston as we fight for our freedom and our lives. What we've been doing before has brought us to this dark moment. Let's do something else and something better. 

(If you'd like to share your thoughts on Councilmember Carter or discuss any issue with Council, here is the information you need: Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 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 on HTV Houston Television and is live simulcast and available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook.)

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.​​

Here is a fundraising pitch for the Houston Democracy Project. I'm doing the work and showing up in many different ways.  Please help the effort. ​​​​​

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