M ay o r a l F o r u m
S
SUE LOVELL
ue Lovell moved to Houston in 1970 from Fresno, California with three suitcases, thirty five dollars, and two good friends. She was 19 years old. In the 49 years since, Sue has raised a family, owned a small business, started and led nonprofit organizations, worked in the corporate world and been a leader in politics. Sue served as Houston’s City Council Member At-Large for three terms and unanimously elected Vice Mayor Pro Tem by her City Council colleagues. She was appointed by two different mayors to serve on the Houston-Galveston Area Council, an 18-county council of government, as well as the Transportation Policy Council. Sue was successful in bringing millions of dollars in federal funding to the city for infrastructure investment. She also served as the Chair of the City Council’s Transportation, Aviation and Infrastructure Committee and Quality of Life Committee. She successfully passed the city’s first historic preservation ordinance and was the leader in transforming the city’s graffiti problem into a thriving network of public murals. Since leaving council, Sue has stayed active in the community, serving as a commissioner on the Houston Archaeological Historic Commission and a board member of the Houston Public Library Foundation. Her most important role has been as a grandmother, which is the reason why she wants to continue making this city a place of opportunity and equality.
What character traits and experience do you possess that you feel will make you an effective mayor? Houston is a city where we face tough challenges and where dreams are possible. But the current mayor’s lack of leadership is holding our city back. I served on City Council with Mayor White and Mayor Parker - I know what good government looks like. The current mayor’s answer to a budget crisis was to lay off first responders. We are now experiencing a crime wave. Our garbage is not being picked up on time. Our streets are full of potholes and are in need of repair. The city government has gotten out of touch with the everyday issues that matter most to the people of Houston. We need an experienced, proven leader who people can trust to get things done - I am that leader. What are the two or three most important issues facing the city today?
20 | HEIGHTS | September + October 2019
The top three issues Houstonians are concerned about this election season are infrastructure, crime, and transportation. The city is still recovering from Hurricane Harvey and anticipating future extreme weather events, but the current city government has fallen behind on updating our infrastructure. As mayor, I plan to update the technologies used to study flooding, work with local organizing groups to promote flood prevention techniques, and empower communities to respond to flooding by decentralizing emergency shelters. To start tackling our public safety problem, I plan to establish a domestic violence crisis intervention center. Our current transportation debates center around potholes and the planned I-45 expansion - I will fight to amend the expansion plan to keep our low-income communities from being displaced and prioritize fixing our city streets so we can keep our neighborhoods active and connected.
What changes if any do you recommend for the city’s budget? Mayor Turner has not balanced the budget to protect employee pensions our liability is growing by about $160 million a year according to the Houston Chronicle. We need a balanced budget so everyone can plan more securely for their future. How do you propose to make our city safer? One of the biggest threats to our city right now is the lack of funding for our firefighters - they are driving out-of-date trucks without air conditioning and don’t have sufficient ambulances to meet community needs. As mayor, I plan to update our fleet in accordance with the recent studies conducted by Rice University and provide our city with the infrastructure it needs to handle emergency situations.
