It’s Time to Take Away the Mayor of Houston’s Power

My name is Derrick Broze and I am running for Mayor of Houston. For the last ten years I have worked as an activist and journalist in Houston seeking to expose the corruption that runs rampant in our city.

In that time I have visited City Council, and emailed and called Council Members office to speak about a variety of issues. As a journalist, I even questioned Mayor Sylvester Turner and former Mayor Annise Parker, as well as the former Chief of HPD. I have taken these actions in attempt to create change in my community and the city at large.

In my experience, the City Council and the Mayor have mostly been non-responsive, if not outright hostile, to changes which do not benefit them. In fact, over the years I have learned that the position of Mayor in Houston is so strong it might as well be a dictatorship.

The City of Houston currently operates as a “Strong Mayor” City. This gives the Mayor Houston an immense amount of power over city affairs. For example, the Mayor of Houston has the power to decide what issues make it on the official City Council Agenda. This allows the Mayor to dictate what issues will be discussed and voted on. This is an outrageous amount of power for one person and I am going to change it.

If elected, I will call for amending the City Charter and transforming the Mayoral position from one with near control of the City Council agenda, to a position that is equal to City Council members. The Charter change will also make it so that any issue which has the support of one third of City Council will be placed on the agenda for discussion and potential vote.

Ideally, amending the City Charter to take away the Mayor’s power would incentivize City Council members to listen to the concerns of their constituents and bring their issues to discussion at council meetings. The goal of this amendment is to give the Mayor’s power to the council and further empower the people of Houston.

With this change alone we could begin addressing the core issues I am raising, including ending the drug war, issuing a moratorium on 5g, halting police surveillance, and ending the anti-food sharing ordinance.
However, I cannot do this alone.

For this charter amendment to have any power we need you to be more involved and engaged. Only by choosing to vote everyday with your actions and getting intimately involved with your community, can we transform Houston, together.

Help me make this a more free city. Help me take away the power of the Mayor of Houston.

Visit DerrickBroze.com to learn more.