Fellow Harris County Residents: This past week, we heard Ed Emmett deliver the State of the County address. There is much we could say about his speech and the state of affairs here in Harris County, but I want to focus on three points. I’ll discuss those three points. Then I’d like to talk about my own three ideas about what we can do to help move this county forward: First, what a government of the people looks like in Harris County. Second, how to create a truly democratic recovery including property tax relief; and third, why it’s time for wholesale change in Harris County government. The first thing I want to touch on is his statement that he wants to move forward rather than backward. I would guess most of us do, considering the suffering after Harvey when well over 100,000 homes were damaged and thousands of residents displaced. But if you look backward for only a second, you can see that Ed Emmett was the one in the Judge’s chair and was responsible for the failure to prioritize flood control during the last ten years. He was elected in 2007 and failed to come up with a flood prevention plan until last month. Too little… too late. Ed Emmett and the other Tea Party Republicans on Commissioners Court are responsible for the failed policies that got us here. The second thing I want to mention is Ed Emmett’s supposed attack on the extreme rightwing politics of Senator Paul Bettencourt, Lt. Governor Dan Patrick Governor Greg Abbott and others. Clearly Tea Party politicians in Texas have become too extreme. The hateful attempt to pass SB6 and the horrific SB4 which directly endangers our vibrant immigrant community, and a slew anti-choice measures pushed by anti-woman legislators resulted in the worst special session we have ever seen. Unfortunately, it was Emmett’s friends swinging the gavel and making it happen. Know this: Ed Emmett provides cover fire for the most extreme right-wing firebrands in the state. Dan Patrick, Greg Abbott, Ted Cruz, John Culberson and more rely on Emmett’s fake positioning for their survival. He delivers the center to them by speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He raises funds for the Texas Republican Party and Senator Ted Cruz. Democratic and moderate voters: Don’t be fooled by his pretense. Third, let’s talk about the tax issue. Ed Emmett says corporations need property tax relief but not homeowners. What about Harris County homeowners? The people of Harris County? Surely THEY deserve some relief!

Here is what I propose: First, we need a government that represents the people. We need to make decisions with the community, not for the community. When the flood hit, the people got in their boats and saved their neighbors. When the water receded, the people cleaned up. After the storm, the people housed their neighbors and loved ones. The people have earned a seat at the table to help make decisions about protecting the future of our county. There is no use in forming an advisory board from atop the political ivory tower, holding a townhall for show, and prescribing a fix from on high. It’s time for meaningful public input into key issues facing the county—from flooding to criminal justice reform. The County has been an invisible body in our community for too long, making decisions for the community in the darkness. We would not have suffered the degree of devastation we did if we’d worked with our neighbors, with our experts, with our schools and civic leaders, to prepare as we saw storms getting worse and worse. As County Judge, I won’t be afraid of listening to the people nor will I try to spend county taxpayers’ money on projects that have been rejected by the voters. The people of Harris County have a voice and the grassroots movement spearheaded by the people on the ground must be heard. We cannot continue to tell people what they need and tell people how we’ll help them. There is no helping the people without listening to them first. This brings me to my next point: We need a real democratic recovery. We have homeowners whose houses are filled with black mold, who are sleeping in the front yard, eating off of a grill while their children are doing homework in the tent. Their property taxes are due at the end of the year. We need to decrease the tax burden for homeowners who were affected and did not have flood insurance. Emmett missed opportunities to do so. Homeowners and small business owners who have been devastated by Hurricane Harvey and the flooding of their neighborhoods must also be protected from unscrupulous developers looking to make a quick buck (or million) off the backs of Harris County residents. Let’s not allow Big Development to drive the decision-making process about protecting Harris County residents against future floods. We don’t want to have Harris County residents treading water when the next big disaster hits while unscrupulous developers sail off in their 200-foot yachts. Finally, it’s time for wholesale change in Harris County. The future starts now and there’s a lot of work to be done. We have one of the worst criminal justice systems in the country. Our domestic violence issue has spiraled out of control. Twenty eight women died last year in Harris County alone, and those were only the ones that were reported. For every one reported, there are another three that are silenced. We not only have no plan to address climate change but also an unwillingness to acknowledge the science behind it. And our largest mental health

facility is the jail, where nearly two hundred people have died since 2005. The Harris County Jail is currently under a federal court order for running a bail system that discriminates against poor people. This has all taken place under Ed Emmett’s watch. Harris County can do better and it’s time we do. Join us in our campaign to give a voice to the people of Harris County.