Mayoral Forum Succeeded in Putting Housing Issues on the Radar of Candidates!

Through September’s Mayoral Forum on Affordable Housing in Houston, co-hosts HHC and Trinity United Methodist Church succeeded in putting housing issues on the radar of mayoral candidates. Prior to the forum, campaign materials of the leading candidates had not addressed housing as an issue. At the September 9 forum, leading candidates Robert Gallegos, Lee Kaplan, Sheila Jackson Lee, and John Whitmire responded to questions from the moderators for more than one hour. Over 200 attended the forum at Trinity Church in Third Ward and many others have watched via streaming.

In addition to candidates providing their views on Houston’s need for affordable housing, the forum secured commitments from each of these candidates to develop and implement a comprehensive housing plan in their first term in office. Commitments came both in person during the forum and through a written questionnaire responses that these candidates and two others submitted in advance of the event. The Collaborative encourages all Houstonians to vote when the city selects a new mayor in the November election and in a runoff which may follow in December. Watch a recording of the forum and view responses to the questionnaire on this website.