TCE Blog
Melanie Scruggs, Houston Program Director
Early voting began Dec. 2nd and runs through Dec. 8th for the City of Houston runoff election on Saturday, Dec. 12th. Voters will decide our next Mayor, four of five At-Large Council Members and three out of eleven district-specific Council members who are in the runoff. There are other races on the ballot as well.
We helped put together a short environmental questionnaire for City Council runoff candidates with the help of our co-sponsors: NAACP Houston Branch, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services (t.e.j.a.s.), Citizens Climate Lobby, Dr. Robert Bullard, Air Alliance Houston, Sierra Club Houston Regional Group, San Jacinto River Coalition and the League of Women Voters Houston. We especially thank Dr. Jacqueline Smith with the NAACP Houston Branch Climate and Environmental Justice Committee for her assistance with the questionnaire.
You can read candidates’ responses to the environmental questionnaire here or by clicking the button below.
Answers have been published as submitted including spelling or grammatical errors. Any responses that exceed the character limit of 1000 characters are ended with asterisks. Each of the 16 candidates was asked to respond to the following three questions:
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In 2015, Houston expanded curbside recycling for all neighborhoods with city trash services. What specific policies or programs would you support to build on this progress and address illegal dumping, prevent new trash facilities from being located in low-income areas, and expand recycling, composting and education?
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This December, the UN Climate Change Conference is meeting in Paris, France to achieve a universal agreement on global actions for all nations to address climate change. How will you lead Houston as a global city in addressing climate change?
Sylvester Turner: Energy-efficient technologies and energy conservation are major ways to reduce energy consumption and make Houston cleaner and greener. I am pleased with the city’s ongoing embrace of renewable energy – we are currently the top municipal purchaser of renewable power in the nation… Read More
Bill King: The science is clear that climate change is underway and that human activities are one of the primary drivers. The only question that still merits serious debate is this: given what we know, what do we do about the problem?… Read More
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What local environmental and environmental justice issues are most important to you? What policies will you support to address these issues?
Our questionnaire includes links to your voting location information. Learn more about where Houston candidates stand with the League of Women Voters Runoff Edition Voter Guide and helpful questionnaires from Bike Houston, Scenic Houston and OffCite.org (a quarterly published by the Rice Design Alliance).
Please share this blog post to help educate your friends and co-workers about the runoff election with a reminder to always vote with the environment in mind. Your voice and your vote make a huge difference in this and every election!
Tags: clean government, problem waste facilities, recycling & zero waste
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