Howdy WHA Members!
There were some big wins by small margins last week in the Texas Primaries. Speaker Phelan narrowly won his primary against David Covey. Covey was backed by Attorney General Paxton and Lt. Gov. Patrick. Phelan won the most expensive House race in state history by about 350 votes. Meanwhile, more locally, Molly Cook, who had won the special election to fill the remainder of Whitmire’s former SD 15 seat has also won the Democratic primary for the heavily Democratic district. While she won the special by about 14% over Rep Jarvis Johnson a few weeks ago, she won the primary by less than 1%.
There is still the June 15th runoff for HCAD candidates and then the next election on the radar is the November 5th general election. Meanwhile things are still in quite a bit of flux at the City of Houston with people leaving and the administration actively looking for both a new Public Works Director and a Planning Director.
Meanwhile, we are holding our half day seminar “Building Tomorrow Together: Achieving Quality Planned Development” on June 21st at HCC’s West Houston Institute. This multi-panel event is dedicated to creating quality thriving communities through partnerships and innovative water management solutions. “Prosperous Partnerships” will showcase collaboration between developers and decision-makers. “Clear Solutions” will address the challenges of managing water resources amidst new development and population growth. “Tapped In” will delve into funding, public-private collaborations, and innovative approaches to ensuring sustainable water resources. Together, these panels will provide a comprehensive guide to building resilient communities.
Can’t wait until June 21st for your WHA fix? There are several WHA committee meetings in June. Join us on June 10th for our Flood Control and Drainage Committee, June 11th for our Sustainable Infrastructure Committee, June 13th for our Education and Workforce Committee, June 17th for our Regional Mobility Committee, or June 20th for our Water Resources Committee.
You also still have about two weeks to make comments on Texas’ first-ever state wide flood plan. The Texas Water Development Board’s plan aims to mitigate risks for residents by proposing measures to strengthen Texas’ resilience against floods and rising sea levels. It dovetails nicely with the existing State Water Plan, which addresses water needs across Texas. With a statewide approach to flood planning now on the books, perhaps in the future we may also see a broader statewide One Water approach.
Shout out to those of you who joined us for our Rising Leaders Topgolf Tournament! Approximately 200 of y’all showed up fore a good time and to support the WHA Rising Leaders program. Thanks to our sponsors and Class 8 for a great event. In the meantime, Class 9 met last week at 5engineering to discuss Sustainable Infrastructure, and we already have a waitlist for Class 10 started!
Thank you for your support of the West Houston Association and working to improve quality of life for the millions of people who live, work, and play across the region!