Wendell Champion is a West Point graduate who says his leadership is what’s needed now in the 18th Congressional District after 25 years of representation by Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
“Everyone knows the Congresswoman has been out there, very active,” he says. “And she says she’s a fighter and everyone says she’s out there fighting. I suggest to you that fighting is simply not enough, we have to look at results.”
Champion is aware that Jackson Lee has never received fewer than 70% of the votes in any 18th Congressional District election, but says he’ll focus on bringing jobs into the district that represent the energy and medical expertise the Houston region is known for to make the difference. See what he says about his compatibility with President Trump in the video above.
Former D.A. Devon Anderson: From prosecutor to helping the prosecuted
It’s called Justice Forward and was founded in 2003 as the Harris County Drug Court Foundation. The name change has come as former Harris County District Attorney Devon Anderson has embraced the organization’s mission of ending the cycle of incarceration. There is an irony that someone who has spent most of her career as a prosecutor is now helping those who have been prosecuted. She says her time as a drug court judge opened her eyes.
“I actually saw the transformations take place because of the individually crafted probation programs for the clients, the interaction with the judge and the team that was trying to help them become successful,” she said. “I mean I literally saw miracles happen in that courtroom every day.”
Anderson says 70% of drug court graduates have never been re-arrested.
Brighter Bites fight against food insecurity
Lisa Helfman is a co-founder of Brighter Bites, founded in Houston to help provide healthy food to students. It has grown to include three states and Washington D.C. with more than 37 million pounds of fresh produce distributed so far.
“We teach the kids nutrition education in the classroom along with their parents,” she said. “There are handbooks and tip sheets and we recently launched a Brighter Bites App to continue the education and make sure they’re getting it during these challenging times with the pandemic.”
As an extension of the KPRC Stronger Houston series of reports on inequalities in our communities, the focus is on food deserts this week.
More information
Wendell Champion, (R) Candidate, 18th Congressional District
- Website: https://champion2020.com/
- Twitter: @ChampionTx2020
Lisa Helfman, Founder, Board Chair, Brighter Bites
- Website: https://brighterbites.org/
- Contacts: https://brighterbites.org/contact/
- Twitter: @BrighterBites
Devon Anderson, President & CEO Justice Forward
- Twitter: @JusticeFwdHOU