He is the youngest and first African American to be elected as Chair of the Harris County Democratic Party but Odus Evbagharu is not allowing either one of those groundbreaking accomplishments to get in the way of what he hopes to accomplish. He says his initial focus will be on what he calls the DMV. “The disenfranchised , marginalized and voiceless. When we do that, we all win,” he said. “Trickle down anything has never worked and never will work. But when we build from the bottom up and around these coalitions that are disenfranchised, that are marginalized, that are voiceless, we all win.” Evbagharu says he will also push to make a prime example is a focus on what Texans need. He says the recent visit by former President Trump to the border with Governor Abbott was a misplaced priority. “Right here in Texas we froze! And we’re about to have one of the hottest Summers we possibly could have right here in Houston and the grid isn’t fixed,” he said. “So we should be focused on the priorities that will be directly impacting Texans lives now and not worry about appeasing a former president who caused an insurrection on January sixth. See more on this week’s Houston Newsmakers EXTRA.
State of Housing: Affordability, Economic Segregation & Flooding inhibiting progress
The Kinder Institute for Urban Research recently released its second “State of Housing in Harris County and Houston” report. The results are not encouraging. Luis Guajardo is the Urban Policy Research Manager and says there are many issues holding back progress including inequalities caused by generations of economic segregation. “You can see the generational wealth numbers of about 180 thousand dollars of assets for White families and about 20 thousand dollars for Black families so those differences are driven by the home ownership opportunities that were created about 100 years ago. See much more about the facts and realities of the challenges of home ownership in the region.
More Information:
Odus Evbagharu, Chair, Harris County Democratic Party
Website: https://harrisdemocrats.org/
Luis Guajardo, Urban Policy Research Manager, Kinder Institute for Urban Research
Website: https://kinder.rice.edu/research/2021-state-housing-harris-county-and-houston