HOUSTON – United States Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and State Sen. John Whitmire attended a Houston mayoral candidate forum on Sunday to discuss issues that are important to Harris County Precinct 2 residents.
The event was hosted by Precinct 2 Commissioner Adrian Garcia before the runoff election, which is happening on Dec. 9.
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Ruth López Turley, the director of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, moderated the forum.
Over the past year, KPRC 2 investigative reporter Amy Davis has been reporting on the increasing water rates and sky-high bills many Houstonians are facing and working to get to the root of the problem. Sunday, KPRC 2′s Re’Chelle Turner asked each candidate how they would address the problem if they were elected mayor of Houston.
“We need to stop the raising of the water bills until we get control of one…what is the real problem? The city public works will say it’s our bad computer or it’s the bad…broken water mains. What we have to do is have a public works director that’s in tune with Houstonians. The sad thing is what do you do when you have an $1,100 or $2,000 water bill and no one will listen to you. So we need an ombudsman at City Hall. That can represent Houstonians,” said State Senator John Whitmire.
“I have to do an immediate overview of the system itself, try to do it as quickly as possible. I’ve got to find out where the leaks are, I’m not going to rebuild it right away but I’ve got to be able to fix the leaks immediately. I have to get a trained staff and designate those in the water department to give me your best. I want them to go to those places where homeowners have said their rates are high. I want them to be an eagle eye investigator,” said Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
Early voting runs through Dec. 5.