HOUSTON – Election Day is Nov. 7 and Houstonians will decide on who will become the 63rd mayor of Houston.
In addition to the candidates who participated in our mayoral debate on Tuesday, KPRC 2 was able to talk with 10 more contenders who aspire to lead the city.
Get to know these candidates and get a closer look at their platforms:
Gaylon C. Caldwell
Candidate Gaylon S. Caldwell is a Texas Southern University graduate with a degree in Emergency Management/Homeland Security. He is currently a graduate student at the University of Houston, where he is pursuing a Master of Public Administration/Public Policy degree.
Caldwell is looking to decrease crime rates and highlights the importance of community throughout his campaign. He wants to increase pay for Houston firefighters, push local small businesses to the forefront, build a city that reflects all, and give all Houstonians the best quality of living for a better tomorrow through his “Priorities Plan.”
Caldwell wants to endorse marijuana-friendly policing, eliminate food deserts across the city and strategically decrease homelessness with on-site services and case management.
Dr. Jack Christie
Dr. Jack Christie received a Doctor of Chiropractic degree from Texas Chiropractic College and runs two chiropractic practices in Houston.
He has served as a Houston City Councilman At-Large, Chairman of the Spring Branch School Board, and president of the State Board of Education. He also served in the Army Reserves Medical Corps for six years. Christie served on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Houston Board of Directors for five years and volunteered as a Big Brother for eight years.
Christie wants to increase pay for firefighters, improve public safety and prioritize preventative health care. He believes in supporting law enforcement, having reportedly led the push to hire 500 new Houston Police Department officers as a city councilman. In 2017, Christie said helped lead the effort to reduce the city’s pension debt from $8 billion to $3 billion-- a decrease of 62.5%.
Robert Gallegos
Robert Gallegos is a Houston native who attended Stephen F. Austin High School. He received an associate degree in international trade and distribution from Houston Community College and a bachelor’s degree in organizational management from Ashford University. Gallegos was elected in 2013 to the Houston City Council, representing District I – an area that includes downtown, EaDo, Clinton Park, parts of northeast Houston, the greater East End and the Houston Ship Channel, as well as communities along I-45 south from downtown to Hobby Airport.
Gallegos worked in logistic sales of motor freight and international trade for over 25 years. He also served as a community liaison for a former county commissioner and worked for the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. Mayor Sylvester Turner appointed Robert to be Chair of Quality of Life, Vice Chair of Economic & Development and the former Chair on Regulation and Neighborhood Affairs.
He’s a strong advocate for senior citizens, people with disabilities, green spaces to enhance neighborhood parks, and reducing the number of stray dogs and feral cats.
Gilbert Garcia
Gilbert Garcia grew up in a traditional middle-class Latino family in Corpus Christi, Texas. He is a first-generation college graduate from Yale University and has called Houston home since 1990 when he joined former Mayor Henry Cisneros in building Cisneros Asset Management Company, which he would later become the president of.
Garcia has been active in public service and giving back to the community for several years. From 2010 to 2016, Garcia served as Chairman of the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County. He was a member of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity, FACA Committee convening under the U.S. Department of the Treasury and has served on two other FACA Committees with the SEC: the Fixed Income Market Structure Advisory Board and the Asset Management Advisory Committee, where he led the Diversity and Inclusion subcommittee.
If elected, Garcia wants to conduct an audit of the City’s Housing Department to address concerns of corruption, expand community policing to improve response time, implement improvements to the city’s water system, and engage with the Texas Education Agency to understand the pathway for Houston Independent School District’s success.
M. ‘Griff’ Griffin
M. Griffin is a University of St. Thomas graduate and the founder of Griff’s Irish Pub.
He organized the “Montrose Crime Out” program in 1990, which, according to him, helped decrease crime in the area by about 22%. In 2000, he helped the 59th mayor, Lee Brown, create the city’s first 311 self-help hotline which addresses pothole, streetlight and flooding concerns.
If elected, Griffin wants to address the city’s flooding issues through Public Works, fix the ongoing issues with potholes, decrease crime and implement preventative measures to decrease fentanyl deaths.
B. Ivy
Please watch the video above for details on Ivy’s platform.
David C. Lowy
David C. Lowy, who also considers himself to be the “fun” mayoral candidate, first campaigned for mayor in 1981.
As mayor, Lowy said he would drive the streets with Public Works twice a week looking to spot problems that citizens could call 311 to report, report them and keep track of progress on repairs. He would also visit with the homeless, along with representatives of homeless assistance agencies on a regular basis to see if his “Home in the Dome” program could work. The program would provide housing to homeless Houstonians in the Astrodome, he said.
Lowy wants to focus on water conversation, encouraging road safety and implementing city-wide “Extreme Weather Education” programs so that communities can learn various ways of effectively coping with heat, cold, and flooding.
Julian ‘Bemer’ Martinez
Julian Martinez is a businessman who attended the Delehanty Institute.
A native of Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, he immigrated to the United States in 1965 and moved to Houston shortly after marrying his wife in 1978. Today, Julian runs a multi-million-dollar car dealership and service center. Martinez wants to further his impact by providing required city services in a fiscally responsible way and communicating with all stakeholders and citizens.
Martinez believes Houstonians must have access to city data to understand the city’s overall impact on their everyday lives.
“I will create and or support any initiative for the city of Houston to open its doors and make its business apparent to all citizens,” his website says.
Chanel Mbala
Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1983, Chanel Mbala and his wife came to the United States in 2010. He is a graduate of Western Governor University and has had a 15-year career in IT.
Part of Mbala’s campaign focuses on safer and secure environments for all Houstonians by collaborating with law enforcement agencies. He also wants to prioritize improving roads, bridges, and public transportation to enhance connectivity and reduce congestion. Mbala said he would be committed to ensuring that comprehensive care and support are provided to the homeless.
By addressing these key issues, Mbala believes it will help create a better city.
Robin Williams
Robin Williams is Bellevue University graduate and U.S. Marine Corps veteran whose professional experience includes working as a Missouri City law enforcement officer and working as a manager with the American Red Cross.
Williams desires to address plans to pass a citywide ordinance to generate affordable housing. She also wants to reconstruct the Houston Pothole tracker by making it more user-friendly. In addition, Williams wants to address mental health, saying that there are nearly 400,000 people who suffer from mental illness living in Harris County.
Williams wants to meet with the HISD board of education with the goal of advancing and improving education for all students. She also wants to collaborate with leaders from different cultures in hopes of strengthening international business relationships.
These candidates declined our invitation to tape remarks:
- Naoufal Houjami
- Dr. Kathy Lee Tatum
- Roy Vasquez
READ MORE: Debate stage is set for Oct. 10 Houston mayoral debate
These candidates did record remarks, but since they are on the debate stage, they will not be used in our supplemental portion on KPRC 2+ after the debate:
- Lee Kaplan
- M.J. Khan
- Annie “Mama” Garcia
Sen. John Whitmire and Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee participated in Tuesday’s debate, where they discussed their platforms.
Here are some important days to keep in mind:
- Early voting begins Oct. 23
- Early voting ends Nov. 3
- Election Day is Nov. 7
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