HOUSTON – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner officially began his re-election bid Wednesday with the launch of a new website and the opening of a campaign headquarters.
In a video on the website, Turner pointed to his leadership during Hurricane Harvey and the city’s pension crisis and his job creation efforts as reasons for a second term.
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Turner said his priorities for a second term include flood recovery and mitigation, managing the city’s traffic and transportation needs and economic development.
The mayor said he also wants fiscal responsibility, especially in relation to the recent voter approval of Proposition B, which requires the city’s firefighters to be paid the same as their police officer counterparts.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Turner said in a written statement about the campaign. ““It matters not whether you are a Democrat or a Republican or whether you’re black, brown, white or Asian; whether you’re rich or poor or in between; whether you’re educated or uneducated. What matters to me is that we are all Houstonians, and we will stand and work for Houston and for its future.”
The mayor will host a kickoff party in Union Station at Minute Maid Park on March 30.
Turner faces at least two challengers: lawyer Tony Buzbee and former mayoral candidate Bill King. King lost to Turner in 2015.