Candidates pull a no-show at mayoral forum
What was supposed to be a forum for candidates running for Houston Mayor hosted by the Houston Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Houston Chapter of the League of Women Voters, held Oct. 22 at the Museum of Printing History, turned into a one candidate presentation.
Thirteen mayoral candidates were invited. Five candidates confirmed their attendance, and only one showed up at the forum.
Nguyen Thai Hoc was the only candidate who showed up ready to share and discuss his ideas for the future of the City of Houston. Candidates Chris Bell, Victoria Lane, Bill King and Demetria Smith did not make it to the event as originally planned. A representative for Bell, Mary Ann Young, was available to briefly share Bell’s ideas to those who attended.
“I do apologize, but we have about 30 volunteers at headquarters, and Chris wants to join them tonight and make some telephone calls,” Young said. “This was just one of those nights that we really needed to clone our candidate today.”
Young shared Bell’s views for the City of Houston.
“Chris Bell is representing himself as a progressive candidate in the race,” Young said. “He is a former at-large Houston City Council Member and, briefly, a former member of Congress.”
Bell’s plan for Houston includes auditing the police department, increasing environmental protection, and building more parks. He is also a strong supporter of Proposition 1, the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, known as HERO.
Nguyen Thai Hoc, the only candidate to attend the forum, said that in the absence of the other candidates, he felt like he was addressing “family” at the forum.
“As a candidate, firmly I feel like I am talking to my family; we don’t have any of my opponents here,” Thai Hoc said. “I have a vision for the City of Houston. I have a plan for the city of Houston. Jobs are the only thing we need. Jobs will cut down the crime, jobs will make families happier, jobs will bring the City of Houston back on the map again.”
Thai Hoc’s main goals are to hire a new chief of police, expand police security, cut down on pollution, increase solar power, and fix the city’s roads and highways. He is against the HERO ordinance.
“Before we had that rule, we were doing fine,” Thai Hoc said. “I would say, if you are born as a man, go to a men’s restroom; if you are born as a woman, go to a women’s restroom. Whatever lifestyle you want to live, that’s your choice behind your own closed doors, but don’t force it on us.”
Organized by the Houston Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Houston Chapter of the League of Women Voters, the short forum was designed to provide an insight of the candidates plans for Houston.
Jim Magill, treasurer for the Houston Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, organized the forum and also served as the moderator.
“This was our Chapter’s first attempt to host a candidate forum, and I think that in doing so we learned a lot about organizing such a program,” Magill said. “I organized the program and while I would have preferred to have had more candidate participation, I think that the one candidate and one candidate representative who did take part in the event presented what turned out to be an interesting and informative program.”
The lack of attendance exhibited by the candidates also spilled over into the audience with five people present. Magill expressed his appreciation to those who did attend the forum.
“We recognize that candidates for office have a lot of demands on their time, and we are grateful to the two individuals who agreed to take part in our event,” Magill said. “As to what we would do differently in the future to ensure attendance by the public, I think we would begin promoting it earlier and reach out more to our student members.”
The general election will be held Nov. 3. The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. for voters to cast their vote.
“Voter’s can find more information about the candidates and their stances by visiting the League website to view the Voter’s Guide,” said Sarah Kim, office coordinator of the Houston Chapter of the League of Women Voters. “It’s a printed newspaper, but it’s also available online for anyone to view in English and Spanish.”
“Voters can look up where they can vote [on the Harris County Website] or they can all the Harris County Clerk’s office 713-755-6411.”
