City of houston inauguration

And when you work hard and when you give it your very best your work will make a path for you. We may have started at different points in life, time, place, race and religion. Some were born here and some got here as soon as they could, but we all have one common goal this morning and that is to make Houston the best place on this planet. What matters to me is that we are all Houston, and we will stand and work for Houston and for its future.

We are honored to have our former mayors here today. Our former mayors are to be appreciated for their service, dedication and love for this city.

We are also honored this morning to have public officials from our congressional delegation; from the Texas Senate, Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and the Dean of the Senate John Whitmire; my colleagues from the Texas House of Representatives coming from all over the state; county officials and many others.

I certainly am honored by your presence. Unfortunately, this morning there is one county official who is not here with us. In his honor and for his work and the sacrifice that he made not only on behalf of his precinct, but his entire county, I will ask that we just pause in a moment of silence for County Commissioner El Franco Lee. Throughout this hall, there are many representatives of our faith-based community, including my pastor of some 25 years, Pastor Ralph D.

West of Brookhollow Baptist Church. We solicit your prayers for our efforts to represent the best interest of our city. To our business, civic and community leaders, thank you for your presence. I extend an invitation to you to continue working with us in the best interest of our city. And let me give a quick shout out to all of our hard working City employees without whom we could not do our jobs, thank you to our police, fire and municipal workers.

If this city is to be great, it will take elected officials. It will take people from the private sector. It will take hard working men and women to make this city even greater than it is today. I am blessed to have with me my fabulous, gorgeous, intelligent, bright daughter, Ashley Paige Turner. My mom is not here, and neither is my dad, but I am honored to have my sisters Madie, Pat and Jackie; two of my brothers, Everitt and Ray; and many cousins, nieces and nephews here this morning.

It was Beulah who got me started. I ran and won as the first person of color to win in what was a majority Anglo district. Not everyone voted for me, but when the race was over it was my commitment to representing my entire district. And for an additional 12 times, the people in my district elected me to represent them. I am indebted to the people in District This is a city of opportunity.

If you dare to dream big, big things can happen. That is to say that because of the vision of our forefathers, many people have come to our city and the surrounding region. That growth and development also has brought about its challenges. No one needs to tell us about the situations that we face.

Houstonians deserve a safe, viable infrastructure. Our goal is to effectively, efficiently and safely repair each reported pothole within a hour period. For those potholes where safety and infrastructure will require additional time, the Public Works Director will provide a priority report that I will personally monitor and will share with the members of City Council. We will look for ways we can partner with the County, especially in this area. Better streets and transportation infrastructure will benefit both city and county taxpayers.

I am confident that when we work together on the city and county level, we can address other issues, including our maintenance needs, to the advantage of both governments and all citizens. It is critical that our infrastructure keep pace with our growth and development.

Right now, we are playing catch-up. We have to move people quickly and efficiently from Point A to Point B and reduce the threat of flooding in our neighborhoods. No one wants to hear any more heart-wrenching stories like the ones that I have heard in the Meyerland-Westbury area of senior citizens forced out of their homes where they have lived almost their entire lives and are now living in apartments because they cannot afford to repair their homes.

Addressing the issue of flooding will be a high priority for this administration. We face a number of financial challenges: the debt service that spikes in , our growing unfunded liabilities and a self-imposed revenue cap, all of which must be addressed together. My administration will immediately begin development of a long-range fiscal plan that will look 10 years forward and puts in place a strategy for long-term financial health with a balanced budget.

All stakeholders will be at the table. I have also asked the finance director to provide recommendations for better managing our department budgets and expenditures. I will issue an executive order based on those recommendations and specifics for implementing them. That order will require objective outcomes, transparency and the elimination of waste and inefficient expenditures. If we engage in shared sacrifices for the benefit of our city, then the benefits of that collective commitment and love for our city will flow to us:.

District E Dave Martin. District F Tiffany Thomas. District G Greg Travis. District H Karla Cisneros. District I Robert Gallegos. District J Edward Pollard. District K Martha Castex-Tatum. At-Large 1 Mike Knox. At-Large 2 David Robinson. At-Large 3 Michael Kubosh. At-Large 4 Letitia Plummer. At-Large 5 Sallie Alcorn. Pursuant to Article 16, Sec. January 2, Inauguration Gus S.