Houston City Council making history with 9 women elected

Houston City Council is making history with a record-breaking nine women elected and women now make up the majority of the sixteen-member city council. 

“Just to have so many women on council to be role models to show young women they can do it too is really a great thing,” smiles District A Houston City Councilmember Amy Peck.

We caught up with eight councilmembers as the lovely ladies posed for what looked like the paparazzi. However, they aren’t Hollywood starlets but rather the history-making superstars of city hall.  

”This is absolutely so exciting to be on council with these dynamic women. One day this will be the norm. We won't be talking about female leaders. We'll just be talking about leaders,” says Houston Vice Mayor Pro Tem Martha Castex-Tatum. 

”I also just want to recognize the extraordinary diversity that all of these women bring to the table. Our diverse backgrounds. Our diverse religious beliefs. Our perspectives,” adds Abbie Kamin, who represents District C.

What’s a priority for these leaders? 

“What's important is that people are able to be gainfully employed because that changes the whole paradigm. You have less crime. You have less dumping,” says District D’s Carolyn Evans-Shabazz. 

”Women are really good at fighting injustices, at working collaboratively, at not viewing compromise as something bad. I think we're better at budgets. A lot of us are moms and we're used to telling people no you can't have that it's too expensive,” states Sallie Alcorn who was elected to At-Large Position 5. 

”We understand how to work really well as a team because we are mothers and we really are head of households,” laughs At-Large Position 4 Letitia Plummer.

”I have no doubt that with the women present on city council, the representation will be heightened, the city will benefit and we will be able to do some transformational things,” says Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

”Women just have a unique way of cultivating relationships and if we work collaboratively, there's nothing we can't do together,” smiles Castex-Tatum. 

A woman is also expected to fill City Council District B, which is at the center of a lawsuit.  The top three contenders for the seat are women. The third-place candidate filed a lawsuit, saying the woman with the second highest votes should not be in the runoff election and shouldn't have been on the ballot because of a felony on her record. A judge is expected to make a ruling before spring.