Mayor Sylvester Turner says Houston is strong, resilient and sustainable, and the best for us has yet to come.
During his annual state of the city address to the Greater Houston Partnership, Turner pledged to fix streets and reduce flooding.
“To date, we have not received one dollar for needed infrastructure projects 19 months after Harvey,” he said. “We are hopeful the state will tap into its $12 billion rainy day fund and assume the local match required for these federal projects.”
Turner also proposed a partnership plan to spruce up neighborhood parks.
“With 50 companies partnering with 50 parks, the 50-for-50 effort will touch every district in the city, because all Houstonians should have easy access to welcoming, well-maintained, safe and fun parks.”
Following his address, Turner was asked about what's next for Proposition B and firefighters after a judge ruled the issue unconstitutional.
“I'm prepared to come to the table to work with firefighters. They are deserving of a pay raise,” he said. “There's only one qualifier, and that is regardless what the employee group is, they are deserving of a pay raise that the city can afford.”
The firefighters union has scheduled a Tuesday afternoon press conference in response.
Meanwhile, mayoral challenger Tony Buzbee delivered what he dubbed “the real” state of the city address soon after Turner finished.
“You want to know what the state of our city is? I'll tell you what are city is, our city is in a state of mess,” Buzbee told supporters.
Fellow candidate Bill King offered his response via video, criticizing the mayor for having fewer police officers and fixing fewer potholes than his predecessor.
“Violent crime is up about six percent while he's been mayor. And you all know what condition our streets are in, they're the worst in my lifetime. Sylvester Turner is filling about half the potholes than the Parker administration did.”