HOUSTON (CN) – Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner took on four candidates vying to unseat him in the 2019 mayoral race’s first debate Wednesday, and brushed off attorney Tony Buzbee’s claims an intern’s $95,000 salary is emblematic of the corruption plaguing the city.
In the hour-long debate, the candidates answered questions from residents about a pay raise voters approved for firefighters that’s been waylaid by a court battle, their plans to deal with recurrent massive rain storms and widespread flooding and crime.
Tropical Storm Imelda’s rains caused chaos in the city late last month, shutting down freeways as first responders rescued hundreds of drivers stranded by high water. It also flooded homes that didn’t even flood amid Hurricane Harvey’s record-setting deluge in August 2017.
Turner said the city is making progress on flood mitigation.
He highlighted a fully funded impending project to install 10 gates in the Lake Houston Dam so water can be released more quickly from the reservoir before big storms hit and prevent spillover into Kingwood, a master-planned community where some homes have flooded multiple times in recent years.
Bill King, a 67-year-old former attorney, lost to Turner by around 4,000 votes in the 2015 mayor election runoff. He grew up in Kemah, and was mayor of the city on Galveston Bay, 35 miles southeast of Houston, from 2001 to 2005.
“I’ve flooded three times in my life. I know what a terrible experience it is,” King said.
He said the country is starting to talk about Houston’s flooding problems and it’s damaging the city’s brand.
Dwight Boykins, 56, has served on the Houston City Council for six years. He faulted Turner for taking credit for federal flood-mitigation projects and said he has a simple solution.
He said as mayor, he will have the public works department install two additional inlets on each side of flood-prone streets so water drains more quickly.
Buzbee picked up on Boykins’ critique of Turner and amplified it. “Like most career politicians Turner takes credit for things he has nothing to do with, then for things he’s directly responsible for he ignores, makes excuses about or lies about,” he said.
Buzbee, 51, has refused campaign donations and spent $7.5 million of his own money on his campaign. He said he wouldn’t even take a salary if he wins the election.
The former Marine has made himself a mint winning multimillion dollar settlements for clients who sued BP for refinery pollution and over its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Buzbee claims under Turner’s watch, a program meant to award contracts to disadvantaged businesses owned by minorities and women is handing contracts to companies owned by millionaire lobbyists, some of whom have put on campaign fundraisers for Turner.
This week, Buzbee called for the state to investigate Turner’s administration paying Marvin Agumagu a $95,000 salary for an intern position in the management training program of the Houston Airport System, which manages the city’s two international airports.
Turner defended himself on the debate stage. “I’m proud of the fact that we’re bringing in millennials to city hall. … It’s good for Houston,” he said.
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