Oliver Pennington Campaign
PO Box 1562
Houston, Texas 77251
districtg@houstontx.gov
Pd. Pol Ad. Oliver Pennington Campaign,
Penny Butler, Treasurer
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To the Citizens of District G:
I am honored to serve as your newly elected City Council Member for District G. Along with Mayor Parker,
Controller Green and the other Council Members, I was inaugurated on January 4 at the Wortham Center. I
have since been appointed by the Mayor to serve on eight City Council Committees. My top priorities for the
District are crime prevention, flooding reduction and improving mobility and repairing our roadways.
First, regarding crime, I have requested the Mayor to increase HPD activity in our area. I am also beginning to
work with the Security Directors of our Super Neighborhoods and our Property Owners and Apartment Associations
to improve communication among them and also ultimately with HPD. I have assigned Christina
Manero of my staff to take the first step by securing the names and contact information of the Security Directors.
You will be hearing more from us on this issue. Hopefully our office can help improve coordination
among our numerous private security contractors and HPD. Second, many of you are well aware of the issue
of flooding along Buffalo Bayou and neighborhood flooding from Turkey Creek and in the Gessner IH-10
neighborhoods. Our large rainfall events (like the April 2009 unnamed rain event), the age and limited capacity
of the Addicks and Barker reservoirs, and Buffalo Bayou are all major contributors to our local flooding. I have
attended a number of meetings and have had discussions with many individuals and public officials on the flooding
issue. I have briefed Council Member Stephen Costello, the Chair of the City Council Flooding and Drainage
Committee, as well as Ms. Carol Haddock, Deputy Director of Public Works for the City, to encourage
them to get involved and to develop a feasible plan to relieve flooding in our area. I am happy to report that
TIRZ 17 has commissioned its engineers to make a comprehensive study of flooding issues over approximately
2000 acres near the intersection of Gessner and IH-10. Studies are also ongoing of Buffalo Bayou by the Harris
County Flood Control District. I will continue to push for a solution to our flooding issue. It is, however, an
issue which is long overdue to be dealt with, will be expensive to remedy, and involves many different jurisdictions
so it will take a significant amount of time and effort to get the job done.
Finally, I believe that we need a multimodal system of transportation, including additional roads, commuter rail,
improved bus routes, and light rail that is actually near places you wish to go. We also need to encourage development
which will allow pedestrian and bicycle traffic. We will be meeting with all involved to improve mobility.
As your Council Member, I am first a listener, and continue to meet with many Super Neighborhood
groups, Homeowners’ Associations, and business groups in District G to hear their concerns and to work diligently
to solve issues in our area. This newsletter is the first of many to follow in my position as your Council
Member. I hope you find it useful and informative. If you wish to submit a story or topic for discussion, please
email it to us. Once again, I am honored to serve you at City Hall. If you should need any assistance, have a
comment or concern, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Oliver
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