Houston City Council

The Houston City Council is the a city council for the American city of Houston, Texas. There are fourteen members, nine elected from council districts and five at-large. The members of the council are elected every two years, in odd-numbered years.

The council works with the mayor in a mayor-council government model. The City Council monitors the performance of city agencies, confirm the Mayor's appointments and makes land use decisions as well as legislating on a variety of other issues.

The mayor chairs meetings of city council and has a vote in the proceedings. In the event of the mayor's absence, the Mayor Pro-Tem, a member of council chosen for the position by fellow councilmembers, presides over council meetings.

Members

* At Large 1: Peter Brown - architect & urban planner; Fellow, American Institute of Architects
* At Large 2: Sue Lovell (Vice Mayor Pro-Tem)
* At Large 3: Melissa Noriega
* At Large 4: Ronald C. Green - J.D., Thurgood Marshall School of Law
* At Large 5: Jolanda Jones
* District A: Toni Lawrence - Masters of Education, Sam Houston State University
* District B: Jarvis Johnson - Executive Director, Phoenix Outreach Youth Center; Program Coordinator, D.A.R.E. + P.L.U.S
* District C: Anne Clutterbuck - J.D., University of Houston Law Center
* District D: Wanda Adams
* District E: Mike Sullivan
* District F: M.J. Khan - P.E.; Masters, Civil Engineering, University of Illinois; MBA, Rice University; President, MAK Development, Inc.
* District G: Pam Holm
* District H: Adrian Garcia (Mayor Pro-Tem)
* District I: James Rodriguez

Former Members

* Rodney Ellis: Elected to the Texas Senate District 13 in 1990
* Sheila Jackson Lee (1990-1994): Elected to the US House of Representatives in 1994
* Chris Bell (1997-2002): Elected to the US House of Representatives in 2002
* Annise Parker (1998-2003): Elected as the Controller of the City of Houston in 2003
* Shelley Sekula-Gibbs (2002-2006): Elected to the US House of Representatives in 2006
* Martha Wong (1993-1999): Elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 2002. Unseated in 2006.

Fictional Members

From the TV show "The West Wing:
* Matt Santos (1994-1996): Elected as Mayor of Houston in 1996; Elected to the US House of Representatives in 2000.

Committees

* Budget and Fiscal Affairs: Green (Chair), Alvarado (Vice-Chair), Clutterbuck, Edwards, Garcia, Khan, Lawrence, Lovell
* Council Governance: Wiseman (Chair), Alvarado, Brown
* Environment and Public Health: Alvarado (Chair), Brown, Clutterbuck, Edwards, Lovell
* Ethics: Alvarado (Chair), Brown, Edwards, Khan, Wiseman
* Flooding and Drainage: Edwards (Chair), Lawrence (Vice-Chair), Brown, Clutterbuck, Garcia, Johnson, Khan
* Housing and Redevelopment: Edwards (Chair), Khan (Vice-Chair), Brown, Garcia, Green, Johnson
* International Liaison and Protocol: Khan (Chair), Edwards, Garcia, Johnson
* M/WBE, Small Contractor Development and Contract Compliance: Garcia (Chair), Alvarado, Edwards, Johnson, Lovell
* Pension Review: Holm (Chair), Alvarado (Vice-Chair), Green, Johnson
* Public Safety and Homeland Security: Garcia (Chair), Lawrence (Vice-Chair), Alvarado, Edwards, Khan, Lovell, Wiseman
* Quality of Life: Holm (Chair), Clutterbuck, Garcia, Green, Lawrence, Lovell
* Regulation, Neighborhood Protection and Development: Lawrence (Chair), Brown (Vice-Chair), Alvarado, Clutterbuck, Edwards, Garcia, Holm, Johnson, Lovell
* Transportation, Infrastructure and Aviation Review: Berry (Chair), Garcia (Vice-Chair), Brown, Green, Holm, Johnson, Wiseman

External links

* [http://www.houstontx.gov/council/index.html Houston City Council main page]