HOUSTON – Was Dave Wilson pretending to be Black to win an election? He says no, that it was just effective target marketing.
Wilson won the District 2 seat on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees by 26 votes over HCC Chairman Bruce Austin. ALL of Wilson's direct marketing materials never showed him but rather pictures of Black families he got from the internet. Wilson, who is White, said he never thought he'd win in the predominantly Black district. "That district is predominantly African American so I marketed my campaign to that segment of the population," he said. "TV stations do target marketing all the time. You can't sell maternity clothes to a bunch of construction working men so you have to target your market. It was basically target marketing and hard work."
Wilson has received national and international attention for is unconventional strategy but says his goal was to keep race out of the conversation. "There were plenty of issues that were a lot more important to me that were in there. Such as the college in Quatar, the declining enrollment, the increasing tuition costs. They bought a bunch of real estate that they don't need," he said. Wilson talks about much more on this week's Houston News Makers with Khambrel Marshall.
Also on this show, Brian Greene, the President and CEO of the Houston Food Bank, responsible for helping to feed more than 600 thousand people yearly. Greene says the Food Bank mission is to do more than put food in stomachs. "Almost 40% of our distribution is fresh produce," he said. "We are trying to emphasize that as much as we can , combining it with nutrition education. We're combining it with other initiatives because we recognize that the households that are experiencing hunger are also the households that are not eating well on the other days and we can't just look at this as a calorie issue." Greene talks about the challenges of feeding the hungry and how you can best help.
Also World AIDS Day is observed on December 1st. Dr. Charlene Flash is an Infectious Disease Specialist at the Harris Health System's Thomas St. Health Center and talks about the alarming statistics that still exist in Harris county as it regards those infected with HIV/AIDS. Important information for all segments of our community.
Great insight on a number of important issues unique to Southeast Texas. Watch it this and every Sunday at 10 a.m., right after Meet the Press with David Gregory.
More Information:
• Dave Wilson, Trustee-Elect, Harris County Community College, 713-718-5025, www.hccs.edu
• Brian Greene, President/CEO, Houston Food Bank , 713-223-3700 www.houstonfoodbank.org
• Charlene Flash, M.D., Infectious Disease Specialist, Harris Health System, 713-634-1280, www.harrishealth.org