HOUSTON – Judith Cruz beat HISD board chair Diana Davila by a margin of 64% to 36% in the November election. That same week, the Texas Education Agency announced it would be taking over the HISD board of trustees and replacing them with a board of managers.
So where does that leave Cruz and the other three trustees who will be elected to fill four spots on the board? Cruz said she will be there every day and is also applying for on the board of managers.
"I feel like it would send the message to the electorate, to the city of Houston, that we hear you," Cruz said. "We hear you loud and clear, and we understand that we can still have democracy at the same time as we follow through with the sanctions."
Much more with Judith Cruz on this week's Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall.
Homeless youth prompting executives to sleep outside
Houston-area business executives will give up their perfectly good beds in order to sleep outside and call attention to the adverse conditions facing homeless youth.
Todd Binet is a Covenant House board member, the organization sponsoring the Executive Sleepout Nov. 21. He said the Covenant House is not offering a handout but rather a hand up.
"We have a whole transitional living program where we can start out with an emergency shelter all the way to the rights of passage which is more of a long-term living arrangement as we help these young people become contributors to society."
The goal is to raise $1 million. Here is the link to sign up to support a sleeper or to donate to this very worthy cause.
Eviction program goal: Save families
Judge Jeremy Brown is a Justice of the Peace in Precinct 7 Place 1. He is taking an active role in helping to kick off the Eviction Prevention Program, a project he says will help keep families together.
"Every Wednesday I have an eviction docket," he said. "And a lot of them are young African American women facing eviction. And they have children, so you're really displacing families."
Listen to Judge Brown as he lays out the wide array of problems caused by evictions and solutions being considered.
Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall airs at 10:30 a.m. Sunday.
More information
Judith Cruz, HISD Trustee-Elect Position 8
- Email: Judith@judithforhisd.com
Mike Holland, Covenant House Board Chair
- 713-523-2231
- Twitter: @CovenantHouseTX
Todd Binet, Covenant House Board Member
- 713-523-2231
- Twitter: @CovenantHouseTX
Judge Jeremy Brown, Justice of Peace, Precinct 7, Eviction Prevention Program
- 713-313-4858