[00:00:19]
WELCOME TO A SPECIAL TIME IN NOT ONLY THE CITY, BUT OUR COUNTY, OUR STATE, OUR NATION, WHERE WE GET TO EXPRESS OUR CHOICE OF CANDIDATES, OUR ISSUES THAT ARE ON THE BALLOT.
AND IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER A THING I SAY TODAY, REMEMBER THIS ELECTIONS MATTER.
I'VE SPENT MY ENTIRE ADULT LIFE IN PUBLIC SERVICE.
I'VE SEEN, UH, HUNDREDS AND, AND MAYBE THOUSANDS OF ELECTED OFFICIALS COME AND GO.
THESE ARE LIFE AND DEATH DECISIONS THAT THESE ELECTED OFFICIALS WILL MAKE.
QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES, INCLUSION.
SO MY EMPHASIS TODAY IS LOOK AT THE CHOICES YOU HAVE AND GO VOTE.
AND CERTAINLY, I RESPECT WHATEVER CHOICE YOU MAKE, WE'RE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER.
AND THE CITY WANTS TO TAKE THE LEAD THIS YEAR IN ENCOURAGING EVERYONE TO VOTE.
AND THE CITY IS REMINDING EVERYONE THAT WE'RE IN THE ELECTION SEASON, EARLY VOTING STARTED YESTERDAY, GOOD PARTICIPATION.
BUT I'M NEVER SATISFIED UNTIL WE CAN GET A HUNDRED PERCENT OF QUALIFIED VOTERS EXPRESS THEIR CHOICES.
SO THE CITY PARTNERING WITH NONPROFITS, CHARITY SERVICE AGENCIES HAVE DONE EVERYTHING POSSIBLE.
IT'S PROBABLY UNPRECEDENTED FOR A MAYOR OF HOUSTON TO STAND UP HERE AND SAY, JUST VOTE.
SO WE'VE DONE A VOTE HOUSTON BROCHURE CARD TO HANDOUT.
THE 44 CITY LIBRARIES WILL HAVE THESE PLACED IN THEM.
WE'RE NOT LEAVING ANYTHING UNDONE THAT WOULD ENCOURAGE HOUSTONIANS TO GO VOTE.
OUR DIVERSITY THAT WE CELEBRATE IS INCLUDED NEIGHBORHOOD PUBLICATIONS ACROSS HOUSTON.
I WANT TO EMPHASIZE ACROSS HOUSTON IN SIX LANGUAGES.
JUST ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO VOTE.
WE PARTNERED WITH OVER 20 NONPROFITS.
THE FOOD BANK ARE GONNA INCLUDE A NOTICE TO GO VOTE IN ALL THEIR CLIENTS.
UH, PUBLIC WORKS IS PUTTING A GO VOTE NOTICE IN 500,000 WATER BILLS.
EVERYONE THAT RECEIVES A WATER BILL IS GONNA GET THIS IN MULTIPLE, WIDELY USED LANGUAGES.
SO I'M EXCITED TODAY TO TAKE MY EXPERIENCE AS A CANDIDATE, AS A PUBLIC OFFICIAL TO EMPHASIZE THERE'S NO EXCUSE, NO EXCUSE NOT TO VOTE IF YOU'RE A QUALIFIED VOTER.
EARLY VOTING STARTED YESTERDAY, SIGNIFICANT TURNOUT.
BUT AS I'VE SAID, UNTIL EVERYONE CAN HEAR MY VOICE AND GET THE CITY'S ENCOURAGEMENT TO GO VOTE, I DON'T BELIEVE I'VE DONE MY JOB.
WHEN WE GO TO AUSTIN TO LOOK FOR STATE ASSISTANCE, YOU NEED TO CHOOSE THE PEOPLE THAT I'LL BE WORKING WITH.
LIKEWISE, AT THE NATIONAL PICTURE, YOU'RE GONNA CHOOSE THE PARTNERS THAT I COLLABORATE WITH, REVIEW THEIR POLICIES AND POSITIONS ON MUNICIPAL ISSUES, ON EQUALITY, INCLUSIVENESS, AND THE, THE ABILITY TO GET THINGS DONE.
THAT IS WHAT WE'RE CHOOSING ON ELECTION DAY ON OC NOVEMBER 5TH.
WHO WILL BE THE CITY'S PARTNERS IN MAKING LIFE AND DEATH DECISIONS? LET ME EMPHASIZE OUR PARTNERSHIP WITH METRO.
THANK YOU METRO FOR MAKING GOING TO VOTE.
[00:05:01]
METRO'S SERVICES, TRAIN, BUSES, METRO LIFT.WE'RE A PHONE CALL AWAY WHEN YOU NEED SOME METRO LIFT ASSISTANCE.
SO WHETHER YOU'RE GONNA BE GETTING A WATER BILL, CHECKING OUT A LIBRARY, VISITING CITY HALL, YOU'RE GONNA GET HANDED IN.
AND WE HOPE ACROSS THE CITY THE STICKERS WILL START MULTIPLYING THAT.
I WOULD SUGGEST VOTE EARLY IN CASE WE HAVE WEATHER ISSUES OR THE UNEXPECTED.
SO THE FOOD BANK, 20 OF OUR CHARITABLE PARTNERSHIPS FROM EVERY CORNER OF HOUSTON IS INVOLVED IN THIS.
THE NONPROFITS HAVE COME FORWARD TO PAY FOR ANY PRINTING.
THANK YOU TO THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS MY ENTIRE CAREER.
I'VE WATCHED THEIR POSITIVE WORK.
THEY JUST WANT YOU TO GO VOTE TOO.
I THINK WE ALL HAVE A JOB TO DO.
WE HAVE A HUGE RESPONSIBILITY AND, UH, MAKES ME PROUD TO BE THE MAYOR OF CITY OF HOUSTON.
WHO WOULD WE LIKE TO PARTNER WITH? FIRST METRO, COME TELL US YOUR ROLE THAT YOU'RE ALREADY PLANNED.
CHAIRMAN OF, UH, METRO ELIZABETH BROCK.
AND THANK YOU TO THE CITY OF HOUSTON AND OUR PARTNERS LIKE VOTE HOUSTON AND HARRIS COUNTY CLERK'S OFFICE.
UH, WANNA SAY THANK YOU TO THE MAYOR FOR REACHING OUT LAST WEEK AND SAYING, YOU KNOW, CAN WE PROVIDE FREE RIDES FOR PEOPLE TO VOTE? AND I SAID, THAT'S AN EXCELLENT IDEA.
WE'LL DO IT ALL THROUGH, UH, EARLY VOTING AND ON ELECTION DAY.
UM, SO IF YOU NEED A RIDE, ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS TELL PEOPLE THAT YOU'RE, UH, TELL THE BUS OPERATOR THAT YOU'RE GONNA GO, UH, RIDE METRO AND YOU CAN GET A FREE RIDE TO AND FROM THE POLLS.
SO WE ENCOURAGE EVERYBODY TO NOT ONLY TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS FREE SERVICE, BUT ALSO, UH, ENCOURAGE YOU TO ALWAYS THINK ABOUT WRITING METRO AND, UH, TELL US AND GIVE US FEEDBACK ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE.
OUR GOAL AT METRO IS TO INCREASE RIDERSHIP.
SO THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY FOR US TO, UM, UTILIZE THIS TIME TO GIVE PEOPLE, UH, A GREAT EXPERIENCE.
UM, IF YOU NEED MORE INFORMATION, YOU CAN CONTACT, UH, RIDE METRO.ORG.
UH, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO TAKE A FRIEND, UH, OR MULTIPLE FRIENDS TO GO VOTE BECAUSE THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
UH, WE WANNA GIVE YOU A RIDE TO, UH, GO VOTE BECAUSE ELECTIONS MATTER, EXPERIENCE MATTERS.
AND WHO REPRESENTS YOU MATTERS VA, RIGHT? METRO.ORG.
OBVIOUSLY THE EMPHASIS IS ON MAKING THE BALLOT BOX AVAILABLE TO EVERYONE.
ANGEL, I'LL BE HONEST WITH YOU, UH, I WILL RECOGNIZE YOU.
I WISH I HAD MARY, YOU GOT A MIC FOR ANGEL, A MOST IMPORTANT PART OF OUR COMMUNITY.
THANK YOU MAYOR, AND THANK YOU CHAIR BROCK.
UM, I DO WANNA EMPHASIZE THAT, UM, THIS FREE SERVICE TO GET TO THE ELECTION SITES IS, IS VERY IMPORTANT SPECIFICALLY FOR UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES THAT TYPICALLY DON'T HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY TO GET TO VOTING SITES AND POLLING PLACES.
AND SO, UM, I ENCOURAGE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES, UH, PEOPLE FROM VULNERABLE COMMUNITIES TO PLEASE TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE YOUR VOTE COUNTS.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR LEADERSHIP.
ANNA, IF YOU WANT TO COME, UH, MAKE CERTAIN THAT EVERYONE KNOWS HOW IMPORTANT THIS IS, PARTICULARLY, UH, ABSOLUTELY.
[00:11:10]
THANK YOU, ANNA.I, AS YOU CAN TELL, IT'S A, IT IS A TEAM EFFORT.
IT'S, IT'S MY ADMINISTRATION TEAM WHERE WE GOT PUBLIC WORKS TO MAKE CERTAIN THAT EVERY ONE RECEIVES NOTICE IN OUR WATER BILL ACROSS THE CITY.
THE LIBRARY DIRECTORS HERE WILL ALSO BE ENCOURAGING PEOPLE AT OUR MULTI-SERVICE CENTERS ACROSS HOUSTON.
WITH THAT SAID, UH, HOUSTON, GET READY TO VOTE AND, UH, ELECTIONS MATTER.
ANY QUESTIONS? IF NOT, UH, I'LL SEE Y'ALL ON NOVEMBER 5TH.