In something of a last- minute surprise, Council Member Jack Christie now has a serious contender. Houston attorney James S. Horwitz has officially filed for the At Large 5 seat. Here’s the official press release…
HOUSTON––James S. Horwitz, a local attorney, has officially filed his candidacy for the Houston City Council, at-large Position #5, against incumbent Councilmember Jack Christie. Horwitz, who has practiced law as a general practitioner for over 35 years, stated that it is time to restore ‘common sense’ to City Hall solutions, in an effort to carry out the will of the power.
“Over the past one and a half years,” Horwitz said, “the people of Houston have seen a startling departure from reality, and especially from common sense, on the part of Councilmember Christie. To start things off, he campaigned heavily in 2011 on falsehoods, perpetuating a false narrative that he received immense Democratic support.”
Horwitz continued to delineate the reasons Councilmember Christie is unfit for his position, and mentioned punitive –if not bizarre– positions and votes the Councilmember has taken in the last few months. “Councilmember Christie was the sole no vote on an ordinance to receive Federal assistance on juvenile immunizations,” Horwitz said. “I wish this was just a fluke, but it wasn’t. He continued at length at the time, railing on further against flu vaccines. The Texas Medical Center is the largest employer within the City of Houston, and it does not help the City to have such a high level representative who is ignorant of one of the benefits of modern medicine”
“As a ten year cancer survivor, and therefore beneficiary of modern medicine” Horwitz continued, “I find it irresponsible that such a high level representative of our city would take such a position.
Councilmember Christie even voted with some of his colleagues to retain a punitive ordinance against rummaging through refuse for food. In the Councilmember’s world, Horwitz said, the homeless are simply nothing more than common criminals.
Horwitz pledged to be a consensus-builder at City Hall, specifically between the sometimes opposing factions led by Mayor Annise Parker and Councilmember C.O. Bradford. “I think both of these individuals have very good plans for our City,” Horwitz said. “But ultimately, this City works best when we work together towards comprehensive solutions that encompass multiple points of view.”
“Given that Councilmember Christie was unopposed thus far in the general election,” Horwitz said, “I felt it my duty to give the City of Houston’s voters a choice in the election.”
Horwitz may have entered the fray late, but his campaign wasted no time creating a Facebook page, Twitter account, and is planning to launch a website in the near future. The candidate came out swinging, denouncing Christie’s stance on marriage equality, and reminding voters of his misinformed views about influenza. The Council Member voted against allocating funds for child immunizations, and actually stated that people “don’t die from the flu.” Needless to say, the comments were quite controversial, and Christie received harsh criticism from members of the Texas Medical Association.
For a viable run, Mr. Horwitz has an uphill battle to get the word out about his candidacy, and raise some funds against an incumbent with the (assumed) weight of the Republican establishment behind him. One has to also wonder how Horwitz would’ve faired in the early endorsement cycle, especially considering that Christie earned the GLBT caucus nod even though he’s publicly opposed marriage equality in the past. It will be interesting to see how this race plays out.
