In a state as divided and gerrymandered as Texas, it’s easy to assume that many of the state and local elections to be held this November are just about decided after the Primaries.  Districts are drawn to be so heavily Republican or Democratic, it is highly unlikely to see any sort of “surprise” happen on Election Day.  Even with candidate Jenifer Rene Pool‘s much celebrated and historic victory in the Primaries, the odds of defeating 6- term Republican Incumbent Steve Radack were always assumed to be long.

But where there’s a microphone, a politician and a video camera, there is inevitably room to challenge assumptions.  Here’s the story from Jennifer Bauer of KPRC news…

HOUSTON – A video recorded on August 4 has upset some Houston residents, especially those affected by the widespread floods in 2015 and 2016.

The short video clip shows Harris County Commissioner Steve Radack, of Precinct 3, giving a presentation.

“There are some people, frankly, over the years and the many years I’ve been doing this, that enjoy floods,” Radack said. “They like to see a flood about every seven years because they want new cars. They want their homes redone.”

Someone in the audience recorded the video and posted it online, and now some flood victims are speaking out.

“It upset me. It upset quite a few people,” said Carlos Goenaga, a Meyerland resident whose home flooded in both the Memorial Day flood of 2015 and the Tax Day flood of 2016. “He’s either inexcusably ignorant or just extremely cynical.”

Given his long and well-respected tenure nearly three decades in office, the comments not only surprised many Harris County residents, but were deeply disturbing to those that have suffered from the area’s devastating floods.  Democratic challenger Pool was quick to respond to Radack via Twitter…

For some livid Houstonians, “out of touch” is an understatement.

It would be easy to think that Pool is simply ceasing the moment on this one issue, but her long record of experience on infrastructure issues proves otherwise.  Posted last month on her campaign website (and well before Radack’s comments), Pool has made the challenge of flooding a central part of her platform…

“We can lessen the impact of flooding and provide a more safe and secure future for our residents with common sense changes.”

As Off the Kuff rightly points out, Steve Radack not only has the advantage of incumbency on his side, but also has an insurmountable fundraising lead over Jenifer Pool.  But of course anything could happen this November.  Like a true Houston summer, this race is officially heating up.