HOUSTON
U.S. House of Representative District 36
*Indicates incumbent
Rashad Lewis
D
Occupation: logger
Experience: 34 years of area residency
Contact: www.lewis4congress.com
What work can be done to mitigate flooding in the district?
RL: There is no way to eliminate flooding in district 36th. We can only minimize its impacts. A flood risk mapping approach that estimates the likelihood of all flood scenarios will be more useful than the traditional floodplain mapping approach. Most flooding problems are due to the limitations of local drainage networks, such as storm sewers and roadside ditches. Small-scale, lot-by-lot strategies, such as the regrading of lots or the widening of ditches to detain small volumes of water, can reduce the impacts of flooding in existing neighborhoods.
What would you prioritize if elected to help constituents both protect themselves from COVID-19 and recover from the pandemic's economic effects?
RL: The future of COVID-19 is unpredictable but we must continue to take steps to protect each other from spreading it. Until we find a cure for COVID-19 the future of our economic growth in America will become a long-term objective to rebuild.
In light of recent social justice movements, what can state representatives do to ensure their constituents from all backgrounds have equitable access to the resources they need for success?
RL: We must write a new amendment in the Constitution that truly gives constituents from all backgrounds equitable access to social justice, and resources within America.
Brian Babin*
R
Occupation: dentist, deacon
Experience: member of Congress since 2015; service on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and House Committee on Science, Space and Technology
Contact: www.babin.house.gov
Chad Abbey
L
Occupation: business owner
Experience:
Contact:
Hal Ridley Jr.
G
Occupation: retired
Experience: worked in oil fields, as a truck driver and as an iron worker
Contact: https://haljridleyjr.com
What work can be done to mitigate flooding in the district?
HR: Southern Jefferson County has a levee that saved them in Hurricane Ike. 12 years is too long to talk about the Ike Dike to protect southeast to southwest of Houston and Orange County has no flood plan, just rebuild. Our area has had 7 storms in 15 years. Climate change, rising sea levels, more and stronger storms might be on the way. There are many good ideas, they are just being ignored.
What would you prioritize if elected to help constituents both protect themselves from COVID-19 and recover from the pandemic's economic effects?
HR: Anyone who wants to know how we protect ourselves already knows. It’s those who refuse are a threat to us all. The pandemic plan was clearly laid out, the administration just didn’t follow it: Clear truthful information, PPE, masks, robes, medical supplies, washing hands, distancing, no gatherings and having extra toilet paper. That was too much to ask of this government. New Zealand did a great job, we have not and are not still.
In light of recent social justice movements, what can state representatives do to ensure their constituents from all backgrounds have equitable access to the resources they need for success?
HR: The economic inequality of our system is rapacious. The pandemic is proof if we all don’t have medical care, we are all at risk. The powerful are determined to keep the status quo but the best time for revolutionary ideas to come along is when the barbarians are at the gate. That is the time when the fear of the external threat is greater than the fear of overthrowing the internal order. Great change happens either way but it’s likely better if it happens by us instead of [to] us. We must out corporate and pull together, “We are many they are few!”
