Martin said he is honored to serve the residents of District E, which includes Clear Lake and Kingwood, and the city of Houston as a whole. Martin's second and final four-year term begins Jan. 1.
“I feel so blessed that 77% of the residents of District E have asked me to continue doing this job," he told Community Impact Newspaper. "It’s a challenge that I do not take lightly.”
Martin is glad the election is over; while he enjoys working for the district, campaigning is not his favorite part.
"I like the work, I like the challenge, but I don’t like the politicking side of it," he said.
Martin has already served District E for seven years, making him one of the longest-serving Houston City Council members. He was appointed for one year to fill the seat after the previous council member resigned. He then served a two-year term before the city changed its charter and allowed council members to serve two four-year stints, Martin said.
Up until Hurricane Harvey, Martin's job was pretty typical city business, including budgeting, fixing streets and ensuring the police and fire departments were doing good jobs. After the storm hit, Martin's immediate priority has become drainage and flood mitigation, he said.
"That’s been a nonstop challenge day in and day out," Martin said.
Martin is an advocate for the the coastal barrier project that would create miles of walls in Galveston to prevent flooding from storm surge. He supports local Clear Lake projects as well, such as Exploration Green, which converted a golf course into a detention pond. He is excited to see more dredging in Lake Houston and the San Jacinto River, and he looks forward to the Lake Houston spillway dam structure receiving new gates in the coming years so more water can be released during storms, further preventing flooding, Martin said.
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Martin also said he will push for road projects, such as the upcoming El Dorado Boulevard expansion. One of Martin's priorities is improved roads, he said.
Additionally, Martin was instrumental in the development of the Houston Spaceport at Ellington Airport. Martin also helped the city partner with San Jacinto College to put a workforce training program at the spaceport. Martin will continue to push for such partnerships to encourage companies and educational institutions to locate to the spaceport and positively affect Houston's economy, including Clear Lake property values, he said.
"I think [the] spaceport is the next iteration of aeronautical transportation," Martin said.
Despite the many challenges ahead, including the fact that Martin serves the city's only noncontiguous district, Martin looks forward to his final term.
"I can continue to say I’m blessed and honored to serve the city of Houston but the residents of District E," he said.
