What happened?
Houston City Council voted to approve a framework agreement at its Aug. 9 meeting expressing an "assurance that it will provide the necessary services" for the 2028 RNC, if the city ends up being chosen to host the event. All council members present voted to support the item aside from District I's Robert Gallegos, who cited the Republican Party's platform as the basis for his opposition. Gallegos also read written comments from District C's Abbie Kamin, who also expressed opposition to hosting the RNC but was not able to attend the Aug. 9 meeting because of an illness, Gallegos said.
Zooming in
Houston was named a finalist for the 2028 hosting gig earlier in August, and a decision is expected later this month on who will be named the host city. Officials with the Houston First Corporation, who submitted the bid and also developed the framework agreement, said the event would bring around 50,000 visitors to Houston at a time of year that tourism is normally low. The event is slated to be held in July or August of 2028.
The agreement approved Aug. 9 does not obligate the city to spend any money on the event. If chosen, Houston would receive $80 million in federal grants to cover security and other costs related to hosting, according to agenda language.
"We were trying to take politics out of the decision-making process," Houston First CEO Michael Heckman told council members at the meeting. "I think it says a lot about Houston ... that they have the confidence to select the city five years out from when they would host [the convention]."
What they're saying
Gallegos—who represents Downtown Houston as well as EaDo and parts of southeast and east Houston—said he could not vote in favor of the item because of policy priorities outlined in the Texas Republican Party platform and his fears that the event would be used to "showcase bigotry and hateful speeches on city property."
Kamin—whose coverage area includes Montrose, a neighborhood that has historically had a significant LGBT population—also spoke out against hosting the RNC in a letter Gallegos read during the meeting. Kamin specifically referenced the Texas Republican Party platform, which includes language that refers to homosexuality as an "abnormal lifestyle choice" and calls for the repeal of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"This decision is not a political decision," Gallegos said at the meeting. "It’s about the right thing to do—about letting Houstonians, Texans, Americans and people around the world know what Houston stands for, but more importantly, what it does not stand for."
What else
Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said he had his own concerns about elements of the Republican Party platform, but said it would be hypocritical for the city to reject the RNC after making an effort to bring the 2024 Democratic National Convention to Houston. Houston ultimately lost that convention to Chicago, but Turner said he made multiple trips to Washington, D.C., to try to win the bid.
"Whether it’s the DNC ... or the Republican National Convention, or any other convention or conference that comes, it does not mean that we are adopting the thoughts, the policies, the values. ... We are a city that is highly diverse, and just like we went after one, we went after the other."
What's next
Although the decision is yet to come on where the 2028 RNC will be hosted, Council Member Dave Martin said he felt optimistic that Houston had a good shot following the city discussions with RNC decision-makers.
"I think they walked away ... with a strong feeling the city of Houston is the best place to host this in 2028," Martin said.
