2015 Mayoral Candidate profiles

Marty McVey
Marty McVey is a business leader with
more than 15 years of international
business development and new business
creation.
In the private sector, Mr. McVey has
invested in and founded businesses in
the Real Estate, Clean Energy Services
and Healthcare sectors. McVey is also a
licensed Real Estate Broker in Texas.
Appointed Director of the United States Agency for International
Development (USAID) and Board for International Food
and Agricultural Development (BIFAD) in 2011 by President
Obama, Marty McVey has built relationships around the world to
assist the poorest and most vulnerable. He has provided guidance
to the federal government regarding investments in training,
research, and technology-transfer to developing countries.
McVey served as Chairman for the Haitian Reconstruction Task
Force & Chairman of the BIFAD Budget Committee.
2015 HOUSTON MAYORAL FORUM
Actively promoted Houston’s economic development and
sustainability, Mr. McVey has served as Chair of the Political
Engagement Committee of the Greater Houston Partnership.
He strongly supports Halo House Foundation and Human
Rights Watch. Mr. McVey is a lifetime member of the NAACP,
an Advisory Board Member of the Tahirih Justice Center, and a
member of the Bush-Clinton Ike Coastal Recovery Fund.
McVey has guest lectured at major universities around the world.
Mr. McVey earned a Bachelor and Master of Business
Administration from American University. He received a Global
Master of Business Administration from Georgetown and a
Master Universitario en Administración Empresas from Esade
University. In addition Mr. McVey has completed Harvard’s
Developing Future Leaders’ Program.
Sylvester Turner
Sylvester Turner is uniting Democrats, Republicans, business
leaders, unions, community groups and thousands of
Houstonians to improve our roads, make our neighborhoods
safer, support our public schools and give working people a
better chance to get ahead. He recently completed his 26th year
in the Texas Legislature, where he stopped utility companies
from unfairly raising gas and electricity rates, worked to make
health care more affordable for children and families, and led
the fight to restore billions of dollars in cuts to public schools.
He continues to fight for children, seniors and everyone in
between. This year, Texas Monthly again named Sylvester one
of its top ten legislators.
Sylvester was raised in the Acres Homes community and lives
there today. The Turners raised nine children in their two-
bedroom home. His mother worked as
a maid in the old Rice Hotel. His father
worked as a painter for Continental
Ensco and on the weekends cut yards
with his sons to make extra money.
Sylvester’s father died when he was
13. Sylvester attended neighborhood
public schools until forced integration
and he was bused to Klein High
School, where he was elected president
of the student body and graduated as valedictorian. Sylvester
attended the University of Houston and Harvard Law School
before joining the law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski. He founded
the law firm of Barnes and Turner in 1983, where he works
today.
DON’T FORGET TO VOTE!
REGISTER TO VOTE BY
October 5th
EARLY VOTING
October 19th - 31st
ELECTION DAY
Tuesday, November 3rd
Call 713.274.8663 for assistance
or visit hctax.net/voter/registration
Program Schedule
6:30 p.m.
7:00 p.m.
7:15 p.m.
8:15 p.m.
8:30 p.m.
9:00 p.m.
Presented By
Reception - Doors Open
Opening Comments
Mayoral Forum
Closing comments by Candidates
Meet & Greet the Candidates
Program ends, doors close
TM
Community Improvement Association
Program Moderator - Anne Clutterbuck
Anne Clutterbuck is a Vice President at
AECOM, a global engineering firm with
offices in Houston, TX. An attorney and
former elected official, Anne served on
Houston City Council for three terms
from 2006 through 2011, when she was
term limited. While on Houston City
Council, she was Chair of the Budget
and Fiscal Affairs Committee and
Mayor Pro Tem.
In 2012, Anne was appointed by Harris County Judge Ed Emmett
to serve as a member of the Board of Managers of the Harris
County Hospital District, also known as the Harris Health
System, the public health system for Harris County. She is on the
Advisory Boards of Theatre Under the Stars and the Holocaust
Museum Houston.
Anne received her undergraduate degree from Baylor University
and her law degree from the University of Houston Law Center.
She and her husband John have two college age children, Caroline
and William. Anne is a member of Christ the King ELC.
Adrian Garcia (continued)
Chris Bell
Chris Bell was born in Abilene and
raised in Dallas, and is a graduate of
the University of Texas and South Texas
College of Law. He has lived in Houston
since 1988.
Associated Press.
Bell was a television and radio news
reporter, covering the courts for KTRH
in Houston while attending law school.
In 1992, he was named Best Radio
Reporter in the state by the Texas
He was elected to Houston City Council in 1997 and served
under mayors Bob Lanier and Lee Brown. His leadership
positions on Council included chair of the Fiscal Affairs and
Ethics Committees. Chris was elected to Congress in 2002. In
his first term, he was selected as one of two freshmen to serve
on the Democratic Whip Team. He served only one term in
Congress, as a controversial mid-decade redistricting of Texas
congressional seats made the re-election of some Houston-area
Democrats difficult.
Chris ran for Governor of Texas in 2006 and then made an
unexpectedly strong showing against Governor Rick Perry.
Chris is a name partner in the litigation firm of Berg Feldman
Johnson Bell, LLP.
Chris has served on numerous national and community boards.
Having lost his mother to Parkinson’s disease, Chris serves
with the Houston Area Parkinson’s Society Advisory Board and
nationally on the board of StemPAC.
Chris and Alison Ayres Bell have been married almost 23 years
and they have two boys, Atlee and Connally.
When not practicing law, Chris enjoys reading, golf, jogging,
walking the dogs, and entertaining friends.
Steve Costello
Steve Costello is a husband, father and grandfather who loves
Houston more than any place on Earth, and wants it to be the
best it can be for your kids and grandkids. While Steve believes
Houston is the greatest city in the nation, he also recognizes that
we can, and must, do better.
That is why as your next mayor, Steve will work to fix our roads
and traffic, prioritize our public safety, and protect taxpayer
money.
Houston is where Steve has spent most of his adult life. It is the
city where he grew a successful engineering firm from scratch.
And it is a diverse community he is proud to represent as an atlarge member of the city council.
Married to his wife Debbie for 39 years, and as a father and
grandfather to two young granddaughters – Eliana and Giana,
Steve believes that we must not only work to build a better
Houston for the months and years ahead…but also for future
generations of Houstonians yet to come.
An engineer by education and trade,
Steve was trained to look at problems
and work to find a logical solution. His
successful engineering firm, Costello,
Inc. has not only helped grow hundreds
of new jobs in and around Houston, it
has also been named as one of the “best
places to work” by the Houston Business
Journal.
In 2008, Adrian Garcia was elected Harris County Sheriff. Adrian
inherited a Sheriff ’s Department that was in dire need of reform.
He wasted no time producing new, innovative ideas to clean up
the mess that existed at that department. Under Adrian Garcia’s
leadership he reduced the overcrowding at the Country’s third
largest jail. Adrian brought more diversity to the department’s
command staff. And he worked to be a visible, community
oriented law enforcement officer the public could trust.
Ben Hall
Benjamin Hall III was born into a family
of meager financial means, giving him a
lifelong understanding of the struggles
too many families face..
Ben graduated with honors from the
University of South Carolina in 1977. He
continued on to Duke University, where
he obtained a Master of Divinity degree
in 1979 and a Ph.D. in 1985. Ben saw an
opportunity to help underrepresented
communities as an attorney, and in 1986 received his law degree
from Harvard Law School. From there, he began working at the
Vinson & Elkins law firm in Houston, Texas. He went on to serve
as City Attorney for the City of Houston in Mayor Bob Lanier’s
administration. For approximately three years, Ben supervised a
legal department of over 200 employees and managed an annual
budget of over $12 million.
In 2000, Ben founded the nationally recognized Hall Law Firm,
Steve continually works to serve his neighbors and his
community. He has helped protect and expand our parks and
public green space through public advocacy efforts, and has
also worked to cut wasteful spending, develop solutions to our
many infrastructure needs, and even fought to protect our most
vulnerable against dangerous “pay-day” lending as a member of
Houston City Council.
After leaving HPD, Adrian served six years as a Houston City
Councilman eventually becoming Mayor Pro-Tempore under
Mayor Bill White. On City Council, Adrian gained valuable
experience in how government works. Adrian Garcia chaired
the Public Safety and Homeland Security committee, while also
serving on the Minority Business Women Enterprise, Fiscal
Affairs, and Flooding and Drainage committees.
(continued on next page)
where he fights for average people every day. Ben has used his
legal practice and his specialty in personal injury law to speak
out on behalf of those who need a strong voice to champion
their causes. Ben and the Hall Law Firm also maintain a
significant commitment to pro bono efforts on behalf of groups,
corporations, and individuals in need of representation.
Ben has been married to his wife, Saundra, for 34 years. They
have two sons, Benjamin IV and Zachary. Ben and Saundra are
the owners of KCOH Radio (1230 AM), the oldest black talk
radio station in the Greater Houston area, and KCOH-TV. Ben
has been an ordained Christian minister for over 40 years.
Community
Involvement/Professional
Accomplishments
include Life Member, NAACP, Sustaining Member, Harris
County Democratic Party, Former Board Member, Red Cross,
Houston Chapter, Highest Rating by Peers for Legal and Ethical
Competence, and Member, American Board of Trial Advocates
(ABOTA).
Bill King
Adrian Garcia
Adrian Garcia began his life in public
service as a Houston Police officer.
After 23 years with the Department his
dedication was recognized by former
Houston Mayor Bob Lanier who
appointed Adrian to the position of
HPD’s liaison to the Mayor’s Anti-Gang
Office. In 1999, Adrian was named
Director of this anti-gang effort.
In 2012 Adrian Garcia was re-elected Sheriff. He continued to
lead manage and reform the Harris County Sheriff ’s Office into
a transparent Department that is, above all accountable to the
taxpayers of Harris County. As an Executive, Adrian Garcia
lead a workforce of almost 5000 employees, managed a budget
of approximately $500 million dollars and reformed the office
to save taxpayers 200 million dollars – all while putting more
officers on the streets to keep you and your families safe.
local government.
A lifelong resident of the Houston area,
Bill King grew up the son of a union
pipefitter. Bill worked his way through
the University of Houston, earning both
his bachelor’s and law degrees there. In
the process, he became the first in his
family to graduate from college. Since
then, Bill has practiced law and run
businesses in Houston for 40 years, and
has earned a reputation as an outspoken
advocate for responsible and effective
Bill previously served as president of Southwest Airport Services
at Ellington Air Force Base. The U.S. Coast Guard recognized
Southwest for the support their employees provided during the
search and rescue efforts after Hurricane Ike.
After the disastrous Rita evacuation in 2005, Bill led the HoustonGalveston Area Council’s Hurricane Evacuation Task Force,
overhauling the region’s evacuation plan. For his service, Bill
was awarded the Outstanding Service Award from the National
Hurricane Conference.
From 2010 to 2014, Bill wrote a weekly column for the Houston
Chronicle, exploring a broad range of issues confronting the city:
aging infrastructure, public debt, traffic, and crime. Last year, he
published a collection of his Houston Chronicle columns titled
“Unapologetically Moderate”.
Bill is a co-founder of the Fire Fighters Foundation of Houston.
He has served as a board member for Crime Stoppers, the
Memorial Hermann Foundation, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation,
and the Galveston Bay Foundation. In 2012, he co-chaired the
HISD bond campaign to rebuild the district’s dilapidated high
schools, which won nearly 70% voter approval.