SHE'S BEING SWORN IN AS THE NEW COUNCIL MEMBER!Businesswoman, educator and community leader Jacquie Baly Chaumette will take her oath of office on Tuesday, May 20th 5:30 pm in the Council chambers of Sugar Land City Hall. Ms. Chaumette was elected to Sugar Land’s City Council on Saturday May 10th with over 69% of the vote. Once in office, Ms. Chaumette will be the only African-American, the only woman and the youngest person on Council.
Ms. Chaumette’s campaign focused on fiscal accountability, responsible planning and development, quality growth and responsive government. In her announcement to friends and supporters about her candidacy, Ms. Chaumette said that she wants to ensure “accountable and strong leadership for the citizens of Sugar Land. … Sugar Land is our home, and I feel a deep responsibility to help make this city the best place for my family, and yours, to live. These principles will be the corner stone of my work on Sugar Land City Council.”
Ms. Chaumette is President and CEO of BalyProjects, a policy and planning consulting firm. She is also an adjunct public policy professor at the University of Houston-Downtown and formerly served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Brazos River Authority. She has been a regional planner for the Houston-Galveston Area Council, director of planning for the cities of Seabrook and Sugar Land and a vice-president at the Greater Houston Partnership. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in city planning.
Ms. Chaumette’s extensive community service in Fort Bend includes: chair of the Fort Bend Chamber of Commerce infrastructure division, Commonwealth Elementary PTA Publicity Chair, county appointee of the Fort Bend County Mobility Planning Committee, past president of the Fort Bend YMCA, and past president of the Fort Bend Professional Women’s Group. Ms. Chaumette and her husband David have lived in Sugar Land community for over 14 years. They have two sons, Raphael and Alexandre.
The color of her skin should not be an issue.
ReplyDeleteColor is always an issue... (In the United States)
ReplyDeleteTo some that insist on making it an issue...
ReplyDeletePlease post this because it is only fair to report that Jacquie Chaumette's opponent was equally as dark as she.
ReplyDeleteHe is a Democrat and a Moslem which in America in 2008 is a far harder hill to climb in a campaign for a city council at large position.
Houston City Councilman MJ Khan is not at large. He is single district.
I wish you'd realize that while she and her opponent were equally dark in skin color he was or is an active Democrat like most readers of your website and a Democrat Pct Chairman Obama backer while she's a recent Republican Pct. Chairman and officer in the Fort Bend GOP Women's Club. In Sugar Land in 2008 the skin color not only was not a differential between her and her opponent but it is not an obstacle as many Houston want to think to voters voting for her. The fact that her opponent would have been the first Democrat in decades if not ever was a harder hill to climb.
In Sugar Land that's more important to voters they knew her from GOP politics than was or is her or his skin color.
With all due respect, Mr. Levine, you have succeeded ONCE AGAIN to only tell part of the story and, as a result, you leave a trail of half-truths and inaccuracies masquerading as good reporting.
ReplyDeleteFirst, you focus on color. Maybe you missed the civil rights movement, but African Americans in this country have been disadvantaged by race. Many of us are tired of other races saying jumping on the "we were discriminated against" bandwagon as they tell their story. You failed to mention that her opponent spent several months on HIS radio shows (sometimes 6 hours a day) bragging about his campaign and telling people to vote for him. Some disadvantage.
Or how he hired people to show up at the polling places to support him. Don't worry they told all of us there about it, and they also mentioned that they did not even live in the City of Sugar Land (They were obviously willing to travel for money, even without political conviction or belief in the candidate). Some groundswell of support.
Don't worry, we also know that you were on his payroll as well (one fact you omitted). (Oh, and by the way, I am not on Jacqueline's payroll, before you start thinking down that road.)
Two, maybe you did not notice, but the city council race was non-partisan. Jacqueline's supporters came from both sides of the aisle, if you will. You may not have noticed, because the list was really long. Her opponent never posted a list of supporters. I will let you guess why. The one obvious supporter of his (who you mention) was M.J. Khan, a professed Republican. Rather than allowing people to see his supporters, Jacqueline's opponent spent his money on attack ads featuring her picture which only goes to show the shallowness of his campaign. Given the typos in his materials and your posts (it's "Muslim" not "Moslem,") I think we can guess at who the author of the nastiness might be.
Lastly, you talk about people knowing her from her politics. Nice try. She has been President of the YMCA Board and active in Rotary, Exchange, and her children's PTA. If those are GOP circles, then the world is in worse shape than I thought. Your boss was caught several times, including in articles YOU wrote, stretching his resume and fabricating involvements that were not in fact the truth. His problem was that he was talking to the people of Sugar Land, who knew better. At least 69% of them did.
So, Mr. Levine, instead talking about how people are equally dark, which sounds plain offensive to me (and maybe others too), you should tell your client to focus on building his reputation and his activities in Sugar Land. In the mean time, please let us know which candidates you will be supporting in the future, so we'll know exactly how to vote.
Jonathan Zimmerman
jonathanzimmerman40@yahoo.com