Amanda Edwards, the 2020 Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and former member of the Houston Metropolis Council, is operating for mayor of town, a contest that’s already garnering statewide consideration regardless of being over a yr away.

Editorial be aware: The above video of Amanda Edwards is from 2021.

The sector already consists of two names well-known in Texas politics: veteran state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, and Chris Hollins, the previous Harris County clerk who oversaw election modifications in 2020 that turned a lightning rod for Republicans. They’re competing to switch term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner within the November 2023 election, which is nonpartisan.

“As a local Houstonian and as somebody who has a really deep ardour and excessive stage of expertise within the metropolis, my motive for operating for mayor is to guarantee that we’re tackling a few of the metropolis’s challenges but additionally seizing a few of the alternatives,” Edwards mentioned in an interview. She added that Houston, the biggest metropolis in Texas and the fourth-biggest within the nation, is “at a crossroads.”

Chris Hollins will run to switch Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner

Edwards mentioned her prime points shall be stopping flooding, growing financial alternative and combating crime. Like different main cities, she mentioned, Houston has seen an increase in crime, “and we have to guarantee that now we have sufficient law-enforcement officers within the communities, not simply to enhance response instances but additionally create” higher relations with these communities.

Edwards served on the Houston Metropolis Council in an at-large place from 2016-20. She ran within the 12-way Democratic main to problem U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and got here in fifth.

Veteran Robin Williams operating to switch Mayor Sylvester Turner

Edwards is coming into what’s prone to be a high-octane competitors. Whitmire has represented Houston within the Senate since 1983, making him essentially the most senior member, and he has $11 million saved up in his state marketing campaign account. He simply fended off a Senate main problem in March from Molly Cook dinner, an emergency-room nurse who attacked him for operating for reelection to the Legislature whereas additionally having his sights on Metropolis Corridor.

Hollins, in the meantime, made a reputation for himself throughout a months-long stint as interim Harris County clerk within the lead-up to the November 2020 election. He responded to the coronavirus pandemic by doing issues like introducing drive-thru voting and attempting to ship mail-in poll purposes to each registered voter within the county. The Republican-led Legislature finally outlawed these techniques as a part of a hard-fought invoice that Gov. Greg Abbott signed into regulation final yr.

State Sen. John Whitmire declares he’ll run for Houston mayor in 2023

Edwards mentioned she plans to face out together with her background in municipal finance, a problem she specialised in as a lawyer earlier than coming into public service. She additionally pointed to her time on the council and common presence within the metropolis’s communities, “as a substitute of simply going door-to-door when it’s time for marketing campaign season.” And noting the nonpartisan nature of the election, she mentioned she intends to “construct a really broad coalition due to the problems.”

After the 2020 U.S. Senate main, Edwards endorsed one of many runoff candidates, state Sen. Royce West of Dallas. He misplaced to eventual nominee MJ Hegar by a small margin, and Cornyn defeated her by 10 share factors that November.

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This story comes from our KHOU 11 Information companions at The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan media group that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public coverage, politics, authorities, and statewide points.