Days afterward, Ablaza, Bray and an intern, Janna Jeffers, resigned from Brown's staff. Brown released a statement saying Bray was pursuing his own political ambitions and implying that Ablaza wanted to be a full-time mom — though that wasn't true.
Reyes took over as the new chief of staff.
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Photo by Chris Curry
Before Helena Brown got into office, she posted numerous rants commingling Catholic dogmas with conservative doctrine to a private Google Group called "Friends of Freedom." There is an "infiltration of commies in the church who like to teach liberation 'theology,' open borders, and social 'justice' all against what is true Catholic teaching," she wrote January 3, 2011. "It makes me sick!"
Photo by Chris Curry
Houston City Council meetings on Tuesdays begin at 1:30 p.m., but Council Member Helena Brown usually doesn't show up until around 2 p.m., often one of the last people to take her seat in the chambers.
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It's one of the profound oddities of American politics that in the elections that actually affect the tangible world around us, when pragmatism should trump ideology, when representatives can shape the communities we inhabit rather than dictate platitudes according to party screed, people simply do not vote.
Maybe this is because local matters are boring. Deciding who will pick up the trash or whether a bike path gets built doesn't convey the sexiness of national or even state politics. Mayor Annise Parker doesn't determine whether we go to war or if two men can marry. But she does have power. And so does Helena Brown.
Almost no one the Press spoke to recently in District A had heard of Brown, and the few who had didn't know much, if anything, about her. "Is she that libertarian?" one man near Brown's home asked, then thought for a moment. "I'd heard the name." Another neighbor, Glen Smith, said: "I don't know anyone who knows her and I've lived here since 1957."
There was concern among constituents who were more familiar with her. They worried their community would atrophy under her austerity politics. "How are we going to get anything?" asked Cecil Wahrenberger, who said she voted for Brown because past councilwoman Toni Lawrence endorsed her. "The work's not gonna get done."
But that's misunderstanding what Brown's trying to do. She is getting work done, just in a peculiar fashion. Her votes are indeed meaningless in the context of practical accomplishment, but they have been successful in channeling a greater, national anger among conservatives. She considers spending terrifying and taxation abhorrent, if not an outright sin. So with the unequivocal morality of an evangelical, she's set out on a crusade to eradicate both from Houston, though she fails time and again.
And that's purchased some modicum of admiration. One of Brown's employees who's been with her since the beginning said: "I have respect for her. She is one of the only ones making us aware of certain problems." Paul Kubosh, the local activist who spearheaded the red-light camera campaign against the mayor, donated $2,000 to Brown's campaign, saying he likes her audacity, and adding, "We need more warriors out there."
Last week, during a lunch break at the City Council's budget amendment meeting, while the other Council members ate with each other, Brown sat by herself, phone in her hands. She was slated to propose her one dozen amendments after the break. The amendments encapsulated her larger platform, providing a glimpse into Brown's perfect world.
In this alternate Houston, our ambulances would be run by private companies and taxpayers would no longer fund emergency services. In this Houston, the city would force Harris County to do all of our criminal investigations — for free. In this Houston, the city would default on $220 million in pension obligations to save the metropolis from bankruptcy, which Brown is positive will likely occur sometime next year.
For a moment, watching Brown submit amendment after amendment to the legislative slaughter — 16-1, 16-1, 16-1 — she seemed almost a tragic figure. During the meeting, other council members made fun of her, snickered among themselves or groaned in exasperation while she presented her amendments. It was deeply embarrassing.
When Brown was done and there was another break, the other members of City Council chortled among themselves or joked with reporters.
Brown, meanwhile, again sat by herself, isolated. Then she picked up her phone and began talking with someone. No one knew who.
terrence.mccoy@houstonpress.com
