HOUSTON — Democrat Chris Hollins bowed out of the race for Houston mayor Thursday and announced he'll run for city controller instead.
Hollins, who made a name for himself as Harris County Clerk during the contentious 2020 election, told supporters he will focus on issues that he believes are most important to Houstonians.
“The challenges that we face as a city are real: guns on our streets at an all-time high; affordability in our neighborhoods at an all-time low; and politicians in Austin, like Greg Abbott, who couldn’t care less, have been focusing on banning books, on taking over our schools, on attacking reproductive rights, on sabotaging free and fair elections," Hollins said.
He has big dreams for Houston and if he's elected Houston's chief financial officer, Hollins vowed to focus on issues like public safety and the local economy.
“We have the potential to become the safest major city in America, we have the potential to have the strongest local economy, one that works for all of our residents,” Hollins said. “But to achieve that we need more investments in infrastructure and critical services, not less, and we need a city government that is both effective and efficient in fighting for the needs of Houstonians.”
Hollins announced in Feb. that he would run to replace outgoing Mayor Sylvester Turner but the field became more crowded in recent weeks with big names, including U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and longtime State Sen. John Whitmire.
“Now I believe that I was called to serve this city, but my faith is telling me that a calling is bigger than any particular position or office,” Hollins said. “It’s not about any one person but instead about the role that we each can play to help the city we call home to reap the promise that lies ahead.”
He stopped short of endorsing Jackson Lee.
“Look, I think she would make a fine mayor and I’ve told her, face-to-face, that I wish her the absolute best,” Hollins said.
Hollins will face Mayor Pro-tem Dave Martin, At-large Councilmember Michael Kubosh, Orlando Sanchez and Shannan Nobles, who works in the controller's office.
Who is Chris Hollins?
Hollins is an attorney who had never held public office until he was elected county clerk.
His innovations included drive-thru voting, 24-hour voting, online mail ballot tracking, and tripling the number of early voting centers, all of which led to record voter turnout in 2020 despite the ongoing global pandemic.
According to his bio, Hollins is a fourth-generation Houstonian whose father was a Houston police officer for more than 3 decades. Hollins' parents raised three children and took in more than 20 foster kids.