As Mayor, my administration will be proactive, work with the Controller, and continuously monitor city finances to ensure that we never again find ourselves operating in financial panic mode.

All good managers know that if you really want to save money, listen to those actually doing the job—the employees. With creativity, common sense, and preparedness, balancing the city budget shouldn’t require layoffs, furloughs, and cuts in city services. In fact, by simply being available and listening to city employees I’ve already netted a number of common sense, money saving ideas.

Listening will not be restricted to city employees.  My administration will encourage input from all Houstonians, including the many successful Houston area business leaders. One never knows who will have the next million dollar savings idea.

Decisions will be made based on doing what's right for the citizens of Houston, not political favors, paybacks, or getting reelected.