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Houston City Council

Houston City Council
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor
Mayor Pro-tempore
Martha Castex-Tatum (D)
Vice Mayor Pro-tempore
Amy Peck (R)
Structure
Seats16
Political groups
officially nonpartisan
Majority
  •   Democratic (10)

Minority

Meeting place
Council Room
Houston City Hall
The Houston City Hall Annex in Downtown Houston houses the Administrative Office of City Council (AOCC)
District map of the council in effect from 2014 until 2023 (top) and district map to be in effect from the 2023 election (bottom)[1][2]

The Houston City Council is a city council for the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas.

The Council has sixteen members: eleven from council districts and five elected at-large. The members of the Council are elected every four years, with the most recent election being held in 2023 and the next being held in 2027. All positions are up for re-election at the same time. Council Members are limited to two terms of four years.[3] Under the current city charter, if the population in the city limits went past 2.1 million residents, the previous nine-member city council districts would be expanded with the addition of two city council districts.[4] Since the threshold was passed, the city created two new districts.[5]

The Council works with the mayor in a strong mayor-council model. The City Council monitors the performance of city agencies, confirm the mayor's appointments, and makes land use decisions as well as legislating on a variety of other issues.

The Mayor chairs meetings of City Council and has a vote in the proceedings in all cases. In the event of the Mayor's absence, the Mayor Pro-Tem, a member of the Council chosen for the position by the mayor, presides over Council meetings. Should both the Mayor and Mayor Pro-Tem be unavailable, the Vice Mayor Pro-Tem, chosen for the position by fellow Council Members, will preside.

City Council and the Administrative Office of City Council (AOCC), a division of the Finance Department which serves administrative duties for the council, are housed in the City Hall Annex in Downtown Houston.[6]

  1. ^ "On the surface, Houston's proposed city council maps barely budge, but the ground is shifting | Kinder Institute for Urban Research". Kinder Institute for Urban Research | Rice University. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  2. ^ Cheng, Yilun (2022-10-12). "Houston approves city council redistricting plan for 2023 elections". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-10-15.
  3. ^ "Houston City Council". City of Houston. 2016-01-02. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  4. ^ Matt Stiles (2006-08-10). "City Council may grow by two seats, Houston Chronicle". chron.com. Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  5. ^ Foster, Robin. "Candidates' forum offers reminder about new districts election: Fourm [sic] provides feedback Candidates' forum offers reminder about new districts." Houston Chronicle. Tuesday September 20, 2011. Retrieved on November 5, 2011.
  6. ^ "Administrative Office of City Council." City of Houston. Retrieved on January 8, 2011. "Administrative Office of City Council City Hall Annex 900 Bagby, 1st Floor Houston, TX 77002"