Council Votes 7-0 on H-GAC Appointments, Mayor Left Off Slate

Council Votes 7-0 on H-GAC Appointments, Mayor Left Off SlatePearland City Council voted 7-0 on October 26 to choose who will represent the city on the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) in 2027. The vote came after a long debate over whether Mayor Quentin Wiltz should receive one of the regional seats. Wiltz argued that he should get the same opportunities given to past mayors. He pointed to his business background, community service, and relationships with regional leaders. He also asked council to explain exactly which skills they were judging and to apply those standards fairly.Several councilmembers disagreed. Councilmember Clint Byrom said past mayors who held these roles had years of city government experience first, and he had encouraged Wiltz to spend his first year learning the job. Councilmember Tommy Echols worried that more duties could cause scheduling problems, pointing to events he said the mayor had missed. Mayor Pro Tem Mona Chavarria noted she had delivered 10 proclamations for the mayor when he was unavailable. Councilmember Rushi Patel said the choice belonged to council, just as the mayor makes his own picks for the finance and audit committee. Councilmember Joseph Koza criticized Wiltz for contacting H-GAC staff directly to nominate himself for an open Transportation Policy Council seat after council had delayed the decision. City Manager Trent Epperson had then asked H-GAC to wait for council to act.Wiltz responded that Koza's timeline left out an August 10 meeting, when council considered rule changes he said had not been shared with him beforehand, including one about the mayor's power to call special meetings. Byrom denied that council tried to get around the city charter, and the city attorney explained that any rules conflicting with the charter could not be enforced. By the end, Wiltz acknowledged that the decision was council's to make. Patel proposed the final slate and Echols seconded it. Byrom and Rick Fernandez will serve on the General Assembly, Byrom will sit on the Board of Directors, and Epperson will serve on the Transportation Policy Council. Koza, Chavarria, Fernandez, and Lorenzo Wingate were named alternates.