HOUSTON — Nearly half of Houston's population is now Hispanic. Still, somehow only 1 out of 16 Houston City Council members are Latino. LULAC says that's a problem no longer acceptable to the Hispanic community.
"This is long overdue, we can no longer remain silent," said Dr. Sergio Lira with LULAC.
LULAC is a Latino Civil Rights organization. It says the 2020 census proved Hispanics are an even bigger and growing majority now in Houston.
"It just doesn't make sense that the numbers are going up and representation is going down," said Lira.
Despite the increase, Council Member Robert Gallegos remains the lone Hispanic on City Council.
"Here we have only one person so something is wrong," said Agustin Pinedo with LULAC.
So the group is calling for change. They're focusing on Houston's 5 At-large council member positions. They want to eliminate all 5 At-Large seats and create four new districts to allow for more Hispanic representation.
"This is the beginning of a wave, a tsunami that's happening," said Lira.
Council Member Mike Knox currently sits in at-large position 1.
"What this is is more identity politics," said Knox.
He's not on board with what LULAC's calling for.
"A Hispanic person can run for at-large seats and win. There's no reason they can't," said Knox.
Council Member Michael Kubosh in At-Large Position 3 and Council Member Letitia Plummer in At-Large Position 4 agree eliminating at-large seats is not the answer, increasing Hispanic voter turnout is.
Both council members added that their policy work is aimed at representing all groups, especially Houston's large Hispanic and Black populations.
LULAC says the Hispanic community wants more.
"I want my son or granddaughter to one day say hey we have a mayor that looks like us, that speaks our language, that knows our culture and fights for us," said Lira. "That's what I'm hoping for, and this is just the beginning."
Mayor Sylvester Turner's office says he has been invited by LULAC to meet about this issue, but that meeting and discussion have not yet taken place.