Dear Mayor Owen,

I wanted to take a moment to write to you and those who support you on council and in Houston to let you know how much we appreciate the support of the many friends and neighbors we have made here in Missouri City and Sienna Plantation over the last two years.

We have come to know and grow fond of so many residents/citizens here over our brief time here after following the advertisements, listening to the sales pitches and moving here from the city. It’s been a great escape from “metropolitan life,” at least for a little while.

Often it is said that you learn who your real friends are in the trenches and I’m sure that applies in our case (yours too). Through our numerous visits to city council and articles in the local media we feel as if we have come to know the area and its politics so much better than when we first moved out here.

I guess we were searching for Mayberry but found something else. I remember listening to one speaker in particular at a city council session, Mr. Malone, who stands out in my mind. He talked about how “government was created to serve people and not the other way around.” Those words have stuck over the months and I think they characterize my feelings about the current development situation locally.

As my family’s funds are drained, as targets defending in this “SLAPP” (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation) case by your Houston backers/friends, when we, with thousands of others, opposed a second grouping of up to 1800 additional apartment units (above the “up to” 900 units already slated here), coming to our neighborhood, we’ve come to realize what really matters in life - family, friends and participation in the public life and well-being of our community.

That is why I would like to encourage the warm and wonderful people we have met to get active in the local government. Last year I sent a letter to the editor before another cancelled city election to encourage people to get out and vote and would like to offer that here again. A 4-5% turn-out of registered voters leads to rule by the few and often actions like the ones being taken in our case. We won’t be discouraged by the process being used against us that will eventually cost us our life savings, retirement, kids college (well on our way now) and our first home of two years, after 20 years of renting and saving for it, perhaps even more too.

As many have advised us, when handed lemons, well you know the rest Mr. Mayor. So what we will do, once everything is gone, is rent in Missouri City and cross that magical curvy line from the ETJ into the city limits that allows us a voice again. Being your neighbor may prove interesting. Who knows if we can’t find Mayberry, then maybe with the help of other citizens/residents we can create it.

Thank you for your time,

Dr. Chris Calvin
Sienna Plantation

Dr. Chris Calvin
Sienna Plantation