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Beginning April 20th, Thinkwing Radio will air on KPFT 90.1-HD2 on Sundays at 1PM, and will re-air on Mondays at 2PM and Wednesdays at 11AM. Thanks for listening!

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Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig (@ThinkwingRadio) is now on Sundays at 1PM and re-airs Monday at 2PM and Wednesday at 11AM (CT) on KPFT 90.1 FM-HD2, Houston’s Community Media. You can also hear the show:

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The views expressed in this program belong solely to the persons expressing them and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Thinkwing Radio, KPFT, or the Pacifica Foundation.

Bonus Content: Extended interview with Dr. Rev. Robert Smith and Arshia Papari diving deeper into Gaza and what the Green Party can do for Texas—click here

The people of the US find themselves more and more often in crisis. An aspiring autocrat in the White House using the military to make the implicit threats upholding our society explicit for millions of people on both the East and West Coasts. The owning class wielding their money as power to bend the government to their will, and by extension, bend the rest of us over. Hatred and paranoia at our fellow human beings powering the biggest electoral wins and stock price gains. Conservatives demand to defend family values. Liberals call to restore civility. But if you listen closely and tune out the noise, you may hear a calmer, clearer voice trying to identify the problems we face and make their case to fix them. That’s how some supporters describe the Green Party of the United States. This week, I’m glad to be joined by Dr. Reverend Robert Smith, potential Green Party candidate to represent Texas in the US Senate, and Arshia Papari, potential Green Party candidate for Texas House District 49.

Introduction questions

Who are you, and where are you from?

What office are you running for? Do you hold a position in the Green Party of Texas or the GPUS?

Why are you running for office?/As a party official, why are you a Green?

Today’s article and commentary

On Thinkwing, we try to bring attention to stories and issues that our listeners may have missed, especially local issues which usually have the biggest impact on our day to day lives. Let’s start with an article about an issue local to our Houston-area listeners, then we’ll talk about local issues affecting your races. 

Annual survey finds there are more than 3,000 homeless people in the Houston region, by Kevin Vu, from Community Impact

The Coalition for the Homeless of Houston/Harris County‘s annual point-in-time survey shows [that] homelessness in the Houston area remains steady, but there has been a jump in chronic homelessness compared to last year. …

The coalition found that there were 3,325 homeless individuals in the region [on the night of January 27th, 2025], [which is] 45 more compared to last year, according to the report. …

Compared to the national level, which has been climbing annually, Houston’s homeless population remains steady, due in part to a [quote] “consistent response system” to addressing homelessness, [according to] Kelly Young, the coalition’s president and CEO…

Despite the stability, the region has seen a 16% increase in unsheltered homeless individuals. Young said the rise in unsheltered homelessness compared to last year is because of reduced shelter capacity in 2024.

Additionally, the region also saw 44% of its unsheltered population experiencing chronic homelessness, defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development[, or HUD] as someone who has been homeless for at least 12 months while struggling with a disability. This is an increase from 29% last year.

…Young said[,] “You could have a group of individuals who, the last couple of years, didn’t meet the HUD requirement of what is considered [chronic]. Now they’re moving into that [because] they’re on the street longer.”

Ben King, a clinical assistant professor [at] the University of Houston… who analyzed the […] data, said […] that rising chronicity suggests that there are individuals who are unable to be rapidly rehoused.

The results come as Houston continues to find funding for its $70 million-a-year plan to eliminate street homelessness. Mike Nichols, the director of the Houston Housing and Community Development Department, said […] that […] for the city to achieve its goal of eliminating homelessness, the efforts must be sustainable, with or without federal funding.

The city has so far received nearly $37 million in funding from sources such as Houston First, Houston Downtown Management District, METRO and local dollars, according to a June 16[th] housing and affordability committee meeting.

In July, the city expanded [an existing] civility ordinance, banning sleeping and lying in public spaces [at all times of the day] in Houston’s downtown and East End areas. [Violators can face a Class C misdemeanor and a maximum fine of five hundred dollars.] Larry Satterwhite, director of the city’s Public Safety and Homeland Security, said in July that the city is starting at the downtown and East End areas first because it’s historically a concentrated area, a hub for homeless individuals and a part of the city where there are enough resources to offer.

However, some [city] council members [voiced concerns during an August 27th meeting.] Tiffany Thomas[ reported] her constituents [..] saw homeless individuals who weren’t there previously. She said she’s worried the civility ordinance expansion has started pushing unhoused individuals to other parts of the city.

Thao Costis, the executive director of Harris County Housing & Community Development, said [that other strategies the county is using include i]nvesting $8 million over the next two years to provide eviction protections [and i]ncreasing housing through multifamily rentals and single-family homes.

ANDREW: In my view, while it’s good that the local houseless population isn’t increasing rapidly, the graphs in the article (available on the latest blog post at thinkwingradio dot com) do show a slight increase from the last two years. Now, there’s about 650 fewer folks on the streets today since 2020, so progress has been made, but the figures do suggest more action is required to get people the help they need. And outlawing lying down in public doesn’t seem like “help” anyone needs.

If there’s one thing that US homelessness policy shows, it’s that outlawing being houseless doesn’t get people into housing, or jobs if they’re also unemployed. The best case scenario is that someone moves into a shelter, but that’s no guarantee of successfully finding a home, plus getting slapped with a fine along the way like Houston’s “civility” ordinance does just forces people who already don’t have much to make do with less. The worst case scenario can mean being arrested or killed by police, depending on how short the officer’s fuse is that day.

As some residents are finding out first hand, criminalizing survival also often just pushes people around to other communities. “Out of sight, out of mind” does not make good public policy.

So what should Houston and Harris County be doing? Well, for starters, this “civility” ordinance shouldn’t say anything about people simply lying down or sleeping in public. Really, it shouldn’t outlaw anything that doesn’t endanger other people, but there’s already a state law banning camping and we have to start somewhere. 

Secondly, money needs moving. Unsurprisingly, the lion’s share of Houston’s 2025 city budget is going to the police, at nearly one-point-zero-five billion dollars. The budget for Housing and Community Development, the department responsible for homelessness, comes to one-point-six million. A pound of cure may be worth an ounce of prevention, but this is ridiculous.

The solution to homelessness is to house people. Quite literally every other goal—getting a job, overcoming addiction, living with disability, et cetera—is far easier when you have a stable place to sleep at night and (something people don’t think about) somewhere to get mail. Even if all seventy million of the plan yearly was dedicated to building new or seizing empty housing to put people in, I doubt that could overtake the number of new houseless people year over year. More tax funding is necessary, and it should come from our bloated punishment budget. 

Unfortunately, actually reducing police funding means the supposedly-local-loving yokels in state government get to come in and cut city revenue, or require an election if counties do it. So until that onerous House Bill 1900 gets repealed, the city’s only option may be to send all new money towards social services, including housing first programs. That’s if they actually want to solve problems and help people instead of just hiding them.

State and local issue questions

What are the biggest issues in your particular race? How important do you think these issues are to the outcome of your race?

If elected, what issues do you personally want to address the most?

Democracy questions
We’re going to move to some group questions now. Some of these, I’d like to hear distinct perspectives from each of you, but don’t be afraid to build on or contrast from what each other say in your own answers.

Do you think voters have a responsibility to know all of their options, or do you think third parties and independent candidates have a responsibility to make voters want to research them? Why?

Do you think US election law treats third party and independent candidates fairly? Is Texas different in this regard? What changes would you push for at the state and federal levels, if any?

Some argue that third parties should focus on local elections to build support before running for office at the state and federal levels. Do you think this strategy is viable for the Green Party? Why or why not?

If every Green candidate in Texas running in this election cycle won, what do you think the chances would be of a Green agenda making progress in our state? Do you think this would be different for the Libertarians? How about the Democrats?

National issue questions
2024 Green Vice Presidential candidate Dr. Butch Ware had a difficult interview at the tail end of the election, in which he appeared to state beliefs that directly contradicted the national party platform on transgender equality and abortion rights. He maintains that the interview was edited to misrepresent him, and that he is working with the party’s LGBT and women’s caucuses to challenge and refine his views on these issues. How important do you think it is for candidates of a party to agree with the party platform? How should differences be handled? Are there any issues where you disagree with the Green Party national platform? How about the state platform?

Do you think the current US political system is able to withstand the kind of reactionary strongman politics that Donald Trump and the politicians following him play? What role does the Green Party have to play in keeping his faction from taking total control of the country?

Bonus content questions
Welcome to the bonus content for the September 14th, 2025 episode of Thinkwing Radio! I’m Andrew Ferguson, sitting in for Mike Honig. These questions were cut for time from the interview I did with Dr. Reverend Robert Smith, potential Green Party candidate for US Senate, and Arshia Papari, potential Green candidate for Texas House District 49. For more information, visit their websites at www dot r o smith number 4 senate dot com and www dot a r s h i a f o r texas dot org. 

Introduction
What do you think the Green Party can do for Texas?

National
What issue do you think the people of the United States are hurting from the most? What policies would you support to address it?

International
What is the biggest international issue for the Green Party?

The Green Party recognizes the situation in Gaza as a genocide. Why?

What role has the US played in the Gaza genocide, and what role would the Green Party like the US to play in stopping it?

What is the Green Party’s response to the position that Jewish people need a Jewish state to keep them safe from persecution or another genocide like the Holocaust?

What do you think is the other biggest international issue that voters should consider?

You’ve been listening to Thinkwing Radio with Mike Honig from KPFT Houston 90.1-HD2, Galveston 89.5-HD2, and Huntsville 91.9-HD2. We are Houston’s Community Media. I hope you’ve enjoyed the show and found it interesting, and I hope you’ll come back to spend time with Mike, who will return next week. This has been Andrew Ferguson sitting in for Mike Honig. Y’all take care.

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1. Make sure you are registered to vote! VoteTexas.GOV – Texas Voter Information
   1. It’s time to snail-mail (no emails or faxes) in your application for mail-ballots, IF you qualify TEXAS SoS VOTE-BY-MAIL BALLOT APPLICATION (ALL TEXAS COUNTIES) HarrisVotes.com­ – Countywide Voting Centers, (Election Information Line (713) 755-6965), Harris County Clerk
   2. Obtain a Voter Registration Application (HarrisVotes.com)
   3. Harris County “Vote-By-Mail’ Application for 2023
      1. Austin County Elections
      2. Brazoria County (TX) Clerk Election Information
      3. Chambers County (TX) Elections
      4. Colorado County (TX) Elections
      5. Fort Bend County takes you to the proper link
      6. GalvestonVotes.org (Galveston County, TX)
      7. Harris County ((HarrisVotes.com)
      8. LibertyElections (Liberty County, TX)
      9. Montgomery County (TX) Elections
      10. Walker County Elections
      11. Waller County (TX) Elections
      12. Wharton County Elections
   4. For personalized, nonpartisan voter guides and information, Consider visiting Vote.ORG.   Ballotpedia.com and Texas League of Women Voters are also good places to get election info.
   5. If you are denied your right to vote any place at any time at any polling place for any reason, ask for (or demand) a provisional ballot rather than lose your vote.
   6. HarrisVotes.com – Countywide Voting Centers, HARRIS COUNTY – IDENTIFICATION REQUIRED FOR VOTING: Do not possess and cannot reasonably obtain one of these IDs?
      1. Fill out a declaration at the polls describing a reasonable impediment to obtaining it, and show a copy or original of one of the following supporting forms of ID:
      2. A government document that shows your name and an address, including your voter registration certificate
      3. Current utility bill
      4. Bank statement
      5. Government check
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      7. A certified domestic (from a U.S. state or territory) birth certificate or (b) a document confirming birth admissible in a court of law which establishes your identity (which may include a foreign birth document)
      8. You may vote early by-mail if:You are registered to vote and meet one of the following criteria:
         1. Away from the county of residence on Election Day and during the early voting period;
         2. Sick or disabled;
         3. 65 years of age or older on Election Day; or
         4. Confined in jail, but eligible to vote.
         5. Make sure you are registered:
         6. Ann Harris Bennett, Tax Assessor-Collector & Voter Registrar
         7. CHECK REGISTRATION STATUS HERE
         8. CLICK How to register to vote in Texas
         9. Outside Texas, try Vote.org.
2. BE REGISTERED TO VOTE, and if eligible, REMEMBER TO FILL OUT AND MAIL NEW MAIL-IN BALLOT APPLICATIONS FOR 2023.
   1. Obtain a Voter Registration Application (HarrisVotes.com)
   2. Just be registered and apply for your mail-in ballot if you may qualify.
   3. You can track your Mail Ballot Activity from our website with direct link provided here https://www.harrisvotes.com/Tracking

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