Kingwood Voters Drove Successful Passage Of Flood Control Bond

HOUSTON, TX -- The $2.5 billion flood control bond that passed overwhelmingly was decided by those voters living in areas most widely affected by the flooding from Hurricane Harvey. The measure passed despite a woefully low voter turnout.

Harris County officials canvassed the ballots from early voting and ballots cast on Aug. 25 and determined that five of the voting precincts with the highest voter turnout were in Kingwood.

Kingwood resident and businessman Bob Rehak shared his enthusiasm on his website on Wednesday.

"Long-passive Kingwood voters have awoken and become a political force," Rehak said.

Kingwood voters turned out at a rate of 16.97 percent compared to a 6.69 percent voting total for all of Harris County.

Residents in Kingwood and Humble were among the hardest hit with the San Jacinto River, Lake Houston, Cypress Creek, and Spring Creek all cresting their banks and flooding area neighborhoods and businesses as Harvey dumped 51 inches of rain over the Houston area.

The floodwaters from the San Jacinto River washed sewage into several buildings at Lone Star College-Kingwood damaging equipment and supplies.

Kingwood High School was also flooded with five feet of floodwaters and sewage that destroyed school instruments and athletic equipment. The flooding forced Kingwood High School students to share space at nearby Summer Creek High School through much of the school year.

While most precincts in Harris County recorded single-digit statistics for voter turn out, five of the eight reporting precincts in Kingwood had double-digit voter turnout.

Rehak said the canvassing revealed that those in Kingwood who live closer to the river were among the highest percentage of voters. It also revealed that Kingwood residents who weren't flooded also voted for the bond in higher numbers than other precincts in Harris County.

"This tells me that even after Harvey, Kingwood residents still feel a fierce loyalty to their community," Rehak said. "We know we live in one of the greatest communities in the country and we will fight to protect it."

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