At-Large Position 5
About the Council Member
Sallie Alcorn was first elected in December 2019 and is currently serving her second term on Houston City Council. As an at-large council member, she works on broad policy issues – city finances, public safety, flood mitigation, transportation, mobility, environment, and parks and greenspace.
In her first term, Sallie advocated for outcome-based budgeting, a form of budgeting which ties spending to public priorities and departmental performance measures. She pushed for efficiencies and measures to address the city’s structural deficit including retiree health benefit reforms and funding for deferred maintenance of city facilities. In 2020, she launched the city’s first annual budget survey, YOUR TWO CENTS, aimed at increasing resident engagement and input in the city’s budgeting process. She now serves as chair of the city’s Budget and Fiscal Affairs Committee.
Sallie previously chaired the Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, where she led the charge to revise and strengthen Houston’s animal welfare and noise ordinances. She has brought attention to problems and delays at city permitting and remains committed to streamlining processes to shorten permit wait times. Sallie also initiated the city’s first-ever food waste drop off/composting pilot program to give Houstonians the option to divert waste from municipal landfills.
Sallie represents the city on regional issues as chair of the Houston-Galveston Area Council board and as a board member on the region’s Transportation Policy Council.
Prior to running for office, Sallie was a longtime City Hall staffer. She served three council members and also worked in the city’s flood recovery office. As chief of staff to the chair of the budget and fiscal affairs committee, Sallie learned to navigate the city’s complex budget. She helped develop the city’s comprehensive financial policies and orchestrated five years of budget hearings. She was heavily involved in initial Harvey recovery efforts and obtained grant funding to advance green stormwater infrastructure initiatives. She assembled and managed a task force to tackle redevelopment and flooding policies, spearheaded the city’s Adopt-A-Drain Program, and worked with council members to identify neighborhood drainage projects.
Sallie has a long history of serving her community. She has worked with offenders as a volunteer facilitator for Bridges to Life, a restorative justice prison program aimed at reducing recidivism rates. She is on the advisory board of the San Jose Clinic and the Houston Maritime Center and Museum. Sallie previously served on the boards of Holocaust Museum Houston and the Houston READ Commission. Sallie has chaired events and raised funds for the Holocaust Museum, the Women’s Fund, the Children’s Museum, the READ Commission, and the Contemporary Arts Museum. She also served for many years as a parent volunteer at her children’s schools. Sallie is a longtime member of St. Michael the Archangel Catholic Church.
