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Home » About Norwich » SGS Today »
News Article
Noel Freeman speaks with a constituent at a campaign "Meet and Greet" event [photo courtesy of Noel Freeman].
Public administration graduate runs for Houston city council seat
by Gary E. Frank, correspondent
© July 31, 2009 Norwich University Office of Communications
Instead of fighting city hall, Noel Freeman wants to change it from the inside.
That's why the transplanted California native, a 2009 graduate of Norwich University's Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, is running for one of five at-large seats on the city council of Houston, Tex., the fourth-largest city in the United States.
"I've seen a lot of the things we've fallen behind on and I've tried personally to lobby members of the council and the mayor's office to try to accomplish the things I think we need to get done," Freeman said. "There's a point where you can't beat your head against that wall any longer and you've got to do something about it."
Freeman felt that the only way he could make that difference was to run for city council himself and become "one of those leaders who can make the decisions that need to be made."
The 32-year-old Air Force veteran has an insider's view of the workings of Houston's municipal government, having worked for the city since 2004. Freeman started in the customer service branch of the Public Works and Engineering Department, investigating and resolving complaints. He is currently an administrative specialist for the Office of the City Engineer. Not surprisingly, Freeman has extensive knowledge of Houston's infrastructure and understands the public's concerns about economic development.
While the global economic crisis hasn't hit Houston as hard as other major cities, the recession has had a severe impact on property- and sales-tax revenue. Freeman believes improving and updating Houston's infrastructure can provide jobs and attract businesses that would diversify and "balance" the local economy, which is dominated by the energy industry.
Travis Sheive, Freeman's campaign manager, said that the city's flooding and drainage systems are in need of critical attention because of Houston's geographic proximity to the Gulf of Mexico, which together with its humid, subtropical climate makes hurricanes an annual concern.
"It's our Number 1 priority and it's great to have a candidate who knows those issues backwards and forwards," said Sheive.
Since officially launching his campaign in January, Freeman estimates he has made more than 2,000 phone calls to leaders of different civic associations and political groups and, of course, to raise money.
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“There's a point where you can't beat your head against that wall any longer and you've got to do something about it.”
— Noel Freeman |
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In order to be elected to an at-large council seat, Freeman will have to garner between 115,000 and 120,000 votes. Block-by-block campaigning isn't practical to reach that many voters in a city spread across more than 600 square miles. Success requires buying time and space in the mass media, and that requires money. As of mid-July, Freeman had raised nearly $36,000 from 175 donors.
After his Air Force service, Freeman enrolled at Texas A&M University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science and served as a cadet squadron commander and special assistant to the commandant of the Texas Aggie Corps of Cadets. He confesses that his academic performance suffered because of time devoted to his corps duties.
"Two years ago, if you had asked me if I was going to graduate school I would have said 'Absolutely not,'" said Freeman.
But an advertisement on CNN's website about Norwich University's School of Graduate Studies caught his attention.
"I knew that Norwich and Texas A&M were sister universities because of their corps of cadets," he explained. "I wanted to be able to take my career to the next level and felt getting a master's in public administration was the best way to do that."
But working full-time while running for office and working on his degree often led to "hellish days" that started at 6 a.m. and often didn't end until nearly 3 a.m. the next day.
MPA Program Director Donal Hartman complimented Freeman's focus in tackling his studies while pursuing so many other goals.
"He epitomizes what Alden Partridge was after in founding Norwich," said Hartman. "Noel is putting his leadership into practice. The program is about challenging our students and he certainly demonstrates that he could achieve his goals through using a lot of discipline."
Heading into the final stretch of the campaign for the Nov. 3, 2009, municipal election, Freeman plans to take a two-month, unpaid leave from his job to campaign full-time.
"If I didn't believe in Houston, if I didn't [believe] in the message I'm trying to get out there, if I didn't believe in what I want to accomplish for the city, I wouldn't be doing this," said Freeman.
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