Image Credit: Courtesy of Hiebert Photography
Andy Teas has been the Vice President of Public Affairs for the Houston Apartment Association for 26 years. NAA caught up with Andy to discuss how he got involved in politics, the city of Houston’s elections and his dream of biking across the West Coast.
NAA: What are your association’s local legislative/regulatory priorities for 2016?
AT: Houston, a strong-mayor form of government, will be dealing with a new mayor next year. We also face critical elections for state legislature and Congress, as well as in key judicial races.
NAA: What are your local officials concentrating on in general?
AT: Houston, like many cities, has underestimated its municipal pension liability and infrastructure maintenance costs, even as growth continues to outpace most other cities. Houston is expected to pass Chicago later in this decade as the nation’s third largest city. Accommodating that growth with pro-business tax and regulatory policies will be a tremendous challenge.
NAA: How did you get involved in politics?
AT: A friend recruited me as a campaign volunteer for a neighbor who was running for reelection to the state senate. I had such a great time, I kept showing up to help until the senator found out I was starting college at the University of Texas (which is five blocks from the State Capitol) and offered me a part-time job.
NAA: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
AT: The most challenging aspect is probably dealing with building codes – always a challenge for liberal arts majors.
NAA: What are the top three issues that association members consistently throw at you?
AT: 1) City inspection issues, 2) Fair Housing concerns, and 3) Landlord/tenant issues like eviction.
NAA: What are your typical day-to-day responsibilities?
AT: “Lobbyist” is a really hard job to explain. I tell people the key is showing up and monitoring all those boring committee meetings that other interest groups skip. Even if nothing comes up that directly affects the apartment industry, elected officials and staffers see you there, and there’s a subliminal message: “The apartment industry is paying attention to what you’re doing…” that stays with them.
One of the best parts of my job is that there is almost no typical day. Every day is different.
NAA: What do you think are the biggest threats to the industry?
AT: This is only my private opinion, but I believe Fair Housing is in danger of shifting from its original goal of protecting people from discrimination to a much broader program of social engineering. “Disparate impact,” the idea that you can be guilty of discrimination for something you did or didn’t do with no discriminatory intent, may be just the beginning.
Ex-offender housing will only become a bigger issue. There are nearly six million people in the United States with felony convictions, and the ability to know who they are increases with every new wave of technology. They all have to live somewhere. The gap between an owner’s duty not to put residents (or his investors’ asset) at risk and a larger social duty to allow former offenders to reintegrate into society will continue to be difficult to reconcile.
NAA: What is your current “hot” project?
AT: All my projects are hot! Seriously, we have nine City of Houston races going to a December runoff election. There is likely to be an abysmally small voter turnout, and some major public policy directions at stake.
NAA: What is your favorite non-political movie?
AT: The Godfather.
NAA: Who do you follow on Twitter?
AT: Friends, politicians…. My current favorite is @ChuckFnStrong, which is NOT the actual twitter account for UT’s head football coach.
NAA: What do you do during your down time?
AT: I teach a government class at Houston Community College.
NAA: What was your first job?
AT: Parking lot attendant at the Houston Astrodome – Eighth Wonder of the World.
NAA: What is on your Bucket list?
AT: I would like to bike the entire West Coast.
NAA: What is the best advice you've ever received?
AT: You don’t actually chew tobacco, right? You really want to spit that out right now…
NAA: Is there anything else about your job, association or personal bit of information that you would like your colleagues across the country to know about?
AT: I’m not that fast, but I can ride my bike a really long way.