He’s famous as Geto Boys rapper Scarface, but the man born Brad Jordan is ready to step into a new role: councilman of District D in his hometown of Houston.
Jordan’s campaign has been successful enough that he’s in a runoff with Dr. Carolyn Evans-Shabazz this Saturday (Dec. 14) for the council seat.
“You can sit back and point out the problems or you can address them and bring solutions to the table,” Jordan told AP regarding his political aspirations. The district is a primarily African-American area (53 percent), and covers the southern and southeastern area of Houston, representing approximately 200,000 people.
“I’ve been thinking about it since [2017]. This is gonna be my start in politics,” Jordan told FADER earlier this year. “I wanted to get my legs up under before I run for governor, before I run for mayor. I wanna take it upon myself to fix the situation. I think I have some new, fresh ideas. I think that the traditional way of doing politics is over now. Let’s come up with some real solutions. Let’s serve the underserved. That’s where I’m at right now.”
When pressed about what he would work on in District D if given the opportunity, the former rapper said he wants to lean into crime prevention.
“Let’s put a gangland initiative in place. Let’s make the neighborhood safer for the elderly, and everybody,” he stressed. “Let’s advocate for harsher penalties for people who commit crimes against seniors. Let’s get rid of the illegal dumping. Let’s fix the drainage problem. Let’s talk about the potholes. Why have we not fixed these potholes?” he added, echoing the sentiments of many Americans around the country.”
“My belief is that City Council is not a training ground, it’s a proving ground. I’ve already proven my record,” countered his opponent, Evans-Shabazz, who currently sits on the Houston Community College Board of Trustees and the executive committee of the local NAACP.
While both have been actively campaigning for the seat, it’s a friendly competition. Evans-Shabazz’s husband, a rap fan, asked Jordan to take a selfie with him. “Everything’s cordial,” according to the artist formerly known as Scarface.
