Christel Bastida

Dr. Christel Bastida is running for Houston City Council, At-Large, Position 4. She is a scientist and a mom, a community organizer and a Latina. Dr. Christel is running because she believes that every Houstonian deserves a great quality of life, opportunities for growth, and a voice.

Dr. Christel earned her doctorate in neuroscience in 2011, and has also worked in the fields of cancer medicine, reconstructive surgery, and community health.

But before her research career, she grew up poor in Aldine, moving from apartment to apartment. Her family later moved to the Heights where she spent most of her childhood. She did not grow up with many advantages. Her parents were not college educated and she did not always have a lot to eat. The one advantage that she did have was access to a high-quality public education in HISD, then at the University of Texas at Austin. Her access to a great education allowed her the opportunity to choose a career that her parents never dreamed was a possibility for her.

After earning her doctorate, Dr. Christel eventually moved back to the Heights but could not afford to stay in the neighborhood she had grown up in due to rapid increases in housing cost. She chose to move to Northside, a predominantly Latino neighborhood that her family has lived in for several generations. In this small neighborhood north of downtown, despite people’s strong sense of community and family, there were also streets with no sidewalks, sewage along the roads, trash dumped in lots, children with no after school care, and parents with no real opportunity to support their families in a secure way. This is in stark contrast to other neighborhoods within the same district, less than 5 minutes away.

Dr. Christel is also the city’s most accessible council candidate. She hosts fun events for Houstonians every Friday night, live streams every week night to touch base with everyone (and to read children’s stories and a book series to Houstonians, per their request), and encourages Houstonians to make a phone appointment with her through her calendly link. Even her push cards are an invitation from her to city residents to keep connected with her via social media, with all of her handles on back. Her cards also include a QR code that links to voter registration information and will later link to polling places for the convenience of Houstonians looking to vote this November.

Dr. Christel is the city council candidate who can move Houston toward its collective future together with a focus on integrity, innovation, and inclusion.

SUPPORT CHRISTEL HERE!