2 candidates for city controller talk with ABC13 ahead of runoff: 'Go back to the drawing board'

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- The City of Houston's chief financial officer is on the ballot for the December runoff. It's the job that helps keep the city's money in check, and two men are campaigning for the job: Chris Hollins and Orlando Sanchez are both on the ballot.

Hollins says his role is to help the city stay on the right financial track.

"We have to go back to the drawing board and make sure that we're seizing every opportunity to be efficient, to be a good steward of taxpayer dollars," Hollins told ABC13. "Our job is to be an independent watchdog, not a lap dog, but not an attack dog."

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Hollins entered the race for controller after leaving a crowded mayor's race and finished first in the general election earlier this month. He knows the race now is about turnout and convincing voters his vision for Houston's finances works.

"We're put in office by the voters so they know what's going on down at city hall," Hollins said. "So that they know how their money is being spent and that we're fighting every single day to make this a more efficient and effective city government for them, regardless of who the mayor is."

Sanchez is Hollins' opponent. He is a former city council member, mayoral candidate, and county treasurer who says the city needs better public safety and has to be creative in how it pays for it. He wants to create a public safety district with its voter-approved revenue stream.

"We have got to think outside the box," Sanchez said of his plan to fund more officers on the streets. "In the public safety district, we go from 5,200 Houston police officers to respond to priority one police calls to 13,200 officers. So the public safety district would allow any peace officer to respond to a priority call, and so we're essentially tripling the police force in Houston."

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Sanchez and Hollins are not political newcomers. Both understand the stakes of a runoff and how every vote makes a difference.

"We have to tackle the city's financial challenges," Hollins said. "We know that we are spending more money than is coming in, and we have to strike that balance to ensure we can provide important services like picking up trash, repairing roads, and keeping us safe to Houstonians in a way that's going to be fiscally sustainable going forward."

Sanchez said, "The biggest priority is to eliminate corruption, waste, fraud, and abuse at city hall. Whether it's the water billing, whether it's the airport, whether it's contracts, whether it's behind or under table deals, that's the first thing and conduct audits of every department."

Early voting runs through Dec. 5. Election Day is Dec. 9.

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