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Recently appointed Place 4 Columbus councilmember Renee Long shared her aspirations to tackle housing, feral cats and an aging community as an experienced nonprofit administrator.
Long accepted Mayor Lori An Gobert’s appointment to city council, Monday, Jan. 12. Long shared she already has a plan to tackle the new, unfamiliar position: listen and learn.
“I’m going to be cracking the books and doing some homework and try to figure out how things work here,” Long said. “I’m going to be observing a lot.”
Long brings over a decade of nonprofit leadership experience to her position. She currently serves as the board president of the Live Oak Art Center and previously as the fundraising director for Magnolia Little League and Ticket Services Committee Captain under the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Long also was involved with Junior Achievement and Girl Scouts.
“The most important thing I’ve learned is to listen to what people have to say, to really hear their concerns and take those seriously,” Long said. “… Hear what people are saying and the intent behind what they’re saying.”
Long said she intends to utilize her interpersonal and technical skills to tackle Columbus’ “housing crisis.” She said the lack of affordable housing was one of the first things she noticed about Columbus. Long said doing demographics for the Live Oak Art Center revealed “a big line between the have and the have nots around here.”
“We need more houses…We are growing a little bit. I know we have developments coming in around us, but we also need some affordable housing too,” Long said. “…You can’t just make housing appear out of nowhere. So, what step as a city government do we need to take to try and get some of those things to happen?”
Long’s second notable topic of concern is the city’s “feral cat problem.” She said the feral cats reproduce rapidly, spread diseases and are “not good for the wildlife.” Long suggested working with local vets and applying for grants.
“I know that there’s grant money that cities can apply for, and we can start rounding them up and humanely getting them spayed, neutered, and possibly euthanized if they’re carrying diseases that can spread to other animals,” Long said. “…I am not opposed to writing grants myself on behalf of the city, if that’s something I’m allowed to do.”
Long also expressed interest in introducing the University of Texas’ Home to Texas program. UT describes the program as “a scholarship-funded summer program that connects first-year students with internship opportunities in their hometown communities.” Long said she has already contacted UT about the program on behalf of the Live Oak Art Center.
“That’s the kind of thing that I would like to see for local businesses to get excited about,” Long said. “… It would bring young people into our community to settle down.”
Long recalled moving to Columbus in 2020, sharing more of personal life. Long and her husband of 33 years have four adult children and four grandchildren. Before Columbus, Long and her family lived in Magnolia but wanted to move back to a small town as “The Woodlands just kept encroaching and getting closer.” She also described herself as a Christian.
“I definitely consider myself to be a Christian and I try to live that and to the best of my ability,” Long said. “I fail miserably all the time, but I try to live out serving others and serving my community. If I’m called to do something, I’m going to answer it.”
Long also revealed that she plans to file as a candidate for her City Council seat in the upcoming election. The Place 4 seat was previously filled by Michael Ridlen, who resigned. Long said she looks forward to meeting community members and guiding the city’s growth.
“You want to grow but also keep the heart of a small town. I don’t know how Columbus is supposed to navigate that, but I sure would like to try,” Long said. “…Our history is rich and insane and crazy, and there’s a way to build on that without being defined by it.”
