Houston voters will decide if the city can push for major changes to our local metropolitan planning organization.

Driving the news: City Council voted Monday to place the Fair for Houston charter amendment on the November ballot.

Catch up quick: Houston is one of 37 local governments represented on the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) board of directors and one of 28 governments on its transportation policy council.

Why it matters: In some cases, the council gives Houston the short end of the stick on federal funding for critical infrastructure projects.

• That's because smaller, more rural governments have a disproportionately large say in the region's planning efforts.
• For example, the council voted in 2022 to give Houston just 2% of the $488 million granted to the region for flood mitigation following Hurricane Harvey, despite the city receiving the brunt of the damage.

What happened: In comes the Fair for Houston initiative, a grassroots movement seeking better representation on the council's many bodies of government.

• Houston and unincorporated Harris County account for 57% of the region's population — but get only 11% of the vote on the H-GAC board of directors, per January Advisors, a Houston-based data science consulting firm.
• The amendment calls for H-GAC to negotiate with the city for more representation. If that didn't happen within 60 days of voter approval, Houston would leave the council.

What we're watching

More than a dozen candidates are vying for the Houston mayor position in the upcoming November election.

Driving the news: The deadline to file for a place on the ballot — for mayor, City Council and controller — was earlier this week.

• The deadline for write-in candidates is Friday.

Why it matters: The candidates are competing to succeed term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner and lead the country's fourth-populous city.

State of play: U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and state Sen. John Whitmire are the frontrunners of the mayoral race, according to an early poll. Both are Democrats, though the election is nonpartisan.

• Councilmember Robert Gallegos, former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia, attorney Lee Kaplan, and former council members Jack Christie and MJ Khan are running for mayor as well.
• Other declared candidates are Gaylon Caldwell, Annie Garcia, Michael J. Griffin, Naoufal Houjami, Robert Ivy, David C. Lowy, Julian Martinez, Chanel Mbala, Kathy Lee Tatum and Roy Vasquez.

Of note: Writer and activist Derrick Broze is challenging the city's decision to deny his mayoral candidate application because of a nonviolent felony drug conviction in 2005. He ran for mayor in 2019.

• Other mayoral candidates — like Christie, Gallegos and Gilbert Garcia — signed Broze's letter in support.

Plus: More than 50 people are running for City Council seats, including attorney Tony Buzbee, who previously ran for mayor in 2019.

• There are also four names on the ballot for the city controller position.

What's next: The general election is Nov. 7.

• The last day to register to vote is Oct. 10.

Go deeper: Here's the full list of the declared candidates in the November election.

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🧑‍⚖️ The Texas Supreme Court denied a request to temporarily block a law abolishing the Harris County Elections Administrator's Office ahead of the November election. (Houston Chronicle)

🎟️ You'll need a ticket to watch suspended Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial. The trial kicks off Sept. 5. (Houston Public Media)

⚾ A youth team from Needville will square off against a team from Seattle in the Little League World Series today. (KHOU)

🍃 The Texas A&M police department will now refer nonviolent marijuana possession cases to the county attorney's office for review instead of making an arrest for possession of marijuana under 2 ounces. (KBTX)

It's the Texas A&M Aggies vs. the LSU Tigers in Axios' Elite 8 round of best college traditions.

Driving the news: The fighting Aggies with deep ties beat out the Texas Longhorns for their football traditions yesterday with 54% of the vote.

• We're sorry, Longhorns fans, but the Aggies had this one in the bag.

Details: The Tigers come into the competition after starting off with a bye round and ousting the Iowa Hawkeyes with 59% of the vote.

How to play: Cast your vote here! Voting ends at 2pm today.

👋 Shafaq here! On Saturday, I joined an expert-guided birding walk at Buffalo Bayou with some friends.

Context: The Buffalo Bayou Partnership has had walks, boat tours, crafts and film screenings to celebrate birds, its chosen species for the summer.

My experience: It was hot, but it was so fun to be around people enthusiastic about birds and nature.

• Schyler Brown, with the Houston Audubon, was our guide and pointed out all the species he spotted during our hour-and-a-half-long walk.
• Honestly, it was a difficult "I Spy" game to spot all of the birds, but it was beautiful to learn about all the species that live in or visit the bayou.
• I wrapped up the day by watching an outdoor screening of "Rio" by the Water Works.

The bottom line: I thought about how special it was to be a gal with some friends — who invited other friends of friends — who all got together to go on an early-morning bird-watching expedition.

What's next: The partnership is hosting another bird walk at Tony Marron Park on Aug. 26 for $5 and a bird boat tour on Aug. 30 for $35.