How to Find Your Elected Officials

You have roughly 12 elected officials. Not one. Not two. Twelve.

One mayor. One city council member. One county judge. One county commissioner. One state representative. One state senator. One U.S. representative. Two U.S. senators. One governor. Plus school board members. Plus your county tax assessor, district attorney, and sheriff — all elected.

Most people can name the president. Maybe a senator. But the people who decide whether your street gets repaved, whether your kid's school gets funded, whether your neighborhood gets a new bus route — those officials are closer to home. And most of us cannot name them.

This is the starting point. Know who they are. Then you know who to call.

Source: City of Houston, Harris County, Texas Legislature, U.S. Congress

Your address determines your officials. Every elected office is tied to a geographic district. Your home address places you in a city council district, a county precinct, a state house district, a state senate district, and a congressional district. Different address, different officials.

City level: mayor + your council member. The mayor represents the whole city. Your council member represents your specific district. Both vote on your city budget, your police staffing, your park maintenance.

County level: county judge + your commissioner. Harris County's Commissioners Court has 5 members — the county judge and 4 precinct commissioners. They oversee the county budget, flood control, the jail, public health, and emergency management. Your commissioner is assigned by your precinct.

State level: your state rep + your state senator. Texas has 150 House members and 31 senators. They meet January through May (or June) every odd-numbered year. They set education funding, healthcare policy, criminal justice rules, and property tax law. Between sessions, they still take calls.

Federal level: your U.S. rep + 2 senators. Texas has 38 congressional districts. Your representative handles your district. Both senators — currently John Cornyn and Ted Cruz — represent the entire state.

Source: Texas Legislature Online, capitol.texas.gov; house.gov; senate.gov

Use the Community Exchange neighborhood page. Enter your address on our /neighborhood page. We show you every official matched to your specific address — city, county, state, federal — with office phone numbers and district maps.

Use the state tool. Go to capitol.texas.gov and click 'Who Represents Me?' Enter your address. It returns your state rep, state senator, State Board of Education member, and U.S. representative.

Save your officials' numbers. Put your city council member and state rep in your phone contacts right now. Label them 'Council - [name]' and 'State Rep - [name].' When something happens in your neighborhood, you will not have to look them up.

Follow one official. Pick the one closest to your daily life — usually your city council member or state rep — and follow their social media or sign up for their newsletter. You will start seeing the decisions before they are made, not after.

Look up your officials:

• Community Exchange — My Neighborhood — full official lookup by address
• Texas Legislature — Who Represents Me?
• U.S. House — Find Your Representative
• U.S. Senate — Contact Your Senators

Harris County:

• Harris County Commissioners Court
• Houston City Council Member Directory