HOUSTON — Vice President Kamala Harris landed in Houston on Wednesday and will stay overnight ahead of a planned speech at the George R. Brown Convention Center on Thursday.
Once she landed at Ellington Field, she hit the ground running, making a stop at the Houston Office of Emergency Management to get an update on the Hurricane Beryl recovery efforts.
Caleb Mack, 14, lives near the Houston OEM. He said it took him and his mom about 1 minute to get there to catch a glimpse of the vice president, who's now expected to be the Democratic nominee for president in the upcoming election.
"She gave us a lean and a wave," Mack said.
Harris landed just before 4 p.m., meeting with Houston Mayor John Whitmire for the first time along with Harris County Commissioner Rodney Ellis, who has known Harris for years.
"I've known her for a very long time. She asked me about my family and how they were doing. She asked me about Judge (Lina) Hidalgo and I told her that she was on vacation and I told her not to come back and she said, 'I'm glad you didn't tell her to come back. I'll call her later.'"
Harris then traveled by motorcade to the area of North Shepherd across from St. Pius High School where the city's OEM is located.
Ellis described her demeanor after she deboarded Air Force Two.
"Very upbeat, very confident. It's amazing when you have known someone before they were in office to see how they have grown into the position," he said.
While at the city's OEM, Harris met with city and county emergency management officials specifically to discuss the recovery since Hurricane Beryl.
After a little more than an hour, she left and gave the wave Mack said he'll never forget.
"I'm not really into politics, I just hope she wins. That's just my personal feeling," Mack said.
Harris will be giving the keynote speech at the GRB Thursday for union members with the American Federation of Teachers at their annual convention.