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July 24, 2026 (Houston Style Magazine) — Houston families will have a seat at the policy table Saturday as U.S. Rep. Christian Menefee joins Way to Win for the final stop of its nationwide “Affordability Listening Tour,” a voter-centered conversation designed to turn kitchen-table frustration into congressional action.
The July 25 gathering, scheduled from noon to 2 p.m., will bring together approximately 100 Houston residents for small-group discussions about costs that refuse to stay small: housing, groceries, healthcare, utilities, transportation and the everyday expenses that can make payday feel more like a brief layover than a destination. The Houston location will be shared with registered participants, and media are encouraged to arrive by 11:45 a.m.
The premise is refreshingly democratic: before writing the prescription, listen to the patient.
Way to Win launched the tour with stops in Las Vegas and Phoenix, where voters discussed the financial pressures shaping their households and their expectations of Congress. The organization plans to combine those conversations with Houston’s testimony to produce a report offering lawmakers practical steps for confronting the affordability crisis. Way to Win describes itself as a strategic donor collaborative and strategy hub focused on data-driven, coalition-based and persuasion-first approaches to political change.
That work arrives at a moment when affordability is not merely one issue among many; for millions of Americans, it is the issue.
Gallup reported in April that a record 55% of Americans believed their personal financial situation was getting worse. Another Gallup analysis found that the share of adults expecting a high-quality life within five years had fallen to 59.2%, the lowest level recorded in nearly two decades. Earlier this year, the Conference Board’s consumer-confidence index fell to its lowest point since 2014, with concerns about groceries, gasoline, healthcare, tariffs and job security weighing heavily on families.
Houston knows those pressures in real time. Even when inflation slows on paper, the receipt still arrives in bold print. Houston-area figures for 2025 showed food costs increasing 3.6% and energy expenses rising 4%, placing disproportionate pressure on working families whose budgets offer little room for financial plot twists.
Menefee’s participation gives the discussion both local relevance and historical resonance. Sworn into Congress on February 2, 2026, the former Harris County Attorney now represents Texas’ 18th Congressional District. His congressional biography emphasizes working-family concerns, voting rights, environmental justice and making government deliver meaningful results for constituents.
He also carries forward one of Houston’s most consequential traditions of public service. The 18th District’s history includes Barbara Jordan, Mickey Leland, Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvester Turner—leaders who understood that democracy is strongest when government hears communities too often spoken about but not spoken with.
That is what makes Saturday’s event more than a political listening session. It is an invitation for residents to help define what affordability policy should look like from the ground up. Participants will not be asked to admire another spreadsheet from Washington. They will be asked to explain what rising rent means, what delayed medical care costs and what happens when a utility bill competes with a grocery cart.
Way to Win Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jen Fernandez Ancona will join Menefee and Houston residents for the conversation. Following the tour, the organization expects to publish an actionable affordability agenda reflecting what voters said across all three cities.
For Houston, the message is simple: democracy works better when leaders bring a notebook before they bring a microphone. On Saturday, working families will have the floor—and Washington would be wise to listen.
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For more information on Way To WIN, go to: waytowin.us
For more information on US Rep. Christian Menefee, go to: menefee.house.gov
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Kierra LeeKIELEESTYLE@GMAIL.COM4096658446