Every Family Is Doing the Math
Living on this island isn’t cheap. Homeowners insurance, windstorm coverage through TWIA, flood insurance — for many families, that’s more than $10,000 a year before property taxes.
I know a mayor can’t fix the insurance market. But there’s more a city can do than most people think — and a mayor who treats cost of living as someone else’s problem isn’t doing the job.
Every family on this island is doing the math every month. As mayor, I’ll make sure city hall is fighting to make that math work — not making it harder.
“Families are paying two mortgages — homeowners insurance, windstorm, flood, property taxes. City hall should act like it knows that.”
Where I Stand
Improve our flood mitigation ratings. Galveston participates in FEMA’s Community Rating System (CRS). Every step we improve our rating, every homeowner on this island sees a direct reduction in their flood insurance premium. This isn’t a distant policy goal — it’s a concrete action with a dollar value for families. I’ll make CRS improvement a priority from day one.
Pursue every available resilience funding dollar. Federal and state programs exist specifically to help coastal communities invest in mitigation infrastructure. A mayor’s job is to make sure Galveston is at the front of that line. I’ll put someone in charge of finding and applying for every program we qualify for.
Lobby Austin and Washington. Coastal communities face insurance challenges that require state and federal solutions. I’ll use the mayor’s platform to advocate forcefully — at the legislature, with our congressional delegation, and through coalitions of Texas coastal cities — for funding and policy changes that help families stay in their homes.
Stop piling on. City government can’t fix the insurance market. But it can stop adding to families’ burdens with irresponsible budgets, unnecessary fees, and costs that should be cut. I’ll budget with the full cost of island living in mind.
How We Get There
Galveston is one of the most flood-vulnerable cities in the country. We also have some of the best infrastructure, the most experienced emergency personnel, and a community that knows how to come together when things get hard.
The next mayor needs to treat resilience not as a one-time project but as an ongoing commitment — one that connects directly to what families pay for insurance, how quickly we recover from storms, and whether Galveston remains a place people can afford to live.
As mayor, I’ll build resilience investment into the city’s long-term planning, pursue every available funding source, and make sure our infrastructure keeps pace with the demands a growing island places on it.
John Paul Lisowski's Priority Issues
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Keeping Galveston affordable means putting families first. Explore more of John Paul’s priorities — from local jobs to strong neighborhoods built for everyone.