“I, Jacqueline Baly Chaumette, do solemnly swear, that I will faithfully execute the duties of the office of Councilmember At-Large Position Two of the City of Sugar Land, County of Fort Bend, State of Texas, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the constitution and laws of the United States……. so help me God.” These were the words, in part, spoken by new Sugar Land City Councilmember Jacqueline Baly Chaumette as she took her oath of office on May 20, 2008. The youngest person ever elected to serve on Council, Chaumette won her position on her inaugural run with over 69% of the vote, a first for a race in Sugar Land. The only current female member of the Council, Jacquie, according to former Sugar Land Mayor Lee Duggan, was the perfect choice to represent the people of Sugar Land. Why? “Her honesty and her intelligence,” said Duggan. “What’s right for Sugar Land is what’s right for Jacquie, and she can get it done.”

Growing Up Baly

“Firsts” are nothing new for this public servant, educator, entrepreneur, wife and mother of two, and as you can clearly see, her parents led the way on this philosophy of achievement. From very humble beginnings, Jacquie’s parents, her mother, French, and her father, Dutch, immigrated to St. Croix in 1963. They left everything on their home island of St. Martin, and their only child, Jacquie, was born in 1968 in St. Croix as an American citizen. “My parents left their home and moved to St. Croix for the sole purpose of me having American citizenship at birth,” said Jacquie.

In 1976, Jacquie’s father was recruited along with twelve other men by a Houston-based company to work in Texas where he received a job as a welder in Baytown. He had a dream of a better life for his family, worked hard, saved his money and bought a home in a quiet neighborhood north of Channelview. Soon, he was able to bring Jacquie and her mother to Texas.

At the age of eight, Jacquie found herself in new surroundings. Becoming acclimated to the many cultural changes were challenging, but her parents were always there cheering her on. “My parents always encouraged me to try everything,” she recalled. Jacquie soon learned that education, along with acclimation to the American lifestyle, were key to her success. She excelled academically and began participating in service projects in middle school with Trees for Houston, and in high school, with her mother’s encouragement, Jacquie began working as a volunteer with the Star of Hope homeless shelter.

“My mother would always cook these huge Thanksgiving meals and invite everyone in our neighborhood who didn’t have any place to go over to our house,” recalled Jacquie. “But, each Thanksgiving morning, my mother and I had to go to the homeless shelter to make certain that they had food first.”

In typical Baly style, Jacquie continued the family tradition of “firsts.” She graduated magna cum laude, was the first in her family to attend and complete college and won several local, regional, state and national competitions as a flutist with a flute that her parents purchased for her at a local pawn shop. Jacquie received a Bachelor of Science in Political Science at the University of Houston in 1990 and later, returned to earn her Masters in City Planning from Texas Southern University.

Balancing Career and Family

Jacquie began her career as a Regional Planner for the Houston-Galveston Area Council and quickly climbed the career ladder as a Vice President of the Greater Houston Partnership. She was the youngest person, as well as the first woman of color, to hold an executive position in the organization’s history, and while there, she worked on instrumental mobility projects for the Houston region. The experience of working on these planning and infrastructure issues on both a regional and local level provided Jacquie with a unique insight and level of experience vital in her current role as a Councilwoman. “So many of the issues we worked on fifteen years ago are the same today, but they are magnified because now, the population is so dense.” Over the past fifteen years, the population of Sugar Land has increased by nearly two-thirds, and Fort Bend County has ranked repeatedly as one of the nation’s fast growing counties.

In 1992, Jacquie’s life was about to change. A friend of hers was dating a young man who had a single friend who was also an immigrant, and they thought Jacquie and this friend were perfect for one another. So, they set up a date – a blind date – for Jacquie and her now, husband, David. “It’s the only blind date I’ve ever gone on in my entire life,” laughed David. David, a third year law student at the time in Chicago, was in Houston for the summer when he and Jacquie met.

David visited the girl he humbly described as “too pretty for me” every other week, and within six months, the two were engaged. “David sent me two dozen roses every week for six months, and then, in the sixth month, he proposed,” said Jacquie.

In 1994, Jacquie and David married. They were both working in Houston and needed a place to call home. They landed in Sugar Land. “David actually went to high school in Sugar Land so that’s how we ended up back here,” said Jacquie. “He told me Sugar Land was a very special place and that I would love it. And he was right!”

Jacquie continued on her path of both career and community service earning several awards including Outstanding Female Executive and Planning Leader of the Year in 1999, Public Servant of the Year in 2001 and Outstanding Minority Public Official in 2001. She also began teaching as an Adjunct Professor at her alma mater, the University of Houston.

With an established career, a wonderful husband, and a place to call home, Jacquie embarked on the most important project of her and David’s life: sons Raphael, 11, and Alexandre, 8. Professionally, Jacquie’s passion is policy, but personally, her passion is her family. Every decision she makes regarding her time and commitment to projects – whether they are professional or community driven – is discussed with David and the boys before mom undertakes it.

“Family is first in our home,” said Jacquie. “As long as my boys and David are thriving, I know all is well in the world.” And thriving is a great way to describe these two young men who, like mom, excel both academically and in their community. Recently, Raphael and Alexandre won a statewide YouTube contest for the 18 years old and under division with their video about being a good citizen. The State Bar of Texas flew the family to Dallas to award the Chaumette boys with their prize.

The boys have made an impact on not only their peers but others in the community as well. They attend Council meetings and tag along with mom as she performs official city duties such as ribbon cuttings and special events. “The entire Chaumette family is good citizens,” said Mayor Duggan. “We are fortunate to have them in Sugar Land.”

The boys are active in Little League and of course, dad serves as the president of First Colony Little League. Baseball is big in the Chaumette home. “We spend a lot of time at the baseball fields,” laughed Jacquie.

“Jacquie is a great role model for our boys, and they adore their mother,” said David. “She has a unique gift of making everybody around here feel important.”

Community Spirit

Much of the work that Jacquie volunteers her time for involves children, specifically the promotion of their self-esteem. “I strongly believe in the promotion of mind and spirit with our youth,” said Jacquie. And Jacquie practices what she preaches. She has served as a role model, speaker and advocate for youth in her involvement in several organizations including the YMCA where she served as President. “I loved my term with the YMCA,” said Jacquie. “It’s an organization that does so much for our youth, and I was proud to serve as their president.”

Jacquie has also served in various roles with many other organizations benefiting children including the Fort Bend Boys’ Choir, Girls, Inc., Sugar Land Exchange Club, Chinquapin School Board of Trustees, Commonwealth Elementary PTA and Texas CASA.

After much success in the private sector, Jacquie, with David’s encouragement, decided to form BalyProjects, a consulting firm specializing in public policy, planning and public affairs. Throughout her career, Jacquie had met many individuals who recognized her talents in public policy and planning, and they supported her in her new venture. “I was working with Bill White at the Greater Houston Partnership, and he said, ‘You know, you should do this for yourself,” recalled Jacquie. “I came home and told David what he said and his response was that he always thought I would be a great entrepreneur. So, I decided to give it a shot.”

Though the first year at BalyProjects was lean, after about a year and a half, things changed. “Instead of me making the calls, people started calling me,” said Jacquie. “It helps to have good people behind you, and so many of the heavy hitters in Houston were telling people that they needed to call me. Many wonderful elected officials and members of the Greater Houston Partnership that I had worked with over the years helped me get started.”

Jacquie’s continued success with BalyProjects assisted her with achieving additional professional milestones. In 2004, she served as a gubernatorial appointee to the Brazos River Authority where she represented Fort Bend and surrounding counties on vital water and wastewater issues. She was appointed by Fort Bend County to serve on the Fort Bend Mobility Planning Committee and has won numerous awards including Most Influential Women in Houston, Fort Bend Entrepreneur of the Year, Outstanding Young Texan and Outstanding Fort Bend Business Executive in the Planning Field.

But the most meaningful award to Jacquie is one that she recently received. This year, Jacquie was honored as the University of Houston Black Alumnus of the Year. “That was huge,” said Jacquie. “I was the first in my family to go to school, and the whole point of my parents moving was because they wanted to provide a better education for me. My parents came and were so proud. I could tell that they felt validated, and it meant so much to me”

Councilwoman Chaumette

Add to Jacquie’s long list of accomplishments her service as Sugar Land Councilmember, and one wonders what the catalyst was for her to undertake a run for the seat. “I was asked to run a few years ago,” recalled Jacquie, “but David and I felt that our children were too young. I was asked again in 2007, and I felt the timing was right. David and the boys said “go for it” and I felt that the Council could benefit from my expertise in infrastructure and planning.”

Jacquie describes her first year on Council as “very, very rewarding” and admits that she wants to do everything. She enjoys the productivity of working at a local level, and her focus is on redevelopment and aging infrastructure issues of the city.

So how does Jacquie balance the responsibilities of career, children, community and councilwoman? “I married well,” she laughed. But when asked about her philosophy on life, the gregarious, intelligent Councilwoman, wife and mother clearly states, “Your family comes first. As long as my boys and David continue to thrive, that’s how I know I’m okay.”

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