John Whitmire’s first year in office was no exception to Houston’s reputation for making life difficult for its mayors.
In 2024, the former 50-year state legislator faced challenges from a growing budget deficit, a number of natural catastrophes, and a scandal involving the Houston Police Department. Whitmire’s mayoral candidacy revolved around his decades of work in Austin, claiming it would enable him to use his connections with state leaders and experience to address Houston’s issues.
In a recent interview with the Houston Landing, Whitmire stated that experience counts. I made advantage of my 50 years of public service experience in the legislature, where I witnessed almost everything.
Don’t miss the next big story
To receive the stories you need about the city you love every weekday morning, sign up for The Launchpad.
Compared to most other large city mayors in the country, Whitmire has unparalleled authority to implement policies since Houston has a robust mayor form of government.
Whitmire claimed that the difficulties of managing the nation’s fourth-largest city were far worse than those he encountered while serving in the legislature. From 1973 to 1983, he was one of 150 members of the Texas House of Representatives, and from 1983 until his resignation at the end of 2023 to take on the role of mayor, he was one of 31 state senators.
According to Whitmire, the two tiers of government function entirely differently. It’s the impromptu need to take charge and succeed. It’s simply the scope of my work, and I feel accountable because I don’t want to fail.
From Buffalo Bayou Partnership, a message
Visit Cistern Illuminated in Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern this holiday season to experience peace and quiet. Kelly O. Brien, a Houston-based artist and engineer, created a calming sequence of light and sound that transforms 221 concrete pillars above sparkling water.
To learn more about this special Houston holiday event, go to buffalobayou.org.
Houston Landing is grateful for its sponsors.Become one now.
After running on a platform of bringing nonpartisan, practical leadership to City Hall with a primary focus on public safety, the veteran politician won the mayorship with the help of moderate Democrats and right-leaning Houstonians. With the help of Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and then-Mayor Sylvester Turner, the late U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee ran to Whitmire’s left and lost the December runoff election by a significant margin.
Throughout the campaign, Whitmire and Turner had a lot of arguments, and ever since he took office, Whitmire has occasionally seemed determined to reverse the majority of his predecessor’s accomplishments.
As incoming mayors often do, Whitmire blamed the previous administration for many of the issues he faced, whether it was Turner’s transit programs, the budget, or the city’s preparedness for natural catastrophes.
Whitmire claimed, “I inherited a mess,” during a press conference in May announcing his first annual budget.
Whitmire did, however, have some success fulfilling campaign pledges in his first year.
He presented a plan to alleviate excessive water rates, mediated the resolution of a bitter eight-year contract dispute between the city and the Houston firefighters union, and reorganized the leadership of the majority of the city’s departments. He attributed many of those accomplishments to the ability to strike deals he honed as a lawmaker.
Whitmire stated, “I have lived here, grown up here, and worked as a public servant here for 50 years, so I come up with solutions and ideas.”
Much of that effort was focused on public safety, whether it was addressing criticism of a plan to use the METRO budget to fund police work or trying to stretch the city’s already limited budget to pay for cadet school and police salary increases.
Confidence and criticism
Restoring public trust in local government has been Whitmire’s biggest accomplishment.
Throughout the year, he also came under fire for his disagreements with Hidalgo, community advocates, and demonstrators, with whom he has yet to hold a formal meeting.
Among the difficulties this year will be a widening budget deficit exacerbated by the firefighter agreement he negotiated. In order to resolve the budgetary problems, Whitmire will need to employ his political acumen to win over the people to tax increases, service reductions, or a mix of the two.
According to Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston, Whitmire’s legislative background is obviously affecting the way he governs. Whitmire had to be realistic in order to succeed as a Democrat in the Senate, which was controlled by Republicans and commanded by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. Whitmire served as the sole Democratic chair of the Senate’s criminal justice committee prior to his resignation.
However, according to Rottinghaus, those abilities do not directly translate to the duties of a mayor.
According to Whitmire, lawmakers are renowned for completing their casework. They are given a problem, and they are able to resolve it. Legislators rarely engage in larger-scale strategic planning.
Turner said he relied more on his expertise running his private legal company than his political background when he moved from the state House to the mayor’s office in 2016. The purpose of the legislature is to address certain issues, sometimes over the course of several parliamentary sessions. Turner noted that the mayor’s office needs to do a better job of creating and carrying out a long-term strategy for the city.
According to Turner, who ran for and was elected to Jackson Lee’s congressional seat, “you need to have that vision, that direction, that leadership to get buy-in across the city because you need everyone pulling in the same direction.”
Whitmire has attempted to include legislative features into City Hall, such as establishing a committee to review ordinance proposals that are led by the council. However, the council has mostly avoided the committee.
Whitmire’s skills as a manager, not a lawmaker, were put to the test during the first half of the year by a string of natural disasters.
Whitmire pointed out that, in contrast to his legislative duties, the job is 24/7. He has had to grow used to answering calls for crises at all hours of the day, from first responders dying to water mains breaking.
In reaction to a hard frost in January, flooding in Kingwood and the derecho in May, and Hurricane Beryl in early July, the mayor established himself as the head of the local emergency response. At a joint press conference in May, he famously argued with Hidalgo, and he staged frequent news conferences during each incident.
Numerous news reports have focused on his icy relationship with Hidalgo, including one about a Facebook comment that was later removed last summer in which the mayor claimed that the county judge’s fiancée looked like a nerd. Whitmire called Hidalgo’s suggestion that she would not seek reelection in December “wholly false.”
Whitmire collaborates on public announcements and events with the offices of three other Harris County Commissioners Court members, with whom he has a deeper relationship. Hidalgo and Turner’s close comrade, Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis, is not included in that cordial alliance.
Year 2 challenges
Hidalgo and Whitmire’s jousting stems from their divergent ideologies and target audiences. According to Rice University political scientist Mark Jones, Whitmire was elected by a coalition of moderate voters who pledged to cooperate with state Republicans, while Hidalgo has the steadfast support of the county’s progressives and frequently clashes with state Republicans.
According to Jones, Whitmire views her position as county judge as a barrier to many of his goals for the city.
Whitmire said that his spontaneous remarks have caused controversy, but he stated that he would rather be open about his thoughts, even if it occasionally lands him in hot water.
He stated, “I should have stayed silent, but that’s not necessarily who I am.”
Another significant achievement from Whitmire’s first year as a Texas senator was the negotiation of a labor contract with the Houston firefighter union, which was largely attributed to his use of the bully pulpit.
An antagonistic relationship between the firefighters union and the former mayor resulted from the eight-year contract struggle that started during Turner’s administration. After only four months in office, Whitmire announced a $1.5 million contract and backpay settlement with the union, fulfilling his campaign pledge to resolve the conflict.
Controller Chris Hollins and a few council members opposed that contract, claiming the city was overpaying and the deal would severely strain the city budget.
Whitmire held several press appearances over the period of a few weeks, criticizing Hollins’ stance and pleading with the City Council to approve the transaction.
Despite the initial resistance, the contract and settlement was approved unanimously by City Council.
This year will put the dealmaking abilities Whitmire honed in the state capitol to practice.
The mayor has promised to announce a revenue-generating plan to cover the budget shortfall, but details so far remain limited.
He also said his relationships in Austin will allow the city to receive assistance from the state government to address the funding issues. The Texas Legislature opens its 140-day session Tuesday. He met with Patrick last month, a departure from years of icy relations between the city and the state under Turner.
Rottinghaus said the political implications of state Republicans giving money to a big Democratic city will make life difficult for Whitmire, regardless of his connections in Austin. But the newly opened lines of communication between Austin and Houston put the city in a better spot than it was under Turner, he added.
It s hard to know, in terms of dollars and cents, what it means for the city, but definitely improved communication is a step in the right direction, Rottinghaus said.
Whitmire also has floated the ideas of a garbage fee and creating exceptions for the local cap on property taxes as additional ways to generate revenue, but no further details have been provided. The mayor has said he is awaiting the results of audits that could help decide where to cut spending and increase revenue.
Whitmire said his work during his first year has positioned him to be able to tackle the budget and any other issues that may arise in 2025.
We ve got some real serious problems and challenges, but that gets back to the confidence level, Whitmire said. People trust that I m going to do the right thing.
Republish This Story
Republish our articles for free, online or in print.
Republish this article
This work is licensed under aCreative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
