Incoming

Robert Miller is a major H-Town political player. He also is a Locke Lord partner and supports State Sen. John Whitmire for Mayor. He tweeted this yesterday:

The City of Houston Mayor’s race has evolved from two frontrunners, Jackson Lee and Whitmire, to everybody gang up on Whitmire. I guess their polls are showing what Whitmire’s polls are showing. #houmayor #txlege

I won’t talk about the polling stuff. I will agree with Robert about our opponents ganging up on State Sen. John Whitmire. Last night at a Mayoral Forum in Northeast H-Town, Council Member Robert Gallegos, Gilbert Garcia, Cong. Sheila Jackson Lee, MJ Kahn, and Lee Kaplan, all went after Sen. Whitmire.

Yesterday, Sen. Whitmire, Cong. Jackson Lee, and Garcia met with the Chron E-Board and here is a headline from the Chron today on the meeting:

Houston mayoral contenders Garcia, Jackson Lee take aim at Whitmire in Chronicle endorsement meeting

Here is the Chron story: Houston mayoral contenders take aim at Whitmire in endorsement meeting (houstonchronicle.com).

Then this came out. See this from the Chron, too:

U.S. Rep Sheila Jackson Lee and former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia have requested the city attorney to investigate alleged campaign contribution limit violations by State Sen. John Whitmire, hinting at a potential lawsuit if the city does not act.

Whitmire jump-started his mayoral bid with a $10 million war chest, accumulated mostly from his decades-long tenure in the Texas legislature. While state law imposes no contribution limits, city rules cap donations at $5,000 from individuals and $10,000 from political groups, prompting questions about how much of his money Whitmire is allowed to use for the mayor’s race.

Past campaign finance reports indicate that around half of the funds Whitmire amassed in the legislature came from portions of donations that would have surpassed the city limits. The state senator’s campaign said they have been making internal transfers in compliance with Houston law. But some candidates said they are not ready to take Whitmire’s word for it without seeing detailed breakdowns of these transfers.

The latest campaign finance reports show that Whitmire’s hefty fund balance far eclipses his opponents’ resources. As of July, Garcia, Jackson Lee and attorney Lee Kaplan reported having only $2.9 million, $1 million and $1.4 million, respectively, in their accounts. Meanwhile, even after spending $1.9 million on his mayoral bid, Whitmire reported $9.9 million in cash on hand.

“Without action on the part of the City Attorney’s office, 2023 city candidates who have abided by campaign and contribution cycle limits are harmed and treated unequally,” Jackson Lee and Garcia wrote in a letter to City Attorney Arturo Michel on Monday.

Sigh. Here is the entire Chron read: Jackson Lee, Garcia urge city probe into Whitmire’s $10M fund balance (houstonchronicle.com).

The State Sen. John Whitmire for Mayor Campaign is in compliance, period.

It is kind of weird to see the Jackson Lee and Garcia campaigns collaborate on this.

This issue isn’t new.  Why wait until three weeks before early voting in person begins?

Oh, well. We will continue to take incoming.

Last night at the forum. Garcia questioned Sen. Whitmire on his assistance to the City of H-Town. Without getting into specifics, The Dean’s response in effect was an epic takedown of Garcia. The Dean ended his take with “thank you for the question.”

The featured photo is from a commercial break during last night’s televised forum.

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The Chron E-Board endorsed H-Town District B Council Member Tarsha Jackson today.

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Happy Birthday to my nephew David Lafuente today. Happy Birthday, Dave!

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The MLB Playoffs start today with four games on tap. On Saturday we will host the winner of the Blue Jays and Twins Wild Card Series.