On Mayor Whitmire

This. Is. So. Dumb.

See this from the Chron:

Around 30 precinct and Congressional chairs with the Harris County Democratic Party signed a resolution Tuesday to admonish Mayor John Whitmire, accusing him of undermining the “values and mission of the Democratic Party” the same day Whitmire planned to attend a fundraiser for GOP U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw.

The resolution seeks to apply the same rules precinct chairs are bound to when they take their oath to elected officials. Precinct chairs are not allowed to endorse, fundraise or support candidates from opposing political parties, a statement released Tuesday reads.

In their statement, the precinct chairs wrote that Whitmire had “stood on the sidelines” as President Donald Trump overhauled the upper rungs of the federal government, and that Whitmire failed to speak up for Houstonians who suffered the consequences. The statement also points to how the Houston Police Department has cooperated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“John Whitmire’s agenda is indistinguishable from that of a MAGA mayor,” the statement reads, referring to the Trump campaign slogan “Make America Great Again.” 

“With Trump in office and pursuing an illegal and authoritarian agenda impacting millions of Houstonians, we deserve to have a fighter who wants to represent us, not a willing enabler of an emerging dictatorship,” the statement continued. “If Whitmire wants to be a Republican, that’s OK, but he shouldn’t be able to do that and count on the support of thousands of grassroots volunteers who shed blood, sweat and tears to knock on doors and elect people who represent our values.”

Whitmire’s spokesperson Mary Benton said Tuesday the mayor formed partnerships that were in the city’s best interest.

Party chair Mike Doyle said Tuesday that he was disappointed in Whitmire and that he thought Democratic officials should be supporting other good Democratic officials.

“I think anybody that’s supporting somebody who’s lock-step with Trump and Elon Musk, that’s just not good at best,” Doyle said. “I think we’re in difficult times now, and it’s important that people recognize what kind of behaviors you’re supporting.”

Whether the resolution will come before the whole party for a vote is yet to be determined. Usually resolutions have to go through the party’s resolution committee before they’re brought to the body as a whole, Doyle said. Precinct chairs have not sent the resolution to the committee yet.

Whitmire was a Democrat in his more than 50 years representing the Houston region in the Texas Legislature. As Houston’s newest mayor, he sits in a nonpartisan seat and ran a nonpartisan election where he garnered a base of progressive and conservative voters alike to overwhelmingly clinch the seat.

The mayor is set to appear tonight at a fundraiser for Crenshaw at the home of construction moguls Laura and George Pontikos tonight.

While Whitmire’s appearance at the fundraiser caught side-eyes online, political science experts noted Whitmire needed all the help he could get as mayor, and that it wasn’t entirely uncommon for a mayor of a large city to seek support from members of the opposite party.

“Whitmire’s ultimate goal is to make the city better and have relationships that span from local to state to federal,” University of Houston political science professor Brandon Rottinghaus said at the time. “He needs as many friends as he can get.”

Whitmire has defended his decision to attend the fundraiser, saying he worked closely with those who helped bring the city needed resources.

The last resolution seeking to admonish an elected official within the Democratic Party was against former District Attorney Kim Ogg. The party ultimately voted to admonish her, but it did not limit her powers as an elected official. 

In case folks haven’t noticed, Democrats in Congress right now have yet to put any points on the scoreboard since January 20 of this year. They have been powerless to stop the DOGE dog and his allies. The best Democrats can do is hold press conferences in front of federal government buildings where federal agencies are being dismantled.

Mayor Whitmire is doing H-Town a favor by attending a reception for a MAGA member of Congress. Just to remind you, the City of H-Town is dealing with a huge budget deficit. The last thing we need is to become a target of the DOGE forces. Who is going to protect us if that happens?

Commentary hasn’t talked to the Mayor about this. My last conversation I had with the Mayor on City Hall matters was right before last Thanksgiving Day.

We text these days but mostly about the Astros.

Some local Democrats including the Harris County Democratic Party Chair have very short memories. You know what was one of the last votes Dean Whitmire cast as the State Senator from District 15? The Dean voted to convict crooked AG Ken Paxton at Paxton’s impeachment trial. But this doesn’t matter to the local Democratic Party dumbarses.

They may as well go after the Harris County Democratic State Representatives who voted for MAGA State Rep. Dustin Burrows for Texas House Speaker. Last I checked, not a whole lot of good stuff is being voted out of the Texas House. Whitmire is just attending a reception and letting his name be used on the invitation. Whitmire didn’t cast an official vote, unlike the Harris County Democratic State Representatives who cast an official record vote for Burrows.

Whitmire is looking after H-Town’s interests. If folks think he is looking out for his own political interests, they don’t know Whitmire.

The featured photo is my Whitmire yard sign from 2023.

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I saw this on Next Door a day or so ago:

I received a traffic citation a couple weeks ago and now receive at least 2 or 3 pieces of junk mail a day from lawyers or groups to help fight it. The whole stop was weird and I am likely fighting it, but does anyone know if there are ways to get off whatever mailing list they sell your info too?

Let’s see. You get a traffic citation from an H-Town police officer. It goes on the public record. Law firms who specialize in municipal court cases, make a public request for the list of those who get citations, and voila!

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The Rockets are back in action this evening.

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The Astros won last night. They wrap up the homie this evening.