1. John Harris Whitmire was born on August 13,1949 and is an American attorney and politician who has served as the 63rd mayor of Houston, Texas since 2024.
40 Facts About John Whitmire
1. 2.
In November 2021, John Whitmire announced his candidacy for mayor of Houston in the 2023 election.
3.
John Whitmire won the runoff in a landslide on December 9,2023.
4.
John Whitmire was born in Hillsboro, Texas, north of Waco, to James Madison John Whitmire, the Hill County clerk, and the former Ruth Marie Harris, a nurse.
5.
John Whitmire's parents divorced when he was seven years old, and the family moved several times, facing difficult financial circumstances.
6.
John Whitmire attended college at the University of Houston to study political science while paying for his education by working for the Texas State Welfare Department, where he interviewed food stamp recipients for compliance.
7.
John Whitmire won the primary following a runoff election and easily defeated his Republican opponent.
8.
John Whitmire's father provided him with a $5,000 loan for his campaign funds.
9.
John Whitmire served in the Texas House with colleagues Gene Green, Craig Washington, and Mickey Leland and eventually finished his undergraduate degree.
10.
John Whitmire began his law studies at the Bates College of Law, then passed the bar in 1981 while still serving in the House.
11.
John Whitmire captured the Senate District 15 seat, taking office in 1983.
12.
John Whitmire won reelection to the state Senate in the general election held on November 6,2018.
13.
John Whitmire resigned effectively from the State Senate on December 31,2023, after his election as Mayor of Houston.
14.
John Whitmire served as the acting governor of Texas for a single day in 1993 as part of the "Governor for a Day" tradition.
15.
In 1993, John Whitmire was appointed by Lieutenant Governor Bob Bullock as Chair of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee, where he oversaw reforms to the penal code and increased construction of prisons, to a generally favorable reception.
16.
John Whitmire remained the chair as of the eighty-seventh Texas Legislature.
17.
John Whitmire passed legislation to free the Texans who were imprisoned as a result of the Tulia drug raid.
18.
John Whitmire was angered by convicted murderer Lawrence Russell Brewer's refusal to eat the expensive last meal he ordered prior to his September 21,2011, execution.
19.
In 2003, John Whitmire was one of the "Texas Eleven", a group of Democrats who fled the state for New Mexico in 2003 in a quorum-busting effort aimed at preventing the passage of redistricting legislation that would have benefited Texas Republicans.
20.
John Whitmire ultimately returned to the legislature, creating a quorum and undoing the efforts of the rest of the Texas Eleven.
21.
In 1993, weeks after passing a bill benefitting the Houston Firefighters' Relief and Retirement Fund, John Whitmire was hired by the Fund as a Washington, DC lobbyist.
22.
In 1995, John Whitmire came under investigation by the Harris County district attorney's office for taking a job with a state agency whose funding he oversaw via the Senate Criminal Justice Committee.
23.
John Whitmire came under criticism from watchdog groups and colleagues for hiring a friend as a consultant to the Criminal Justice Committee.
24.
From 2013 to 2016, John Whitmire received $25,000 from PACs and executives affiliated with GEO Group, CoreCivic, and Correct Care Solutions, a for-profit prison health services company.
25.
John Whitmire received contributions while chairing the Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee which determines the outcome of bills related to TDCJ, prison conditions, and programs that would further privatize the prison system.
26.
John Whitmire was amongst the top 5 recipients of private prison money, other recipients included Gov.
27.
In November 2021, John Whitmire announced his candidacy in the 2023 Houston mayoral election to succeed term-limited Mayor Sylvester Turner.
28.
John Whitmire first considered a mayoral bid in the 1990s and was encouraged by Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo to run in the 2023 race.
29.
John Whitmire's campaign focused on public safety with a pledge to bring 200 troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety to assist the Houston Police Department.
30.
John Whitmire held a fundraising advantage over Jackson Lee, raising over twice as much as she did between July and late September 2023; he outspent her five-to-one in the same time period.
31.
John Whitmire was projected to be the winner following a commanding early lead.
32.
In March 2024, John Whitmire introduced a five-person committee to investigate the case suspensions.
33.
The situation has been considered a scandal and resulted in the abrupt May 2024 resignation of Interim Police Chief Troy Finner, whom John Whitmire has temporarily replaced with Larry Satterwhite.
34.
On June 11,2024, John Whitmire said the report of the committee he delegated to investigate the matter would be released the next week.
35.
John Whitmire has proposed a $1.5 billion deal to end the eight-year-old stalemate between the city and the fire fighter's union.
36.
John Whitmire has said he has intentions to propose an increase in the property tax cap, which would need voter approval.
37.
John Whitmire said he had met with several county commissioners on hurricane preparedness and indicated he'd meet with Hidalgo when appropriate.
38.
When John Whitmire tried to allow Lesley Briones, a commissioner for Harris County precinct 4, to speak, Hidalgo cut him off saying she had promised that she'd repeat her remarks in Spanish after John Whitmire was done speaking and that she "didn't feel comfortable giving special treatment" to Briones.
39.
In June 2024, John Whitmire came under scrutiny following a Facebook comment he made under a post by Hidalgo showing her and her fiance at their bridal shower.
40.
In March 2025, John Whitmire's office directed additional safety infrastructure removals, including the removal of physical barriers separating bike lanes from car lanes on Heights Blvd south of Interstate 10, as well as a raised crosswalk across Westheimer Rd near Montrose Blvd.