Houston Mayor John Whitmire, a Democrat for greater than 5 many years, may lose the assist of his personal get together later this month, as Harris County Democratic Celebration precinct chairs put together to vote on a decision admonishing him for what they name “undermining the values and mission” of the get together.
The decision, which might be voted on Dec. 14, would bar Whitmire from receiving the native get together’s endorsement in any future election. The measure stems largely from the mayor’s look at a fundraiser earlier this 12 months for Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Crenshaw — a transfer that angered progressive Democrats and sparked months of inside debate.
“Working throughout the aisle — that’s not what occurred right here,” mentioned Cameron “Coach Cam” Campbell, the precinct chair who authored the decision. “This was him lending his social forex, his entry, his privilege, to fundraise for a Republican.”
Campbell mentioned he drafted the measure shortly after the fundraiser, arguing that Democrats can not assist bankroll GOP candidates.
“Each penny raised to assist a Republican is a penny used to defeat a Democrat,” he mentioned. “It’s not ideological purity, it’s about what an excellent Democrat is.”
“(Zohran Mamdani) was capable of go speak to Trump with out conceding something… What has Whitmire truly gotten for all of his kowtowing?”
Anthony Rios, co-chair, Houston Progressive Caucus
The get together’s 25-member Steering Committee superior the decision final week in a 17–7 vote, sending it to as many as 600 precinct chairs for last consideration. Ninety-nine precinct chairs have already signed onto it. The Defender reached out to the mayor, who declined to touch upon the matter. Supporters notice the workplace is non-partisan.
The transfer comes amid rising frustration amongst some Democrats who view Whitmire as too cozy with Republican leaders. In a latest New York Occasions profile, Whitmire forged himself as a average, pragmatic mayor centered on governing reasonably than partisan fights, a distinction to big-city mayors who often clashed with President Donald Trump.
Critics, nevertheless, say the mayor’s method quantities to capitulation.
“I don’t assume that his type of bowing right down to the GOP is important if you wish to get outcomes,” mentioned Anthony Rios, co-chair of the Houston Progressive Caucus. He pointed to New York Metropolis mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s latest assembly with Trump. “He was capable of go speak to Trump with out conceding something… What has Whitmire truly gotten for all of his kowtowing?”
Whitmire has relied on his long-standing relationships with Republican state leaders to safe main funding for Houston, together with greater than $32 million from Gov. Greg Abbott for restoration from Hurricane Beryl and the 2024 derecho storm, in addition to $17 million for parks over the last legislative session.
The decision doesn’t point out the Houston Police Division’s lately acknowledged coordination with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, through which officers known as ICE throughout site visitors stops to alert brokers about energetic warrants. Rios, nevertheless, mentioned the problem pushed many Democrats who had been beforehand undecided into open opposition.
In September, precinct chairs rejected a separate rule that will have robotically blocked endorsements for any Democrat who fundraises for a Republican. Campbell mentioned supporters of that measure plan to convey it again within the coming months.
