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Mayor of Houston

John Whitmire

In office since Jan 2024 · Term ends Jan 2028

What this office does

The Mayor is Houston's executive officer — the city's chief administrator and official representative, responsible for the general management of the city and for seeing that all laws and ordinances are enforced. The Mayor appoints department heads and advisory board members with Council approval, administers oaths and signs the motions, resolutions and ordinances Council passes, presides over City Council with voting privileges, and advises Council on the city's financial condition while presenting an annual budget for approval.

Source: City of Houston — City Government

Served nearly five decades in the Texas Legislature, the longest-serving state senator in Texas history, before winning the 2023 mayoral runoff. Chairs council and votes on all items.

Verified background

Now
Houston's 63rd Mayor, sworn into office January 2, 2024. (Office of the Mayor — Mayor's Biography ↗)
Before
Texas House of Representatives, 1973-1983; Texas State Senate, 1983-2023, where he became Dean of the Texas Senate and chaired the Senate Criminal Justice Committee. (Office of the Mayor — Mayor's Biography ↗)
Work
Graduated from Waltrip High School and attended the University of Houston; early jobs included shining shoes at a Harrisburg beer hall and working as a caseworker for the Texas Food Stamp program. (Office of the Mayor — Mayor's Biography ↗)

Each line links the record it was verified from. Where we couldn’t verify something, it isn’t here.

In their own words

Quoted and attributed from John Whitmire’s own official government page.

Election watch

No filing on record yet for 2027.

Contact & office

Mail
P.O. Box 1562, Houston, TX 77251

Verified from the City of Houston directory. Office hours and town halls aren't published in our records yet.

What the record shows

Present at 35 of 35 council meetings the minutes place them on council (Oct 2025 – Aug 2026).

No absence recorded at roll call in these minutes. We have 40 meetings in total; the 35 counted here are the ones where the roll call names this member, so a seat taken mid-period isn't measured against meetings before it.

Recorded on 1255 of 1351 votes taken at those meetings.

The minutes note them absent on 96 individual votes.

What those votes were about

1090 decided items while they held the seat, by topic.

Utilities235
Contracts & spending226
Housing & zoning109
Taxes & budget104
Public safety87
Transportation79

Counted from the City Secretary's minutes. Where the minutes don't record a member either way, we don't guess. These are counts of what happened, not a judgment of it — and we publish no party-agreement figures for city council, which is elected on a nonpartisan ballot and decides most items on a near-unanimous consent agenda.

PASSED2026-08-25

The city council is being asked to officially accept the completed work on the Chelford City Diversion Package 2 project and authorize any final payment owed on the contract with Markel Insurance Company.

Individual vote recorded in official minutes

PASSED2026-08-25

The city is being asked to officially accept the completed waterproofing work done at the City Hall Annex Garage and authorize any final payment owed to the contractor, Restocon Corporation.

Individual vote recorded in official minutes

PASSED2026-08-25

The council approved up to $540,613.96 for the Houston Health Department to purchase Hepatitis C virus testing equipment and supplies from DiaSorin, Inc. through a federal cooperative purchasing agreement, with the contract running through November 8, 2030.

Individual vote recorded in official minutes

PASSED2026-08-25

The City Council is re-adopting the rules and criteria that govern when Houston can enter into tax abatement agreements, as required under a specific chapter of the city's municipal code.

Individual vote recorded in official minutes

PASSED2026-08-25

The City Council voted to deny SiEnergy Gas, LLC's request to raise natural gas rates in Houston, keeping the current rates in place.

Individual vote recorded in official minutes

PASSED2026-08-25

The city is setting aside $500,000 from its Public Health construction fund and amending an existing contract with Structure Tone Southwest LLC to manage construction at the Holcombe Lab Expansion Project.

Individual vote recorded in official minutes

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Cite this: https://plaindocket.com/rep/mayor — data from official records via PlainDocket.

John Whitmire — Mayor of Houston — PlainDocket