John Whitmire Is Not Being Treated Unfairly

There’s a Texas two-step in politics every time someone finally stands up to entrenched power.

First comes the pearl-clutching. And the warnings about “division.”

Then, the back-channel threats meant to spook the people actually doing the work.

And right now, Harris County Democratic precinct chairs are getting hit with all of it as they consider a simple, overdue resolution. Stop rubber-stamping John Whitmire with Democratic endorsements.

This isn’t sudden. This isn’t ideological. And it sure as hell isn’t unfair.

Whitmire has dodged accountability for decades while governing as a Republican with a blue sticker slapped on his forehead.

Houston’s LGBTQ+ Leaders Have Had Enough.

This week, the Houston LGBTQ+ Political Caucus (the oldest LGBTQ+ political org in the South) endorsed the resolution. They did it after careful deliberation because Whitmire’s record demanded it.

They cited three facts:

• Houston’s collaboration with ICE under Trump

• The removal of Montrose’s rainbow crosswalks

• Whitmire cozying up to MAGA hardliner Dan Crenshaw at a fundraiser

When one of Houston’s most established civil rights organizations says the mayor has failed their community, precinct chairs should listen. This is your community.

Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher has spent the week whipping votes for Whitmire. Yet, it’s common knowledge that the Corporate Establishment has captured Fletcher, and she has continuously sold her constituents out to Big Oil for nothing more than a pat on the head from Exxon and a campaign check to keep the machine running.

The ICE abuse has REAL victims.

Whitmire and HPD spent months telling Houstonians they weren’t cooperating with ICE. Then he admitted they were. And the consequences were devastating.

A gay Houston man fleeing violence in Honduras, following every legal step, was detained during a routine asylum interview. No criminal record or pretext, but arrested anyway.

Then there’s Emmanuel Gonzalez García, a 15-year-old autistic child, instead of reuniting him with his mother, HPD called ICE. Emmanuel was labeled an “unaccompanied minor,” hauled into federal custody, and held for weeks.

Whitmire called it a “model.”

A model for what? State-sanctioned trauma?

Fundraising for Dan Crenshaw is a betrayal.

Whitmire’s defenders keep telling us that hosting a fundraiser for Dan Crenshaw was “smart politics.” That’s bullshit.

Houston is staring down a $134 million budget deficit for FY 2026.

Meanwhile, Crenshaw has built his career on:

• Cutting Medicaid

• Cutting SNAP

• Pushing federal clawbacks

• Voting for tax cuts for billionaires that drain cities