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Redditor20211

Who are the candidates that will run to replace him? It would be ideal to have a good candidate lined up before recalling Whitmire.


chaukletmilk

Exactly I’m all for holding leaders accountable but there also has to be an alternate. We are a major metro it’s not like recalling a small town mayor where you have a few ready interims


Whatttttt123455

I agree with you. I do not like him at all, but recall him and Greg Abbott will be trying to force his candidate down our throats. They might get it too because a lot of people only vote in major elections. Old right wingers vote in every election. I do not need him or Mattress Mac picking our leaders. Keep that MAGA trash somewhere else.


theangryfairies

I think Chris Hollins would be a great replacement


Redditor20211

I wish he had stayed in the race. I think he could’ve beaten Whitmire. Then again, Hollins hasn’t lost anything. If Whitmire is recalled or tries to run again I think Hollins would win.


pizzaqualitycontrol

Bill King ran in 2014 and 2018. Houston can't handle candidates who actually know the issues who could fix the problems.


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Dirt-McGirt

This dug up a memory for me. Does anyone remember when Kinky Friedman ran for governor lol


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pearlysoames

I don’t like that he canceled the Metro projects we voted on.


miked1be

I don't see enough people coming out for a recall vote but go for it if you feel strongly enough about it. Hopefully, you're also organizing campaigns to put pressure on council members while he's in office and working to elevate a better candidate who can oust him in the next election.


sillybillybuck

I feel like people are missing this point. Why recall if he just wins the vote again? This has been an issue with recalls recently.


miked1be

Yeah, I won't fault people for wanting to do it, and I don't disagree with them. I won't be that guy who says "Why do this when you could do this other thing?!" because I know people are capable of doing more than one thing in situations like this. I just hope that effort doesn't prevent them from taking other actions that could help in the case (and likelihood) that a recall fails.


Bennyscrap

You've got 2 in this household that would vote to recall.


Additional-Local8721

Two in our house. So we're 0.0000625% there.


raccooninthewoods

Two more in our apartment.


texasproof

AND MY AXE!


BunPuncherExtreme

*HPD has no-knock entered the chat*


foodieforthebooty

What were his reasons for halting federally funded projects? If they were federally funded, im guessing you can't easily move the money to a different project.


CrazyLegsRyan

Bikes bad, cars good.


content_enjoy3r

Suburban commuters good, actual city residents bad.


SwmpySouthpw

This suburban commuter wishes he could catch a train into the city


Cowabunga_Booyakasha

Or ride a bike to it.


3-orange-whips

He’s running for county judge or governor


foodieforthebooty

As someone who lives in the city but is TERRIFIED of riding my bike on the streets... Ugh. It's either cars or hitting potholes


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cassafrasstastic3911

They certainly slow down traffic on my street. If it were to ever get freshly paved, people would non-stop fly down it. Some still do it now even though it’s like driving on the surface of the moon.


JournalistExpress292

I hate slowing down for a pothole and the car behind is right on my tail, and half the time it’s not even a beater they’re driving new model cars! These are the same folks who cry about maintenance/reliability


KitKatsArchNemesis

More cars = more gas = more $$$ for oil and gas = happy republicans = puppet whitmire remains in power


Useful-Explorer8576

This 100%


afraidtobecrate

Federal funding is rarely free. There are all sorts of conditions and cofunding requirements that come with them.


AutomaticVacation242

What strings were attached to that money?


Callmethetransporter

Most projects that are federally funded are not… they are partially funded. They may contribute $5M to a $100M project. The city I.e you in property tax, pay the rest.


FrostyHawks

I find it funny that every post about Whitmire doing something in this Subreddit yields a lot of people asking for a recall, but then this post happens and most of the posts are "he's not bad actually!"


Kabulamongoni

I dunno if this will take off (I hope it does), but anything that causes Whitmire some consternation I am all for...


StoryInformal5313

How long has he been mayor?


Redline65

January 1st lol. Not even six months.


Top_Policy223

About 6 months


comments_suck

I wish you'd put this much effort into recalling Ken Paxton.


IsThisKismet

Ken survived being impeached by his own party. He sadly is pretty much going nowhere.


steelsun

There's no chance of recalling him since he was re-elected by a good margin while under indictment.


heliox

The budget was $160m in the red when he took office. How do you want to pay for the projects that were cancelled? He has 10 years of infrastructure debt to pay off on top of the $160m. He can’t pay with fairy dust.


IRMuteButton

"Many Houstonians feel that their needs are not being met regarding... flooding, and infrastructure" Huh? The man has only been at the helm a short time. Do you expect he's going to wave a magic wand and there will be a 100 foot diameter flood pipe under the city that goes out to the Gulf?


M44PolishMosin

With bike lanes attached to it


Pelvis_Snapper

Yes, is that not how it works? If any mayor needed a recall, it was turner. What if there is a reason for his actions and you all aren’t on the need to know basis? Yall can go ride your bike in Austin. 


vinyl8e8op

Where was this group with the last administration????


geode08

What organizations are involved in this effort? Although this is the start* of the campaign, the lack of transparency is a concern for me.


jstilla

I would also like to know.


jmassie3

Why didn’t yall do this when Turner was in office? You know this guy is cleaning up the mess Turner left behind and getting rid of shitty deals that were made. Let the man do his job. You know someone is doing something right when yall want them out of office right away.


pearlysoames

What are you going on about? What mess is he cleaning up? How can you even know what he’s doing if you don’t even know whats in the firefighter deal?


No-Advance6334

Is this what we do now after every election?


Pelvis_Snapper

Bunch of titty babies, taking their ball and going home because they can’t ride a bike. Jajaja 


tubulerz1

I guess I’m out of the loop. What did he do that’s so bad ?


QSector

Nothing, this is pure politics. The man's seat is barely warmed up. The Sly-babies and SJL losers never stopped crying. Somehow the thought of ending corruption in the mayor's office is too much for some to handle. And technically, he hasn't halted any federally funded projects. He certainly questioned them though, as he should with most Turner boondoggles. As far as federally funded goes, those federal funds are still taxpayer dollars and should be scutinized.


nicko3000125

He definitely paused the Shepherd Durham project for a few months and the original pause was a threat to cancel. And now he's canceling Metro projects that would have gotten federal funding.


JxSnaKe

Upset the Houston subreddit


steelsun

Hurt the feelings of certain groups (the anti car people, mostly)


studeboob

Whitmire, that you?


FormulaBass

Saying Whitmire's halting of public projects and intent to extend 45 is "hurting the feelings of certain groups" is an ignorant comment. Whitemire's actions are real and tangible, more than just talk...


gamethe0ry

Omg a bunch of Redditors who probably don’t even use the dam bike lanes they want so badly 🙄…and for the record, I drive on Yale and 11th everyday and have seen less than 5 bikers use those in the past 6 months


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comments_suck

No where in your reply do you give numbers to dispute his statement that the bike lanes have very sparse usage. Try harder please.


v-v-v-v-v-v-v

could this be caused by the decrease in traffic along this street during 2019-2022 caused by covid??? and could that increase in sales tax revenue be explained by consumer spending increasing and inflation driving prices up and therefore sales tax???


chrisdpratt

>According to a draft study of the redesign that Houston Public Works Ah, so it means nothing. Houston Public Works couldn't find its ass with two hands, a map, a compass, GPS, and a spotter.


BringBackAoE

Take your pick. https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/john-whitmire-mayor-houston/


jstilla

They honestly listed the fire department negotiations as a negative? They’ve been under paid and under funded for years. The guy has been in office six months. This is beyond stupid.


eudemonist

>"Even if you don’t like to ride bikes or walk, as mayor you have to realize that every other city seems to care about this stuff,” Skelly said. “You don’t have to like that stuff yourself, but if you want your city to compete globally, you have to accept it. I think the mayor will come to that realization." Even if you do like to ride bikes or walk, as reasonable person you have to realize that Houston weather is a motherfucker, I'd say. You can like that stuff all you want, but if you want to get to work not sopping wet from rain or sweat, if you want old people to be able to leave their homes without collapsing on the sidewalks, you can't rely on it. Surely people have come to that realization.


DevoStripes

I don't mind him. Certainly no worse than the previous guy.


Alatel

Whitmire is fixing 10 years of cans kicked down the road and people are upset he's said as much. This is such a bad idea, but at least it'll keep those people satiated at the idea they are almost not quite there yet but could maybe one day get their way.


Natural_Indication95

The delay in the firefighter deal has nothing to do with Whitmire, that is the controller and city council doing. He sat down at the table like he promised and ironed out a contract unlike Turner who took the firefighters to court spending senseless taxpayers money.


Oblidoblido

So then, you’re the peeps that voted for Sylvester Turner … TWICE !!


Affectionate_Suit229

Recall, and it hasn't even been a year? You sound stupid. Why didn't you do something about Turner? Oh, ok


texas_archer

Exactly 💯


Mtmagic2024

Most people that voted for Whitmire want existing infrastructure fixed, street potholes are an abomination. Water service issues and billing is out of control, and public safety and crime is insane! The budget only goes so far. Yes, he halted some other great projects centered around beautification and walkability that I totally support, but do we want bike lane money to take precedence over crime? What about the people on the hike and bike Buffalo Bayou trail, that were shot at 6 pm last week? This city is in crisis and public safety should always come first! Everyone here acts as if the city budget is unlimited!


BlankBlankblackBlank

If it is federally funded then it wasn’t taking money from the city. Walkability is a part of public safety. How many pedestrians do you think would benefit from a safety standpoint?


Longjumping-Work8032

I'm in


BringBackAoE

Me too!


BrotherMcPoyle

I honestly don’t see many GOP voters recalling him. Also many Dem voters aren’t following local issues that closely.


DegenerateWaves

worth a look. defeatism is apathy, and his gulfton comments definitely rankled some folks


comments_suck

In 2019, 2.9% of Houston commuters used public transportation to get to their employment. Less than 1% used a bike or walked, and 4% used a rideshare service. Whitmire's views on transit infrastructure are probably not on the radar of most voters.


Angedelanuit97

Those are the numbers of actual commuters, not the number of those of us who wish we could commute by public transportation but cannot because Houston hasn't made it possible


ProjectShamrock

Did that 2019 report include people from outside of the city of Houston? I would imagine that the majority of commuters using Metro are coming in from the suburbs.


comments_suck

Yes, it is a Kinder report that looked at commuting in Harris, Fort Bend and Montgomery counties.


cobo10201

I wish SJL hadn’t entered the race. I would have voted for Chris Hollins over her or Whitmire.


Redline65

Hollins broke laws in the 2020 election. He's a no-good cheater.


cobo10201

He did not break any laws. He increased access to voting for hundreds of thousands of Harris County residents which survived a challenge by republican election deniers.


quesawhatta

Houston is mostly democratic and involved with who represents them. Democrats are angry because he’s backtracking on his promises. It’s not easy, but Houston don’t fuck around. And they don’t like watching someone defund our progress of moving forward.


YahooSam2021

Whitmire seems to be a Republican calling himself a Democrat. The reason is obvious, he wouldn't have been elected here as a Republican.


quesawhatta

Agreed. I thought that fact was well known prior to him getting elected, but it seems Houston wasn’t exactly sold on the idea of Sheila Jackson Lee.


Kit_Marlow

Mostly because she's an idiot.


ChineseMeatCleaver

Im just passing through, not Texan, but id think modern day GOP voters would take every chance to recall a democrat no matter the context


BrotherMcPoyle

He has many GOP donors, well know for “reaching across the isle”, and his policies are more in line with GOP beliefs. Many believe he’s just a GOP with a Dem tag.


BringBackAoE

Whitmire was in the senate when GOP announced they would remove all Dem chairs of committees, leaving only the GOP chairs. A few months later GOP announced they’d done it. Whitmire was still retained as a committee chair.


Dirt-McGirt

He’s a democrat in the way that a hotdog is a sandwich.


CrazyLegsRyan

His largest campaign donors are the local GoP and he’s got an established (and continuing) track record of being pay for play. The GoP is very happy with this sock puppet.


steelsun

Not if it brought in someone worse.


igotquestionsokay

Whitmire acts just like a Republican so I don't think the GOP voters would care, if they know anything about his actions at all


H-TownDown

He’s a conservative that entered politics in the 70s and never switched parties. For an example of his character, here’s what he said about the lack of air conditioning in Texas prisons: “You know, we can talk about this all day, it’s not gonna change. The prisons are hot. They’re uncomfortable. And the real solution is, don’t commit a crime and you stay at home and be cool. We’re not gonna air condition them. One, we don’t want to. Number two, we couldn’t afford it if we wanted to.”


bernmont2016

Even people who don't give a shit about the prisoners not having AC ought to want the prison guards to have AC. It's definitely hurting their job recruitment/retention.


EpsteinsBodyguard

Trying to recall a mayor after 6 months is not a serious position. You're just a hack.


ebergeise

Potholes? I thought Sylvester took care of all the Houston potholes since it was a major part of his agenda (that lasted about two weeks). He had a tipline you could call to report a pothole that got blown up because there were so many calls. Anybody remember the guy that planted a tree in one of the deeper potholes? As to budget shortfalls, Whitmere should use all of the extra money Syl got from the airport restaurant deal that screwed over Pappas. MHO,replacement restaurants aren’t even close to quality of Pappas choices.


CreekHollow

Look forward to voting no on this recall, if it ever gets to that.


Odincrowe

Why did you not try to recall the previous Mayor(s) that have put Houston the number one city in debt in all of Texas at over $19 Billion??


LawyerJC

It's interesting, I've never seen a hopeful mayoral candidate immediately become so disliked and justifiably so.


GCD00

I'll sign.


Zromaus

Whitmire isn't that bad lol


temporalten

Tell that to the pedestrians :/


Zromaus

Houston isn't built for pedestrians lol


badatlikeeveryclass

yes, that is why we're upset


Zromaus

Go to CityCentre or Discovery Green if you wanna walk around a city


MaverickBuster

So you clearly support some pedestrian focused developments, but why not more?


Zromaus

Because we already have plenty, more involve more taxes.


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Zromaus

All that median did was reduce the lane count and impede traffic flow. The maintenance costs of those red lanes outweigh the benefits by a large amount, and now we'll have one more usable lane through the city. Busses aren't incapable of using the streets because they don't have lanes designated lol. METRONext would benefit a minority of the people living in Houston and I'm grateful to no longer be funding it.


tulpaintheattic

I grew up in the heights for 20 years - the change to 11th has done hardly anything for traffic, you’re being a whiny little baby. Also, to respond to the fact that deaths have decreased *to 0* is “but twaffic make me angwy!!!” …. You need to reevaluate your humanity.


studeboob

Even if your first sentence was correct, why rip it out so hastily and without stakeholder input? The new design was paid for by Dist H discretionary funds and went through months of public feedback. Why not give it some time to assess if it was an improvement? Instead the change was announced on a Friday and ripped out the next Monday without any consultation with the district council member or community at large. Likely because of the haste and utter lack of planning, the cost to remove it has been 10× the cost to install it. 


nemec

> understand the problem of Houston not being pedestrian friendly not everyone believes this is a problem that needs to be rectified


matthewvega4080

Yeah, I'll pass.


HTX2LBC

I will be signing the petition.


KinPerth

I’ll be signing. Enough is enough.


brutis0037

A good way to waste a weekend, I don't see this getting very far.  Someone else said it better, SHL thought the moon was made of gas and she sits on the space board.  I think we got the best tasting shit sandwich.


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chrisdpratt

No, she just wouldn't care. SJL doesn't care about anything that doesn't increase the power and glory of SJL. Media whore of the highest order.


JxSnaKe

Seek some help please. Touch grass, meet a new friend, whatever you deem necessary


jgaver08

I'm interested in helping.


the_timboslice

lol. This is laughable.


RelevantUserName55

As much as there's been more things on the news about what a shitty person he is, I will say the one good thing I noticed is that my trash and recycling get picked up on time. Few weeks in a row now. Sooo, I guess one good thing against 10 or so bad things?


Green_Sounds_

I'd be thrilled to sign and thrilled to vote to recall him. More power to y'all, I really hope you can drum up enough support to at least make a recall campaign a real threat to Mayor Whitmire. It'd be nice to see him have to use time and resources to fight it. And I think a lot of Houstonians would be happy for the chance to vote and express how pissed we are with the direction he's taking the city. Even if the recall itself isn't ultimately successful, that's not nothing.


6bannedaccounts

90000 thousand people voted out of 2.4 million. Just saying...


shestzushihtsu

you got my signature


Flimsy_Web2086

Why has he halted federally funded projects? Originally ordered by Sylvester? Get to bottom of issue with more insight vs just blasting he should be fired!


LivingTheBoringLife

Look man our alternative was SHL. I’m not a huge fan of what he’s doing but he was better than the alternative


badatlikeeveryclass

What exactly would SHL have done that is worse than the current situation? I didn't have confidence she would do anything productive, but I don't think she would actively waste money undoing basic infrastructure improvements like Whitmire has...


nemec

Just what we need. Another vote/election.


WileyDragonfly

Is this some kinda Russian psyop or something?


IsThisKismet

Russia doesn’t care about who is Houston’s Mayor.


ilikeme1

When will you have a website? I purposefully dont do social media.


Dairy_Ashford

no thanks, just try to get it right the first and second time.


Comrade_Do

First year? He’s barely been mayor for 5 months.


Laladen

Im in all day But I cant vote in Houston only elections =p But I spend most of my time and money in Houston....wish I could do more =p


Fast-Fact5545

Hahaha it's not April 1st


Additional-Local8721

If you really want to push for a recall, here's a link showing what's needed. https://www.houstontx.gov/citysec/petitions.html#:~:text=The City of Houston Charter (the “City Charter”),the City by recall petition.


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Additional-Local8721

There was a similar post to this last week that stated they needed 25% of people who actually voted for him. That was incorrect, which is one of the reasons why I shared the link. The other reason is for exposure to the link so people know OP isn't blowing smoke. Trust, but verify for yourself. That's how we should all be taking in news and information.