John Whitmire
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John Harris Whitmire (born 1949) is the longest-serving of current members of the Texas State Senate representing District 15, which includes much of northern Houston.
Whitmire was born 13 August 1949 in Hillsboro, Texas to James M. Whitmire and Marie Harris Whitmire,[1] and graduated from Waltrip High School and the University of Houston.
Whitmire served as the Acting Governor of Texas in 1993 as part of the Governor for A Day tradition.
In 2003, 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 controversial redistricting legislation that would have benefited Texas Republicans.
National House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, a powerful figure in Texas politics, advocated arresting Whitmire, along with the other members of the Texas 11, telling reporters that he supported using FBI agents or U.S. marshals to arrest the runaway Democrats and bring them back to Austin, asserting that redistricting is a federal matter of federal concern.
It was Whitmire who first broke ranks and headed back home to Austin. His stated reason for doing so was that he wished to preserve consensus in the state Senate instead of allowing no-holds-barred partisan civil war to continue. Others have speculated about a possible "deal" between Republicans and Whitmire.
Besides the New Mexico controversy, he voiced his opposition to the City of Houston's Safe Clear program which unanimously passed by Houston Mayor Bill White. Whitmire introduced legislation to disband Safe Clear where it was deemed a revenue generator to which two Houston City Councilmembers decried its policy. The proposed legislation was later withdrawn after a private meeting in Austin where Mayor Bill White and Whitmire negotiated.
In July 2005 Texas Monthly, in its article “The Best and Worst Legislators of 2005” the magazine named Whitmire one of the ten best legislators in the Seventy-ninth Texas Legislature.[2]
Whitmire is the former brother-in-law to Kathy Whitmire, the mayor of Houston from 1982 to 1991.
Contents |
[edit] Election history
Election history of District 15 from 1992.[3]
[edit] Most recent election
[edit] 2002
| Texas general election, 2002: Senate District 15[4] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Michael P. Wolfe | 41,003 | 39.63 | +4.69 | |
| Democratic | John Whitmire | 62,458 | 60.37 | -4.69 | |
| Majority | 21,455 | 20.71 | -9.38 | ||
| Turnout | 103,461 | -29.76 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
[edit] Previous elections
[edit] 2000
| Texas general election, 2000: Senate District 15[5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Warren A. Lawless | 51,465 | 34.94 | -3.01 | |
| Democratic | John Whitmire | 95,826 | 65.06 | +3.01 | |
| Majority | 44,361 | 30.12 | +6.02 | ||
| Turnout | 147,291 | +12.65 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
[edit] 1996
| Texas general election, 1996: Senate District 15[6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Republican | Tom Kelly | 49,619 | 37.95 | +37.95 | |
| Democratic | John Whitmire | 81,134 | 62.05 | -37.95 | |
| Majority | 31,515 | 24.10 | -75.90 | ||
| Turnout | 130,753 | +97.09 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
[edit] 1994
| Texas general election, 1994: Senate District 15[7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | John Whitmire | 66,341 | 100.00 | +30.12 | |
| Majority | 66,341 | 100.00 | +55.79 | ||
| Turnout | 66,341 | -33.62 | |||
| Democratic hold | |||||
[edit] 1992
| Texas general election, 1992: Senate District 15[8] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Democratic | John Whitmire | 69,844 | 69.88 | ||
| Republican | Thomas V. Kelly | 25,660 | 25.67 | ||
| Libertarian | George Hollenback | 4,438 | 4.44 | ||
| Majority | 44,184 | 44.21 | |||
| Turnout | 99,942 | ||||
| Democratic hold | |||||
| Democratic Party Primary Runoff Election, 1992: Senate District 15[9] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Roman O. Martinez | 15,390 | 47.61 | ||
| ✓ | John Whitmire | 16,938 | 52.39 | |
| Turnout | 32,328 | |||
| Democratic Party Primary Election, 1992: Senate District 15[10] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| David Alley | 1,587 | 4.97 | ||
| ✓ | Roman O. Martinez | 15,575 | 48.87 | |
| ✓ | John Whitmire | 14,707 | 46.14 | |
| Turnout | 31,869 | |||
[edit] References
- ^ Texas Department of State Health Services, Vital Records (1949-08-13). Birth Certificate for John Harris Whitmire (Third party index of birth records for Hill County). Rootsweb.com. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Burka, Paul, and Patricia Kilday Hart. "The Best and Worst Legislators of 2005" (subscription required), Texas Monthly, 2005-07. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Uncontested primary elections are not shown.
- ^ 2002 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ 2000 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ 1996 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ 1994 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ 1992 General Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ 1992 Democratic Party Primary Runoff Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ 1992 Democratic Party Primary Election. Office of the Secretary of State (Texas). Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
[edit] External link
- District 15 page at Texas Senate website.
| Preceded by William S. “Bill” Heatley |
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from District 82 (Houston) 1973–1983 |
Succeeded by Nolan J. Robnett |
| Preceded by Jack C. Ogg |
Texas State Senator from District 15 (Houston) 1983 – present |
Incumbent |
| Current Texas State Senators |  |
|---|---|
| 1: Eltife (R) • 2: Deuell (R) • 3: Nichols (R) • 4: Williams (R) • 5: Ogden (R) • 6: Gallegos (D) • 7: Patrick (R) • 8: Shapiro (R) • 9: Harris (R) • 10: Brimer (R) • 11: Jackson (R) • 12: Nelson (R) • 13: Ellis (D) • 14: Watson (D) • 15: Whitmire (D) • 16: Carona (R) • 17: Janek (R) • 18: Hegar (R) • 19: Uresti (D) • 20: Hinojosa (D) • 21: Zaffirini (D) • 22: Averitt (R) • 23: West (D) • 24: Fraser (R) • 25: Wentworth (R) • 26: Van de Putte (D) • 27: Lucio (D) • 28: Duncan (R) • 29: Shapleigh (D) • 30: Estes (R) • 31: Seliger (R) |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | John Harris Whitmire |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Houston, Texas politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 13 August 1937 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hillsboro, Texas |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
