Whitmire Says Houstonians Speaking At City Council Should "Swear" To Tell Truth-Sure Is Something Coming From Him

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Houston City Council voted yesterday, 12/10, to continue the new practice of holding one Tuesday evening Public Comment session early in the evening rather than at 2 PM.  The time for this session has been moved from 6 PM to 5 PM, but the later-time monthly meetings will proceed. 

Councilmember Mario Castillo proposed the evening meetings earlier this year. Council approved the idea with a trial that ends with the December 16 meeting next week. 

Councilmember Fred Flickinger made a motion to move the meetings to quarterly rather than monthly. That motion failed 9-8. Voting for quarterly evening meetings were Peck, Evans-Shabazz, Flickinger, Thomas, Huffman, Ramirez, Davis and Carter. Voting for the monthly meetings to proceed were Castillo, Pollard, Castex-Tatum, Alcorn, Martinez, Jackson, Kamin, Plummer and Whitmire. 

Mayor Whitmire made the right vote, but then went on to say a disturbing thing. 

Mayor Whitmire said people who offer public comment at Houston City Council should "....swear what you're saying is the truth." You see the Mayor in his comments in the picture above. The full debate on the meeting issue runs from the one hour 28 minute to the one hour 55 minute points of the HTV feed of today's session. Mayor Whitmire's unfortunate comment is at one hour 54 minutes. 

Who is going to determine what the truth is at Houston City Council? John Whitmire? 

Here is what the Houston Chronicle opinion page recently wrote about Mayor Whitmire and the truth:

"Every mayor makes backroom deals, but at some point they have to level with the public. We’re not seeing that with the mayor. Despite having the squinty deadpan style of a straight shooter, Whitmire prevaricates. He waffles, jumbles and obfuscates. Examples abound...It doesn’t build trust to pretend a budget is “balanced” when the city is dipping into its savings account to keep it in the black.  To sign pay deals with first responders without finding a way to pay for the raises. To claim staff cuts won’t affect city services when they likely will...On immigration, he is maddeningly inconsistent.... he rejected President Trump’s plans for a mass deportation program...Then he softened his stance, noting that local officers are required to contact arresting agencies if they encounter a person with a warrant. Then the big reveal: Whitmire openly acknowledging at a conference several weeks ago that HPD is cooperating with ICE. "

Imagine John Whitmire as a judge of who is telling the truth. 

The Mayor and his police union buddies are giving Houstonians all sorts of unhelpful input and about our First Amendment rights at Houston City Council and on the streets. These are just the wrong people to listen to with our freedom under attack. 

Here are some examples of what I'm referencing:

* Last week at Council. Mayor Whitmire told immigration activist Cesar Espinosa "..let us ask the questions" in response to HPD handing over a 15 year old boy with medical concerns to immigration officials. 

* At Council on November 12, Mayor Whitmire brought right-wing police "union" boss Douglas Griffith to tell Houstonians that use of the word "fight" in how we are opposing ICE could be seen as a threat against law enforcement. 

* This past Labor Day, there was an excessive and expensive police presence at a peaceful 50501 march against Trump and ICE that started near the Galleria-area water wall. 

* In August, 2024, Mayor Whitmire failed in an effort to ban protest at the homes of elected officials. We don't need to lose any rights as we confront an authoritarian threat. 
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* Also in August, 2024, Mayor Whitmire absurdly accused pro-Palestine protesters of being paid by Iran. He was unable to backup the assertion. 

* In February, 2024, while in the process of removing recently-installed public safety improvements on Houston Ave., Mayor Whitmire said opponents of his actions were "anti-car activists" dedicated to making it more difficult to get onto I-45. 

With ICE on our streets and our rights on the line, activism outside of establishment politics and protest led by Houstonians are an essential resource in the challenging days ahead. Mayor Whitmire should be on the streets by our side, rather than telling us to watch our words, deploying an army of cops when we protest peacefully and seeking to restrict our First Amendment rights. 

And as always--The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough. The work ahead is ours. 

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project Hour. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later on Egberto's YouTube channel.​​​​​​​​

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