Written by Michael Thervil
The fact that Houston mayoral candidates Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia are seeking to launch a probe into Whitmire’s campaign contribution funds says volumes about how far behind these two are in the race to become Houston Texas next Mayor. This is also true when just a few months ago, when it was found and reported in the Houston Chronicle that “1 in 5 Houston City Hall candidates skipped campaign finance reports, violating state ethics laws”. This latest political debacle has Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia both pushing for the Houston City Attorney to investigate further alleged campaign contributions limit violations surrounding Senator John Whitmire.
Keep in mind that Texas State Law does not place a cap on how much in campaign contributions any one candidate can have, however, the City of Houston does. It was stated that the City of Houston caps campaign contributions at $10,000 from political action groups and $5,000 from private individuals. One possible reason could be to allow an “even playing field” for all interested candidates to compete fairly. To be fair it was discovered in the past that over half of Senator Whitmire’s campaign contributions actually did breach the limit of Houston Law concerning how much any political candidate could have.
Understand that the funds that Senator John Whitmire had accumulated were due to him amassing those funds way before he announced his campaign for Houston City Mayor. Instead, the funds that he amassed stemmed from his lengthy time in the Texas senate. In order to stay in compliance with the Houston City’s cap on the amount a political candidate could use while running for a political office, it was reported by Senator John Whitmire’s Campaign Manager that they have been transferring funds out of his political financial accounts to stay in compliance with the City of Houston Law on political contributions before both Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia decided to complain about it.
Senator John Whitmire
However, according to running mates Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia, Senator John Whitmire’s actions and his word on abiding by Houston Law isn’t good enough. The question that many Houstonians have on their minds is: has Senator John Whitmire done anything in his past that would prompt Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia to undermine the notion that Senator John Whitmire was and is currently acting in good faith by transferring funds out of his campaign account? For many Houstonians, the answer is no. So, the next question many Houstonians are asking – why aren’t Senator John Whitmire’s words good enough? Many Houstonians are speculating that it’s because both Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia are not just simply losing in the polls, but they simply lack the financial and political clout needed to get things done.
This logic held by many Houstonians, seems to be an indicator that both Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia are not good fits to run the City of Houston because they lack what is necessary to get things done on their end as far as their own campaigns to win the title of Mayor for Houston. Furthermore, people are saying that it comes as no surprise that both Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia would collude together to take down a political opponent that they can’t win against – which in turn could boost their campaigns in the polls. Politics can be a dirty game – we all know this; but when political candidates collude together to bring another one down so they can come up is tantamount to conspiracy. That's another reason why people have a bad perception of politics.
In this case the possible motive of birth Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia colluding together to slash their common political opponents’ dollars only makes sense. According to the Houston Chronicle it was reported that back in July 2023:
“Garcia, Jackson-Lee and Attorney Lee Kaplan reported having only $2.9 million, $1 million and $1.4 million in their accounts. Meanwhile, even after spending $1.9 million on his mayoral bid, Whitmire reported $9.9 million in cash on hand.”
Houston Mayoral Candidate Gilbert Garcia
So maybe many of the politically savvy people in Houston are right, the possible collusion to get together to pressure the City Attorney to launch an investigation into Senator John Whitmire’s campaign finances in order to knock him down is spot on. Adding insult to injury, both Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia begged the Houston City Attorney to “expedite the inquiry and provide a formal response within 10 business days” according to the Houston Chronicle. Adding more desperation into the already burning field of fire they’ve created; Gilbert Garcia is going as far as to threaten to file a lawsuit against both the City of Houston and the Senator John Whitmire Campaign.
This seems to be a sign of political weakness by many Houstonians who would say: “you knew you were running for a political office – you should have planned your finances better. You know it takes real money to run – you should’ve been ready”. As far as Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee is concerned; according to the Houston Chronicle “her intention behind the letter is to gain clarity on exactly how Whitmire $10 million lump sum can or cannot be used: “We want the Officer overseeing these funds to provide transparency””.
So, the question of the day is, since when do we allow other people to “pocket watch” how and what someone else does with their money in America. We mean this is America right (rhetorical)? That question is followed by: “if both Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee and Gilbert Garcia have so much time to watch the pockets of Senator John Whitmire, wouldn’t it be wise to revert all that time and energy into seeing that they own campaigns can obtain the funds needed to match Senator John Whitmire so they can get themselves in the same position as him?”
Let that sink in Houston.
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