U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee and former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia have urged the city attorney to look into purported breaches of campaign contribution limits by State Senator John Whitmire, alluding to the possibility of a legal action if the city fails to take action.

The Gilbert Garcia for Houston Campaign together with Sheila Jackson Lee for Mayor of Houston has formally submitted a letter to City Attorney Arturo Michel. This letter requests a comprehensive review of alleged campaign finance violations by the John Whitmire for Mayor Campaign.

Garcia stated “It's imperative that this city diligently enforces its ordinances, particularly this one. In light of the current ethical challenges at City Hall, we need to ensure full transparency to the voters, so they can have confidence that there are no “pay-to-play” practices with the election. If the Senator is already not adhering to the ordinance in both spirit or fact, it raises concerns about how he would manage the City if he were to become Mayor.”

These alleged violations are believed to contravene the City of Houston Code of Ordinances, Section 18-86, and have raised significant concerns about the overall integrity of the election process.

The joint letter emphasizes the importance of adhering to the campaign finance and contribution cycle limits outlined in Houston’s municipal code. Specifically, in the City of Houston Code of Ordinances, Section 18-38(a) campaign contributions to any individual candidate are limited $5000 per individual and $10,000 per political action committee “per contribution cycle” The contribution cycle, as defined in Section 18-31(c) spans from January following a general municipal election to December 31 of the subsequent year.

According to the Garcia and Jackson Lee campaigns, Senator Whitmire filed an appointment of a Campaign Treasurer along with an intent to utilize unexpended contributions from a non-city elective public office for his Mayoral race on November 10, 2022. In that letter Senator Whitmire recognized the contribution limits established by the City of Houston. However, he reported an excess of campaign funds on his Semi-Annual Report filed on January 17, 2033.