Candidates urge city to probe Whitmire’s finances

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee and former Metro Chair Gilbert Garcia have requested the city attorney to investigate alleged campaign contribution limit violations by state Sen. John Whitmire, hinting at a potential lawsuit if the city does not act.

Whitmire jump-started his mayoral bid with a $10 million war chest, accumulated mostly from his decades-long tenure in the Texas Legislature. While state law imposes no contribution limits, city rules cap donations at $5,000 from individuals and $10,000 from political groups, prompting questions about how much of his money Whitmire is allowed to use for the mayor’s race.

Past campaign finance reports indicate that around half of the funds Whitmire amassed in the legislature came from portions of donations that would have surpassed the city limits. The state senator’s campaign said they have been making internal transfers in compliance with Houston law. But some candidates said they are not ready to take Whitmire’s word for it without seeing detailed breakdowns of these transfers.

The latest campaign finance reports show that Whitmire’s hefty fund balance far eclipses his opponents’ resources. As of July, Garcia, Jackson Lee and attorney Lee Kaplan reported having only $2.9 million, $1 million and $1.4 million, respectively, in their accounts. Meanwhile, even after spending $1.9 million on his mayoral bid, Whitmire reported $9.9 million in cash on hand.

“Without action on the part of the City Attorney’s office, 2023 city candidates who have abided by campaign and contribution cycle limits are harmed and treated unequally,” Jackson Lee and Garcia wrote in a letter to City Attorney Arturo Michel on Monday.

With Election Day fast approaching, the two candidates also asked the city attorney to expedite the inquiry and provide a formal response within 10 business days. If the city fails to enforce the ordinance, Garcia said he will likely file a lawsuit against Whitmire’s campaign and possibly the city, with the details depending on developments in the coming weeks.

“If Whitmire can do this and the ordinance doesn’t get enforced, then what good are city ordinances?” said Garcia, who is running his campaign partly on an anti-corruption platform. “And if the senator is already abusing city ordinances now, what will he do when he’s mayor?”

During a Monday meeting with the Chronicle’s Editorial Board, Whitmire assured that “everything’s in compliance” based on his discussions with the city attorney and the Texas Ethics Commission. When asked for more details about the internal transfers from his state to city account, his spokesperson, Sue Davis, declined to provide further information.

Jackson Lee also weighed in during the meeting, saying her intention behind the letter is to gain clarity on exactly how Whitmire’s $10 million lump sum can or cannot be used: “We want the officer overseeing these funds to provide transparency.”

Whitmire’s fund transfer

The debate over Whitmire’s fund transfer has reignited longstanding debates on what Houston’s contribution limits permit. Gordon Quan, who led the charge in passing the ordinance in question in 2005, believes the law should only let a candidate treat any non-city account like a single political group and transfer a total of $10,000.

Both Michel and former City Attorney Dave Feldman, on the other hand, have favored a more lenient reading of the law. They suggest candidates can use the capped amount from each individual donor, instead of viewing the non-city account as a single entity. This interpretation allowed Mayor Sylvester Turner to utilize $900,000 from his legislative account for his successful mayoral run in 2015.

Adding to the complexity is Whitmire’s decades-long practice of investing his campaign money. As these investments yield gains and replenish his account, Garcia noted it’s almost impossible to determine, from public information alone, how much of Whitmire’s fund balance is usable. He urged the state senator to take the initiative to clarify and share the calculations with the public.

In the letter, shared with the Chronicle, Jackson Lee and Garcia said the state senator should not spend more than what he’s raised during the current contribution cycle – January 2022 to present. They also listed six donors whose total contributions to Whitmire’s city or state accounts during this period surpassed Houston’s caps. They claimed the excess amount totals at least $43,500.

Michel confirmed receipt of the letter Monday afternoon. He said while his interpretation of the law has not changed, he would take a “renewed look” at the ordinance and ensure a thorough examination of the allegations.

Due to legal and resource constraints, the city’s ability to act in these cases is limited, Michel said. If his office deems legal actions necessary, he will likely only be able to pursue a low-level misdemeanor lawsuit in the municipal court.

Kaplan has also voiced concerns over Whitmire’s fund balance in the past. He did not join the initiative by the two others to push for an investigation, but his campaign manager Jennie Johnson expressed support for their efforts.

“John Whitmire has spent his career enriching himself and taking money from corporate PACs and special interests,” Johnson said. “The Kaplan campaign fully supports the investigation into his dirty money.”

Late challenge

So far, the ordinance has not yet had a chance to be thoroughly tested in court. Former City Councilmember Chris Bell, who also ran for mayor in 2015, sued the city in an attempt to prevent Turner’s $900,000 fund transfer but eventually dropped the case before a judge ruled on its merit.

Brandon Rottinghaus, a political science professor at the University of Houston, said a legal challenge at this stage in the election cycle might not yield quick enough results to impact the race, despite its potential for long-term legal consequences.

“The core political reality was that Whitmire’s money made him a front-runner, so this is something the other candidates needed to stop early, but they were probably just waiting for somebody else to do it,” Rottinghaus said. “It’s possible that they can get some kind of ruling before the runoff, but that’s going to be too late for most candidates.”