Not as we have people voting in unprecedented numbers; we don’t. So when the vast majority votes for something, why does John Whitmire and his crony legal department choose not to follow the will and laws of our city?
Whitmire fought against what he called the agenda item’s politicization, pointing to H-GAC’s $335 million budget for infrastructure projects — $151 million of which was slated for work related to the I-45 expansion — as evidence of the partnership’s continued benefits.
“I just think it’s time to fish or cut bait,” Whitmire said
Lawyers will argue whatever the client wants. In this case, the City Attorney serves at the will of the mayor, Whitmire.
City Attorney Arturo Michel said Wednesday that withdrawing from H-GAC was not as simple as Proposition B laid it out to be. A decision not to renew, Arturo argued, would violate state and federal laws that dictate that a region’s largest city must be part of a metropolitan planning organization — in this case, H-GAC’s Transportation Policy Council.
Michael Moritz, an organizer with Fair For Houston, the organization that championed Proposition B, said that while he appreciated the council’s discussion, he was “disappointed” with Michel’s interpretation of the laws.
Michel repeatedly stated that withdrawing from the Transportation Policy Council would require approval from Gov. Greg Abbott and a three-fourths vote from the council’s membership. In actuality, federal transportation code indicates that representatives of 75% of the area’s population — not 75% of the council’s members — must approve a redesignation, a point that Michel himself clarified toward the end of the discussion.
Because Houston makes up more than 25% of the area’s population, the city essentially has veto power over any redesignation agreements, Moritz said. Given that the Transportation Policy Council will have to renegotiate its structure to accommodate new members from Austin County and the Woodlands by 2026, he argued the renewal vote offered a good opportunity for Houston to exercise its leverage.
“The campaign’s position is that the city should not be renewing its membership now, it should be issuing notice to the TPC that the city is in violation of its charter and that it holds leverage over redesignation, and that good faith negotiation is the solution,” Moritz said.
Why vote if it does not mean anything to people like Whitmire and his MAGA handlers.
White progressives are easily hoodwinked by white people masquerading as Democrats; look no further than Kim Ogg and John Whitmire. To be more clear within the white progressives is the Gay community.