Get the media involved! The Whitmire administration seems to ignore requests for services from most people, especially those from the low income community.
The City stopped right after Whitmire became mayor. He can’t blame Turner for his failures. The failure is entirely on Whitmire.
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — An 80-year-old grandmother reached out to ABC13, fed up with trash that had been building up on her porch in northeast Houston for a month, and Action 13 came through for her.
Just moments after we aired her story on Eyewitness News at 3 p.m., city workers came out and got her trash.
“I wish I could take my trash out. I wish I could do a lot of stuff that I can’t do,” Shirley McMclillian said. “I am the type of person — I don’t like to ask for help. I try to be independent.”
McMillian doesn’t get around as well as she’d like.
That’s why she applied for and was approved for city trash collection assistance.
Workers had been coming out and getting the trash from her porch once a week for almost a year and a half, when they suddenly stopped.
She said they hadn’t come since Jan. 7, and her calls to 311 felt like they went nowhere.
I live in District J, and that would not have happened if she called Council Member Pollard’s office, the problem would have been solved immediately, even if the Council Member had to go out there to do it himself.
Instead of thanking the Council Member for taking care of his constituents, Whitmire is trying to stop him from helping the community. Three more years of lousy service from this mayor.
Houston City Council Member Edward Pollard promised additional services for his constituents in what he pitched as a rebrand of his district, but is now hitting implementation roadblocks at Mayor John Whitmire’s office.
The delays weren’t caused by any concerns over the services themselves, according to the mayor’s office, but in the way Pollard wants to provide them.
Last month, Pollard announced his southeast Houston district would be rebranded as “J City” and run much like its own municipality. With the rebrand came the promise of more services for his constituents, such as private heavy trash pickup, a supplemental maintenance team to mow right-of-ways and a beautification team to clear illegal dumping.
Pollard said at the time that he wanted to outsource the services through outside contractors.
While Pollard said his proposals have been approved by the city’s lawyers, he has since had delays getting approval from Whitmire’s office on initiatives for private heavy trash pickup, a PSA system and his Good Neighbor Program that would provide home repairs to seniors, veterans and members of Houston’s disabled community.
The mayor’s office has also essentially blocked the use of an ATV police patrol system tasked with tackling low-level crimes, Pollard added. He said the administration has ordered Houston police to ignore reports that come in through an online portal used by residents, and officers won’t receive overtime for participating in the program.
Pollard speculates it’s a political move, but officials from Whitmire’s office have cited the city’s rules as a reason why the proposals can’t move forward, adding that they have had “several conversations” with Pollard about how the initiatives have to be done in accordance with the city charter.
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Whitmire should be ashamed of himself.