by: Editor-in-Chief Ryan Tejero
John Whitmire was sworn in as the Mayor of the City of Houston on January 1, 2024, in a small, private ceremony at 12:01 a.m. and then again January 2 at 9:30 a.m. at the formal inaugural ceremony at Wortham Theater.
“There were many times during the campaign that I said I wish I could start work
in the morning,” said Mayor-Elect Whitmire. “I don’t want to wait a minute longer than I have to.”
Whitmire is the 63rd Mayor of America’s fourth-largest city. He comes into office following a landslide victory in the mayoral runoff election on December 9 ready to tackle issues that Houstonians care about. The new Mayor will focus on working with the Police and Fire Departments to make the city safer; creating a balanced and transparent budget; improving city services, such as garbage pickup, homelessness, cleaning up illegal dumping and the Permitting Office; and upgrading infrastructure, including the water system, and flooding and drainage.
The early morning swearing-in took place in the Mayor’s Office at City Hall with Mayor-Elect Whitmire’s family just after midnight January 1. The Mayor-Elect was sworn in by Judge Victor Trevino, III, Harris County Justice of the Peace, Precinct 6.
After being sworn in, the new Mayor accompanied Houston Police Chief Troy Finner from 12:30 a.m. into the early morning hours to witness the first-hand challenges of Houston’s first responders and to put public safety in the spotlight.
“I am making public safety my highest priority from day one,” he said, “supporting our officers and improving public safety for all our communities.”
The inaugural ceremony took place the next day at Wortham Theater, 501 Texas Ave., at 9:30 a.m., January 2. In addition to the Mayor, City Controller Chris Hollins and 16 At-Large and District City Councilmembers were also sworn in. The Mayor and Controller were sworn in by Judge Trevino. The new mayor then swears in the Councilmembers.
Admission to the event was free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis; tickets were made available at the Wortham Box Office at 8 a.m. on inauguration day only; the theater opened at 8:15 a.m. Free parking was available for the public in the Theater District parking garages, courtesy of Houston First. Seats were limited; an overflow crowd will be accommodated with video at the smaller Cullen Theater at the Wortham. In addition, KRIV-TV, Fox26 did a live broadcast on the first 30 minutes of the ceremony from 9:30 to 10 a.m. and then livestream the entire inauguration on their website at www.fox26houston.com.
Following the inauguration, the newly sworn-in Mayor and City Councilmembers returned to City Hall for a Council meeting at 11 a.m. Mayor Whitmire then opened the doors to City Hall at 2 p.m., welcoming Houstonians to shake his hand and share issues of concern.
“I have promised transparency in city government,” he said. “I invite Houstonians to meet your mayor at the front door of City Hall. I will shake everyone’s hand. You will be able to talk to your mayor from day one.”
Instead of the usual gala that evening, the Mayor will host an appreciation event at the George R. Brown Convention Center for the City’s first responders—fire, police and municipal employees—from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. The event will feature food trucks and live music.
“Houston is a great city,” Mayor-Elect Whitmire has said many times. “But to reach our full potential, we must admit we have problems and then get to work solving them. Everyone will be a part of this journey. We must celebrate our diversity, while practicing inclusion. I will listen, I will hear, and I will work with all Houstonians. Let’s get to work!”
One Philippines was one of the invited media to cover the event. Editor-in-Chief Ryan Tejero joined other media practitioners to interview guests during the event. The Filipino American community is yet to meet with the new mayor to express its collective congratulatory message.
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