From to , she was the city controller, a position which made her the first woman elected to any office in the city. Whitmire drew national attention when she defeated former Harris County Sheriff Jack Heard in her election as mayor. The election drew national focus because it symbolized a major political realignment in the fourth-largest city in the United States. In office, she implemented many reforms to city finances, enabling new programs without raising taxes.
Her appointment of the city's first African American police chief and the first Hispanic woman as presiding judge of the Municipal Court, her support of a failed job rights bill preventing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, among other acts, cemented her support among many minority groups. When former mayor Louie Welch attempted a comeback in the election, he was unable to mount a convincing argument that he could more ably lead the city out of a recession than Whitmire could.
The issue failed to affect Whitmire's support. She won the election, getting The Straight Slate did force two city council members, Anthony Hall and Judson Robinson, into runoffs which they then won. Lanier defeated Turner in the December runoff. Whitmire has never run for political office again. She then enrolled at the University of Houston , and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting in She continued her studies at the university to earn a Master of Accountancy degree in In that same year, she married a fellow student, James M.
Jim Whitmire, who died in She also began working to qualify as a Certified Public Accountant CPA , and opened an accounting firm with her husband. Kathy Whitmire's exposure to and interest in city politics began in her parents' home.
Her father had been active in precinct-level politics, and the family frequently talked about local political issues. Her husband's brother, John Whitmire , already a rising star in the Texas Democratic Party, was a willing political mentor. After City Treasurer Henry Kriegel was appointed to serve out the unexpired term of Leonel Castillo , [ 2 ] [ 5 ] who had been appointed as Commissioner of Immigration for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, [ 6 ] Whitmire was elected to finish Castillo's term.
