Kathy Whitmire

Kathryn Jean Whitmire (née Niederhofer; born August 15, 1946) is an American politician, businesswoman, and accountant best known as the first woman to serve as Mayor of Houston, serving for five consecutive two-year terms from 1982 to 1992.

She then enrolled at the University of Houston, and graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in accounting in 1968.

She continued her studies at the university to earn a Master of Accountancy degree in 1970.

In 1970, she began working in the Houston office of the well-known accounting firm Coopers and Lybrand.

She also began working to qualify as a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and opened an accounting firm with her husband.

She also found time and energy to serve on the faculty of the Department of Business Management at the University of Houston–Downtown.

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, who had been appointed as Commissioner of Immigration for the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, Whitmire was elected to finish Castillo's term.

She won the race for a full two-year term in a landslide, defeating Steve Jones in the Runoff Elections with 110,762 votes (58.57%) to Jones' 78,365 votes (41.44%), making history as the first woman ever to hold the office.

In that same year, she married a fellow student, James M. (Jim) Whitmire, who died in 1976.

From 1977 to 1981, 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 for homosexuals, among other acts, cemented her support among many minority groups.

Upon being inaugurated on January 2, 1978, Whitmire criticized the late then-Mayor Jim McConn for his inefficiency and lax administration.

Becoming familiar with "sweetheart contracts", that had often been awarded to friends and supporters of influential office holders, she stopped the practice by rigorously enforcing observance of the Open Bidding laws.

She also diligently looked for inefficiencies or outright wasteful practices in each of the city offices.

Although this angered many "insiders", she won election in 1979 to a second term, becoming the first female elected to a top job in the Houston City government.

Whitmire decided to run for mayor in the 1981 election.

The incumbent, Jim McConn, had already served two terms in the office and was supported by the business community, who had largely controlled city politics for decades.

However, McConn lost in the general election to Jack Heard, formerly Sheriff of Harris County and the City Controller, Whitmire, sending the race to a runoff between the latter two.

There was a sharp contrast between Whitmire and Heard in the runoff election.

Heard was 63 years old, with 25 years of experience in political office.

Whitmire was only 35 and had little political experience.

She said in her speeches that her opponent's experience was too narrowly focused on law enforcement.

According to one report, Heard spent $1.5 million on the race, while his opponent spent $650,000.

While Heard had credibility with those who were more concerned about law and order or maintaining the status quo, Whitmire campaigned on her fiscal conservatism and moderate-to-liberal views on social issues.

When former mayor Louie Welch attempted a comeback in the 1985 election, he was unable to mount a convincing argument that he could more ably lead the city out of a recession than Whitmire could.

Instead, the opposition to Whitmire focused on public fears about the AIDS epidemic.

A so-called "Straight Slate" opposed gay rights and supported Welch, who, however, did not accept its endorsement.

The issue failed to affect Whitmire's support.

She won the election, getting 59.8 percent of the votes.

The Straight Slate did force two city council members, Anthony Hall and Judson Robinson, into runoffs which they then won.

Whitmire's string of victories ended with the 1991 mayoral election when she was defeated by long-time political power broker Bob Lanier and State Representative Sylvester Turner.

Lanier defeated Turner in the December runoff.

Whitmire has never run for political office again.

Kathy Niederhofer received her basic education in the Houston Independent School District, ultimately graduating from San Jacinto High School.