It just got interesting!
After an announcement by State Senator John Whitmire that he was running for Mayor while running for re-election, it seemed like the 2023 mayoral race would have less oxygen without any other major candidates.
Chris Hollins, the former interim County Clerk who led the county through some innovative reforms in how elections are run, announced yesterday that he, too, would run for Mayor. He’s definitely a breath of fresh air in what would be a race where most of the hopefuls have been around local politics for a long time.
Hollins, a Texas Democratic Party official who temporarily served as Harris County clerk in 2020, rose to prominence two years ago by championing efforts intended to make it easier for people to vote during the pandemic, including 24-hour drive-thru voting and a bid to send applications for mail-in ballots to more than 2 million registered voters in Harris County.
Hollins, the son of a former police officer, states that his focus would be public safety.
“Our community at large cannot thrive unless we’re safe and, just as important, we feel safe in our city,” Hollins said. “So whether that means addressing issues of crime, flooding, housing or the pandemic, Houstonians have to be able to trust that our mayor is committed to protecting residents and to fostering a safe community.”
With only a week before the start of early voting for the 2022 primary, this certainly puts a focus on Whitmire, who has recently promised to run one race at a time. I also agree with Kuff that pressure will be placed on anyone else who wants to run for Mayor and start raising money. There are other names we’ve heard and activity we’re seeing from a few others who sure are acting like future mayoral candidates. Frankly, they hadn’t interested me as much as Hollins.
Just a reminder that we still need to give our attention to 2022.
Stay tuned, for sure.