Introduction by Caitlyn Jones-Excerpts from oral histories conducted by Lena Craven and Caitlyn Jones
When the National Women’s Conference (NWC) came to Houston in 1977, many local women were already on a mission: elect more women to office. Women had been elected to local school boards, but none had served in a City of Houston office. Kathryn Whitmire, a local accountant, was in the midst of a campaign to break that glass ceiling during the NWC as she mounted a bid for the controller’s office, which helps steer the city’s finances. A few days after the Houston conference wrapped, the celebration continued as Whitmire won her runoff race with nearly 59 percent of the vote. She later became the city’s first woman mayor in 1981, a position she held for the next decade.
Other women soon followed. More women earned seats on the Houston City Council, and many made their way to the state capitol in Austin and to Congress in Washington, DC. During the 1990s, Houstonians elected the first Black, Latina, and Asian American women to city council. In 2019, Harris County voters made history again when they elected seventeen Black women to county judgeships. However, there are still barriers to break. For instance, no woman of color has ever sat in the mayor’s chair. The most recent candidate for that position was Sheila Jackson Lee, a former city councilwoman and longtime U.S. Representative, who launched a failed bid in 2023 and passed away a year later.
Many Houston women who have held office have taken the time to reflect on the legacies of the National Women’s Conference and the changing political landscape since 1977. Remarks from five of those women have been collected here. Some went to the Houston conference, some did not. Each had very different experiences, both in their personal and political lives. Yet, all believe that women have come far in terms of gaining political power and acknowledge that more work remains.
Meet the Officeholders
Kathryn Whitmire began her political career in 1977 when she won an election for the Houston controller’s office. She was then elected as mayor in 1981 and served five terms in that position working to appoint more women and people of color to city offices, to improve the city’s emergency and medical services, and to combat the growing HIV/AIDS epidemic. After she ended her political career in 1992, Whitmire taught political science and public policy at the university level. She currently lives in Hawaii.
Wanda Adams was elected to the Houston City Council in 2007 and served for three terms. She then earned a seat on the Houston ISD school board in 2016 and remained in that office for seven years, even serving as board president. In 2020, she was elected as a Harris County Justice of the Peace, where she often presides over eviction cases and connects people experiencing homelessness with resources. Adams was re-elected to this position in 2024 and will hold the office for another four-year term.
Graciela Saenz began her career in public service as an assistant district attorney for Harris County. She launched a bid for an at-large city council seat in 1991 and became the first Latina to serve on the body, holding that position until 1998. During her time on council, she helped facilitate Houston’s NAFTA relationships and became the first Hispanic person and woman to serve as mayor pro tem. In 1997, Saenz began a campaign for mayor but lost her race. Today, she resides in Houston, where she operates her law practice and advocates for the local Hispanic community.
Sylvia Garcia first entered political office in 1983 as the presiding judge of the Houston municipal court system. In 1998, she was elected as the city controller and then moved to the Harris County Commissioners Court in 2003 where she served for seven years. Running as a Democrat, Garcia was elected to the Texas Senate in 2013 and went on to serve in Congress five years later as one of the first Latinas from Texas elected to the body. As a current U.S. representative, she advocates for immigration reform, the expansion of healthcare, and equal rights for women and LGBTQ communities.
Annise Parker earned her first political office in 1997 when she was elected to the Houston City Council. After serving three terms, she became the city controller and held that position until 2009. That same year, Parker became the first openly gay mayor of a major U.S. city. During her three terms as mayor, she championed an anti-discrimination city ordinance and strengthened Houston’s office of historic preservation. Parker ended her tenure in 2016 and is currently serving as the president and CEO of the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute.
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Click here to learn an article about Graciela Saenz and her career in public service.
Click here to read about Sylvia Garcia’s bill for DACA recipients to gain citizenship
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