District J Council member Edward Pollard’s rebranded “J City” might be in jeopardy.
In a recent spat, Pollard accused Houston Mayor John Whitmire’s office of blocking critical services for his district while Whitmire’s office insisted that procurement policies be followed. During a recent council meeting, District J residents requested Whitmire and the City Council for the services to resume.
Pollard said earlier this year that District J will officially be called “J City,” with exclusive services such as a community patrol initiative that will allow district residents to report low-level crimes and violations in their neighborhoods through a portal. Additionally, residents would have access to a supplemental maintenance team, a beautification team, an animal welfare team and the Good Neighbor Program for home repairs for seniors, disabled, or military veteran residents.
Was there a communication breakdown?
Pollard has repeatedly expressed frustration over what he calls a lack of communication from Whitmire’s office over the approval of his proposed supplemental projects that he said need “additional vendors.”
He told the Defender many of these programs had been previously approved by Whitmire and the former mayor Sylvester Turner’s administrations, as well as the city’s legal team. However, “they’re now just sitting on his [Whitmire’s] desk.”
Houston City Council members receive about $1 million every fiscal year to fund projects in their districts. Pollard said he has never had an issue with allocating these funds for initiatives in his district in his six years on the council.
“It’s more political than anything else,” he said. “I don’t think he wants to see my ideas succeed. I have creative out of the box ideas. These are unique programs that are tailor-made for our district…since it’s not his idea, maybe he’s not wanting it to succeed.”
Pollard said that despite the pushback, he will continue to press for a response on the progress of his submissions.
Procurement policies at the center of the dispute
Whitmire, however, rejected Pollard’s claims of miscommunication. Chris Newport, Whitmire’s Chief of Staff, said there have been multiple “detailed conversations” with Pollard and that most of his requests have been approved.
“We have not had any issue with any other council office…He [Pollard] has made several requests citing specific vendors,” Newport told the Defender. “He is not getting the answers that he wants on these requests, but is not for lack of communication.”
One of the major points of contention is Pollard’s request to hire specific vendors for services such as heavy trash removal and overtime pay for HPD officers. Whitmire’s office argued that Houston’s procurement laws require a competitive bidding process, preventing individual council members from handpicking vendors.
“We’re not playing games in politics and we’re not gonna politicize city services,” Whitmire told the Defender during a media availability at City Hall. “I’ve probably been in his district more than he [Pollard] has…He [Pollard] knows our concerns about conflicts of interest.”
Newport said he suggested to Pollard that he allocate funds to the Solid Waste Department, which would then assign the work to an approved contractor already appointed by the city.
“We will not cherry-pick vendors whether we’re using CDSF (Council District Service Fund) dollars or any other source of funds,” Newport said.
Pollard said his office has been following the city’s procurement procedures.
“The mayor is saying that I’m trying to pick my own vendors, which is totally inaccurate,” he said. “My office can’t hire anyone…it is either going through procurement, an informal bid or we’re doing the interlocal agreement with the management district.”
District-specific public safety measures
Pollard said Whitmire is now also withholding approval for District J Patrol despite it having been in place for five years. He said the team is initiated by overtime pay from his office.
Newport said council members cannot request HPD officers “where they ought to go.” “That is the job that is assigned to the mayor and the police chief,” he said.
“We do not dictate what they do—it’s a voluntary program,” Pollard countered.
Is politics at play?
Pollard contends that he is the only council member facing these roadblocks and believes the mayor is targeting him for political reasons.
“I have not heard from any other council member that their council district service funds are being blocked and not approved,” he said. “We are the only ones, and that’s why I believe it’s political.”
The mayor dismissed these claims.
“It’s a waste of my time to even have to deal with it,” Whitmire said. “I don’t have time for politics. I’m trying to run a city and doing one heck of a job.”
Despite the funding challenges, Pollard said some of his initiatives remain operational due to funds carried over from the last fiscal year, including his beautification teams tackling illegal dumping and graffiti, as well as maintenance crews addressing overgrown ditches and right-of-way obstructions.
However, Pollard warns that public safety and other essential services could suffer without new approvals.
“We’ll continue to advocate for our residents,” he said. “We know these programs work.”
