Steven David, Mayor John Whitmire’s chief strategy and operations officer, will leave the administration this Friday, according to an email obtained by the Houston Chronicle.
David started on Whitmire’s team as deputy chief of staff when the mayor took office in 2024, and became chief operations officer, overseeing the city’s 22 departments alongside Chief of Staff Cynthia Wilson, last May.
In an email to colleagues, David said he wanted to devote more time to his family and personal well-being.
David called his time working with Whitmire “the opportunity of a lifetime” that he will “cherish” for the rest of his life.
“Mayor Whitmire always reminds us that ‘public service is a calling,’” David wrote. “I have been fortunate to answer that calling alongside each of you and to witness firsthand the commitment, judgement and resilience required to lead this city. The work is rarely easy, the challenges are often relentless and the public does not always see the long hours and personal sacrifices behind the services they rely upon every day. I have seen them, and I am grateful for everything you have done.”
Whitmire told the Chronicle that David will remain an advisor.
“This is not Steven’s eulogy with the Whitmire team, but him serving the city in a different way,” the mayor wrote in a text message.
David declined to comment.
He previously worked in the administrations of former mayors Sylvester Turner and Annise Parker, and joined the Whitmire administration from a role with the consulting firm Accenture.