Mary Benton, Houston’s chief communications officer and a senior adviser to Mayor John Whitmire, will depart city government for a new role at the Metropolitan Transportation Authority of Harris County.
Whitmire announced the move during Wednesday’s city council meeting, saying he looked forward to collaborating even more closely with the transit agency moving forward.
“It sure will be a benefit for the city of Houston,” Whitmire said. “Mary was heavily recruited because of some of the challenges that we face in our transportation system.”
Benton said in a brief interview that she is “very excited” for the new role. The city will hold a reception honoring her service Wednesday afternoon.
A Harlingen native and graduate of the University of Texas-Austin, Benton worked for decades as a television reporter at KPRC (Channel 2) before moving into local government, serving as spokesperson for the Harris County Toll Road Authority, former interim Harris County Commissioner Gene Locke and the county public health department.
She joined the late Sylvester Turner’s mayoral administration as press secretary in 2018 and rose to communications director two years later.