Houston City Charter Commission Records

In 1938, Houston attempted to reorganize its city government. Mayor R. H. Fonville and the city council created a committee of thirty-five members to consider several political structures, including the aldermanic, to replace the existing one of mayor/commissioners. In October, the committee submitted a modified city-manager proposal, the Houston Plan, to the voters. Opposition, however, was vehement, particularly from Commissioner Frank Holton who denounced the plan as a dictatorship and attached his own amendments to the ballot. Houston voters, in a light turnout despite the active campaigns, defeated reorganization efforts.