Lewis Wesley Cutrer (November 5, 1904 – May 7, 1981) served as

Mayor of Houston, Texas The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of the city of Houston in the U.S. state of Texas. Qualifications, election, and terms To file to run for mayor, a person must be a qualified voter of the city of Houston, and have h ...

from 1957 to 1963. Among his chief accomplishments while in office were the construction of Houston Intercontinental Airport (now

George Bush Intercontinental Airport George Bush Intercontinental Airport is an international airport in Houston, Texas, United States, serving the Greater Houston metropolitan area. Initially named Houston Intercontinental Airport upon its opening in 1969, it was renamed in ho ...

) and the

Lake Livingston Lake Livingston is a reservoir located in Piney Woods in Houston, Madison, Polk, San Jacinto, Trinity and Walker counties in east Texas, United States. Lake Livingston was built and is owned and operated by the Trinity River Authority (TR ...

development project.

Early life

Cutrer was the son of Richard Wiltz and Elizabeth Lewis Cutrer. He was born in

Osyka, Mississippi Osyka is a town in Pike County, Mississippi, Pike County, Mississippi, United States. It is located on the Mississippi–Louisiana state line. The population was 440 at the 2010 census. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi McComb micropolitan are ...

on November 5, 1904. He grew up in

Magnolia, Mississippi Magnolia is a city in Pike County, Mississippi and the county seat. The population was 2,420 at the 2010 census. Magnolia is within the McComb, Mississippi McComb micropolitan area, Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Magnolia was founded in ...

. He attended the

University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi (Epithet, byname Ole Miss) is a Public university, public research university in University, near Oxford, Mississippi, United States, with a University of Mississippi Medical Center, medical center in Jackson, Miss ...

, where he earned a law degree.

Career

After starting his law career in private practice for two years, Cutrer entered the public sector as assistant city attorney under the

Walter Monteith Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–19 ...

administration in 1929. He served for the length of Monteith's term, ending in 1933, and accepted a position with Monteith's new law firm in 1934, where he practiced for five years. He returned to the City of Houston as city attorney, working for mayors Cornelius A. Pickett and

Otis Massey Otis Massey (May 26, 1891 – September 1968) was mayor of Houston, Texas from January 1943 to 1947. Early life Otis Massey was born on May 26, 1891 in Drexel, Missouri. Career Massey was the first mayor of Houston to serve under the city ma ...

for most of the 1940s. He worked in the mayoral election campaigns for Fred Hofheinz in the early 1950s. He was General Council for

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

in 1955 and 1956. Cutrer ran for Mayor of Houston in 1857, running against incumbent Oscar Holcombe on a reform platform. Given his work and support on behalf of Hofheinz, many voters understood Cutrer as the Hofheinz candidate, although he was better aligned politically with Monteith. City of Houston elections did not include primaries, and the locally-dominant Democratic Party did not endorse or fund candidates. Yet the election was framed as the liberal Cutrer challenging the conservative Holcombe. Cutrer won the 1957 election with 67,600 votes to 39,156 votes for Holcombe. When Cutrer officially entered office on January 2, 1958, the city of Houston had already expanded to 349 square miles, containing over 800,000 residents. This expanding land area and population required an infrastructure program, and in 1958, he quickly proposed and passed a two-year bond referendum, authorizing up to $35 million in new debt. Priorities included finding a new source of fresh water, developing a second airport, improving the local bus system, and a new hospital.

Personal life

Cutrer married Catherine Hopson on October 11, 1927. He was the father of three children. He served leadership roles in St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Houston. He was also a member of a local Masonic lodge.

Death and legacy

Cutrer died on May 7, 1981 in Houston. He was buried at Memorial Oaks Cemetery in Houston. The Houston Airport System named Lewis W. Cutrer Terminal C at

after Cutrer.

Early life

Career

Personal life

Death and legacy

References

Further reading