After nearly four months in office, Mayor John Whitmire hasn't met with county Judge Lina Hidalgo

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Two of the top leaders in our area have yet to meet this year.

John Whitmire was sworn in as Houston's new mayor on Jan. 1, and four months later, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo is still waiting to see him.

"We're sort of playing a little bit of Russian roulette with this," Hidalgo said.

Hidalgo represents the county, and Whitmire represents the city, but the two leaders usually work together in times of crisis. Hidalgo said she wants to meet to discuss how they'd handle disasters.

"It's about hurricane season, but anything else could happen. Chemical fires happen (for example)," Hidalgo explained. "I remember I worked with Mayor (Sylvester) Turner when there was a major water outage."

Whitmire was at the city council meeting on Wednesday but wasn't available for an interview when Eyewitness News wanted to ask why he hadn't met with Hidalgo.

Whitmire's spokesperson sent ABC13 the following statement:

"Mayor Whitmire says he doesn't have time for games or meet and greets. He is busy running the city of Houston, which includes preparing for Hurricane Season with the assistance of the City's Office of Emergency Management. While the mayor and county judge have not met in person, experienced employees are getting the work done on behalf of the city and county. Their teams have been in contact through the City's Office of Emergency Management and Harris County Emergency Management. They have met at least ten times this year regarding emergency planning and response. There is ongoing discussion and collaboration. Mayor Whitmire is confident the city is prepared to work with the county, governor, and state emergency center before and during hurricane season. Mayor Whitmire has met with Harris County Commissioners Garcia, Briones, and Ramsey, and he is confident he and Judge Hidalgo will meet when it's time."

Rice University political science professor Bob Stein said it needs to be more than behind-the-scenes people.

"It takes more than the staff. If the mayor says, as we had many years ago in other hurricanes, 'shelter in place' and another is saying 'get out of dodge,' that can be a disaster," Stein explained.

Stein said Hidalgo and Whitmire are the faces people look to during disasters, and if they aren't getting along, it could be an issue.

"The public reads body language," Stein said. "They understand when people are on the same page and when they're not."

Experts said the two leaders hadn't met, most likely because of the fallout from Hidalgo supporting his opponent last fall.

"I do think the idea that they develop a relationship, am I optimistic? No," Stein explained. "When Hidalgo took such a strong stance with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. John Whitmire is not a person who forgets easily."

"I think it's best time we get over the election and we just focus on the work, and I think we can totally do that," Hidalgo said.

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