After starting his law career in private practice for two years, Cutrer entered the public sector as assistant city attorney under the Walter Monteith 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 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 in 1955 and 1956.[1]
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.[2]
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.[2]
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.[1]
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