[1] 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.

City of Houston elections did not include primaries, and the locally-dominant Democratic Party did not endorse or fund candidates.

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.