On Ethics

Election Day is 14 weeks from today. I am feeling good about our chances. A new poll dropped today that shows State Rep. James Talarico leading cheating, crooked Ken Paxton by 5 points. That is all I will say about the polls. We have the issues clearly on our side.

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This is laughable. See this from the Chron:

Mayor John Whitmire campaigned on rooting out waste, corruption and conflicts of interest in city government, but has not reformed Houston’s ethics policies despite pressure from council members and recent incidents revealing gaps in how the city investigates allegations of wrongdoing.

The city’s main investigative office lacks transparency and independence from the mayor’s office, the council members seeking reform say, while the Houston Ethics Commission can operate openly but has no teeth – and hasn’t met in perhaps a decade. 

Two recent cases have highlighted some of these weaknesses.

Whitmire’s office last year referred a “pay-to-play” allegation against Controller Chris Hollins to the city’s main investigative arm, the Office of Inspector General, which is housed inside the city legal department.

The OIG quietly closed the case last fall. As most of the office’s work is confidential, the only publicly available information on the case was a label stating the complaint was “not sustained” in a document the Houston Chronicle obtained through an open records request.

Though the city Ethics Commission can handle allegations against office holders and other city officials, the Hollins matter was not referred to the commission. 

Neither was a case that became public last summer in which Council Member Tarsha Jackson requested favors from a city contractor via text message. Records show the matter was not referred to the commission or the OIG, which also can investigate elected officials, along with most other city employees.

Andrew Cates, a lawyer and expert on Texas ethics laws, said Houston’s ethics commission, like others across the state, lacks the staff and expertise to be effective. The inspector general has broader investigative authority, he added, but is less transparent.

“These systems only work if you keep up with them, and you keep them evolving and you keep them funded,” Cates said, adding that failing to do so means, “You did the job for all the bad actors on their behalf.”

City Attorney Arturo Michel and council members have said the Whitmire administration is working on OIG reforms but have not described what changes might occur. Whitmire’s office did not respond to requests for comment.

Several council members have proposed making the OIG more transparent and more independent from the mayor’s office. 

Council Member Joaquin Martinez has proposed letting city council appoint the inspector general to a four-year term. The role currently is selected by the mayor for an unlimited term. The city attorney, who runs the legal department in which the OIG is housed, also is chosen by the mayor. 

Council Member Julian Ramirez has also pitched proposals that would outline the information the inspector general could make public as the office investigates misconduct. 

“The way it’s set up now allows wrongdoing, I think, to skirt under the radar,” Ramirez said. “And I’m not saying this is what the mayor wants to have happen. This is independent of who holds the office.”

Here is the entire comedy strip: Mayor John Whitmire faces calls to reform Houston ethics policies.

Let me remind you of what happened at the H-Town City Council meeting last week and also from the Chron:

Candidates seeking office at Houston City Hall will now face no limits on using campaign funds to repay themselves for loans they make to their own campaign accounts.

The change was initiated by Council Member Edward Pollard, who has long been rumored to be running for mayor – and who has loaned more than $1 million to his campaign account. The mayor, controller and all 16 council seats will be on the ballot next year. 

Previously, the mayor, controller and at-large council members could repay themselves no more than $75,000 and district council members no more than $50,000. The new policy, approved unanimously without discussion during Wednesday’s council meeting, removes those caps. 

Pollard would in theory be able to use campaign contributions to fully recoup the $1,040,000 he has loaned his campaign. Pollard said that having cash in politics was simply the way of the game.

“If someone has the thought to possibly run for office, they have to either raise a lot of money, or they have to loan themselves a lot of money,” Pollard said. “There’s only two things you can do.”

The District J council member did not say which office he might seek when his term as a council member ends next year.

Pollard has noted the change aligns the city with a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling on campaign loans.

U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2019 sued the Federal Election Commission, claiming a law prohibiting candidates from repaying themselves more than $250,000 in campaign loans violated the First Amendment. The justices ultimately ruled repayment limits unconstitutional.

What a joke. City council punted big time on ethics last week and without a peep. Council member Pollard knew what the rules were when he loaned himself a million bucks. You can’t handle ethics. Go worry about garbage pick-up, infrastructure and ICE. Stop wasting time on an issue you surrendered to last week. Don’t let any city council members try to lecture you on ethics. Nope.

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I think the featured photo today is cool. Five women running the show on “Today” this morning.  That is Jenna Bush Hager, “Weekend Today” meteorologist Angie Lassman, Hallie Jackson, Sheinelle Jones, and Kaylee Hartung, All of them are at the top of their game. Again, very cool.

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We won last night and are still 2 games behind in the AL West. We keep hanging in there.