(Texas Scorecard) – Houston Controller Chris Hollins is calling for investigations by the Office of Inspector General and Houston City Council Ethics Committee into fundraising practices for the mayor’s annual State of the City event.
The request comes as a direct response to Mayor John Whitmire’s calls last week for an investigation into Hollins for seeking sponsorships to the Controller’s Annual Investor Conference with the promise of a private meeting with the controller.
“Bias has no place in public service. What’s good for the goose is good for the gander. Let me be clear: I do not consider the marketing practices of either event to be unlawful. But I do believe the same set of rules should apply equally to both the Mayor’s and Controller’s fundraising activities,” Hollins said.
Hollins is hosting the annual conference that showcases the city to prospective investors. While the event has never sought sponsors in the past, Hollins, in his first year in office, decided to do things differently and offer sponsorships ranging from $10,000 to $100,000—with the latter including a private one-on-one dinner with the controller.
The problem is the controller also sits on a steering committee that selects bank vendors to handle city bond sales, and he has the authority to pick certain vendors directly without approval from the council. The mayor said it created, at least, the appearance of pay-to-play and asked for an investigation by the city’s OIG.
Hollins held a press conference just hours later defending his office’s decision and calling the accusation a “nothing burger.” Now, he is seeking the same investigations into the Mayor’s Office of Events, the agency tasked with sponsorships and production for citywide events like the Fourth of July, Christmas, and the mayor’s State of the City.
In response, the Mayor’s office released the following statement:
“The investigation is in response to Controller Hollins soliciting $100,000 from vendors for a private meeting with him. It is the practice of the mayor’s office not to comment on active investigations. I did my job by bringing this to light.”