Mayor tries to hide details of law partner’s city bonanza
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Mayor Sylvester Turner doesn’t want you to see how the sausage was made in that controversial 35-million-dollar housing deal after Hurricane Harvey.
His long-time legal partner Barry Barnes stands to make millions on the contract as a disadvantaged business.
When City Council voted for the contract on November 7th, Barnes’s law firm’s share had swollen to 6.7 million dollars. Just two months earlier it was only 2.7 million.
The big question from taxpayers should be why? After months of reviewing how much it would cost to help hurricane victims, why did the numbers change so much?
And to add to the confusion, the contract posted on the City of Houston Affirmative Action database currently shows Barry Barnes & Associates making only 3.5 million dollars.
The city needs to get their numbers straight. The Mayor needs to stop the secrecy games.
It’s just the latest in the Mayor’s wholesale efforts to hide controversial city hall deals.
The City of Houston has ignored a judge’s order to produce records on the smelly recycling contract. Records obtained by Dolcefino Consulting show Turner is using his personal cell phone to conduct city business, not the one provided by taxpayers. We have already busted Sly for using his old law firm email to conduct city business to hide the details from the public.
And now it’s the housing deal.
Dolcefino Consulting sent a formal request for all the city staff’s emails relating to the contract, including the sudden increase in Barry Barnes’s cut.
The City of Houston wants to keep the documents secret. Surprise, surprise.
Why is the city afraid to let everyone see how their money is being spent?
Hmmmm.
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