Speechless Civil Servants
They say you can’t fight city hall, but we do it all the time. In Kirby, Texas, outside of San Antonio, we confront the SPEECHLESS CIVIL SERVANTS who are keeping secrets.
Speechless servants
“Why are you all not doing anything about it? It frustrates me to see this.”
“Not a threat. A promise that your actions will have consequences.
“Where is our money going? Who is accountable for that?”
You’ve got to love government. Speechless servants.
“Sounds like a case for us, but we were already investigating. After weeks of the City of Kirby hiding records, we paid a lovely visit. It didn’t go so well. In fact, I got threatened with physical harm. Not smart.”
“It was an immediate attraction.”
Speechless is what you could call a combative love story.
“You lied to me. You lied first.”
Secrecy is never smart.
And when I went to this San Antonio suburban town the other day, I didn’t expect love would be in the air for me. What I didn’t expect was public servants who are speechless.
“Nice to meet you.”
“Pleasure to meet you. How are you doing?”
That’s the City Manager, Dr. Brian Rowland, after the quick pleasantry, I turned to business.
We had asked Kirby for Rowland’s phone records, emails. They refused to give us any of them.
“Can you tell me why all of the emails and phone records are secret?”
“They are not a secret.”
“Then why don’t I have them?”
Rowland is suddenly speechless, so I turned to the city employee who is responsible under Texas law to make sure I get public records.
“Miss City Secretary, can you explain why you say all these records are secret? All the emails all the phone records? Can you tell me why?”
“Are you a reporter?”
“Yeah.”
Silence from City Secretary Christine Wilson.
“Speechless.”
“Can you talk? Or you just don’t want to talk.”
“The international symbol for no. I do not want you to come near me again.”
The city secretary had refused to even let us see campaign finance reports until we threatened a lawsuit. They are required under law to be available any business day.
“Why did it take weeks to get campaign records?”
“Boy she’s chatty. So I turned back to her boss. Dr. Rowland, and that’s when this happened.”
“Why are you hiding the phone records. You are.”
“You may want to take care of your health.”
Listen again.
“You may want to take care of your health.”
Is he threatening me?
“My name is Brian Rowland, the Mayor of the City of Prairie View.”
Dr. Rowland used to be the Mayor of Prairie View, Texas.
“But things obviously didn’t work out so good.”
Rowland crashed a city car at 2 O’clock in the morning, but he didn’t call the police. Said later he was avoiding a deer.
He didn’t pay his city water bills. When his personal car was repossessed, he was cited for assaulting the guy doing it. He got convicted.
And the chief and a detective resigned, citing a toxic work environment created by Rowland.
Chief Kenny Lopez called the mayor’s refusal to hear his concerns about public safety in Prairie View. Demeaning comments. Behaviors were simply intolerable.
Police officer Rodney Gray claimed he was harassed, retaliated against, eventually fired after he was assigned to investigate Rowland for public corruption.
“He is just that evil. He is evil.”
Gray’s mom is Marie Herndon, at the time a Prairie View city councilmember. She reported the retaliation.
Gray’s lawsuit was eventually dismissed in federal court.
“Rowland was defeated after just one term in office, then he ran for city council the next year. Got beat again. Then he beat it out of town.”
After Rowland’s defeat, the City of Prairie View even changed its charter to take away power from the next mayor.
“Motion passes. Welcome Dr. Rowland our city manager.”
And he found the job as city manager for Kirby, Texas.
“Why do you think they changed the form of government after you were mayor?”
“He did some significant damage in Prairie View. He did.”
And it didn’t take long for something eerily similar to happen in Kirby. It made the news in San Antonio.
“What was it like working under Dr. Rowland?”
“Probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had in my very short life.”
“I’m telling you I no longer feel comfortable working with the city manager.”
The toxic work environment thing again. Rowland got fired.
“Wait a minute. If Rowland got fired by the City of Kirby, why is he still city manager today. That’s a really good question, and it’s yet another reason why I love investigating local government.”
Last year, Brian Rowland, the guy fired as city manager, was rehired as city manager of Kirby. The vote was 4 to 3. Isn’t there anyone else available?
“Do you mind answering my questions? You just going to ignore me?”
“Maybe I shouldn’t be offended that Rowland was a jerk to me. He avoided the San Antonio TV reporter for weeks too.”
“Why come back?”
“Because I’m the best person for the job.”
The KSAT reporter knew where he got that line from.
“Because he’s the best person to do the job.”
“We don’t have a problem with open records. We don’t.”
“Yeah you do.”
This is Mayor Janeshia Grider.
“Why was he hired back with the track record in Prairie View and before here?”
“He had a track record?”
The mayor knows Rowland has a track record. She was mayor when Rowland was fired after an investigation. She voted to axe him.
“You know there were complaints man, come on. How come you hired him back?”
“He’s the right person for the job.”
The job of helping hide records of how taxpayer money is spent. The city has not given us detailed records of spending at the city senior center. Tens of thousands in expenses.
And now the mayor and the best man for the job, Dr. Rowland, want to obligate the voters to a 15-million-dollar debt.
“No detail on exactly how they want to spend the money. But talk around town is a lot of it will go to a new city hall.”
“We have no numbers on anything. So no, I do not know.”
We are not the only ones in the dark. So is at large councilmember Susan Street.
“You’re concerned about the secrecy here.”
“I am. They should be more open about a lot of things.”
Especially in a town that puts flyers on the seats before a council meeting.
Stay informed, it reads. It even has QR code. Fancy.
When we first came to Kirby, the mayor and allies on council were trying to remove Street. They don’t like her. But it never happened. The lawyers thought it would prompt a lawsuit.
So maybe they will hear my words. When I told council if i don’t get public records, I’ll sue them.
“Anybody who looks me up will know I’m not afraid to do it.”
“Not gonna play games with this city or any other city about the Public Information Act.”
In Kirby, like most places, voters are apathetic.
But they should be asking if building a new city hall is more important than other stuff. It’s not falling down.
“They keep pressing on how this city hall is old. But I mean it’s no worse than any of the houses over here that were made in the 60s, so it should be fine.”
Chris Garza was just elected to Kirby city council. He’ll be a no on new debt.
“If they truly believe the citizens and the residents want what they are talking about, then push it to a bond vote and let the residents vote again.”
“Why don’t you come over here and answer my questions?”
“I’m fine.”
“This dude is certifiable. Something’s wrong with him.”
“You’re city manager. You should answer these questions.”
“I’m fine.”
“I know you’re fine. Why don’t you answer these questions?”
“I’ll let my work speak for itself.”
Okay. What work?
“What do you think the best examples of your work are since you’ve been back? You don’t want to do that either?”
“I ask questions for a living. And in the journalism world, we call that question to Rowland a softball. He struck out anyway.”
Rowland was speechless.
“It’s just immature and foolish.”
“Oh well, we tried.”
“I’m glad somebody’s looking at it because when Dolcefino gets on it, he doesn’t let it go.”
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