City Hall e-mails What's Your Point? January 7, 2018

HOUSTON (FOX 26) - This week's panel:  Jared Woodfill - Republican lawyer and conservative activist, Nyanza Moore - progressive commentator and Houston attorney, Tony Diaz- Chicano educator and activist, Marcus Davis - host of "Sunday Morning Live", Bill King - businessman, columnist and former Kemah Mayor, and Jessica Colon - Republican strategist. join Greg Groogan in discussing e-mail controversy at city hall.

 

After a year in which he earned accolades for reform of the troubled city pension system and solid leadership during Hurricane Harvey, e-mail at city hall is proving something of an Achilles heel for Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner.

First, there's Turner's defiance of a court order to trun over e-mails related to a multi-million dollar re-cycling deal and now, there's the apparent cyber misappropriation committed by Turner's Press Secretary, Darian Ward.

The office of Inspector General determined Ward had more than 5,000 e-mails related to her private business dealings in her city account. The investigation also determined that Ward had spent a significant about of city time conducting her private business. 

As a consequence the mayor suspended Ward without pay for 10 days, but allowed her to remain on the job with nor reduction in rank.