How bad has it gotten in Missouri City? Alleged violations of the city charter, State Election Code, city ethics policy and state copyright are among four public interest issues that recently surfaced in Missouri City.
One: After Missouri City Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Wyatt ordered the City police chief conduct illegal surveillance on residents social media communications, Jerry alleged threats to his safety were made by area residents. Upon declaring “I did not want to become the victim of a Navy Yard…!! “ , an open records request was filed with the Missouri City City Secretary. Was this threat a matter of city-wide concern or a political tall tale?
In the official response to the open records request the Missouri City City Secretary replied:
“Please note the City has no information which is responsive regarding request number 1 outlined above.”
Yeesh. Political tall tale.
But wait! There’s more!
Two: Jerry should read the section of the City Charter pertaining to Prohibitions:
Part 1 Home Rule Charter, Article III City Council, Sec. 3.08. Prohibitions, C. Interference with administration: Except for the purpose of inquiries and investigations under section 3.17, the council or its members shall deal with city officers and employees who are subject to the direction and supervision of the city manager solely through the city manager; and neither the mayor nor a councilmember may give orders publicly or privately to any such officer or employee
Three: After filing an open records request to obtain Jerry Wyatt’s campaign finance reports, the Texas Ethics Commission acknowledged receipt of a sworn complaint that Wyatt did not disclose political contributions and expenditures as required by section 254.031 of the Election Code and section 20.61 of the Ethics Commission Rules. Mr. Wyatt’s reports show a serious contribution balance discrepancy of over $15,000.
While I believe the myriad of campaign finance rules, laws and regulations are purposely designed to raise the barrier to entry for challengers to incumbents, reporting incorrect contributions balances rightly reflect Missouri City residents concerns with Mr. Wyatt’s ability to add & subtract, especially since he claims to know where & how every penny has been spent in Missouri City.
Four: The campaign mailer for HCC District VII Trustee Neeta Sane displaying the official Missouri City logo may very well be in violation of the CITY COUNCIL CODE OF CONDUCT AND ETHICS POLICY MISSOURI CITY, TEXAS ADOPTED OCTOBER, 1998. Item N reads in part:
“The City logo is protected by state copyright laws. It shall not be used for the political or private gain of individual Councilmembers. This also applies with respect to the use of City stationery or use of anything that may give rise to inference of City support or promotion.”
Coupled with ordering the unconstitutional monitoring of residents social media use, these four alleged violations of the city charter, State Election Code, city ethics policy and state copyright are of grave concerns to Missouri City voters.
where did my comment go? Didn’t like the truth? Well it ain’t gonna go away.