From the Parker Campaign:
Houston, TX - Adam Harris, Annise Parker for Mayor campaign manager, issued the following statement today in response to Gene Locke's attack on Parker:First, Annise Parker is the only mayoral candidate who has ever voted to
cut property taxes. Mr. Locke is the only mayoral candidate who left taxpayers
holding the bag for an expensive bailout after promising taxpayers they wouldn't
have to pay for Reliant Stadium.Second, if there are budget problems, Mr. Locke is part of the problem, not the
solution. He and his firm have soaked the city and public agencies for more than $17
million in the last six years by billing more than $604 an hour.Third, Mr. Locke is the one who led the negotiations that created hundreds of
millions of dollars of public indebtedness. Our grandchildren's tax dollars will
paying off the debts that Locke incurred on our behalf.The fact is that Mr. Locke still refuses to come clean and answer serious questions
about his conflicts of interest. The conflict remains, and it is massive.The city's ethics law specifically prohibits any city official from holding a
financial interest, directly or indirectly, that would even "tend to create a
conflict between the public trust held as an official of the city and the official's
private interests."Locke has not pledged to publicly release his divestment plan from Andrews Kurth
and, if elected, not to return to the firm after his tenure as mayor. He did not
pledge to recuse himself from votes on giving city business to his law firm. Nor did
he pledge to prohibit the firm from doing city work as long as he is mayor.This much is clear: If Locke is elected mayor, he will serve under a cloud of
impropriety.As Annise Parker said yesterday, "The voters deserve an answer to these questions by
Mr. Locke":1. Will you release within one week your divestment and payout plan with Andrews
Kurth? Will Andrews Kurth's future income affect the size of your payout? Will you
retain any interest in a pension or retirement plan or any other interest tied to
the income of Andrews Kurth?2. Will you permanently resign from Andrews Kurth if elected mayor and enter into
a legally-binding agreement never to have a financial interest or association with
the firm or any relationship with the firm after you leave the office of mayor?3. Will you as mayor recuse yourself on all questions involving clients of
Andrews Kurth, including all business with Metro, the Sports Authority and the Port
Authority and bond transactions and other business done by Andrews Kurth for the
City?4. Will you prohibit Andrews Kurth from representing the city and affiliated
public agencies during your tenure as mayor, so as to avoid the inevitable
appearance of impropriety involving any city business done with your partners and
firm?"Our city spends literally billions of dollars each year," said Parker. "It cannot
function in the best interest of taxpayers if a cloud of impropriety hangs over
major financial decisions. The voters deserve an answer to these questions by Mr.
Locke."
I agree.
As for the L-word, as long as Gene Locke has a history of fucking the taxpayers and is in bed with agencies that have a history of failing to serve the community in an intelligent manner, I don't care who Annise Parker sleeps with.