Earlier this month, state Rep. Hubert Vo found himself in a delicate spot when he wrote a self-serving letter on official state stationery to Houston police. In his correspondence, the Democratic incumbent complained about how the police were handling problems at the slummy apartment complexes he owns.

When asked about that letter, Vo's spokesperson Kelly Fero tells us that an aide to the state rep accidentally printed the letter on the wrong stationery. Really?

In any case, there seems to be a pattern here: Last Friday, Republican challenger Greg Meyers released a new letter from his Democratic opponent to Houston Mayor Bill White. In it, Vo argues against revising the city's nuisance ordinance, which would have made apartment owners like Vo more responsible for providing security--and more accountable when they don't.

And, as you may have guessed, this letter was also written on official state letterhead. Looks like Vo has a rather careless aide working for him.

Or not.

This time Fero says that his boss's letter to Houston Mayor Bill White was intentionally dispatched on state letterhead. Fero claims that Vo was penning his correspondence--not merely as an apartment owner--but as a lawmaker representing his constituents who own apartment buildings.

Here's his statement:

Representative Vo wrote the letter at the request of various constituents in the district and the Houston Apartment Association (which sent a similar letter making the same points a few days earlier). This is what public officials are elected to do — represent their constituents and try to shape public policies to make sure they are workable and effective.


For Meyers to imply that an elected official — especially one with a particular expertise in the public policy under debate — shouldn’t exercise leadership says more about Meyers than it does anyone else. By his logic, lawyers in the Legislature should recuse themselves from every issue because they are, after all, writing laws. A clear conflict of interest!

Well, we certainly thank Mr. Fero for his prompt response. But it most definitely is a conflict for a state lawmaker to try to use his official position to make life easier for his businesses. That's not a gray area; that's simple common sense.

As it was, Vo's letter writing effort proved futile. Mayor Bill White and the Houston City Council wound up amending the nuisance ordinance after all.