Houston Mayor Bill White used city letterhead to promote a downtown development -- the project of a company owned by a campaign contributor.

According to the story in today's Chronicle by Bradley Olson and Nancy Sarnoff:

The mailing reads like a finely produced marketing brochure, touting the opening of a new downtown apartment tower and urging Houstonians to consider moving there:

"One Park Place will be the residence of choice downtown because its 346 residences offer 14 floor plans with finishes typical of high-end condominiums, spectacular views, a nearly one-acre resort-style pool area, a grand terrace overlooking the park and retail spaces."

Except it is not a marketing brochure. It is a Jan. 16 letter, penned by Mayor Bill White on city letterhead and sent by the developer of One Park Place to hundreds of people and human resources representatives at businesses and organizations across Houston.

Land-use experts and officials in other Texas cities said the letter is highly unusual. Most officeholders involved in development and revitalization projects tout improvements in generalities, but rarely, if ever, participate in a marketing effort for a specific business interest.

In the story, White says he would do the same for any downtown residential developer. The story also points out that the owner of the development company, Marvy Finger, gave "$1,000 to White's campaigns in 2005 and 2007, well below the $5,000 limit for individual contributors per campaign cycle."

Check out Mayor Bill White's letter promoting the project here.

The story is generating lots of discussion:

Here's the take from the folks at blogHOUSTON.

At Lose an Eye, It's a Sport

And read the million or so comments below the Chronicle story itself.