in Houston, Texas
Records unearthed by Texas Watchdog show that developer helped Mayor Bill White write marketing letter
Mon Apr 27 10:27:08 2009 CST
1 comments
By Trent Seibert
At first glance, it looks like the documents we asked for back in January contain interesting reading concerning Mayor Bill White's relationship with Houston developer Marvy Finger.

From the Houston Chronicle's Bradley Olsen in today's editions:
Apartment developer Marvy Finger helped Mayor Bill White craft a letter that promoted One Park Place, Finger's downtown luxury apartment tower abutting Discovery Green Park, to hundreds of people and human resources representatives at businesses and organizations across Houston, documents show.

Finger also sent e-mails to the mayor's senior staffers asking if White kept a mailing list he could use for the letter and whether they could be sent in City of Houston envelopes, requests that were declined, according to documents the Houston Chronicle obtained through an open records request.

White came under fire from watchdog groups in January for using the trappings of his office to promote the private business interest of Finger.

This relationship between the developer and the mayor raised eyebrows because Finger is a campaign contributor to White and Finger's daughter previously worked in White's administration.

Texas Watchdog also got a mention in the story:
The documents were obtained through an open records request that was originated by Texas Watchdog, a Houston-based nonprofit that promotes open government and investigative journalism.

We're scheduled to look at these documents later today. We're planning a follow-up story, and we will post the documents on the Texas Watchdog site.

Check out our original story about Mayor Bill White's effort to keep his calendar and correspondence hidden from public view.
Comments
Adolph Trudeau
Monday, 04/27/2009 - 22:10
Wait, so the mayor couldn't keep his schedule top-secret so he venue shops for the most favorable coverage? How is it that the Chronicle has a story about this?
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