Councilmembers aren't impressed with Frank "Procurement Disaster" Wilson
Michael Reed of the River Oaks Examiner provides some background on councilmembers' reactions when the consent agreement with METRO first came before Council over a week ago:
While voicing varying degrees of support for rail, Pam Holm, Jolanda Jones and Ron Green said they still had unaddressed concerns about the protection of the neighborhoods and the small businesses that would be affected.
“Procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part,” Jones said of questions she submitted to the Metropolitan Transit Authority the day before the June 11 meeting. “I still need answers to those questions.”
[snip]
Green, however, said while he feels the Metro board is competent, “there is a serious management disconnect” when it comes to keeping the council informed.
[snip]
When White said Metro had communicated at several public sessions, many attended by Chief Executive Officer Frank Wilson, Jones responded that at meetings she attended, community concerns and ideas were ignored.
Calling Metro’s attitude at that time “disrespectful,” Jones said, “He (Wilson) told us what he wanted to say … They could have had 1,000 meetings.”
[snip]
After the meeting, Wilson told Examiner broadcast partner ABC-13, ““The delay of a week in a 100-year project is insignificant."
And indeed it was, but it is interesting to see local pols publicly voice doubts about METRO. METRO's leadership IS incredibly arrogant, and does all it can to keep the public in the dark. METRO and Mayor White just wanted this consent agreement to pass so METRO can get on to the ground-breaking. While METRO says ongoing dialogue will continue, METRO, under the leadership of Mr. Procurement Disaster, will do what it wants. As Councilwoman Jones said, Frank Wilson says what he wants to say. Period. He's just not interested in differing opinions.
That's how METRO operates, and that's how Mayor White enables Frank Wilson.
PREVIOUSLY: METRO's consent agreement sidesteps committee vote
Posted by Anne Linehan @ 06/21/08 12:21 PM | Houston Politics | Print | Comments (9)
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