Mayor Whitmire accuses Controller Hollins of ‘pay-to-play’ over sponsorship solicitations

In a conference held today at 11 this morning, Houston Mayor John Whitmire accused City Controller Chris Hollins of engaging in "pay-to-play" practices. This accusation stems from Hollins' solicitation of sponsorships for the Houston Annual Investor Conference. Mayor Whitmire alleges that the sponsorship packages for the conference, which range up to $100,000, offer special access like a private dinner with the Controller, suggesting a pay-to-play scenario where higher donations secure more exclusive access to city officials.

In a letter addressed to investors, Whitmeyer stated, “It has come to my attention that serious concerns have arisen regarding the financial practices surrounding the Houston Annual Investors Conference… in the nine years of this event, "this is the first instance of the Controller's Office soliciting sponsorships, and the implications are deeply concerning."

“Our Preliminary review has uncovered potential issues related to how the Controller’s Office has solicited funds in connection with this event. I am alarmed and frankly— disappointed that I would have to deal with this”

The Sponsorships ranged from $100,000 to $10,000. Noting that in the Title Sponsor Range, sponsors would receive a private dinner with the City Controller Chris Hollins and other special guests at the Investor Conference. Whitmeyer noted that none of the City Controllers prior had ever solicited “sponsorships'“ to the Annual Investor Dinner

Mayor Whitmire has publicly criticized these practices, decided not to attend the conference himself, and called for its cancellation. Despite this, he noted that the language around the sponsorship was being altered following his criticisms. He has also requested an investigation by the city's Office of Inspector General.

The money from the Sponsorships was allocated to the Houston FWD Fund. The Houston FWD Fund is a component of the Greater Houston Community Foundation. According to the FWD fund website, the fund focused on 3 Key components:

Hollins fired back Thursday afternoon, pointing out the event has always been sponsored through ticketing.

"(Whitmire) owes us an apology for this," Hollins said. "This is a huge nothingburger that is meant to distract from the mayor’s failed leadership on fiscal responsibility."

Mayor Whitmire stated that he had not been in contact with the City Controller Chris Hollins for the “sake of transparency” and was breaking the news to the public. Whitmire has been in contact with the cities OIG and ethics committee concerning these Allegations.

Hollins’ office said the following in a statement announcing the presser:

“Controller Hollins will provide information on the reasons the Mayor’s representation of the office’s efforts to coordinate this event are inaccurate, how the planning aligns with the precedent and history of the Houston Investor Conference as hosted by Controller Hollins’s predecessors, and details on how proceeds from the conference will support the Bank of Houston program, an initiative formed to improve financial literacy and close the banking equity gap for Houstonians.”

KPRC 2′s Rilwan Balogun also reached out to Chris Brown, the city’s immediate previous controller, who said he did not have sponsorships for investor conferences.

“It’s unusual,” Brown said in a phone interview. “We historically sold tickets but that was to offset the cost of the event… that money was being used to cover the cost.”

He said the cost for previous events fluctuated between $7,000 and $12,000.

Brown didn’t want to opine about the war of words between Whitmire and Hollins.

Brown did say, he did not offer a private dinner with him for any sort of sponsorship during his time as controller.

It is worth noting that the Bank On Houston website is not functioning.