Houston controller holds investor conference, calls for probe of mayor

Houston Controller Chris Hollins' investor conference took place Tuesday without the participation of key city officials after Mayor John Whitmore raised "pay-to-play" concerns about corporate sponsorships for the event and requested a city probe.

Hollins countered on Tuesday, calling on the Houston inspector general's office to also investigate corporate sponsorships for the mayor's Sept. 17 State of the City address.

"Let me be clear: I do not consider the marketing practices of either event to be unlawful," the controller said in a statement. "But I do believe the same set of rules should apply equally to both the mayor's and controller's fundraising activities."

Several investment banks, as well as a law firm, paid $10,000, $25,000, or $50,000 to sponsor the investor conference with proceeds earmarked for the non-profit Houston Forward Fund. The mayor's address had more than 70 sponsors.

At an Oct. 17 press conference, Whitmire said none of the previous eight investor conferences had corporate sponsors and that bond underwriting firms raised concerns about violating Securities and Exchange Commission rules.

"The investigation is in response to Controller Hollins soliciting $100,000 from vendors for a private meeting with him," Whitmire said in a statement Tuesday. "It is the practice of the mayor's office not to comment on active investigations. I did my job by bringing this to light."

Hollins, who has called the mayor's allegations "baseless," told the inspector general's office the same fundraising model was used for both events, according to the controller's office.

"The only difference is that the mayor controls the proceeds from the State of the City, while the proceeds of the investor conference flow to a non-profit donor-advised fund, where an independent body has exclusive spending authority," the controller's statement said.

The investor conference drew 110-120 professionals and highlighted "the positive investment potential of Houston," Hollins' office said Wednesday.

"The mayor's support turned out to not be very important," it added. "The conference still had full attendance and interesting panels."

Speakers listed in a revised agenda no longer included Whitmire or city finance, airport, convention center, and public works officials.

Whitmire and Hollins, who both took office in January after winning runoff elections, have had tense exchanges over Houston's structural budget deficit, as well as about a bond-financed settlement with firefighters and rating outlooks that were revised to negative from stable by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.